Abilities aren't used for much in the game. They're not checked during conversations, they're not used for equipment requirements, and they don't determine how good you are at various activities. Instead, they control two things: the base level of your skills, and how much you can upgrade those skills (the same as the base amount).

Each ability is associated with six skills. The base level of those skills is the same as the score of the ability. So, for example, if you set your Intellect to 4, then all of your Intellect skills will have a base level of 4. You won't be able to change your ability scores after character creation, so make sure your starting character is the way you want it. But don't worry about accidentally creating a "bad" character. Any character can complete the game; abilities and skills just change the paths you can take to get there.

The four abilities are listed below:

• Intellect: Raw brain power, how smart you are.
  
  
• Motorics: Your senses, how agile you are.
  
  
• Physique: Your musculature, how strong you are.
  
  
• Psyche: Sensitivity, how emotionally intelligent you are.