Castle of the Winds has no classes. You create a single character — male or female, which affects only your starting icon — and distribute stat points freely, subject to each attribute having a minimum floor. This creates a spectrum from melee-focused warriors (high STR/CON) to pure mages (high INT/WIS) to swift scouts (high DEX/SPD), with hybrids encouraged by the game's magic-heavy combat design.
You can also use a custom .ICO file as your character icon, which was a popular pastime in the early 1990s. The game treats the icon as purely cosmetic — male and female are functionally identical.
| Attribute | Abbrev. | Effect | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | STR | Melee attack damage, carry weight capacity | Enchanted gauntlets can boost STR |
| Intelligence | INT | Maximum mana pool, spell effectiveness | Primary stat for magic-focused characters |
| Wisdom | WIS | Mana regeneration rate, spell resistance | Pairs with INT; both matter for casters |
| Dexterity | DEX | Chance to hit in melee, armor class contribution | Affects trap disarm success rate |
| Constitution | CON | Maximum hit points, HP regeneration | Overcast spells drain CON temporarily |
| Charisma | CHA | Shop prices, NPC interactions | Less critical than other stats; dump stat for most |
| Speed | SPD | Actions per turn relative to monsters | Enchanted boots can increase speed |
| Difficulty | Effect |
|---|---|
| Easy | Monsters are weaker; more forgiving early game. Recommended for first-timers. |
| Normal | Balanced experience as designed. |
| Hard | Monsters are significantly stronger. The game becomes punishing quickly. |
| Difficult | Maximum difficulty. Requires deep system knowledge to survive. |
The maximum character level is 30, matching the maximum number of learnable spells. Each level requires more than twice the experience of the previous one, so levels become increasingly sparse past around level 12 in normal play. Using experience-granting potions and clone-monster exploits on bosses is the main route to reaching the level cap.
On leveling up, the character automatically learns one new spell from the full list. Spellbooks found or purchased in shops grant an additional spell permanently. A character who already knows a spell will always learn something new from an unidentified book, making unidentified books safe to use and valuable to sell if you already know the spell.
Combat is turn-based. Each action (moving, attacking, casting a spell) consumes one turn. Monsters act once per turn unless affected by speed modifiers. The Speed attribute and enchanted boots can give the player more actions per turn relative to slow enemies, which is a significant advantage.
Spells are the only ranged attacks in the game — there are no bows. This makes magic investment mandatory for tackling distant enemies safely. Melee is viable but requires close range and leaves the character exposed to retaliation, especially from monsters with multiple attacks.
Mana can go negative: the player may cast spells beyond their mana pool by drawing on Constitution, which temporarily reduces maximum HP and can cause sudden death. This is both a danger and, in some circumstances, a calculated gamble.
Total damage reduction from all equipped armor. Higher AV is essential in later levels. Enchanted items stack. Cape of Protection provides the highest cloaking AV.
Melee accuracy is affected by DEX, weapon enchantment, and monster evasion. Enchanted weapons add to both accuracy and damage. Spells always hit unless the monster has specific resistance.
Monsters and the player can have elemental resistances (fire, cold, lightning, acid/poison). Enchanted amulets raise one resistance. Some monsters are immune to weapon attacks entirely (Slimes).
Every dungeon level is connected to a town above it. Towns always provide: a Temple (full healing, curse removal for a fee), a Junk Store (buys anything for a pittance), and the town's Shops (weapons, armor, potions, scrolls, books, wands). From the second town onwards, a Sage identifies items and a Bank stores excess coins to lighten the load. The Jarl of the city offers advice and rewards at up to three key story points. Shop inventory restocks over time (tracked by the game's internal clock), which makes it worth revisiting merchants between dungeon runs.