Ultima VII: The Black Gate/Trainers

Trainers are Non-Player Characters that can boost the stats of the Avatar or the Avatar's companions. They can be found in most cities and towns. Each one varies in the specific stat boost he or she gives.

Terminology

 * Combat: Improves the hit rate of characters. Derived from Dexterity, but can be individually boosted.
 * Dexterity: Increases speed (walking and attacking) and helps with lock picking.
 * Intelligence: Boosts the effectiveness of spells. Applies only to the Avatar.
 * Magic: Determines the number of mana points a character has. This stat is only applicable to the Avatar; the companions can't build it at all. Derived from Intelligence, but can be individually boosted.
 * Strength: Affects how much a player can hold and may increase damage. Affects the number of Hit Points a character has.
 * Training Points: As characters gain levels, they gain Training Points. Trainers consume 1-3 of these during a given training session.

Trainers
Note: These stat gains are with an Avatar with a value of ten (10) for all stats. Primary stats (strength, dexterity, intelligence) always increase by a fixed amount. See the following section for an explanation of secondary stat gain.

* Indicates the stat is gained incidentally. Gaining one point in Dexterity causes a one point increase in Combat. However, the "rubber band" effect will never occur.

** Marks an incidental stat gain and a normal gain. Example: Zella trains one point in Combat due to training, but the Dexterity training adds a second point. Thus, three points are gained for an expenditure of two Training Points.

*** Chad's training differs from others in that he seems to cause 2*(Dex gain) + 1 gain to Combat. Other trainers rarely go above three (3) points gained unless they are incidentals.

Secondary Stat Gain Explained
Secondary stats such as Combat and Magic are affected by a "rubber band" formula that allows secondary stats to catch up with primary stats. For instance, Spark starts with ten (10) points in Combat and twenty-two (22) in Dexterity. If he trains with Markus, he will gain six (6) to Combat because (22 - 10) / 2 = 6. As the two values close together, the gain diminishes and becomes a much smaller value such as one (1) or two (2).

Likewise, the Avatar starts with eighteen (18) Intelligence and ten (10) Magic. If he trains with Denby, he will gain +1 to Intelligence and +5 to Magic. This will be due to (18 - 10) / 2 = 4, then 4 + 1.

Note that this may be somewhat incorrect, depending on the exact nature of the rubber band equation. For instance, the Denby example could work like this: (19 - 10) / 2 = 4.5 (roundup and add to Magic). There is still a bit of unpredictability to determining stat gain and firm numbers cannot be guaranteed.

Only trainers that actually teach the secondary skill activate the rubber band effect. Trainers such as Sentri, Denby, and Bradman only create Combat gains because Dexterity is linked to Combat. Intelligence is supposed to be linked to Magic as well, but, despite what the Ultima VII manual implies, raising Intelligence alone seems to have no impact on Magic.

Forge of Virtue
The Avatar can boost his or her stats to maximum by completing the Forge of Virtue sidequest on the Island of Fire.