Set in a heroic fantasy world, "Asheron's Call" allows players to create a character, or avatar, from one of six in-game races. The player allocates a limited number of attribute points to attributes such as "Strength", "Coordination", and "Quickness" and selects skills such as "Unarmed Combat", "War Magic", and "Melee Defense" for their character, with those base skills starting at a level determined by the character's attributes. Unlike many other games of the genre characters are not locked into a specific class, and can even reallocate previously selected skills to acquire other skills later in the game. Gameplay involves earning experience points ("XP") through a variety of activities, including engaging and defeating monsters in combat, fulfilling quests, and interacting with NPCs. Those earned experience points can then be invested to improve the character's abilities by spending them on attributes or skills. Additional skill points are awarded after the character reaches certain levels, and these skill points can then be used to acquire or train new skills. In addition to earning experience, questing and combat often yield recoverable loot such as armor, weapons, health potions, and spell scrolls. Many types of loot can be improved or imbued with special spells and effects via "Asheron's Call'"s "tinkering" crafting system.