There are seven character statistics: Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Speed, Constitution, Focus, and Perception. Each statistic starts at zero. Statistics may be increased temporarily by eating food made from cooking. Permanent statistics increases are mostly gained by passing tests in the Discipline of the Human Body.
Strength controls how much weight you may carry. You can carry 500 + (500 * str) weight. Strength also increases the effect of each wind of a deep well (by 1+str). Progressing in The Test of the Acrobat will permanently increase your strength by one point every 4 moves learned, up to a maximum of 7.
Dexterity controls how much bulk you may carry. You can carry 500 + (500 * dex) bulk. Higher dexterity seems to increase the chances of producing a rabbit pelt when slaughtering rabbits. Dexterity can be increased through progress in The Test of the Singing Cicada.
Speed, despite the name, does not make you run faster. Speed increases the size of fish catches, and gives you a chance of not losing bees when harvesting from an apiary. It also reduces the time you need to wait when bottling wines. You may permanently increase speed in The Test of the Bedouin, gaining a speed point from every day you are one of the top four people (most altars annoited) in the competition, up to a maximum of 7 points.
Perception allows you to dowse for more types of minerals (see Mining.) It also increases your chance to avoid losing a glass rod when tapping and failing to find a Limestone block for The Test Of The People's Pyramid. With a high enough Perception you can gather additional wood from trees without damaging them. Perception is gained from Food, Wine, and Beer tasting. Perception 7 is required to pan for gold and Feast for the Senses. You will get a point at 100, 200 and 250 in Gastronomy, Wine Tasting and Beer Tasting, up to a max of 9 points in perception.
Endurance is gained by progressing in The Test of Takeskot. Many activities trigger an endurance timer, including the use of a loom, mine, or barrel grinder, stirring cement, or digging. High endurance is greatly desired for these activities.
Constitution is gained during The Test of Darkest Night. The only known activity that triggers a constitution timer is the use of a Toxin Kitchen.
Focus is gained from judging Empty Hand Towers, Tombs of the Immortal, Bijou tables, and Veneries. A Focus statistic of 4 (temporary is okay) is required to learn the skill Science of Charcoal. Activities that trigger a focus timer include dowsing for ore and tapping for limestone blocks. See The Test Of Reason for information on focus raising.
Various activities require a period of recovery before they can be performed again. For example, you must rest between uses of a loom or dowsing attempts. The length of time you must wait is controlled by a timer based on one of the seven statistics.
Icons in the upper-right corner of the screen indicate what timers are currently active for you.
The reuse time of a stat-based activity is:
base reuse time * 7 / (7 + stat)
| Activity | Stat | Time |
| Dowsing | Focus | 120s |
| Inspect a blade (Carpentry Shop) | Focus | 120s |
| Tap a bore rod (Limestone) | Focus | 40s |
| Making toxins | Constitution | 30m |
| Wind deep well | Endurance | 180s |
| Wind barrel grinder | Endurance | 120s |
| Turning limestone | Endurance | 120s |
| Digging limestone | Endurance | 90s |
| Weaving | Endurance | 80s(M)/60s(F) |
| Raking flax | Endurance | 60s |
| Crushing grapes | Endurance | 60s |
| Mining | Endurance | 45s |
| Mixing cement | Endurance | 45s |
| Pushing limestone | Endurance | 40s |
| Digging (shovel) | Endurance | 40s |
| Filling a wine bottle | Speed | 10s |
Changes in time for modified stats:
| Stat Bonus | 40s | 45s | 60s | 80s | 90s | 120s | 180s | 30m |
| 7 | 20s | 23s | 30s | 40s | 45s | 60s | 90s | 15m |
| 14 | 13s | 15s | 20s | 27s | 30s | 40s | 60s | 10m |
| 21 | 10s | 11s | 15s | 20s | 23s | 30s | 45s | 7.5m * |
| 28 | 8s | 9s | 12s | 16s | 18s | 24s | 36s | |
| 35 | 7s | 8s | 10s | 13s | 15s | 20s | 30s |
* theoretical max for Con with +7 for Darkest Night and +14 for a recipe (note: theoretical max computed before new shrooms were released for darkest night)
Some activities have their own timers, which are not tied into the stat timers: