Kingdoms of Amalur will feature "5 distinct regions, 4 playable races, and 3 class trees with 22 abilities per tree." The 4 playable races are the Almain (noble Humans) the Ljosalfar (Light Elves), the Dokkalfar (Dark Elves), and the Varani (nomadic Humans). The 3 class (or ability) trees are Might, Finesse, and Sorcery; they correspond to the fighter, rogue, and mage classes respectively. The player starts off as a "blank slate," waking up in a pile of corpses after returning from the dead. The game will utilize a unique "destiny" system, whereby the player can invest in a skill-tree system to unlock various "destinies," which acts as the class system for the game. Combat works based on the timing of button presses, similar to the style of an action RPG, with occasional quicktime events like those in the God of War series. Lead combat designer Joe Quadara, however, emphasized that "twitch skill is only going to get you so far