Let me try to answer your questions, as best I can, though not in the same order.<br/><br/>First off, no specific world guidelines. Unless I have a specific story in mind, I prefer for things to be open ended. Not point in trying to reinvent the wheel every RP. Just as long as people don't directly contradict each other, it's good. Even if we end up with 12 kinds of elves. Anyway, it could just be a generic fantasy setting, but I can see things working well enough with a sci-fi sort of premise.<br/><br/>Working off the assumption we're going with medieval fantasy, simply equipment would be: a sword or mace and a shield, plus good leather or chain (since plate is actually quite expensive) for a warrior; a decent bow, some light leather, likely backup gear for rogue type; not much besides something for self-defense for a mage, who relies on magic. The only time you should describe the effects of items is when they are enchanted to do something they normally wouldn't. Though you could provide a bit of lore for an unusual item. But nothing like "does X damage with Y chance", we're avoiding anything of the sort.<br/><br/>Regarding spells, they are still going to be considered abilities. You can use any system of magic you desire, though brief descriptions would be appreciated for spells that aren't very obvious (like fire ball). Regarding balance: the more potentially powerful a spell, the more it should cost. You could add certain requirements to casting time (for example, disallow other movements that turn, or even take more than a turn to prepare) instead of pushing the limits of STA. Other costs and limitations might also work. As for reference, bottom-level spells should be simple and about level with a weak bow shot. Like an arrow of ice I used in the prior system.<br/><br/>As for parameters, I am assuming we're going with a system that makes a decently leveled characters many times more powerful than a starting one, so let me put it this way. A range of +-1 is probably your best bet for an inexperienced character. +-2 is sort of pushing it, stacking similar bonuses (like, someone naturally has an athletic build, and does heavy manual labor). Any more is not going to happen, sort of a mutation as the reason. However, it wouldn't be strange for that same character to have 10 points in PHY later on. It doesn't represent just raw strength, but also the ability to properly apply it and such.