Classic RPG, part Deux

Well, the previous idea is too complex, so I'm gonna start over. The player will control a party of one Hero, who will participate in combat with one enemy at a time as he or she wanders the game world. The Hero will learn new abilities as he or she grows stronger, and each ability will have some sort of trade-off - either an MP cost or a balance change (like strength for accuracy).

Character Stats:

Health - Obvious.
Ether - Magical capacity.
Strength - Bonus damage to Weapon attacks. Add weapon power and excess coordination for damage.
Coordination - Bonus to hit. Add d20 to make an attack roll.
Evasion - Ability to dodge. Compare to attack roll - if evade is higher, the attack fails. If evade is lower, the excess becomes additional damage (oh, and attack succeeds).
Stamina - Damage reduction. Add Armor power and subtract from damage.
Willpower - Magical ability. Used in place of strength for magic.
Agility - Speed of Movement. Determines order in combat.

Some abilities:

Strike - Standard attack.
Piercing Strike - Accurate attack. Always hits despite the attack roll, but rolls too low to hit incur penalty to damage.
Etherized Strike - Magical attack. Add willpower to damage, but costs Ether.

Shield - Helping magic. Adds willpower to Armor, but degenerates as damage is incurred. Costs Ether.
Cure - Healing magic. Restores Health by (Willpower) points. Costs Ether.
Stun - Hindering magic. Reduces target's Evade by your willpower, making them easier to hit.


Items:

Short Sword - You know what this is. Relatively weak, but easy to use.
Long Sword - A longer version of the Short Sword. The "average" weapon.
Great Sword - Not a measure of quality, but size. Hard to handle, but wicked sharp.

Club - A bit of wood. Probably the weakest weapon ever.

...should I go down the path of Dragon Quest, or Dungeons and Dragons when it comes to weapons? There would be obviously "better" weapons, but should there be a wide selection of comparable weapons made available initially, or a few "weak 'n' cheap" weapons at first, with newer weapons being more powerful and more expensive?

Herbal Medicine - Restores Health by some small amount. Outclassed by Cure magic.
Herbal Remedy - Recovers from certain negative status effects, like poison and blindness.
Herbal Nostrum - Restores Health to maximum and Status to normal. Rare, and thus expensive.
Soul Crystal - Gem that will revive you when you fall. Must be used prior to death.
Flash Powder - Allows for quick escapes. Not always effective.
Lamp Oil - Refills your lantern when used.

Should I have a lantern? Dark caverns are always cool, but are they fun? They haven't been in Dragon Quest since the first game, and never in Final Fantasy. So, does that mean it's bad?

Cloth Armor - Lightest and cheapest armor; you start with it! Adds no significant defense.
Leather Armor - Lightweight and sturdy. Doesn't hinder agility at all, so buy it.
Studded Armor - Armor made from studded leather. Metal studs increase the weight and effectiveness.
Hauberk - Simple metal breastplate. Simple and unimposing.
Chain Mail - Middle-ground armor.
Scale Mail - Like Chain Mail, but with extra metal scales.
Plate Mail - Heaviest of all armor. Provides full-body defense!
Healing Plate - Breastplate imbued with restorative magic. Restores health as you walk and fight. Similar to breastplate.

etc.

I'll be playing around with these concepts for a while. I will probably want to go back and play through some of my sources again, like Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy 6, and so on...