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The Primer for the ruleset can be found here. There will be some modifications. Reading this will give you a general overview of the statistics, what they do, and what the basic classes are. However, I'll go into a little further detail here. Characters will be built at 26 points, and 300% growth rates. Lords have 31 points, and 320%. As a slight balancing point for online play, Lords will not gain their personal skill until promotion. (That skill will probably be Nihil, anyway.)
NOTE: All characters possess strength and magic, but you are not *required* to allocate points to the skill you do not use (Magic, in the case of physical classes). Note that some classes may benefit from both skills (Such as Troubadors), or any class that utilises magic swords.
Personal skills will show up in the next post. Each character gets one, but not all personal skills are created equal. Some of them will reduce your total growth percentages (Such as Elite).
You should also choose your character's affinity, which is the element of creation they are most closely related to. Normally, this reflects on their personality or class. Available elements are Fire, Thunder, Wind, Ice, Light, Darkness, Anima, Water, Heaven, and Earth. Affinities are primarially part of the support system, and determine which statistics are improved when you fight alongside someone you hold a personal bond with. Certain statistics suit certain classes better than others, but they are all effective. Lone wolf characters can expect to die alone and unloved.
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The Weapon Triangle (Now with Magic!): Or "How I knew the Black Knight was going to defeat Greil in FE10"
There are three primary melee weapon classes in Fire Emblem, and three associated magic tome types. They are Swords (Light), Lances (Anima), and Axes (Dark). Swords have an advantage agaisnt axes, whom in turn have an advantage agaisnt lances, which also have an advantage agaisnt swords.
The advantage is not harrowing, but it is extremely important in the early levels. A weapon with an advantage will have 15% more accuracy and 1 more damage, wheras an ineffective weapon will lose 15% accuracy and 1 damage, resulting in a 2-damage, 30% accuracy gulf between them. In effect, you would need 7-8 speed and skill, and 1 defense and strength advantage over an enemy to break even with him when fighting at a disadvantage. Conversely, it is an excellent way to deal with enemies much higher level than you.
Certain classes focus in a single weapon type, becoming very potent with it, while other classes focus on mastery of the weapon triangle. While a swordmaster and paladin of equal level fighting with swords would favor the swordsman, the paladin can use lances, which would put him at an advantage. These are guidelines however, as there exist weapons and skills that put even the most overpowered and statistically superior characters at risk should they haplessly blunder into an enemy column with as few as one enemy designed to counter them. (Give the paladin a swordslayer and the swordmaster a longsword and see what happens.)
That said, on to the classes!
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Infantry units, Swordfighters- (Myrmidons, Mercenaries)
Foot infantry units make up the anvil of an army, having few glaring weaknesses besides their middling movement speed. Mercenaries and Myrmidons weild swords, giving them excellent accuracy in exchange for low damage. Mercenaries take a holistic view on stats, being well-rounded, while Myrmidons focus on skill and speed at the cost of strength and defense, focusing on the sword's advantages.
Lancers- (Soldiers, Knights)
Foot lancers are arguably the most anvilicious infantry unit, boasting high defense and a balanced weapon, as the lance takes the middle of the road between accuracy and damage. Soldiers take balanced stats with a favoring for speed and skill, while knights lay on the defense, but are armored units, vulnerable to anti-armor weapons such as the armorslayer, heavy lance, and hammer.
Axemen- (Fighters, Pirates)
Foot axemen boast high damage with dicey accuracy prospects. Universally focused on strength, they serve as excellent units to break lance lines and defeat heavily armored knights. Fighters take advantage of forest and mountain tiles, while Pirates are capable of moving over water and sea tiles.
Archers- (Archer, Hunter)
Foot archers deal damage at 2 tiles, often behind their melee companions to avoid counterattack. They cannot fight in melee, as they use bows, but are extremely effective agaisnt flying units. Hunters tend to have higher strength, but less defense. They may also operate ballistae found on the map to strike at significant range.
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Mounted units, Swordfighters- (Free Knight, Social Knight)
Like their swordman brethren, sword knights focus on the sword, but ride horses to vastly increase their movement rate on the ground. They also possess the canto skill, as do all riders, allowing them to move after attacking with the remainder of their movement points. Free knights focus on the sword, while Social Knights (known as Caviliers in the recent games) use swords and lances (If you wish to be a Social Knight, you may start with both the sword and lance proficiencies, but at the cost of not gaining another proficiency at promotion, and -2 to your starting stats.)
Mounted units, Lancers- (Lance Knight, Social Knight)
Like soldiers on horseback, lancers gain speed at the cost of their infantry counterpart's solid defense. While still able to hold their own, lance knights have the ability to combine the javelin with their canto ability to strike enemies at range and flee any reprisal, making them excellent skirmishers.
Mounted units, Axemen- (Axe Knight)
Lacking the pirate's ability to move over water or the fighter's reduced movement penalty for forest tiles, Axe Knights gain the speed of a mount while retaining all the power of their infantry counterpart.
Mounted units, Archers- (Nomad, Arch-Knight)
Like their infantry counterpart, but less reliant on melee screens thanks to their movement and ability to skirmish. Cannot operate ballistae, however.
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Magic units, Mages- (Monk, Mage, Druid)
Mages are offensive casters much like archers, but with inferior defense but higher resistance. They can attack at either one OR two squares, and tend to be effective agaisnt many physical units (whom are, in turn, effective agaisnt them.) Monks use light magic, Mages use anima magic, and Druids use dark mage. Each gains a second type of magic and the ability to use staves upon promotion at level 10-20.
Magic units, Support- (Curate, Cleric, Bard, Dancer)
Foot support units that, in the effective sense of the term, do not attack. Curates (Male) and Clerics (Female) heal with staves, and can use swords to defend themselves, but are usually poor at this unless they possess a magic sword such as the Light Brand. Meanwhile, Bards and Dancers cannot use staves but may play music (or dance) to rejuvinate allied units, allowing them to move again after they have ended their turn. They can also use swords for self defense, albeit poorly. (Add E-rank swords to all of the above classes.)
Magic Units, Support, Mounted- (Troubador)
Troubadors are basically mounted clerics, and almost always female. They can use staves and swords, with the usual advantages and disadvantages of mounted units.
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Flying units, Offensive- (Pegasus Knight)
Noblewomen of knightly families of Makai often train to ride Pegasi and weild lances. They function mostly similar to lance knights but can fly, with a great focus on speed and skill and normally anemic strength and defense, with some exceptions. As with all flying units, they are highly vulnerable to archers and wind magic.
Flying units, Defensive- (Wyvern Knight)
Knights of the empire of Vendalior have been known to take the native Wyverns as their mounts, and in general function similar to pegasus knights, but with a greater focus on defense and more balanced statistics. While not vulnerable to wind magic, they are vulnerable to thunder magic.
(All statistic advisories take into account the general intention of the class and it's promotion statistic caps. It's possible to play cross-type, but you might max your primary skill early at a lower cap than a specialist class.)