Since you're not asking a Perl question, rather a game design quesiton I'm confused as to why you're posting here. However, so far:
C:\>perl rpg.pl
And adventure awaits to the east, do you wish to embark?
1 for yes, 2 for no
1
You find an old Katana, strength + 20
You pick up some ancient armor, def + 100
A wolf appears
You attack the wolf for 43
The wolf retaliates with 150
The wolf has 58 health, you have 205
You attack the wolf for 45
The wolf retaliates with 150
The wolf has 13 health, you have 105
You attack the wolf for 54
The wolf retaliates with 150
The wolf has -41 health, you have -45
You defeated the monster
You gained 101 XP
You are now level 2 on stage 1
***************
***New Stats***
***************
LEVEL2
Base strength 21
Extra strength 46
Max HP 207
Def 276
You are now level 3 on stage 1
***************
***New Stats***
***************
LEVEL3
Base strength 23
Extra strength 58
Max HP 209
Def 353
You are now level 4 on stage 1
***************
***New Stats***
***************
LEVEL4
Base strength 26
Extra strength 71
Max HP 212
Def 431
You are now level 5 on stage 1
***************
***New Stats***
***************
LEVEL5
Base strength 30
Extra strength 85
Max HP 216
Def 510
You are now level 6 on stage 1
***************
***New Stats***
***************
LEVEL6
Base strength 35
Extra strength 100
Max HP 221
Def 590
You are now level 7 on stage 1
***************
***New Stats***
***************
LEVEL7
Base strength 41
Extra strength 116
Max HP 227
Def 671
You are now level 8 on stage 1
***************
***New Stats***
***************
LEVEL8
Base strength 48
Extra strength 133
Max HP 234
Def 753
You are now level 9 on stage 1
***************
***New Stats***
***************
LEVEL9
Base strength 56
Extra strength 151
Max HP 242
Def 836
Do you wish to go forwards, stay or retreat?
1 for trucking on east, 2 for staying 3 for retreating
At this point I've pressed one button, this one decision has resulted in all the action taking place. I'm now level 9 for deciding to play the game by pressing '1' rather than the script dying at line 120 with an "uncaught exception" (which occurs when you select "2" rather than "1").
The game lacks any real user involvement I've experienced with other text based RPGs. If you want it to be interesting for people I suggest more user involvement, less automated actions. Perhaps you should check out some other games of this nature and see how they engage users.
Update: Added option "2" explanation.