Playable Classes

After choosing their race, players choose their main class and then their path within that class. Players select their path first - starting armaments are determined by the chosen path, not the main class.

Each path offers two starting armament sets. Players choose one set at the start. Both sets are valid for that path - the choice comes down to playstyle. For example, an Avenger choosing the Cleric path may start with a shield and 1h blunt weapon, or a 2h blunt weapon.

Beyond the starting sets, characters may use any weapon or armor they can physically carry, as long as they have chosen the class and path that allows it at their current point of progression, and they meet the Strength and capacity requirements to carry it. Armament options expand with each path and branch as characters progress.

Players manage their Abilities with cards. The Starter Set includes classes up to Level 5 only.

For instance, an Avenger, which later has path choices between; Cleric, Monk and Priest, will choose Abilities that can be used only with their weapon choice(s). They can choose more than one weapon, if they're strong enough to carry it.

An example: Garoth chooses the main class avenger, looks at the Ability Cards (see SORC Cards - Action) for this class, its path and later its path's branch and chooses the basic armaments; a heavy canvas ghee armor set and a quarter staff as his weapon. This weapon gets him through the first three given avenger Abilities, and the proficiency of learning Abilities in the Monk path (see below). As an avenger, he could have also chosen a 1h hammer and shield or 2h mace, or several other combinations of weapon combinations.

He also notices that later in the Monk path, he'll be able to use Abilities that allow him to strike with one hand and chooses a holy symbol related to his higher power of choice that he would be able to hold in the other hand later.

Note: certain monk classes can eventually dual wield, using a quarterstaff in their mainhand and a smaller weapon in their offhand.

The heavy ghee will have less of an Armor Score (AS) than Plate, but he'll have more mobility which will add to his overall Protection Score (PROTS). More on combat below.

Each class below offers Unique bonuses and Penalties - referred to as native bonuses and Penalties - and thereafter has its own combat Abilities, both martial and caster, and variations of armor and weapon choices through 30 levels.

Two examples:

A fighter class that prefers to use their hands, that excels in the brawler path, will learn to use environmental objects well, can develop tough skin, and also learn proficiency in a wide variety of weaponry, but they'll have already passed up a lot of that weapon's proficiency during bare knuckle brawling style combat.

An Avenger, restricted to blunt weapons only, that chooses the priest path can eventually use daggers if they choose the Salii branch.

Note: some path restrictions can be unlocked or overridden through specific branches as characters progress - such as the Avenger main class, whose Priest path's Salii branch unlocks the use of magical daggers. Salii daggers must be enchanted before the Salii can use them - they cannot be coated with poisons or carry other applied effects, but may be used to strike and cast. Other class paths carry similar branch-specific rules regarding restrictions and unlocks.

Players are not restricted to what weapon they can use, but they won't be able to use them unless they have chosen Abilities that utilize them. For instance the level 4 monk can buy a sword, but they'd have to wait until level 5 and choose a new main class tree, such as warrior earning its first native Ability that allows the use of the sword. Bear in mind the monk, now a monk/warrior sacrificed learning the second Ability in the monk path.

Moving along, there are other restrictions that don't allow the use of armaments, such as agility prerequisites for certain ranged Abilities, strength or charisma to wear certain armor, and path restrictions to weapon types; eg. † monks and † clerics can't use edged weapons, and warlocks cannot use holy weapons while paladins can't use unholy weapons; however paladins are not restricted to any weapon type, unless they don't meet other requirements, such as the agility prerequisite to use a bow.

† Line paladins, monks and clerics cannot use unholy weapons, unless they fall and upset the higher power of their choice which will restrict the use of all Abilities and powers of the tree; however †fallen classes have their own main class trees that require 10 levels in their former main class as they sustained restrictions until no longer usable.

† Fallen and Risen classes are detailed below and further in the GM Codex.

Each main class tree, from its first native Ability through the third branch, contains a total of 30 Abilities which grow exponentially in power. The jump between each Ability is not linear - the gap between Ability 29 and the 30th Ability is the largest in the tree, with the 30th Ability being substantially more powerful than all that come before it. This gives players tough decisions to make between choosing power or diversity among ability choices.

The 59 Ability cap ensures no character can fully max two class trees. At most, one tree can reach 30.

With a maximum of 3 weapons carried and the Choose Weapons Per Day rule (see Combat), a character cannot activate Abilities from every class tree in a single session regardless of how many they possess. This makes wide-spread Ability investment genuinely viable across a campaign - unused trees become available when the situation calls for them, even if they sit idle in a given day's session.

These Abilities increase in potency as players advance within their chosen class paths, with the most powerful Abilities appearing toward the end of the tree. However, players are not restricted to only one class tree; instead, they can select Abilities from multiple trees to create versatile or specialized characters, provided they meet the proficiency requirements for the weapons and gear associated with each tree. To learn new Abilities, characters must visit trainers scattered across the world, which may involve undertaking quests or exploring dangerous areas.

If a character levels up deep within a dungeon or remote location, they can potentially use their Wayfarer skill - if available - or coordinate with other group members, such as mages or nearby trainers, to mark locations for later visits. This mechanic encourages strategic planning and resource management, as players balance their desire for powerful Abilities with the time and risk involved in learning new skills, ensuring that character growth remains a dynamic and engaging aspect of gameplay.

Below are the playable main class trees, their paths and path branches (Abilities for each class under heavy development). Bonuses and Penalties are restrictions and bonuses to equipment. How equipment affects the character beyond the class modifications, such as; "lose a movement then if wearing plate" or "bonus to charisma if wearing plate" is entirely up to how the character plays their role(s), particularly since players can choose as many class trees as they want, as long as they don't exceed the Ability cap.

Main Classes, Paths and Branches

Playable Class Details or back to Playable Classes (above).

Fallen and Risen Classes

Only classes bound to a Higher Power are capable of falling or rising. These are classes whose Abilities are granted by an external force - their alignment, oaths, and relationship with that power are the foundation of everything they can do.

Which Classes Can Fall or Rise

Lawful classes (Paladins, Clerics, Monks, Overseers, Avengers, etc.) - bound to divine or lawful Higher Powers - may Fall.

Dark classes (Warlocks, Witches, Tyrants, Doom Knights, etc.) - bound to evil or chaotic Higher Powers - may Rise.

Beginning the Path

A character may begin falling or rising at the very start of their main class creation. This choice does not go unnoticed. Their Higher Power begins applying penalties immediately, stripping buffs, weakening granted Abilities, and sending adversaries or tests to challenge their resolve. Survival on this path to level 20 is genuinely difficult, and that is by design.

A character may also begin falling or rising without declaring it at creation. The GM tracks this through the character's accumulated Boasted and Exposed Titles - as one side outweighs the other, the character's Higher Power takes notice, and the same insuing penalties and bonuses described above begin to apply immediately, well before level 20. At level 20, the GM averages the character's Boasted and Exposed Titles to determine whether the fall or rise is confirmed. See the GM Codex for the full mechanic on weighing Titles toward this average.

The Level 20 Gate

A character can only fall or rise at exactly level 20 - no earlier, no later. Before that point they exist in between, penalized by their old power, not yet claimed by the new one. By chance, the higher power in question will most definitely attempt to stop the transition, but you're also protected by your new higher power. Nevertheless, you may not survive.

What Happens at Level 20

When a character fully falls or rises:

• They lose 10 Abilities permanently.
• Their remaining Abilities weaken, shift, and transfer, changing in flavor and effect to reflect their new alignment. Each ability tree they drew from is locked.
• Of the 20 Abilities held at this point - 3 native and 17 path - 10 are lost, leaving 10 carried into the new tree.
• The standard 59 Ability cap still applies from this point forward.

The Two Trees

There are only two paths available to fallen and risen characters:

• The Fallen Tree - for lawful classes who have abandoned their oaths and Higher Power. Paladins, Clerics, Monks and others who fall enter here.
• The Risen Tree - for dark classes who have turned toward the light. Warlocks, Witches, Tyrants, Doom Knights and others who rise enter here.

Each tree has three branches of 30 Abilities each, consistent with every other class tree. Since the transition occurs at level 20 and branches do not begin until Ability 21, no character will have chosen a branch at this point - that choice lies ahead in the new tree.

Fallen and Risen are themselves the new main class. As with all classes, characters may still draw from any other compatible class trees up to the 59 Ability cap - alignment restrictions continue to apply.

What Makes These Abilities Different

Fallen and Risen Abilities are slightly more powerful than standard class Abilities, but the real distinction is in their nature and duration. Fallen Abilities lean toward exclusive harm-causing effects that linger, debuffs, corruptions, and damage that are dramatically exaggerated in how they are applied and persists a bit longer over time than their regular counterparts. Risen Abilities lean toward healing and restorative effects that last longer than their standard counterparts, and tend to do so in a completely different nature than the ordinary. The biggest challenge and reward is surviving the path to get there.

Advantages

• Access to a unique hybrid ability set blending remnants of their old class with the power of their new tree.
• Fallen and Risen Abilities carry longer lasting effects than standard class Abilities of the same level.
• Fallen and Risen characters carry unique titles and are recognized, or feared, across Essentia.
• Because old ability trees are locked rather than erased, certain redemption paths may exist to reclaim dormant Abilities. See the GM Codex.

A Note on Prestige

Falling or rising dramatically affects a character's Prestige, alignment, reputation, and faction standing. Former allies may become enemies. New and unexpected alliances become possible. These are not just mechanical changes, they reshape the character's story entirely.