Classes and Information
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worldofbalanceI have written out some Character Information for you.
Classes
Mage
Mages are the keystone class for the World of Balance. Charged with maintaining the elemental balance on Libra, they are attuned to one of the six major elements, and casting magical spells based on the elements. While all mages can use some version of the same spell, each type of mage also possesses the strength and weakness of their element:
DRUID – Druids use AIR magic. Like the winds themselves, they are obsessed with speed, sometimes seeming to act at twice the speed of others.
GEOMANCER – Geomancers use EARTH magic. Slow and ponderous to start, they lash out with the very power of the earth itself, slowing, crushing, and drawing their enemies into the ground they stand on.
PYROMANCER – Pyromancers use FIRE magic. They are not subtle, and possess few strategic or utility gifts, save for raw, unadulterated power. Quantity is its own kind of quality.
CRYOMANCER – Cryomancers use ICE magic. They use icy temperatures and crushing cold to stall their enemies, sometimes never even allowing them to make a single move.
NECROMANCER – Necromancers use LIFE magic. They draw the life from targets, causing them to die. Necromancers cripple their opponents, and deal with the corporeal dead.
CLERIC – Clerics use DEATH magic. They draw death from their targets, which rather than enemies tend to be allies, healing wounds, removing detrimental effects, and generally being helpful.
Note: To understand how mages work, a mage draws their element from the world around them, and uses it. As such, they tend to cause the world around them to lose the effect of the element. A fire mage draws heat from the world around them, causing it to become colder, so they can use it offensively.
Technically, Mages are one class, existing outside the triangle of classes listed below, and each elemental attunement both empowers and confines them. Choose wisely...
Warriors
Warriors occupy the first third of the triangle between Warriors, Ranged, and Shadows. Warriors are straightforward, strength-based characters that are straightforward, sturdy, and are primarily occupied with melee attacks and physical defense.
KNIGHT – Knights use one-handed swords and shields. Knights are tanks, defenders of others. They tend to take an active role in protecting others, including throwing themselves in the very way of danger to protect their charges.
PALADIN – Paladins use one-handed maces and shields. Paladins are tanks, but rather than actively defending others, they tend to be largely reactive, striking back at those who dare to harm their friends. They have a limited healing capability.
DARK KNIGHT – Dark Knights use two-handed swords or maces, and can perform a tanking role to a limited capability by dealing excessive amounts of damage at the cost of their own health, as well as draining health from targets and inflicting some kinds of status effects.
GLADIATOR – Gladiators use two-handed axes, and are capable of inflicting large amounts of damage to single targets, primarily using Finishers based on the target's HP.
LANCER – Lancers use polearms, and while their single-target damage is less, they are capable of doing more AoE damage, and possess utility abilities to help others.
BERSERKER – Berserkers use two one-handed axes, and perform manoeuvres based on Main-Hand, Off-Hand, and then Simultaneous Strike mechanics.
Warriors are weak against the attacks from Ranged characters, but resistant to the attacks from Shadows.
Ranged
Ranged occupy the second third of the triangle between Warriors, Ranged, and Shadows. Ranged characters use distance to their advantage in a variety of ways, from bows and guns to explosives, to pretty much whatever they can pick up off the ground and throw.
ALCHEMIST – Alchemists create and use volatile concoctions, throwing them at their enemies or sometimes mixing them together for new results. Alchemists use poison against their enemies to great effect.
ENGINEER – Engineers use guns and explosives to create devastating AoE effects, though they ultimately deal less damage over time. Since engineering is not an exact science so much as a science, success and failure can ultimately be dependent on luck.
BARD – Bards use a Bow-Lute, which fires bolts of sound as though they were arrows, and use songs to benefit their allies and hinder their enemies. This makes for a highly utilitarian, but not particularly devastating occupation.
SNIPER – Snipers use guns, and can take advantage of range to deal direct, single-target damage, with their most prized ability is to Aim, sacrificing time to deal more damage.
RANGER – Rangers can use terrain advantage to allow them to make more accurate and more devastating bow shots.
HURLER – Hurlers are the masters of improvised weaponry: so long as it might be thrown, it becomes deadly in their hands. In many cases, they simply pick up whatever is nearby, or even unusual objects, so long as they have a damaging component to them.
Ranged are weak against the attacks of Shadows, but are strong against Warriors.
Shadows
Shadows occupy the final third of the triangle between Warriors, Ranged, and Shadows. Shadows vary between distance and melee attacks, but primarily are occupied with disrupting the flow of battle by acting in unusual ways.
DEATHDEALER – Deathdealers function as assassins, ninjas, and thieves, and can disrupt the benefits of front and back rows during combat. They primarily deal single-target damage and use poison.
MIMIC – Mimics are copycats, emulating and absorbing attacks and spells performed by both enemies and allies.
DUELLIST – Duellists use one-handed swords, and primarily focus on single-target, swift attacks and using speed to avoid damage.
EARTHWALKER – Earthwalkers are unarmed fighters, using their bare fists to find weaknesses in their targets using an attack with a follow-through.
MEDIATOR – Mediators rarely attack directly, instead directing others to make attacks, or forcing enemies to turn on one another. They may also negotiate with creatures, commanding them or bribing them to hand over objects or leave battle.
BLACKGUARD – Blackguards are thugs, stealing from enemies, distracting them, sometimes even assaulting them once their prizes are given up. What they lack for in damage they make up for in cunning and brutality.
Shadows are weak against Warrior attacks, but are strong against Ranged opponents.
It is ideal, though not strictly necessary, to possess one of each of the four categories of classes in an adventuring group.
Character History
While many of the details of Libra may be filled in over time, there are some character details that will help shape the adventure as it takes place, which requires players to answer questions about their characters:
Where are you from?
There are six major nations on Libra, each of which have a series of characteristics and a history. You may make up non-Capital cities, locations, etc. so that you might form your history, and the additions will be made to the world. You might also consider the idea that where you were born is not where you were meant to live, and that you might actually be moving, rather than simply adventuring or travelling from one point to another.
Why are you involved?
If you are a Mage, your job was decided at birth: your job is to maintain balance. The prospect of another unbalancing is frightening beyond words and Libra's citizens have an obligation to protect you so that you may do your job. Obligation, however, encompasses a very large number of things, from meriting the aid of mercenaries for hire, to gathering about you a coterie of loyal followers. Are you on a simple journey across the lands, or do you seek a specific goal?
What are your goals?
Sometimes, it is about the destination: where is your end point? Where do you want to be when this ends? It is not uncommon for journeys to take one across the length and breadth of the continent, nor is it unusual to remain within a single country and protect it from its foes.
Sometimes, it's about the journey: what do you want to accomplish? In what ways do you wish to grow as a person and as a group? Are you searching for something within and without? Consider this as you take your first steps.
Who do you know?
Some that wander are largely unfamiliar with the wider world when they leave, while others are deeply immersed in the political situation in various nations. How much, or how little, you know can significantly influence the steps that you take and the journeys you make across Libra.
Remember: not all who wander are lost. Good luck, Adventurers.
Classes
Mage
Mages are the keystone class for the World of Balance. Charged with maintaining the elemental balance on Libra, they are attuned to one of the six major elements, and casting magical spells based on the elements. While all mages can use some version of the same spell, each type of mage also possesses the strength and weakness of their element:
DRUID – Druids use AIR magic. Like the winds themselves, they are obsessed with speed, sometimes seeming to act at twice the speed of others.
GEOMANCER – Geomancers use EARTH magic. Slow and ponderous to start, they lash out with the very power of the earth itself, slowing, crushing, and drawing their enemies into the ground they stand on.
PYROMANCER – Pyromancers use FIRE magic. They are not subtle, and possess few strategic or utility gifts, save for raw, unadulterated power. Quantity is its own kind of quality.
CRYOMANCER – Cryomancers use ICE magic. They use icy temperatures and crushing cold to stall their enemies, sometimes never even allowing them to make a single move.
NECROMANCER – Necromancers use LIFE magic. They draw the life from targets, causing them to die. Necromancers cripple their opponents, and deal with the corporeal dead.
CLERIC – Clerics use DEATH magic. They draw death from their targets, which rather than enemies tend to be allies, healing wounds, removing detrimental effects, and generally being helpful.
Note: To understand how mages work, a mage draws their element from the world around them, and uses it. As such, they tend to cause the world around them to lose the effect of the element. A fire mage draws heat from the world around them, causing it to become colder, so they can use it offensively.
Technically, Mages are one class, existing outside the triangle of classes listed below, and each elemental attunement both empowers and confines them. Choose wisely...
Warriors
Warriors occupy the first third of the triangle between Warriors, Ranged, and Shadows. Warriors are straightforward, strength-based characters that are straightforward, sturdy, and are primarily occupied with melee attacks and physical defense.
KNIGHT – Knights use one-handed swords and shields. Knights are tanks, defenders of others. They tend to take an active role in protecting others, including throwing themselves in the very way of danger to protect their charges.
PALADIN – Paladins use one-handed maces and shields. Paladins are tanks, but rather than actively defending others, they tend to be largely reactive, striking back at those who dare to harm their friends. They have a limited healing capability.
DARK KNIGHT – Dark Knights use two-handed swords or maces, and can perform a tanking role to a limited capability by dealing excessive amounts of damage at the cost of their own health, as well as draining health from targets and inflicting some kinds of status effects.
GLADIATOR – Gladiators use two-handed axes, and are capable of inflicting large amounts of damage to single targets, primarily using Finishers based on the target's HP.
LANCER – Lancers use polearms, and while their single-target damage is less, they are capable of doing more AoE damage, and possess utility abilities to help others.
BERSERKER – Berserkers use two one-handed axes, and perform manoeuvres based on Main-Hand, Off-Hand, and then Simultaneous Strike mechanics.
Warriors are weak against the attacks from Ranged characters, but resistant to the attacks from Shadows.
Ranged
Ranged occupy the second third of the triangle between Warriors, Ranged, and Shadows. Ranged characters use distance to their advantage in a variety of ways, from bows and guns to explosives, to pretty much whatever they can pick up off the ground and throw.
ALCHEMIST – Alchemists create and use volatile concoctions, throwing them at their enemies or sometimes mixing them together for new results. Alchemists use poison against their enemies to great effect.
ENGINEER – Engineers use guns and explosives to create devastating AoE effects, though they ultimately deal less damage over time. Since engineering is not an exact science so much as a science, success and failure can ultimately be dependent on luck.
BARD – Bards use a Bow-Lute, which fires bolts of sound as though they were arrows, and use songs to benefit their allies and hinder their enemies. This makes for a highly utilitarian, but not particularly devastating occupation.
SNIPER – Snipers use guns, and can take advantage of range to deal direct, single-target damage, with their most prized ability is to Aim, sacrificing time to deal more damage.
RANGER – Rangers can use terrain advantage to allow them to make more accurate and more devastating bow shots.
HURLER – Hurlers are the masters of improvised weaponry: so long as it might be thrown, it becomes deadly in their hands. In many cases, they simply pick up whatever is nearby, or even unusual objects, so long as they have a damaging component to them.
Ranged are weak against the attacks of Shadows, but are strong against Warriors.
Shadows
Shadows occupy the final third of the triangle between Warriors, Ranged, and Shadows. Shadows vary between distance and melee attacks, but primarily are occupied with disrupting the flow of battle by acting in unusual ways.
DEATHDEALER – Deathdealers function as assassins, ninjas, and thieves, and can disrupt the benefits of front and back rows during combat. They primarily deal single-target damage and use poison.
MIMIC – Mimics are copycats, emulating and absorbing attacks and spells performed by both enemies and allies.
DUELLIST – Duellists use one-handed swords, and primarily focus on single-target, swift attacks and using speed to avoid damage.
EARTHWALKER – Earthwalkers are unarmed fighters, using their bare fists to find weaknesses in their targets using an attack with a follow-through.
MEDIATOR – Mediators rarely attack directly, instead directing others to make attacks, or forcing enemies to turn on one another. They may also negotiate with creatures, commanding them or bribing them to hand over objects or leave battle.
BLACKGUARD – Blackguards are thugs, stealing from enemies, distracting them, sometimes even assaulting them once their prizes are given up. What they lack for in damage they make up for in cunning and brutality.
Shadows are weak against Warrior attacks, but are strong against Ranged opponents.
It is ideal, though not strictly necessary, to possess one of each of the four categories of classes in an adventuring group.
Character History
While many of the details of Libra may be filled in over time, there are some character details that will help shape the adventure as it takes place, which requires players to answer questions about their characters:
Where are you from?
There are six major nations on Libra, each of which have a series of characteristics and a history. You may make up non-Capital cities, locations, etc. so that you might form your history, and the additions will be made to the world. You might also consider the idea that where you were born is not where you were meant to live, and that you might actually be moving, rather than simply adventuring or travelling from one point to another.
Why are you involved?
If you are a Mage, your job was decided at birth: your job is to maintain balance. The prospect of another unbalancing is frightening beyond words and Libra's citizens have an obligation to protect you so that you may do your job. Obligation, however, encompasses a very large number of things, from meriting the aid of mercenaries for hire, to gathering about you a coterie of loyal followers. Are you on a simple journey across the lands, or do you seek a specific goal?
What are your goals?
Sometimes, it is about the destination: where is your end point? Where do you want to be when this ends? It is not uncommon for journeys to take one across the length and breadth of the continent, nor is it unusual to remain within a single country and protect it from its foes.
Sometimes, it's about the journey: what do you want to accomplish? In what ways do you wish to grow as a person and as a group? Are you searching for something within and without? Consider this as you take your first steps.
Who do you know?
Some that wander are largely unfamiliar with the wider world when they leave, while others are deeply immersed in the political situation in various nations. How much, or how little, you know can significantly influence the steps that you take and the journeys you make across Libra.
Remember: not all who wander are lost. Good luck, Adventurers.
