Class History & Archetypes

About Class History: The write-ups below include an incomplete history of each of the classes. In all cases, there’s more to the history of these classes than what is written below – and some of it is one and the same as the history of the world itself. Much of what is described below is not necessarily common knowledge, but would be accessible to a historian of reasonable level.

About Class Archetypes: The archetypes described below – and as they are used in the class system – are in no way a strict, formal system of category. They’re simply a way to describe common variations of the classes as they exist right now. A good way to think of them is as a tool, not a rule – they can and will shift with time, and are neither all-encompassing nor inherently true. Many of them have additional archetypes, often tied to place (“Oldmin Knight” or “Falnin Duelist”) or to particular histories; but realistically, all of the archetypes have a significant amount of overlap – otherwise, they wouldn’t be part of the same class.

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Knight

Mercenary

History: Mercenaries don’t come from any single source, but developed over time as a response to threats and conflicts of all kinds. They have always been more common during harsher times; and in many of these times, have often filled in for adventurers in terms of the services they’ve provided and deeds they’ve done on behalf of places and people they come across in their travels. Mercenaries as we know them now are woven from several other classes; these classes included a great deal of travel through wild spaces, combat when it becomes a true slog, and handling people in the midst of less-than-savory, less-than-ideal situations.

Misconceptions: Mercenaries are not known for the sort of holding vulnerable settlements hostage or taking advantage of their hospitality that they might be known for in other contexts. Hiring a mercenary is a bit more like hiring a handyman – someone who knows how to get the job done, be it fixing your fridge or driving out a nest of giant spiders. There are good ones, and there are bad ones – but overall they’re helpful to have around. Reputation tends to be very important to mercenaries.

Archetypes:

• Veteran: This is the type of Mercenary who has seen everything and done everything, and not much surprises them anymore; these are the types that focus on preventing their opponents from laying any effect on them, and the “basic” archetype of Mercenary. They have a great deal in common with soldiers priority-wise, both in their outlook and in that this type of Mercenary is the most likely to take jobs to work with armies during times of war. The Veteran archetype of Mercenary is also the one most likely to join up with a mercenary company and take on jobs or bounties as a way to earn their keep.
• Traveler: The Traveler archetype of Mercenary spends a great deal of time on the roads and in wilderness both, and in many ways resemble rangers or vikings in terms of their skillset and priorities. Like Veterans, Travelers are likely to join up with mercenary companies and hire themselves out to people or villages in need; but unlike Veterans, Travelers are also likely to head out into the wilderness in search of old ruins or dungeons and in search of dangerous enemies that might be growing unchecked in the hidden places of the world. Traveler archetype Mercenaries tend to have a nagging sense of wanderlust and have a hard time settling down anywhere for very long.
• Brute: As the name might suggest, Brutes are the archetype of Mercenary that is known for being brutal. As a rule, people are less likely to bother you if they know that you can and will absolutely destroy you if you cross them; and at the end of the day, fewer people messing with you will make your life easier. This is the archetype of Mercenary most likely to take long-term jobs as muscle, caravan guards, or bouncers; and the archetype of Mercenary most likely to get involved with illicit activities, since they’re often willing to stomach lines that other Mercenaries won’t cross. Brute archetypes are the most likely to stay on their home turf and travel the least.

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Cleric

History: Clerics have taken many forms throughout the world’s history. Because of this, they are the warrior class most likely to have the least warrior-like skillset; many of these skillsets are older than clerics-as-warriors, and are in many ways more essential to the class than their fighting abilities. Clerics are on the older end so far as classes go.

Misconceptions: Clerics do not have to be devoted to one deity, or even anything at all; belief in something is key, but that something could be anything from karma to the importance of community. Clerics are also not super-zealous recruitment-machines by default or even in general; it certainly happens sometimes, but the vast majority are just out here trying to do well by whatever they believe in.

Archetypes:

• (name pending): This archetype of Cleric is the baseline archetype of Cleric, and mostly has to do with healing and protection. They’re the most people-oriented archetype of Cleric, and approach community-building from making sure that everyone is taken care of before anything else. They are generally the most grounded of the Cleric archetypes, and tend towards less showy and more humble overall. They’re well-rounded, and good to have around both in a straight fight and when it comes time to talk something through.
• Divine Warrior: The Divine Warrior archetype of Cleric is the most warlike, combative archetype of Cleric. They are less about making friends and more about eliminating enemies or sources of danger. Divine Warriors are often oriented either towards particular kinds of danger, or more commonly, danger that impacts a particular kind of group or entity. They can be harsher than other Cleric archetypes, more perfectionistic, and sometimes more introverted, but that doesn’t mean that they’re unfriendly or unkind.
• Invoker: This archetype of Cleric has the most to do with blessings, curses, and calling down the assistance of any number of deities or supernatural forces. They don’t necessarily favor any particular deity – you’re just as likely to get a Priest who calls on the right entity for the right circumstances as one who builds a relationship with a favored one or two. They are also the least combat-oriented, most mage-like of the Cleric archetypes.

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Viking

History: Vikings are not originally from Falnorian. Falnorian as we know it has little coastal access and few bodies of water navigable by true ships; and Viking, with the element of sea being so core to it, would have had no chance to develop here on its own. The crucial element that comes with Viking is that Vikings are explorers in the truest sense. We think of rangers as explorers because we associate exploration with nature and wild spaces; but rangers have always been more like to establish and roam their own home territories, whereas Vikings have always been the ones to push to the edge of the map and keep pushing. Vikings are one of the younger classes in Falnorian, and don’t have the same rooted history as many of the others.

Misconceptions: Vikings are not raid, pillage, colonize, brutalize; while these are all things they are capable of in a personal sense, they have no more tendencies as a group towards it than any other class.

Archetypes:

• Triumphant: The Triumphant archetype is the baseline archetype of Viking. Triumphant archetypes can basically be summed up as “here to have a good time”. They most express the contented side of Viking – they’re less concerned with where we’re going as long as we have fun along the way (and a good story to tell afterwards!). This is the archetype that most favors the strength element of Viking, and the type that does the best at turning a metaphorical snowball into an avalanche.
• Berserker: The Berserker archetype of Viking is, unsurprisingly, all about the berserking element of Viking. They’re all about tapping into intensity and flow – if you’re going to do something, do it as hard as you can, even if that means face-checking the problem and wrecking your own in the process. They’re a more serious, hard-core version of Viking and generally have neither time nor patience for inefficiencies or wishy-washiness – Berserkers are all about commitment and powering through problems.
• Explorer: The Explorer archetype is the archetype of Viking most oriented towards exploration. These are the sailors and the seekers of the unknown; their skillset and interests are geared less towards a fight with other beings and more towards a fight with the elements – with the weather, the wind, the sea and rivers, with mudslides or mudmires or debris. Explorers are less about raw strength and more about stamina – the strength that it takes to push through trouble, not just beat it down.

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Sentinel

History: Sentinels are the youngest of the Falnorian classes. Traditionally, their niche was filled by martial artists; martial artists had much the same role as peacekeepers and mediators – although with a much more flexible, swift, semi-martial bent. Sentinels were established by Falnin to replace martial artists when they were recalled; and, since this was around the time that Falnin was beginning to become more militant, that peacekeeping role was reincarnated as a warrior. Both Knight and other influences were drawn on in the making of Sentinel; and there are ways in which Sentinel has encroached on Knight’s traditional sphere of influence that mirror the way that Falnin overtook Oldmin/Belmin’s traditional sphere of influence.

Misconceptions: Sentinels are not police and don’t behave like police as we know them in the real world. They’re peacekeepers who mediate conflict, not enforcers who enforce rules.

Archetypes:

• Bodyguard: The Bodyguard archetype is the base archetype for Sentinel; as the name suggests, this archetype of Sentinel is mostly about body-blocking and the dealing with combat on the field. They’re the ones who plant themselves in the way of an oncoming wave, or who stick by another party member to make sure they stay up. They’re the most combative archetype by far – not in the sense that they seek out combat, but that they’re most comfortable in combat and know it’s where they shine.
• Constable: The Constable is the archetype of Sentinel most associated with the role as town guards rather than personal guards. Their orientation is more about situational awareness and keeping an eye on things – guarding against danger by seeing it coming. They’re an archetype that’s more about place that person – they’re just as comfortable handling fortifications as they are a town square, as long as they can bunker down and stake out a place to get familiar with.
• Intermediary: The Intermediary archetype is the least combat-oriented, most social of the Sentinel archetypes. Often as not, their goal is to guard against violence by preventing it in the first place – by talking it out, by understanding others’ motives, and by making sure everyone is who and what they say they are.

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Bard

History: Bards are ancient, and they are deeply rooted in the world’s history and what Falnorian is. This is reflected in where they draw the sources of their skills; most of Bard’s abilities are primal – not magical, not spiritual, not divine.

Misconceptions: Bards are not happy-go-lucky, showstealing performers known for wild antics – in Falnorian, that’s Duelist and sometimes Thief. Bards are much more somber here; one might liken them more to court musicians and poets in their temperament and purpose – not court jesters.

Archetypes:

• Reading: Bards of the Reading are the most scholarly of the Bards; their spheres encompass knowledge, reading, writing, stories, poetry, and history. They are the most likely to be teachers in the classic sense, and are the archetype of Bard once most involved in schooling. They seek knowledge not to have, but to share; and not to hold, but to preserve for future generations.
• Making: Bards of the Making are those who tend towards crafting, and often have a calling towards the making of beauty. Someone needs to make the books and the tools and the barns and the musical instruments – and those are the Makers.
• Tending: Bards of the Tending are the archetype of Bard that once occupied the space that was later filled by Healers and Wild Mages. Like the Reading archetype, Tending Bards are likely teachers; but they are more likely to teach by example than by direct instruction, and are the holders of lessons about values rather than about knowledge. They also tend to orient themselves more closely with nature, be it as farmers and gardeners or as foresters – anything that lets them fill the role of caretaker.

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Assassin

History: Assassins’ roots go back to something more akin to rangers, bandits, messengers, or mercenaries; while assassins and thieves are often thought of in the same breath, so far as their origins go the two have little in common. Assassins have often existed on the edges: of roads, of cities, of society – which gives them a unique position to see many perspectives, but also leaves them the outcast in most places they set foot.

Misconceptions: Assassins aren’t criminals or paid killers by default, nor by norm. They have as much to do with the flow of delicate information – as spies, diplomats, innkeepers, etc – as they do with killing. Some get paid for murder; most get paid to see without being seen, hear witihout being heard, and know without being known.

Archetypes:

• Evasive: The Evasive archetype of assassin is the most “basic” type; its skillset revolves around maneuverability and staying out of direct confrontations. Evasive types like to slink around the edges of a conflict – be it a fight, an argument, or a rumor war – where they can stay out of harm’s reach but occasionally fling in a well-timed offense of their own. Evasive types are the most likely to operate in gangs or other street-level crime; the more legitimate paths they tend towards include scouts, hunters, or messengers. This is the assassin archetype you are most likely to find outside of towns.
• Informant: The Informant archetype assassin deals primarily in information and rumors: sowing, spreading, and finding out. They are the least combative of the assassin archetypes, and the types most likely to achieve their means through indirect avenues – why kill someone yourself when you can spread a rumor to the right people, and keep your own hands clean? Informant archetypes make for excellent spies and spymasters, and often have more legitimate callings as diplomats, logisticians, and messengers.
• Killer: Killers are the most hands-on of the assassin archetypes, and by far the most combative. They may work with others, or they may work alone; but if you’ve got an assassin directly up in your face mid-fight, chances are they’re a Killer. This is the most brutal archetype of assassin, and the one most likely to lean outright evil. While many do take up the mantle of a true assassin, it’s not uncommon for Killers to work in security, either – both on the ground and behind the scenes, and for either people or places.

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Thief

History: Thieves are, in the most general sense, as old as the concept of ownership; but in a more direct sense, thieves are as old as urban space. While they have their roots in skills that predate them, thieves really blossomed into their own once there were cities – and ruins. They have of course since modernized considerably – something they’ve always been good at – but they’re still quite the amalgamation of odd combinations, and a bit of a puzzle in and of themselves.

Misconceptions: Thieves aren’t necessarily about crime; they’re as much about goods, commerce, market, and city as they are anything else.

Archetypes:

• Pickpocket: The Pickpocket archetype is the “base” Thief archetype; of all the three archetypes, they’re the one that has the least to do with buildings of any kinds and more to do purely with items. They’re the most social of the Thief archetypes, and it’s not uncommon for them to have the shortest attention span and greatest proclivity for improvisation of the three; they may be not unlike duelists in temperament at times.
• Burglar: Burglars are the archetype of thief most associated with urban space as a whole, and the type most keyed-into the architecture and rhythm of a city or town as a whole rather than its individual people. Many Burglars might be described as “scheming”, and they’re the archetype of Thief most likely to make long-term plans and strategies of any kinds – whether for a heist, a marketing campaign, a mission arc, or simply their personal five-year plan.
• Dungeoneer: Dungeoneers are a bit of an oddball so far as Thieves go. While all Thieves tend to enjoy a good puzzle, Dungeoneer archetypes are particularly oriented towards such things. They’re also the least social of the Thief archetypes, and the type likely to be least interested in picking up any people-oriented skills; they’re likely to lean more scholarly-artisan, and more into physical skills beyond just searching. They’re also the type of Thief least keyed to towns, and the sort you’re most likely to find out in far-flung places off the beaten path.

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Duelist

History: Duelists were not always semi-martials, much in the same way that Falnorian’s peacekeepers were not always warriors. This is true in a more recent sense, in that until Sentinels were created Duelists were classified as warriors; but in a much older sense, Duelists are descended from a sphere with much more warrior-like origins. Duelists, like many warriors, are one of the classes that can trace their roots back to Knight; but their course has been more complicated than many of the other classes with the same roots.

Misconceptions: N/A

Archetypes:

• Champion: The Champion archetype of Duelist is the baseline archetype; this is the kind of Duelist who charges headfirst into a problem – most often a battle, but sometimes a puzzle or the literal edge of a cliff – and drives the momentum of a situation forward. They’re the ones who often go out of their way to seek out the most dangerous enemy on the field; not just to deal with it for their party, but also because they want to prove they can.
• Show Fighter: The Show Fighter archetype of Duelist is in many ways the most chill archetype of the lot. They are almost more like Vikings in that they like somewhere comfortable to go at the end of the day – they don’t have the same endless drive inherent to the other archetypes. They’re the most likely to like a routine and to do well when they’re in familiar situations. They tend to approach fights like a puzzle and enjoy mulling through one rather than gunning for the quickest end they can.
• Vigilante: The Vigilante archetype is a bit of a hunter – they tend to specialize rather than generalize, and are the type of Duelist most likely to “play with their food” so to speak. The name “Vigilante” is a bit of a misnomer in that they don’t necessarily specialize in people – though people are often the most fun challenge – or anything approximating justice; a Vigilante could just as easily decide that mudcrabs are their scourge, and take great pleasure in being able to neatly dispatch large quantities of them at great speed. Another name for Vigilante might be “Butcher”.

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Ranger

History: Rangers come somewhat later in history than one might assume; it was only when cities came to be that Rangers, defined by all the spaces that lay between cities, came to be as well. Like Thief, Ranger is made of pieces from many variations of Ranger that developed in many places; but unlike Thief, the many types of Rangers all blended into one whole over time. They have been scouts, road patrols, forest caretakers, and hunters; and these are all roles they still serve in some capacity, but they have in many ways traded depth of any one of these for breadth that encompasses them all.

Misconceptions: Rangers aren’t typically explorers. They may range far and long into unexplored and deeply wild spaces; but they’ll always return home eventually. More characteristic is picking a region or territory and sticking to it; then roaming all throughout it and all along its edges, and perhaps straying just a little out every now and again – but never so far that you’d leave your space unattended for too long.

Archetypes:

• Hunter: The Hunter archetype is the base archetype of Ranger; it has to do primarily with creatures and the living things that populate a region rather than with the land itself. Hunting is indeed a big part of this: poachers, bandits, game hunters and wardens, and scouts all typically fall under the Hunter archetype as a whole. This archetype of Ranger is well-versed in landscape as well, but primarily as a means to an end – as camouflage, as an asset, as obstacle, and as part of understanding the way a creature thinks. Hunters in particular are about precision and perfecting their art; they’re the type to learn everything to know and bring every tool they need for their intended goal (are we fighting a hydra? everyone make sure you have at least one runic weapon, somebody make a torch, etc etc).
• Empath: The Empath archetype is the most magical-leaning of the three Ranger archetypes. That’s not to say that Empaths are especially magical in the grand scheme of things; in a lot of ways, their “magic” comes from a particularly keen sensory awareness. They learn to understand their environment the way a deer or an oak tree understands it – through certain sounds, smells, changes in the air – and work heavily from a place of intuition and feeling rather than bare knowledge. This way of perceiving and understanding does tend to key them into the more magical aspects of the environment, however – things that even other Rangers might miss.
• Wilder: The Wilder archetype is much more in tune with the land itself than the other Ranger archetypes; groundskeepers, wardens, and cartographers would all fall under the Wilder archetype. Additionally, Wilders are the archetype of Ranger most likely to actually go out and explore deep into the wilderness for long distances or long periods of time; they have the least need for other people, and are much more likely to be more comfortable mostly by themselves. They’re also the most likely to feel like they don’t “fit” with the rest of civilization, or maybe with the concept of civilization in general.

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Diviner

History: Diviners, like all mage types, are much newer than they’re often thought of as being. Diviners share some of their origins with other mage types; but unlike the other mages, Diviner has a distinctly other origin source. It is in many ways closer to Cleric than it is to other mages, and as such it every so often touches on odd remnants of its old shape.

Misconceptions: N/A

Archetypes:

• Seer: The Seer archetype of Diviner is the baseline archetype of Diviner, and why Diviner is named so in the first place – Seers are all about divination. Oracles, visions, symbols, dreams, and more all fall solidly in a Seer’s domain. They are very much the watching eye that sees all but is seen by none; that knows, but is unknown. Anything that has to do with the past or future – time – or space, is relevant to a Seer-archetype.
• Researcher: Researchers are the archetype of Diviner that has to do with the flow of information; and particularly, information more rooted in the here-and-now than in future-and-past or the idea of other worlds. Researchers are in many ways librarians in a way that Seers are not – Researchers are the archetype most likely to write their knowledge down in any way that is accessible to others. That’s not to say they’re inclined to share – they may be, or they may not be – but if you want notes, it’s a Researcher-archetype Diviner that you want to talk to.
• Threshold: The Threshold archetype of Diviner is the one that has the most to do with outsiders. These are the archetype you’re most likely going to find summoning – or banishing – a demon, binding an elemental, or invoking the blessings of a deity. They’re also the Diviner most likely to make agreements and pacts with such beings; they’re a bit like the diplomats of Diviner, and interested in the rules at hand and what you can do with information rather than information for its own sake.

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Wild Mage

History: Wild Mage, like Knight, is one of the oldest classes and native to Falnorian. It has had a long time to branch out, grow, and take new forms as it has spread through the world; and, as such, comes in a wide variety of forms these days. Before Healer and Necromancer reached the region that would become Falnorian, Wild Mage (alongside Bard) often took their place.

Misconceptions: N/A

Archetypes:

• Shepherd: This is the basic archetype of Wild Mage; it’s also the most “domesticated”. Shepherds are the side of Wild Mage that once filled in for Healers: they are growth-oriented, caretaking, and get along better with other people and civilization as a whole than the other two main archetypes.
• Shapeshifter: Shapeshifter archetypes are the hardest to pin down. They tend to be good at understanding others and empathizing with what goes on inside others’ heads – but generally prefer to spend more time away from people. They can view the world and environments on their own level and from their own perspective; but often choose only to be a visitor, never a part of the picture. Shapeshifters take the wild mage orientation towards growth and turn it towards perspective and possibility; another name for this archetype might almost be empathic – but not all Shapeshifters share that trait.
• Feral: The Feral archetype is the fiercest of the three; it is the most combative, most confrontational, and most wild in many senses of the world. Feral archetypes do not tend to be fond of other people or cities; they would rather be out in far-flung wild spaces where they can spend time with nature and the world at large on their own terms. Their orientation towards growth tends to look like an orientation towards strength, adaptation, and survival: the fit will endure, and unfit will pass. That is the way of things.

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Healer

History: Healer is, surprisingly, another class and set of skills that is not “native” to Falnorian. It has not always been Healer as we know it: when it first arrived in Falnorian, it had as much in common with Necromancer as it does with the Healers we know now. In many ways, it still does; both Healer and Necromancer have a great deal of knowledge about the body, mind, soul, and various afflictions – but Healer is less concerned with picking them apart than it is with putting everything back together.

Misconceptions: Healers are not a particularly “kind” or “caring” class. Their frame of mind is a bit more along the lines of doctor caricatures in the real world: intellectual, perfectionist, and a bit aloof. This isn’t to say that Healers can’t be kind – but it’s not fundamental to their nature, and it tends to be more incidental than a driving factor.

Archetypes:

Note: The Healer archetypes have been giving me a hard time, and thus are incomplete. I will update this once I have them.

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Necromancer

History: Necromancer, like Healer, is not native to Falnorian; its niche, however, was mostly nonexistent and its skillset unknown until the arrival of its predecessor classes into this region. Unsurprisingly, many at the time were distrustful of Necromancer and all the various knowledge and skills that came with it; and traces of that distrust still linger in the way the class is regarded in this region today.

Misconceptions: So far as skillset goes, Necromancer has little to do with spiritual things; it’s significantly more grounded in body and physical being. Accordingly, if you look at the sorcery words for Necromancer, you’ll find that most of the spiritual words tend to be higher-OP.

Archetypes:

• Coroner: The Coroner Archetype is the baseline Necromancer archetype, and is the version of Necromancer that is the companion to Healer. Coroners are, in terms of skillset, about the body – and particularly about repairing the body and bringing people back from the dead. Coroners are the most grounded and “in touch” of the Necromancer archetypes, and more often than not the most practical as well.
• Animator: The Animator Archetype is essentially what it says on the box. Animators see death and the dead as one more resource in their environment, the way that a Wild Mage might see trees or a Thief might see coin; and have no qualms about using that resource for their own ends. Animators are the type most likely to stray into evil – either because they started out that way, or because they lost their sense of perspective over time. That’s not to say that all or even most Animators trend this way – there are plenty who take up the same knowledge in order to undo some of the damage done by less savory types.
• Esoteric: The Esoteric Archetype is the odd one out in Necromancer in that they have less to do with bodies and corporeal form; their interests and skillsets are more linked to Death as a whole, which means they tend to interact with the intangible. In many ways, they share some overlap with Diviner – except that Diviners are more oriented towards outsiders, whereas Esoteric Necromancers are oriented towards the stranger mysteries that are native to this world.

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Pyromancer

History: While it doesn’t have the same significance as Wild Mage in Falnorian, Pyromancer has nevertheless played an important role in the history of mages in general. Pyromancer has changed little through out time, and it more closely resembles its original form than any of the other mage types. Pyromancer – like Wild Mage, Weather Mage, and others – is a more elemental form of magic.

Misconceptions: N/A

Archetypes:

• Firestorm: The Firestorm Archetype is the baseline archetype of Pyromancer. It is above all else devoted to learning to wield fire as a weapon in increasingly bigger, more explosive ways. The Firestorm archetype’s idealized, actualized self is indeed calling a rain of fire to wipe out an entire battlefield in one go – hence the name.
• Crafter: The Crafter Archetype is the most creation-oriented of the Pyromancer archetypes. They are interested in all the ways that fire can be used to make – to forge and weld metal, to cook food, to transmute materials into ash and other substances that can be in turn used to make other substances, and so on. This archetype of Pyromancer celebrates fire as the hearth and fire as light more than it does fire as destruction.
• Scientist: The Scientist Archetype is the most calculating of the Pyromancer types, and in many ways of almost any other mage archetype out there. Their calculation is much more intuitive, felt-along and in-the-moment than it is methodical, planned-out – but it is calculation nonetheless. Scientist archetype Pyromancers see fire as energy above all else – one that is neither inherently destructive nor creative, but that has great potential for both.