Classes

Academicians are the keepers of knowledge and masters of learning. Their abilities focus on expanding their understanding of the world and utilizing that knowledge to gain a strategic advantage in both exploration and encounters.

Tier 1: Scholar

You specialize in all fields of the Lore skill. You may apply your Lore skill to subjects outside your initial area of expertise without penalty.

Tier 2: Apprentice Companion

You gain an apprentice who begins with a skill pyramid starting one level below yours. The apprentice has a simplified sheet and may accompany you on your adventures or remain at a safe location to assist you remotely (e.g., continuing research, gathering information, or sending reports). Your apprentice’s abilities may grow over time at the GM’s discretion.

Tier 3: Arcane Archivist

You have learned how to encode powerful knowledge into mystical forms. Once per session, you may “seal” a skill roll (Lore or otherwise) into a scroll, device, or token, allowing you or another character to use that roll later as if it were freshly made. The sealed roll retains its original result and bonuses. Additionally, you may spend a Fate Point to retroactively declare that you or your apprentice prepared a useful piece of knowledge or item relevant to the current situation.

Assassins are precision killers, striking from the shadows with lethal efficiency. Their abilities focus on hit-and-run tactics, exploiting enemy vulnerabilities, and vanishing before retaliation is possible.

Tier 1: Action Surge

Once per turn, when you kill a creature, you gain one additional action during that same turn. This action must be used immediately.

Tier 2: Assassinate

By spending 1 Fate Point, you may make a special attack that ignores all defenses, but only if you are using a weapon with a Physique requirement of 1 or lower. After the attack resolves, you may immediately roll Stealth and move up to your speed without breaking Stealth. This effect allows you to reposition or disappear entirely if successful.

Tier 3: Deathmark

Once per session, you may designate a single enemy as your Deathmark. Against this target, you gain a +2 bonus to all attack rolls, Stealth rolls, and overcome actions related to engaging, escaping, or eliminating the target. If you successfully reduce the Deathmark target to 0 stress or consequences, you immediately regain a spent Fate Point and may activate Action Surge even if you’ve already done so this turn.

Berserkers are warriors who embrace pain and fury as weapons. They thrive in the heart of battle, drawing strength from their wounds and unleashing devastating force on their enemies.

Tier 1: Rage

You gain a bonus to your damage and movement equal to your highest filled consequence box. Example: If your highest filled consequence is Moderate (+2), you gain +2 damage and +2 movement. This bonus fades if you no longer have any active consequences.

Tier 2: Last Breath

As a minor action, you may spend 1 Fate Point to gain Physical and Elemental Defense equal to your highest filled consequence box. This bonus lasts for one scene or until you no longer have an active consequence.

Tier 3: Bloodstorm Wrath

Once per session, when you are taken out or would be taken out by an attack, you may instead stay conscious and immediately take one full turn, interrupting the normal flow of action. During this turn, you gain the following benefits:

• All weapon attacks deal a bonus 1d6 damage in addition to your normal damage.
• You are immune to being Taken Out during this turn, though you may still gain new consequences.
• You ignore all movement penalties and may act even if physically impaired.
• At the beginning of your next turn, you collapse unless stabilized or otherwise healed by an ally or ability.

Cavalry are fearsome riders trained to fight from the saddle. Whether leading charges or protecting their loyal mounts, they dominate the battlefield with speed, precision, and overwhelming momentum.

Tier 1: Mounted Combatant

Your mounted physical attacks gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls. Additionally, as a reaction, you may choose to defend against any attack targeting your mount, using your own defensive skill (typically Athletics or Fight).

Tier 2: Charge Attack

When you move at least 10 meters (or zones, as per your system) on your mount before making a melee attack, you deal bonus damage equal to your Drive (Beast) skill rating. This bonus applies only to the first attack after the charge.

Tier 3: War Banner Presence

While mounted, you exert a powerful battlefield presence. Allies within 10 meters of you gain a +1 bonus to their attack or defense rolls (choose at the start of each of your turns). Additionally, once per session, you may declare a Mounted Rally: All allies who can see you may immediately remove one Mild consequence or gain +2 to their next roll. You must be visible and in motion for the rally to take effect.

Craftsmen are builders, inventors, and creators who shape the world through skill and precision. Whether forging weapons, brewing alchemical concoctions, or repairing ancient artifacts, their work leaves a lasting mark.

Tier 1: All-Rounder Craftsman

You specialize in all fields of the Crafts skill. You may apply your Crafts skill to any kind of technical or artisan task without penalty.

Tier 2: Masterwork Crafts

When you complete the crafting of an item, you may spend 1 Fate Point to double your chances of creating a masterwork version. Masterwork items may gain special properties (with GM approval), such as increased durability, added narrative weight, or mechanical bonuses when used.

Tier 3: Efficient Crafting

Your expertise allows you to craft with exceptional efficiency, halving the cost of both materials and time. You gain the following benefits:

• The materials required to craft an item are halved, rounded down. For special materials, such as rare magical components, the required amount is also halved, making your crafting more resource-efficient.
• The time required to craft any item is halved, rounded down. This reduces the days or hours needed to complete an item.

Druids are masters of nature, capable of drawing on the power of the wild and the spirits of the earth. Their bond with the natural world grants them incredible abilities, including the power to summon creatures and transform into beasts.

Tier 1: Call of the Wild

You can cast a Conjuration spell as a ritual, spending 1 hour to cast the spell without using any mana. However, you must still pay the mana cost if you use any optional stunts (such as additional effects or extended durations).

Tier 2: Wild Shape

As a minor action, you can spend 1 Fate Point to shapeshift into a beast whose rating is equal to or lower than your Magic skill. While in this form, you gain the higher skill between your current form and the beast’s form.

When you shapeshift, you gain the beast’s stress points, and you must return to your normal form once those stress points are depleted.

Any excess damage from the beast form is applied to your original form once you revert back.

Tier 3: Master of the Wilds

Your bond with nature deepens, allowing you to fully embrace the powers of the wild. You gain the following benefits:

• Enhanced Wild Shape: When you shapeshift, you can now take on the form of a beast up to two ratings higher than your Magic skill.
• Elemental Affinity: While in beast form, you gain a temporary elemental resistance of your choice. This resistance lasts for the duration of your transformation.
• Wild Revival: Once per session, you can spend 1 Fate Point to instantly heal stress equal to the beast’s rating after you revert to your normal form, representing the primal vitality flowing through you from the wild. This healing bypasses normal stress recovery rules, allowing you to recover even from near-death situations.

Fighters are skilled warriors who excel in combat through mastery of weapons, tactics, and sheer endurance. They are versatile on the battlefield, able to fight through injuries and overcome adversaries with precision.

Tier 1: Weapon Mastery

You do not suffer any penalty when wielding a melee weapon you are not specialized with. Additionally, you gain a +1 bonus to your attack rolls made with weapons you are specialized in, reflecting your deep mastery of these tools of war.

Tier 2: Second Wind

Once per scene, as a minor action, you can spend 1 Fate Point to refresh all your stress boxes. This allows you to recover from exhaustion or injury, quickly regaining your ability to fight on and continue the battle.

Tier 3: Unstoppable Force

You have become an embodiment of sheer combat resilience. You gain the following benefits:

• Relentless Charge: Once per scene, when you successfully land a melee attack, you may choose to immediately move up to your speed (even through enemy zones) without triggering opportunity attacks. This represents your ability to press forward relentlessly, forcing your opponent back.
• Indomitable Will: When you are taken out, you can spend 1 Fate Point to automatically regain all stress points and continue fighting without being knocked out. This effect can be used once per session, making you a difficult opponent to take down.
• Endurance of Steel: Your body has become as tough as iron. You gain a +1 bonus to all physical defense rolls (Armor, Physical Stress resistance, etc.) while wearing any type of armor, reflecting your ability to endure blows without faltering.

Mages wield the forces of magic, tapping into arcane power to cast spells that can alter the fabric of reality itself. With careful study and mastery, they control the elements, enhance their spells, and defy the limits of their mana reserves.

Tier 1: Mana-Potent

Your mana pool is 1.5 times the normal amount (rounded down). Additionally, when you regain mana (through resting, meditation, or other means), you regain 1.5 times the usual amount of mana (rounded down), allowing you to cast more often and with greater endurance.

Tier 2: Rapid Weaver

When you cast a spell with your action, you can spend 1 Fate Point to cast a lower-level spell with your minor action.

Tier 3: Master of the Arcane

Your deep connection to the magical forces allows you to manipulate arcane energies with unparalleled finesse. You gain the following benefits:

• Mana Infusion: Once per scene, you can choose to infuse your spells with your magical experties, allowing you to increase the potency of a spell at no additional mana cost. When you cast a spell, you may choose to activate a stunt (including stunts with a mana cost) of that spell even if you don’t have it. This infusion lasts only for that spell and does not affect future casts.
• Spell Recall: As a minor action, you may remember a spell you’ve already cast during the scene. You may cast it again immediately without paying its mana cost. You can only use this ability once per scene.
• Arcane Ward: Once per session, you can create an arcane shield as a reaction to any incoming damage. Spend 1 Fate Point to create a barrier that absorbs damage equal to your Magic skill. This shield lasts for the duration of the turn and can be used to mitigate both physical and magical damage.

Monks are disciplined warriors who combine martial arts with spiritual enlightenment. They are masters of unarmed combat and quick movement, capable of incredible feats of agility and power.

Tier 1: Martial Arts

Your unarmed attacks deal bludgeoning damage equal to your Physique skill, reflecting your martial prowess. Your physical strength and skill allow you to fight effectively without weapons, relying on your body as the ultimate tool of combat.

Tier 2: Way of the Hand

You can spend 1 Fate Point to gain the following benefits until the start of your next turn:

• You gain 1 additional attack (you may make an extra unarmed attack on your turn).
• Your speed is doubled, your jump distance is tripled, and you do not need a running start to leap or scale obstacles.
• You gain +2 to all your defenses, except for Will skill checks (representing enhanced physical awareness).
• If you are under any negative conditions (such as being stunned, restrained, or otherwise hindered), you can instantly roll to escape that effect as a free action.
• If you successfully defend against a physical ranged attack, you may choose to deflect it back to the attacker as a reaction, dealing the same damage to the attacker as they would have taken.

Tier 3: Master of the Way

Your mastery of martial arts reaches its peak, and you can now channel your physical and spiritual training to perform near-miraculous feats. You gain the following benefits:

• Perfect Strike: Once per session, you can spend 1 Fate Point to make a perfect attack. When you make an unarmed attack, you can choose to automatically deal maximum damage and negate any defense the target has against the attack (they cannot block or evade it, regardless of their abilities). This can only be used once per session and must be declared before rolling.
• Iron Body: As a minor action, you can spend 1 Fate Point to enter a state of heightened focus, temporarily shifting your physical defenses into overdrive. For the next 3 turns, you gain resistance to all damage. You may only use this once per scene.

Paladins are holy warriors devoted to a sacred oath, channeling divine energy to protect the innocent and smite evil. They serve as radiant beacons of justice and guardians of the weak, capable of turning the tide of battle through faith and resolve.

Tier 1: Divine Smite

When you succeed on an attack roll with 3 shifts or more, you deal additional Holy damage equal to your Lore (Religion) skill. This extra damage bypasses resistances to mundane damage, striking true against corrupted or undead foes.

Tier 2: Divine Aura

As a minor action, you may spend 1 Fate Point to activate your Divine Aura, radiating power with a radius of 2 × your Lore (Religion) skill (in meters), centered on you. The aura lasts for 10 minutes and you may choose one of the following effects for the duration:

• You and your allies gain +1 bonus to attack rolls.
• You and your allies gain bonus Physical Defense equal to your Lore (Religion) skill.
• You and your allies gain resistance to a chosen element (Fire, Cold, Lightning, etc.).
• You and your allies gain immunity to poison and disease; any current effects are suppressed.
• Your enemies suffer -1 penalty to attack rolls against you and your allies.
• Your enemies suffer penalty to Physical Defense equal to your Lore (Religion) skill.
• All creatures hidden from view by mundane or magical means (with rating lower than your Lore (Religion)) are revealed.

Tier 3: Sacred Vow

Your divine conviction becomes a living force, empowering you to perform acts of true divine intervention. Choose one of the following sacred vows when you unlock this ability. This vow grants you a powerful once-per-session effect and a passive benefit that is always active:

• Oath of Protection

  • Passive: You grant +1 to Physical and Mental defense rolls to allies within your Divine Aura.
  • Once per session: When an ally within your Divine Aura is reduced to 0 stress, you may spend 1 Fate Point to immediately restore them to 1 stress, and they can take a free action (such as moving or attacking).

• Oath of Wrath

  • Passive: When you are attacked by a creature, it suffers a -1 penalty to its next defense roll against you.
  • Once per session: Spend 1 Fate Point to mark all enemies within your Divine Aura. Until the end of the scene, your Divine Smite applies on any successful hit, regardless of shifts.

• Oath of Renewal

  • Passive: Once per scene, when you heal a Consequence of one of your allies, you regain +2 stress.
  • Once per session: Spend 1 Fate Point to instantly remove all negative conditions (fear, paralyzed, etc.) from yourself and all allies within your Divine Aura, and grant them +2 to their next roll.

• Oath of Judgment

  • Passive: You always know if a creature within your Divine Aura has committed a violent or harmful act in the past 24 hours.
  • Once per session: As a reaction, when a creature within your Divine Aura harms a helpless target or ally, you may spend 1 Fate Point to declare divine judgment. The attacker becomes cursed, taking +2 damage from all sources for the rest of the scene and cannot become hidden or invisible.

• Oath of Radiance

  • Passive: While within your Divine Aura, you and your allies gain +2 bonus to overcome any mental effect. Additionally, your Divine Smite deals +2 extra damage against undead, demons, and shadow creatures.
  • Once per session: Spend 1 Fate Point to unleash a Blinding Radiance. All hostile creatures within your Divine Aura must succeed a Will defense vs your Lore (Religion) or become Blinded and Vulnerable for 1 round.

Masters of the wilderness and tireless trackers, Rangers excel at navigating natural terrain, hunting elusive prey, and striking with deadly precision from the shadows of the wild.

Tier 1 – Nature Explorer

You gain a +1 bonus to all Survival and Perception skill rolls while in natural environments. You can also identify natural hazards, tracks, or terrain features without needing to roll if their difficulty is below your Survival skill.

Tier 2 – Track

You can spend 1 Fate Point to mark a creature you can perceive for up to 8 hours. While a creature is marked:

You deal an additional +1d6 damage (same type as your attack) whenever you hit the marked target.

When pursuing a marked creature in natural terrain, you and all allies within 10 meters gain a bonus to movement equal to your Survival skill. You can only have one creature marked at a time. Replacing a mark ends the previous one.

Tier 3 – Ambush Mastery

Your mastery of terrain and timing allows you to strike first and strike hard.

When combat begins in a natural environment, you and all allies within 10 meters gain +2 to initiative and may immediately reposition up to half their movement before the first round starts.

Additionally, once per scene, when you attack a surprised or unaware creature, you may reroll the attack and take the better result. If it hits:

It automatically applies your Track bonus (if active).

The target must make a Will defense against your Survival skill or become Dazed until the end of their next turn.

Masters of shadows, deception, and precision, Rogues slip through danger with ease, striking where it hurts most and vanishing before the enemy knows what hit them.

Tier 1 – You Can’t See Me

You can use the Stealth skill regardless of lighting, cover, or environmental conditions, unless magical effects explicitly prevent it.

When you attack from Stealth, you deal additional damage equal to your Stealth skill.

You do not automatically reveal yourself after an attack, and may immediately attempt to roll Stealth again as a free action to stay hidden, provided it makes narrative sense.

Tier 2 – Expertise

You can spend 1 Fate Point to double all bonuses (skill ranks and modifiers) for any non-combat and non-magical action for a single roll. This includes things like:

• Picking locks
• Disabling traps
• Forging documents
• Climbing walls
• Bluffing or sneaking past guards

Tier 3 – Dirty Tricks

You have perfected the art of distraction, misdirection, and sabotage in combat.

Once per scene, when you make a successful melee or ranged attack, you may forgo your damage to instead apply a status effect to the target: Blinded, Disarmed, Frightened, or Poisoned until the end of their next turn. (GM decides which effects apply based on the situation and weapon used.)

Alternatively, you may spend 1 Fate Point to do both the damage and the status effect.

If used against a target who is unaware of you, the effect lasts 1 additional round.

Deadly at range, Sharpshooters turn the battlefield into a hunting ground. Whether hidden on a rooftop or lurking in the brush, their precision leaves no room for mistakes—and no chance for escape.

Tier 1 – Sniper

You gain unparalleled precision with ranged weapons:

You ignore all distance penalties when making ranged attacks.

You treat half-cover as no cover.

Tier 2 – Headshot

When you hit a target with 3 or more shifts of success, you may spend 1 Fate Point to deal additional damage based on the total number of shifts:

• 3 shifts: +1d4 damage
• 4 shifts: +1d6 damage
• 5 shifts: +1d8 damage
• 6 shifts: +1d10 damage
• 7 shifts: +1d12 damage
• 8 or more shifts: +1d20 damage

This damage is the same type as the original attack and represents your skill in striking vital spots with surgical accuracy.

Tier 3 – Kill Zone

You claim the battlefield with your presence alone, locking down enemy movement through sheer threat.

Once per scene, you may designate a 10-meter radius area within your weapon’s range as your Kill Zone for 3 rounds.

While inside this zone:

• You may make 1 additional attack per round.
• Enemies inside the zone have -2 to defense rolls against your ranged attacks. You must have line of sight to the zone and cannot move more than 2 meters during your turn while maintaining it.

The bulwark of any front line, Shieldbearers thrive in the heart of combat, protecting allies and anchoring positions. With sturdy defenses and commanding presence, they turn every strike into an opportunity to shield others.

Tier 1 – Sentinel

Your shield becomes an extension of your protection for those nearby.

As a reaction, you may grant your shield’s full defense bonus to an ally within your reach until the start of your next turn or until they leave your reach.

If the ally is attacked and you are adjacent to both the ally and attacker, you may interpose, taking the attack in their place instead.

Tier 2 – Taunt

Your commanding voice or presence can draw enemy attention.

As a minor action, you may spend 1 Fate Point to taunt enemies within 20 meters using Influence, Fight, or Physique (choose one per use), opposed by each enemy’s Will skill.

On a success, each affected enemy is taunted for a number of rounds equal to the margin of success.

Taunted enemies take a –2 penalty on attacks that do not include you as a target.

They cannot willingly move away from you if another valid target is in your reach.

Tier 3 – Wall of Iron

You are the immovable object that holds the line.

While wielding a shield, you gain +2 to all defenses against physical attacks from Large or smaller enemies.

Once per scene, as a free action, you may plant your feet and declare a Shield Stance for the next 2 rounds:

• You become immune to forced movement (push, pull, teleport).
• Allies standing adjacent to you gain +2 Physical defense.

Enemies moving into your reach must succeed on an Athletics or Fight vs Physique contest or have their movement end immediately and take 1d6 bludgeoning damage from the impact.

Weavers of forbidden knowledge and arcane contracts, Warlocks draw their power not through rigorous study, but through pacts with strange entities. Their abilities are unpredictable, potent, and unnerving.

Tier 1 – Pact Magic

You tap into eldritch power granted by your patron.

You gain one spell from each tier (1st to 3rd), up to your Lore (Occult) skill.

You can cast each of these spells once without spending mana. If a spell requires a Magic roll, you may roll Lore (Occult) instead.

During a short rest, regain use of one of these spells. During a long rest, regain all of them.

These spells are considered pact-bound and cannot be changed unless you reforge your bond (GM’s discretion).

Tier 2 – Eye of the Beholder

Your patron allows you to peer into the essence of others.

Spend 1 Fate Point to create a magical link with a creature you can see, as long as you maintain concentration.

While the link is active:

• You may use the target’s highest skill as if it were your own (if multiple, GM selects).
• If the creature is unaware of you, it remains unaware of the link.

The link breaks if the target leaves line of sight, you lose concentration, or voluntarily end it.

Tier 3 – Pact Infusion

Your body channels raw pact energy, manifesting unnatural enhancements.

Once per scene, as a minor action, you may infuse yourself with your patron’s essence for 3 rounds. During this time, choose one of the following effects:

• Eldritch Speed: You may take two actions per turn instead of one.
• Hexbrand: Your attacks apply a curse that reduces the target’s physical and elemental defenses by 3.
• Soul Drain: When you deal a damage to a target, you regain stress equal to half the damage dealt (rounded down).

Forged in the crucible of battle and magic, Warmages seamlessly blend martial prowess with arcane power. They wield blades and spells with equal precision, creating a fearsome presence on any battlefield.

Tier 1 – Magical Armaments

Your mastery of arcane power reinforces your physical capability.

You may add half your Magic skill (rounded down) as a bonus to your Physique when determining whether you meet the requirements to wear armor or wield weapons.

As an action, you can don your armor and summon your weapons to yourself, as long as they are within 10 meters.

Tier 2 – Quick Caster

You’ve learned to bind magic to your blade in the heat of the moment.

When you successfully hit a target with a physical attack, you may spend 1 Fate Point to immediately cast a spell you know without paying its mana cost.

The spell must be one you are capable of casting normally.

You may still apply optional stunts if you can pay their cost.

Tier 3 – Arcane Momentum

Your motion and magic flow together as one, creating a deadly rhythm.

Once per turn, when you cast a spell or land a melee attack, you may activate Arcane Momentum until the start of your next turn. While active:

• You gain +2 to defense against the next attack.
• Your next physical attack or spell gains a +2 bonus to the roll.

If the target is affected by both a spell and a melee attack by you in the same turn, they take 1d12 additional damage. The type of the damage should be the same as dealt damage types this turn.

You can only benefit from Arcane Momentum once per turn, but it can be re-triggered on your next turn if conditions are met again.