Archetype

Archetypes are picked at character creation and help guide your character in a certain direction. Are you a master of arcane magic, an up-close fighter, a specialist at more intricate battle techniques, or a supportive party lead? The major Archetypes in Shards of Orn will grant certain skills and bonuses to your character to help round out your play style. These are further broken down into 4 Paths each.

Path

Paths are also picked at character creation and come into play at character level 3. These further specialize your play style and give you new mechanics to work into your class. Your Path is a powerful tool to build around and synergize with while building your class without putting major restrictions on what abilities you choose to take.

Class

Your character's class further describes their play style and party role. You create your class at character creation and gain abilities as your character advances in level. Most of your in-play abilities are determined by your class.

Playable Archetypes and Paths

Arcane

The Arcane Archetype overall favors ranged combat that relies on powerful incantations. They lay waste to foes with baleful spells and harry them with mental compulsions or physical impediments. In combat, they generally aim to control the field and cause as much damage as possible while remaining out of harm's way. 

Paths:

• Elementalist

  • Masters of the Elements of the Maelstrom, they command terrifying control over Fire, Ice, Shock, and Earth.

• Seer

  • Knowers of what lies beyond the realm of dreams, Seers control the minds of themselves and others. 

• Warlock

  • Mages who have made a pact with an Immortal, Warlocks can either aid their party or decimate their enemies by using Rituals in combat while fueling their powers by sacrificing the souls of their victims.

• Wizard

  • Studied at the purest form of arcane arts, Wizards control time and space. None are more adept at casting spells as quickly or moving about the world as a well-trained Wizard.

Brawn

Trading blows in the front lines, the Brawn Archetype sets you up to be a melee fighter, with a bevy of ways to stay in combat longer and create opportunities for your allies to decimate your foe. As defensive as you are, you still have more than enough ways to dish out your fair share of damage.

Paths:

• Berserker

  • Rage, slay, repeat. Berserkers stand in the front line and revel in the bloodshed of battle, fueling themselves on the deaths of those around them.

• Duelist

  • Calculated fencers, Duelists control the flow of battle in small encounters. They are able to redirect harm back to their enemies with pinpoint precision.

• Monk

  • Trained to obtain bodies of steel, Monks are unarmed and unarmored masters who can attack with their fists in ways that seem impossible to the uninitiated. They shrug off blows that would cripple most other fighters to continue their unrelenting assault.

• Warrior

  • Unparalleled bastions of defense, Warriors stand strong with their shields held high. These fighters cover their allies from harm's way and deflect even the strongest attacks back at their attackers.

Cunning

Specialists at their craft, characters of the Cunning Archetype all aim to focus on a specific, sometimes complex, method of play. Whether they choose to go all-out on eliminating a priority target, support their team, pick off foes from a distance, or really dive into using supplies and items, you usually find none better at the task than the relative Cunning Path.

Paths:

• Assassin

  • When tasked with killing a target, Assassins don't ask "how" - they just ask "how much?". These stealth specialists hone their skills at taking down enemies by exploiting their weaknesses and efficient use of deadly strikes.

• Bard

  • Masters of performance arts, Bards sing songs, dance, and recite poetry to bolster the spirit of their friends and grant continuous effects as long as they are able to continue their performance.

• Scout

  • Sharpshooters at heart with the versatility to fight in melee when needed, Scouts prefer to snipe their targets from a distance and pick out even the stealthiest foes.

• Tinkerer

  • Spirited inventors, Tinkerers always have the right tool for the job. They are able to mix and alter the supplies in their pouches to create a myriad of powerful effects on a whim. 

Vitality - Prime

Bastions of hope and protection, characters in the Prime category of the Vitality Archetype are primarily healers. They gird allies for battle, heal fallen comrades so they can return to the fight, and ward foes away from the weak and injured. In combat, they stick close and provide support to their allies. 

Paths:

• Theurge

  • When at your weakest and most broken, you can always count on a Theurge to extend a helping hand to get you back up on your feet. They are exceptionally trained in healing arts and can blanket their allies in healing magics, even recalling their slain friends back to their sides for rescue.

• Spiritualist

  • Seeking the guidance of those who walked before them, Spiritualists are tuned in to the presence of spirits of the dead. They've learned to harness this power to refresh the Spirits of their allies and sap it from their foes.

• Devoted

  • Natural party leaders, the Devoted have fully committed their lives to the light of the Prime. They take to the front lines of battle, and have learned to channel their righteousness to single out and destroy practitioners of Blight magic.

• Wildling

  • Born under the star sign of beasts, Wildlings are true children of nature. They call upon both the Aether and Prime realms to channel powerful magic, allowing them mastery over casting Arcane spells instantly and transforming into mighty beast forms.

Vitality - Blight

Characters in the Blight category of the Vitality Archetype are still healers in their own right but generally favor negatively impacting the vitality of their foes. Control over death itself is the mainstay of this Archetype as they defile their foes.

Paths:

• Dirge

  • Battlefields are often haunted by the lamenting songs of the Dirge long after the fight is over. Dirges harness the sorrow of death to heal their allies and further empower their own abilities to send anyone opposing them to their grave.

• Necromancer

  • Trained in the art of flesh, blood, and bone, Necromancers use bodies as fuel for their craft. Whether it be to transfer baleful effects off themself to avoid harm or even raise the dead to fight for them, a Necromancer is ever the opportunist to use a corpse to their favor.

• Zealot

  • Zealots lead the charge into battle with zeal and fervor. Sworn enemies of the Prime, they have trained their bodies to combat the forces of light by any means necessary.

• Despoiler

  • Scholars of pestilence and plague, Despoilers spread rot and disease wherever they walk. They have even fully embodied the properties of mold, shedding spores onto anyone who dares stand in their way.