Character Classes

[The Dungeon Master]

There are four beginning classes, each of which has multiple prestige classes. Once reaching level 10 your able to abandon your original class and choose a prestige class, or you can continue down your original path. Below are the four starting classes.

Warrior

Weapons, tactics, and combat are the mainstays of a Warrior’s life. Both the barbarian raiding a village and the knight commanding a column of troops adhere to the tenets of discipline, personal combat, and martial training. Every Warrior knows how to fight in close quarters, to take a blow and deliver a mortal wound in return.

Warriors excel as lone combatants or within a larger force, depending upon what fighting styles they have mastered or choose to employ. Warriors as a Calling have no shared ethics or background, but their training, mastery of weapons, and enduring nature unite them in spirit. The noble barbarian and corrupt knight meet as equals on the battlefield.

Warriors are melee fighters who rely on heavy plate armor for protection as they close with their opponents. Many augment their armor with large, sturdy shields built to deflect even the fiercest blow. Others forgo this extra protection, wielding massive axes, swords, and glaives to cut a swath through their enemies.

Starting Equipment: Steel Armor, a 1 or 2 handed basic melee weapon and a medium sized steel shield.

Starting Spells: None

Cleric

Pandoram’s original wielders of magic gained their powers through pacts with minor elemental spirits. Through devoted study, these Clerics reached out to ever-more-powerful beings, soon communing with demons, faeries, and gods. These holy men and women founded a number of spiritual disciplines: some focused tightly on a narrow ethics, while others retained more free-form theological allegiances.

Although those who take up this calling boast extensive knowledge and keen intellect, Clerics value wisdom and faith above all else. Intensely focused, a Cleric tackles any endeavor secure in the support of powerful beings incomprehensible to the layman. These beings’ exact nature depends upon each Cleric’s culture of origin and spiritual training regimen.

The militant orders gird themselves in chainmail, and march into close combat wielding heavy, two-handed warhammers, or a simple combination of mace and shield. The more arcane priesthoods, meanwhile, wear cloth vestments, brandishing symbols of spiritual power such as staves, tomes, and totems.

Starting Equipment: A simple set of chainmail Armor, a thick but small wooden shield and a single handed blunt weapon.

Starting Spells: A weak healing spell

Rogue

The history of martial combat stretches back to the earliest days of Pandoram, when war was a brutal, messy, simple affair. This, as any Rogue will tell you, was the heyday of the Warrior. Their own tradition began much later, after people learned to fight with their minds as well as their muscles.

The arts of the Rogue are handed down by many different masters, each of whom developed unique forms and techniques. All Rogues are sophisticated combatants and dynamic thinkers, who utilize every available tool to skew the battlefield to their advantage. In the cities, Rogues learned to use shadow and cover to catch their targets unaware. Other Rogues learned the secrets of the wild, taming savage beasts and brewing poisons from the flora. Still others gained mastery over the arcane to enhance their weapons and attacks.

Rogues prefer simple leather armor, leaving them unencumbered to move stealthily and make swift escapes. In close combat, a Rogue wields a light-weight sword or dagger in each hand. Never the sort to give up an advantage, many Rogues have also mastered the art of ranged combat with bows.

Starting Equipment: Either a small one handed bladed weapon or a longbow, and a full set of leather armor.

Starting Spells: None

Mage

Since the dawn of time, spirits, creatures, and eruptions of energy from the elemental planes have shaped Pandoram in profound ways. Mortals watched planewalkers call forth elemental power, and gleaned from their techniques the basics of arcane magic. Through research and experimentation, the ancient Mages learned to control the elements without pledging themselves to any gods or minor spirits. After mastering broad elemental incantations, Mages focused their studies on individual elements, tapping the potential of primal forces controlled by a skilled hand.

Magical study is no solitary affair. Mages gather to share their arts and research, and arcane schools have risen and fallen throughout Pandoram's history. The two greatest schools still in existence are Kelmar College, where students come to study under ancient Elven masters; and the new academy in the stronghold of Mer'Lan, where Defiant scholars accumulate the recovered knowledge of the Red Shield.

The art of weaving magic does not favor heavy armors that distract the senses and restrict movement. Though the Mage's traditional light cloth robes leave their bodies vulnerable, their mind is their true bulwark. Mages employ a variety of arcane items such as staves, wands, tomes, and totems to focus their spell-casting. In addition, many Mages protect themselves in close combat with a simple edged weapon such as a dagger or short sword.

Starting Equipment: A cloth robe and a walking stick that doubles as a staff.

Starting Spells: 1 energy attack spell and 1 elemental defense spell. (Remember your level 1 so don't go overboard.)

[The Dungeon Master]

Warrior Prestige Classes

BeastMaster

This Warrior’s journey begins by bonding to a spirit companion. The spirit beast fights beside the Beastmaster with speed and strength and sees him through his darkest trials.

Strengths:
The Beastmaster and his pet play off one another in perfect harmony, fighting in tandem and bolstering one another as their unity inspires greatness in nearby allies.

Weaknesses
The Beastmaster trusts his spirit companion to watch his back and give him strength. Deprived of this ally, he is weak in comparison to his fellow Warriors.

Champion:

Champions are powerful Warriors who excel at melee combat. Wielding massive two-handed weapons, these battle-tested fighters find few equals in one-on-one battle. Champions strive to become one with their blade, constantly honing their fighting skills to win glory through warfare.

Strengths
A Champion's legendary strength allows him or her to move with startling speed, closing with opponents to wreak destruction with their two-handed weapons.

Weaknesses
Quick to answer the call to arms, Champions often rush into battle with reckless abandon, and can find themselves vulnerable to sneak attacks and well-organized assaults from multiple adversaries.

Paladin

Righteous defenders of the weak, Paladins use heavy shields and divine blessings to stand as a bulwark against their foes. The Paladin’s large shield not only offers protection, but affords many opportunities to launch devastating counters in close combat.

Strengths
A Paladin excels in using a shield to turn aside incoming assaults and launch powerful counterattacks. This martial skill, and the divine blessings of their patron gods, allows Paladins to extend their protection to nearby allies.

Weaknesses
Heavy arms and armor do not allow for quick movement, so Paladins have a hard time dealing with opponents at range, or with those who weave powerful magic, against which metal plates offer no protection.

Paragon:

The Paragon moves like a furious storm, never giving his enemy time to regroup. A master of dual-wielding, he uses parries and disciplined forms to build up power attacks and stay out of danger.

Strengths
With a finely tuned mind and body, the Paragon wields two weapons to perfection, devastating his enemies. Paragons specialize in dealing consistent damage, never giving there enemy time to recover.

Weaknesses
Paragons suffer against healers who can outpace their steady damage output, and these methodical warriors tend to be weaker against opponents who can get around there constant flurry of attacks.

Reavers

Reavers are warriors who combine the art of combat with the entropic energies of death. The slightest touch of their weapon can spread disease, incite madness, and death to those unlucky enough to face them.

Although Reavers can wield a full range of armors and weapons, they are most effective in heavy armor, carrying a shield in one hand and a weapon in the other. Reavers undermine an enemy's ability to fight back, grinding opponents down until they succumb.

Strengths
Reavers specialize in damage-over-time effects that weaken both the mind and body, crippling an opponent's ability to mount a successful offense.

Weaknesses
Like death itself, Reavers grind down their opponents slowly; but as such they are not effective at quickly neutralizing a single opponent.

Riftblades

Riftblades are Warriors who learn to enhance their attacks with elemental magic, allowing them to cast bolts of force across the battlefield and strike with boundless energies.

Strengths
Able to shoot lances of fire, stone, and wind at enemies, Riftblades possess stronger ranged capabilities than other Warriors. Furthermore, much of their damage is elemental, cutting through armor as if it were flesh.

Weaknesses
Offensive specialists, Riftblades do not focus much of their discipline on protecting themselves and are vulnerable to concerted attacks. Their magical damage, while devastating against physical defenses, is just as weak as any magic against the appropriate resistances.

Void Knight

The Void Knight is a defensive Warrior who uses eldritch techniques to counter magic-wielding foes. Spells that would bring another Warrior low are shaken off by a Void Knight, reflected back at the caster, or stored in pacts the Void Knight can unleash to devastating effect.

Strengths
Void Knights empower themselves by absorbing hostile spells, becoming terrifying foes for any wielder of the arcane.

Weaknesses
Enemies using mundane weapons and force of arms can ignore a Void Knight’s enchanted defenses and give them no fuel with which to charge their attacks.

Warlord

Warlord’s commanding presence expresses itself in auras that inspire her comrades to victory and cow her enemies into submission, allowing her to control the field of battle.

Strengths
Warlords can draw upon vast tactical experience, empowering their allies and weakening their enemies to change the course of battle.

Weaknesses
The Warlord’s focus on enhancing the capabilities of her allies leaves her vulnerable when isolated from friendly ranks.

[The Dungeon Master]

Cleric Prestige Classes

Cabalist

The Cabalist is an offensive Cleric who draws on powers that others fear. Using ritual and sigil to call forth seeping death and suffocating water, he devastates the battlefield with powerful attacks that catch all of his enemies in his grip.

Strengths
The Cabalist’s sigils and ritual magics give him a tremendous advantage on the battlefield, for if given enough time to fester, they will eventually erupt in a cascade of dark energy, destroying everything within range of the sigil’s host.

Weaknesses
If given the opportunity, a Cabalist will slowly spread destruction across the battlefield. The only defense against this inevitable doom is a lightning-quick assault to overwhelm them before their sigils have a chance to take effect.

Druid

Druids are melee Clerics who forge bonds with Fae creatures, strengthening their bodies, minds, and spirits by drawing upon the magical energies of their companions.

Strengths
Where fragile Mages force their minions to fight in their stead, the mighty Druid draws upon their bonded Fae to personally take the fight to their foes. Druids themselves are formidable combatants, using their pets more as conduits and sources of power than as direct attackers.

Weaknesses
A Druid’s bond with their Fae Spirit is both the key to their power and their greatest weakness. Enemies who destroy a Druid’s companion greatly reduce the Druid’s prowess and endurance.

Inquisitor

The Inquisitor is a cleric who no longer follows the doctrines of life or death alone; instead, they stand between these forces demanding purity from both. An Inquisitor passes judgment on those who are worthy, and damns those who are corrupt.

Their true strength is derived from their extreme faith; as such, they forgo heavy armaments in favor of a simple hauberk of chain and a sturdy maul.

Although Inquisitors will never achieve the great heights of power from choosing an exclusive life or death path, their ability to harness and manipulate both energies make them extremely valuable companions.

Strengths
An Inquisitor is a potent one-on-one combatant who specializes in mixing life and death magic, stealing their opponent's greatest strengths and making it their own.

Weaknesses
Because they stand between the threshold of life and death, Inquisitors give up the strength found in those who walk a pure path. For that reason, they cannot support their allies in battle as strongly as other, more specialized clerics.

Justicar

Justicars are healing clerics who fight shoulder-to-shoulder with their allies in close combat. Conviction builds with each swing of their weapon, bolstering nearby comrades and powering the Justicar’s potent healing magic.

Strengths
A Justicar’s healing comes from damage dealt in close combat. Thus he can survive and thrive in the thick of the fighting while ensuring his allies do the same.

Weaknesses
A Justicar’s divine magic depends upon his melee prowess, so foes are wise to try and keep the Justicar from the front lines.

Purifier:

The tradition of the Purifier begins with a baptism by fire, a test of faith from which only the strongest souls emerge. Those who pass are reborn as masters of the curative secrets of fire, able to heal the most grievous wounds with a searing touch.

These Clerics also draw upon a pact with their long-dead ancestors as the source of their offensive power. While Purifiers wreathe their allies in flames, they can unleash a spirit vanguard to visit wrath upon their foes.

Strengths
Purifiers dedicate themselves to mastering the healing properties of fire, and as such are potent support Clerics who can burn away disease and instantly cauterize the most horrific wounds.

Weaknesses
Purifiers are not known for their offensive capabilities, and while they are capable of marshaling the fury of their ancestors to strike down foes, they rapidly lose ground against the focused assault of a determined melee combatant.

Sentinel

The Sentinel brings the blessings of light to all who do the will of the gods. Capable of healing many wounded at one time, Sentinels bolster their allies and protect themselves with divine wrath.

Strengths
Sentinels are defensive clerics who excel at group support. Their divine powers aid the weak and ensure that everyone in their group lives through the fray.

Weaknesses
Sentinels sacrifice offense for a strong defense, and thus struggle to deal massive damage to their opponents.

Shaman

The Shaman binds the power of the icy north to his very being, wreathing himself in pure elemental force. This power augments a Shaman’s attacks, making him a powerful melee combatant, and provides shields and reactive healing.

Strengths
A Shaman strikes hard and fast like the fury of a winter storm. He can quickly close into melee and unleash powerful blows fueled by muscle and magic.

Weaknesses
Shamans lack other clerics’ abilities to bolster defenses and heal grievous wounds, so they fare poorly against foes with a strong defense of their own or those who can keep them at bay.

Warden

Echoing the soothing ebb and flow of the tides, Wardens specialize in slow healing that escalates over time, making them ideal for prolonged fights that would exhaust most healers.

Strengths
The Warden excels at slowly stacking powerful healing energies on their allies or themselves. Given sufficient time to lay down magic, a Warden can bolster their allies through even the most grueling struggles.

Weaknesses
Unable to weave their protective spells quickly enough to overcome a concentrated attack, Wardens have little defense against a rapid or group assault.

[The Dungeon Master]

Rogue Prestige Classes

Assassin

Masters of subtlety and subterfuge, an Assassin’s ability to walk in the shadows allows them to bypass obstacles and launch devastating surprise attacks. A rare few survive the initial assault, only to succumb to virulent poisons.

Strengths
Assassins are trained to meld with the shadows, bypassing defenses and launching potent surprise attacks with their poisoned blades.

Weaknesses
Assassins must choose their targets carefully, or wind up in desperate straits if they forfeit the element of surprise or attack a foe who can shrug off the venom from their blades.

Bard

Singing the songs of battle and playing heart-stirring cadences, Bards embolden their allies and cripple their enemies through rhythm and rhyme.

Strengths
A Bard’s magical songs are extremely useful for inspiring her side and hindering the other, making her one of the best pure support Souls in the game.

Weaknesses
A good Bard can turn a group of individuals into a harmonious unit, but caught without friends, she is but a lone musician with nothing to sing but her own eulogy.

Blade Dancer

Blade Dancers are masters of wielding edged weapons. They specialize in ritualized combat movements that are lightning fast. Blade Dancers can overwhelm even an accomplished opponent's defenses, setting them up for a devastating coup de grace.

Lithe and agile, a Blade Dancer cherishes unimpeded movement over heavier protection, so they wear only light armors (such as leather) into combat. Extremely competent and aware, a Blade Dancer's weapons tend to be the only defensive protection they need. Unfortunately for their enemies, these blades aren't just used for defense, but offense as well.

Strengths
The Blade Dancer's mastery of edged weapons allows them to unleash devastating close combat attacks in quick succession. Their honed skills and supernatural agility allow them to avoid incoming attacks for short periods of time and launch lethal sneak attacks on the unwary.

Weaknesses
Once a Blade Dancer's fury is spent, their light armor offers scant protection. They must quickly overcome their opponent's defenses or face defeat themselves.

Marksman

Marksmen are offensive sharpshooters trained to thin enemy ranks with ruthless efficiency. They combine swift hit-and-run attacks with devastating volleys, endlessly harassing targets, sowing the battlefield with dead and crippled foes.

Strengths
Marksmen are experts at hit-and-run tactics, surgically dismantling targets from a safe distance, then sprinting away before the enraged victims can close for melee.

Weaknesses
The Marksman keeps foes at bay for a reason. The key to defeating a Marksman is reducing their mobility, exposing them to devastating melee counterattacks.

Nightblade

Possessing deadly agility and mastery of the blade, the Nightblade can also draw upon the planar magics of fire and death to deal doom in a variety of ways. Favoring light armor, their ability to stalk and quickly eliminate their adversaries means the unfortunate quarry rarely has the chance to defend, let alone counterattack.

Strengths
A Nightblade’s stealth and proficiency with weapons can dispatch enemies quickly and silently, while their knowledge of arcane magic gives them versatility in dealing a wide variety of damage.

Weaknesses
Preferring the element of surprise and precise, killing blows, the Nightblade has trouble enduring a lengthy battle. Wearing only lighter armor, the Nightblade is better suited to sneak attacks or hit-and-run tactics.

Ranger

Rangers are consummate hunters who know the strengths and weaknesses of every beast, taming animal companions to augment their considerable prowess in ranged combat. This synergy between bow and beast allows Rangers to handily overcome the most daunting obstacles.

Strengths
An expert woodsman and archer, the Ranger excels at striking from range, while their animal companion harries the opponent in close combat.

Weaknesses
Without an animal companion, a Ranger is but a simple archer, and while still quite deadly, can no longer mount a strong defense in close combat.

Riftstalker

The Riftstalker is a defensive specialist who bends the planes to enhance his constitution and shift in and out of the physical dimension. These highly skilled and survivable combatants keep their opponents’ focus while easily evading incoming blows.

Strengths
A Riftstalker is an incredibly mobile fighter capable of shielding himself from harm and appearing in the ideal place and time in a fight.

Weaknesses
Harnessing planar energies places Riftstalkers under tremendous strain, so while formidable in short engagements, they quickly lose ground as they exhaust their bag of tricks.

Saboteur

The Saboteur is a cunning Rogue who uses explosives and other incendiaries to cripple opponents and control the battlefield. With proper preparation, a Saboteur can destroy enemies without ever giving them a chance to join battle.

Strengths
Saboteurs mold the battlefield to suit their needs, and with careful planning, a lone Saboteur can overcome the most formidable foes in one explosive instant.

Weaknesses
A Saboteur requires significant preparation to launch each devastating assault, and is quickly overcome if confronted in direct combat before a trap is in place.

[The Dungeon Master]

Mage Prestige Classes

Archon

Archons are support specialists who steal their opponents’ strength and convert that raw energy into beneficial magic. These mages bolster their allies and unleash potent kinetic blasts, quickly turning the tide of battle.

Strengths
Archons draw upon an enemy’s strength to empower their friends and unleash potent spells, helping their allies face down seemingly insurmountable odds.

Weaknesses
An Archon is weakest when caught between transfers. Having expended their own life force to gain access to their enemy’s, they must feed on the energy of others to regain strength. During this time a strategic assault can quickly overcome the Archon’s meager defenses.

Chloromancer

The Chloromancer is a healing specialist who draws on the vital energies of plants and nature to find a balance between life and death. They harness these energies into a devastating force, or recycle destructive magic to heal their allies.

Strengths
All damage dealt by the Chloromancer can be converted into healing for their allies. They can also cleanse harmfull effects and resurrect allies both in and out of combat.

Weaknesses
Arcane magic does not lend itself to healing, and the Chloromancer sacrifices damage and utility in order to control the flow of Life energy. Unable to deal devastating blows or apply crowd control, they are easily overwhelmed by a determined foe.

Dominator

The Dominator is a support Mage who terrorizes opponents, leaving them unable or unwilling to act. Those who muster the courage to assault a Dominator will find themselves at the mercy of arcane shields that turn the fury of their own blows against them.

Strengths
With mind-altering abilities that easily disrupt focus, Dominators are the bane of enemy casters, especially healers. Dominators also excel at sending enemy ranks into disarray, making isolated, terrified individuals prey for the Mage’s allies.

Weaknesses
Like many who thrive on terror, Dominators are themselves fragile and require a solid screen of companions to shield them from the wrath of those they torment.

Elementalist

Elementalists are mages who specialize in manipulating and controlling the raw energies of the planes. Through fierce discipline and strict study, these mages dedicate themselves to commanding the harshest and most chaotic forces known to exist.

Elementalists are recognized by their emaciated bodies and physical frailty, as they commit every ounce of energy toward strengthening their mental abilities. Their planar powers are typically channeled through enchanted staves of lightweight wood or steel, and they wear only the flimsiest of cloth vestments for protection.

Strengths
The will of an Elementalist is so powerful that it allows the mage to manifest the elements and bind them to physical form, ripping them from the planes and using them as allies in battle. Each elemental has its own strengths and weaknesses, making the Elementalist a flexible and potent force on the field of battle.

Weaknesses
Their greatest strength is also their greatest weakness, for an Elementalist without their summoned minions is just a frail scholar with minor magic at their disposal.

Necromancer

Necromancers are damage dealers who synergize with their pets. The majority of a Necromancer’s damage comes from a fully supported and buffed pet. In an emergency, Necromancers can also serve as secondary healers by sacrificing their own health to their allies.

Strengths
Together with their undead servitors, a Necromancer can inflict serious sustained damage and survive adversity better than most Mages. Using different minions, the Necromancer can handle various combat situations, and is as comfortable ending one life as he is covering a whole area with necrotic energy.

Weaknesses
Since much of a Necromancer’s damage comes from their pet, they become vulnerable when caught on their own. These minions also require help from the Necromancer to reach peak performance, or they will do only a fraction of their potential damage.

Pyromancer

Pyromancers are destructive mages whose sole focus is the mastery of fire, from launching massive incinerating blasts, to trapping their opponents behind a smoldering wall of flame. No other Ascended can match the sheer destruction at the Pyromancer’s fingertips.

Strengths
Pyromancers keep their enemies at bay with well-placed fire spells, until they can be immolated at the Pyromancer’s leisure.

Weaknesses
Pyromancers excel at roasting their enemies from afar, and so must be wary of foes able to charge into melee quickly or defend themselves against searing flames.

StormCaller

Stormcallers are mages who channel the raw fury of the wind and water to command the battlefield, chilling their opponents to the bone or stopping their hearts with electric shock.

Strengths
Stormcallers weave Air and Water magic together, their spells reaching heights of devastation in concert they could not achieve individually.

Weaknesses
Just as a storm cannot be wind or rain alone, the Stormcaller must combine spells to reach peak devastation. They thus take longer to warm up than other mages and are vulnerable to foes who know how to interrupt their rotation.

Warlock

Consummate practitioners of the dark arts, Warlocks embrace the grim forces of entropy and death. Protected within a cloak of shadows, they lurk on the edges of the conflict, as their deadly energies inevitably consume all that stand in their way.

Strengths
Warlocks specialize in destructive curses that eat away at an opponent’s body and soul. A Warlock is capable of rapidly spreading their blight across the battlefield, or focusing all of their entropic power to eradicate a single target in mere moments.

Weaknesses
Warlocks can cast their lethal curses with but a word, but like death itself, they are slow and inexorable. This gives enemies a small window of opportunity to overcome them with a rapid and brutal assault.

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