Part Two: The Rules
Chapter Sixteen: Professions
Part Two: The Rules
A profession is what you have been trained to do.
Book One of Sundered Earth offers twelve professions, sorted into three archetypes. Four are Martial, grounded in physical mastery and the discipline of the body. Four are Mystic, attuned to the frequencies beneath the world's skin. Four are Specialist, the adaptable and the cunning.
Each Profession contains a selection of ten Trainings; each conveys a special ability.
Titles mark your progression through the profession. You earn them by accumulating Trainings. Each Title unlocks a passive benefit, a triggered reaction, or an active ability.
Flex Slots draw from your Archetype's shared pool or the All pool. They do not cross between Archetypes.
The Knight
The shield in the dark.
Archetype: Martial
Magic: No
Requirement: Body 3
Flex Slots: 2
Primary Skills: Might, Will
Chivalry isn't dead, it just wears tactical armor now. Knights are sworn protectors of Sanctuaries and those unable to protect themselves. They stand when others run and answer violence with disciplined force. Oath, armor, sword. In that order. The armor turns most things. The sword answers the rest.
Knights emerged from necessity. When an Accord imposes order through politics and negotiation, someone still must stand at the door when negotiations fail. A just use of force. Most are sworn to a major faction, bound by a code of unyielding service. A Knight without a cause is a Knight looking for one.
Titles
When a crier in a Sanctuary announces a Lord Commander has arrived, everyone in the room pauses to get a look.
| Tier | Name | Earned At | What It Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Squire | 2 Trainings | Still learning. Already useful. A Squire walking into a room of authority figures sees the combat stats on the Codex's Radar overlay before the conversation begins. The gift is the reading of the room before the room has read them back. |
| II | Knight of the Realm | 4 Trainings | While wielding a shield, a Knight of the Realm reduces incoming physical damage by one wound per hit. Mounting Success calculates after this reduction. The armor holds. |
| III | Errant Champion | 6 Trainings | Blocks that turn clean become blows. On a critical block (margin 10+), the Errant Champion deals one wound back to the attacker without spending an action. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 2. |
| IV | Paragon Knight | 8 Trainings | [Action] Recharge 5. A Paragon Knight's melee strike lands as a natural twenty. No roll. The strike is delivered with every Knight who ever held the line before them still in the blow. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 3. |
| V | Lord Commander | 10 Trainings | The Knight who has earned every Training strikes twice against a single target. The Skill used, Might or Grace, may be repeated during the same Turn, allowing the Knight to use the same weapon twice. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 4. |
Training
Training can be selected in any order and there is no requirement for how many you must learn. Flex Slots allow you to select more general Training available through the Archetype or All types.
| # | Training | Type | Prereq | Context | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Righteous Reprisal | Core Skill Booster | None | Combat | After a successful Defense, your counter-attack gains a Tactical d4 to Attack. |
| 2 | Battle Tactician | Core Skill Booster | None | Combat, Exploration | [Action] Make a Logic check (TN 20). On success, your next Attack gains a Tactical d4. Mounting Success scales the die one step per +10 margin: d6 at +10, d8 at +20, d10 at +30, d12 at +40. |
| 3 | Courtly Manners | Core Skill Booster | None | Social | Your Sense checks in social contexts with Ascendant or High-Born tags gain a Training d4. |
| 4 | Knight's Oath | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat, Social | Your training against Demon- and Covenant-aligned threats adds a Tactical d4 to Attacks against such targets. |
| 5 | Shield Mastery | Mechanic Modifier | Might ≥ 4 | Combat | While wielding a Shield, your Defense rolls gain a Training d4. |
| 6 | Guardian's Reach | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Reaction] Recharge 5. Intercept an attack targeting an ally and redirect it to yourself. Make the Defense check in their place. |
| 7 | Company Banner | Signature Ability | Will ≥ 3 | Combat | Company members within close range gain a Training d4 to Will. |
| 8 | The Gauntlet | Signature Ability | Will ≥ 3 | Combat | [Beat] Throw down the gauntlet. Speak a challenge aloud, in-character, to one enemy within earshot. Your melee attacks against that foe this turn gain a Training d4 to Attack. |
| 9 | Armor Mastery | Capstone | Might ≥ 5 | Combat | Improve your Speed band by one step in Heavy or Medium Armor. |
| 10 | Indomitable | Capstone | Will ≥ 4 | Combat, Exploration, Social | Immune to Fear. [Reaction] Recharge 5. Negate any single non-physical attack without rolling. Spell, curse, debuff, social assault. You simply endure it. |
Flex Slots
A Knight has two Flex Slots. Of the ten Trainings a Knight can hold at full progression, up to two may come from outside the Knight's own grid.
| Source | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Martial | Trainings available to every Martial profession (Knight, Swashbuckler, Contender, Monk). Common combat fundamentals, weapon disciplines, endurance work. |
| All | Trainings available to every Persona in the game regardless of archetype or profession. Universal competencies such as survival craft, first aid, general social technique, mundane skills. |
The Knight's default of two Flex Slots reflects the profession's tight mechanical identity. A Knight is not a generalist.
The Swashbuckler
Style is the strategy.
Archetype: Martial
Magic: No
Requirement: Grace 3
Flex Slots: 2
Primary Skills: Grace, Sense
Swashbucklers fight like they are being watched, because they usually are. Speed over mass. A Fast blade over an armored fist. Timing over force. The Swashbuckler treats a duel like a performance and the performance like a weapon. Every move earns Renown or does not. Nothing forgettable. If you leave a room without a story following you out, you did it wrong.
The Accord made dueling a legal framework. Swashbucklers made it a career. Formal challenges, honor rules, grievance protocols — most Personas treat these as landmines. The Swashbuckler treats them as stage direction. The Killing Courtesy is not a finishing move; it is a statement delivered to every witness in the room. A Swashbuckler collects enemies the way others collect allies. An enemy with a grudge is a future Renown opportunity waiting to be cashed.
Titles
A Swashbuckler's reputation enters the room a half-beat before they do.
| Tier | Name | Earned At | What It Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Rascal | 2 Trainings | Whenever the Rascal succeeds on a Grace-based action outside combat — a stunt pulled in view of witnesses, a pickpocket passed off as gallantry, a charmed exit — the Codex logs +1 Renown automatically. Style is noticed. |
| II | The Foil | 4 Trainings | [Reaction] Recharge 3. When an opponent declares a non-combat ability targeting the Foil — an intimidation, a compulsion, a con — both parties roll simultaneously. The Foil rolls Grace against their ability roll. If the Foil wins, the ability is nullified. Not parried. Refused. |
| III | The Notorious | 6 Trainings | Before combat stacks lock each Turn, the Notorious names one Augment Dice category — Gear, Training, Magic, Tactic, or Special. That category is locked out of every opponent's pool for that Turn. The declaration is made blind. Reputation is its own weapon. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 2. |
| IV | The First Blade | 8 Trainings | [Action] Recharge 5. Issue a formal duel challenge to one opponent. The opponent must accept — formal dueling rules engage — or refuse and lose 1 Renown. There is no third option that is not shameful. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 3. |
| V | Peerless | 10 Trainings | Each combat Turn, the Peerless makes two Grace Attacks against the same target as a single Action. Failed Attacks contribute zero margin. The margins of all successful hits combine into a single number, and Mounting Success resolves against that combined total. Two strikes, one reckoning. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 4. |
Training
Training can be selected in any order and there is no requirement for how many you must learn. Flex Slots allow you to select more general Training available through the Archetype or All types.
| # | Training | Type | Prereq | Context | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rapier's Edge | Core Skill Booster | None | Combat | While wielding a Fast weapon (sword, rapier, dagger), your Grace Attacks gain a Training d4. |
| 2 | Take the Measure | Core Skill Booster | None | Combat | [Beat] Make a Sense check (TN 20). On success, your next Attack this Turn gains a Tactical d4. Mounting Success scales the die one step per +10 margin: d6 at +10, d8 at +20, d10 at +30, d12 at +40. |
| 3 | Silver Tongue | Core Skill Booster | None | Social | Your Sense checks in social contexts gain a Training d4. |
| 4 | First Blood | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | After your first successful Attack of an encounter, your Grace checks for the remainder of that encounter gain a Training d4. Once per encounter, does not stack with itself. |
| 5 | Flourish | Mechanic Modifier | Will ≥ 3 | Combat | [Passive] Recharge 3. When one of your Attacks achieves Mounting Success against an opponent whose Power Score exceeds yours, you may declare a Flourish. Forgo the Mounting Success wound bonus; gain +1 Renown instead. The base wound still lands. |
| 6 | Feint | Mechanic Modifier | Might ≥ 4 | Combat | [Action] Make an opposed Grace check against the target's Sense. On a win, the target cannot use Tactical Augment Dice on any roll until the end of your next Turn. Mounting Success adds one Turn to the duration per +10 margin. |
| 7 | Riposte | Signature Ability | Might ≥ 4 | Combat | [Reaction] On a successful Defense against a melee Attack with margin 10+, make a free Grace counter-attack. The counter-attack gains a Tactical die scaled to your Defense margin: d4 at +10, d6 at +20, d8 at +30, d10 at +40, d12 at +50. Your weapon does not exhaust on this strike. |
| 8 | Press Advantage | Signature Ability | Grace ≥ 4 | Combat | [Passive] Recharge 5. After dealing a wound with a Grace Attack, your next Grace Attack against that target ignores their defensive Augment Dice. |
| 9 | Master of the Blade | Capstone | Might ≥ 5 | Combat | While wielding a Fast weapon, the first tier of Mounting Success on your Attacks triggers at margin +8 instead of +10. Subsequent tiers unchanged. |
| 10 | The Killing Courtesy | Capstone | Grace ≥ 6 | Combat, Social | [Passive] Recharge 5. After winning a formal duel, the Codex logs a formal humiliation on the opponent's public feed, imposes −2 Renown beyond the normal loss, and locks the opponent from issuing a rematch challenge for 24 hours. The courtesy is the point. |
Flex Slots
A Swashbuckler has two Flex Slots. Of the ten Trainings a Swashbuckler can hold at full progression, up to two may come from outside the Swashbuckler's own grid.
| Source | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Martial | Trainings available to every Martial profession (Knight, Swashbuckler, Contender, Monk). Common combat fundamentals, weapon disciplines, endurance work. |
| All | Trainings available to every Persona in the game regardless of archetype or profession. Universal competencies such as survival craft, first aid, general social technique, mundane skills. |
The Swashbuckler's two Flex Slots reflect the profession's focus on honing a specific style. They are a duelist before they are a generalist.
The Contender
The fight is the point.
Archetype: Martial
Magic: No
Requirement: Body 3
Flex Slots: 3
Primary Skills: Might, Sense
Contenders fight because they are built for it and the world will pay to watch. They care less about faction politics than almost anyone in the Awakened world. The circuit has its own economy, its own hierarchy, its own rules. Every performance goes on the feed. Every margin gets logged. The arena is everywhere. So is the paycheck.
The Accord tried to organize violence the way it organizes everything else: committees, protocols, grievance chains. Contenders treated all of it as background noise and turned fighting into a career. Most come up through the circuit, a loose network of sanctioned brawls, public duels, and sponsored grudge matches older than the current faction power structure. A Contender might be inside a Sanctuary one night and a contested borderzone the next, always recording, always getting paid.
Titles
The circuit remembers every fight. So does the Codex.
| Tier | Name | Earned At | What It Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | The Prospect | 2 Trainings | Always on. The Power Score of the highest-rated combatant within close or ranged distance is permanently visible on the Codex's Radar. The Prospect walks into every room already knowing who the main event is. |
| II | The Gatekeeper | 4 Trainings | [Reaction] Recharge 3. When an opponent misses an Attack against the Gatekeeper, answer with a free Might Attack. The circuit's oldest lesson: a whiff is an invitation. |
| III | The Crowd's Champ | 6 Trainings | Any Might Attack with margin 10+ logs +1 Renown automatically. The feed loves a finisher. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 2. |
| IV | Main Event | 8 Trainings | [Action] Recharge 5. Issue a formal public challenge, logged by the Codex. Any Persona who declines loses 1 Renown. Any who accepts and is taken Out awards the Contender double Renown. Either way, the house wins. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 3. |
| V | The Champion | 10 Trainings | Each time the Champion takes an opponent Out, they recover 1 wound of their choice on any track. No cap. The crowd's roar closes wounds. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 4. |
Training
Training can be selected in any order and there is no requirement for how many you must learn. Flex Slots allow you to select more general Training available through the Archetype or All types.
| # | Training | Type | Prereq | Context | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heavy Hitter | Core Skill Booster | None | Combat | While wielding a Heavy or Medium weapon, its Gear die upgrades one step on your Might Attacks. A longsword's d8 swings as a d10. |
| 2 | Iron Stomach | Core Skill Booster | None | Combat | Your Will checks resisting physical debuffs (knockdown, stun, disarm, wound overflow) gain a Training d4. |
| 3 | Read the Room | Core Skill Booster | None | Combat | Your Sense checks predicting and reacting to opponents gain a Training d4. Prediction and reaction only, not direct attacks. |
| 4 | Second Wind | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Passive] Recharge 5. When any Trait track reaches 0, recover that track to 1 instead of being taken Out. Triggers automatically. |
| 5 | Haymaker | Mechanic Modifier | Might ≥ 3 | Combat | [Beat] Recharge 3. Declare before rolling a Might Attack. Your weapon's Gear die upgrades two steps for that Attack. |
| 6 | Fight for the Feed | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat, Social | [Passive] Recharge 3. Deal a wound with a margin of 5+ in front of a witness and the Codex logs +1 Renown. |
| 7 | Momentum | Signature Ability | Might ≥ 4 | Combat | Each consecutive successful Might Attack against the same target upgrades your Training die one step (cumulative, maximum d12). Resets on a miss or a change of target. |
| 8 | Unbreakable | Signature Ability | Will ≥ 4 | Combat | [Passive] Recharge 5. When an opponent's Attack achieves Mounting Success against you, ignore every wound beyond the first. You take exactly 1. |
| 9 | Championship Form | Capstone | Might ≥ 5 | Combat | While any of your Trait tracks stands at exactly 1, your Training die on all Might checks upgrades one step. No cost, no cooldown, active while the condition holds. |
| 10 | Blood and Thunder | Capstone | Might ≥ 6 | Combat | [Reaction] Recharge 5. Immediately after taking a wound, make a free Might counter-strike against the attacker with a d6 Training die added. No action cost; your weapon does not exhaust. |
Flex Slots
A Contender has three Flex Slots, the widest in the Martial archetype. The circuit does not care where a technique came from, only whether it wins fights.
| Source | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Martial | Trainings available to every Martial profession (Knight, Swashbuckler, Contender, Monk). Common combat fundamentals, weapon disciplines, endurance work. |
| All | Trainings available to every Persona in the game regardless of archetype or profession. Universal competencies such as survival craft, first aid, general social technique, mundane skills. |
The Monk
The body remembers what the mind forgets.
Archetype: Martial
Magic: Yes
Requirement: Body 3
Flex Slots: 2
Primary Skills: Might, Will
Tradition Access: Biomancy (partial), Elementalism (partial)
The body is weapon enough. Years of discipline have made it a precision instrument: fast, accurate, capable of striking on frequencies most opponents do not know exist. The Monk is physically dangerous and spiritually attuned. They hit things other combatants literally cannot.
Monastic traditions predate the Accord by centuries. Most Orders emerged in isolation, in mountain sanctuaries, desert retreats, and coastal hermitages where the goal was self-knowledge. Combat mastery was a side effect. The Reemergence changed the calculus: suddenly the Orders' knowledge of chi manipulation and frequency attunement had obvious tactical value. Some Orders sold that knowledge to factions. Others refused. The most interesting Monks left their Order entirely and carry the training into the world on their own terms.
Titles
A Monk's rank is invisible until the moment it is not.
| Tier | Name | Earned At | What It Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | The Initiate | 2 Trainings | Always on. The Codex reveals the name and nature of every magical augment active on anyone within close range. The Initiate sees the currents others merely swim in. |
| II | The Vigilant | 4 Trainings | The Vigilant cannot be surprised, and Tactical dice rolled against them are treated as d4 regardless of actual size. Ambush is a conversation the Monk finished years ago. |
| III | The Resonant | 6 Trainings | When an unarmed Attack achieves Mounting Success (margin 10+), the target takes 1 Spirit wound in addition to the normal wounds. The strike lands on two frequencies. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 2. |
| IV | The Immovable | 8 Trainings | [Action] Recharge 5. Every negative status effect on the Immovable is removed. Still water. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 3. |
| V | The Enlightened | 10 Trainings | Unarmed strikes carry both the Physical and Magic tags with a permanent d6 Magic die, and Ki Strike's die rises to d10. The body is the Focus now. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 4. |
Training
Training can be selected in any order and there is no requirement for how many you must learn. Flex Slots allow you to select more general Training available through the Archetype or All types.
| # | Training | Type | Prereq | Context | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iron Fist | Core Skill Booster | None | Combat | Your unarmed Might Attacks gain a Training d4. |
| 2 | Stillness | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your defense rolls against attacks targeting your Spirit track gain a Training d4. |
| 3 | Third Eye | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Sense checks to detect active magical augments, concealed items, active spell effects, and hidden or invisible presences gain a Training d4. |
| 4 | Patience | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Passive] Recharge 3. If you took no offensive action last turn, your Iron Fist Training die upgrades one step for your next Attack. |
| 5 | Pressure Point | Mechanic Modifier | Might ≥ 3 | Combat | [Action] On a successful unarmed Might Attack, instead of dealing a wound, the target loses one Action on their next turn. |
| 6 | Redirect | Mechanic Modifier | Grace ≥ 3 | Combat | [Reaction] When a melee Attack targets you, make a contested Grace check against the attacker's roll. On success the Attack deals no wounds and you place the attacker anywhere within close range. No usage cap. |
| 7 | Ki Strike | Signature Ability | Will ≥ 4 | Combat | [Beat] Recharge 5. Your next unarmed Might Attack gains the Magic tag and a d8 Magic die. It can strike beings immune to physical damage. |
| 8 | Iron Body | Signature Ability | Might ≥ 4 | Combat | [Passive] While unarmored or in Light armor, you are treated as wearing Chainmail for all defensive purposes. No speed penalty. |
| 9 | Transcendent Focus | Capstone | Will ≥ 5 | All | [Passive] Your defense rolls against attacks targeting your Mind track gain a Training d8. |
| 10 | Empty Hand, Full Power | Capstone | Might ≥ 6 | Combat | [Passive] Your unarmed Might Attacks deal +2 wounds per Mounting Success threshold instead of +1. Margin 10+ deals 3 wounds; 20+ deals 5; 30+ deals 7. |
Flex Slots
A Monk has two Flex Slots. The discipline is the point; a Monk who wanders too far from it is studying something else.
| Source | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Martial | Trainings available to every Martial profession (Knight, Swashbuckler, Contender, Monk). Common combat fundamentals, weapon disciplines, endurance work. |
| All | Trainings available to every Persona in the game regardless of archetype or profession. Universal competencies such as survival craft, first aid, general social technique, mundane skills. |
The Witch
She didn't curse you. You were already cursed. She just made it visible.
Archetype: Mystic
Magic: Yes
Requirement: Spirit 3
Flex Slots: 2
Primary Skills: Will, Sense
Tradition Access: Shamanism (primary), Aetheric Weaving (partial), Nether Shaping (partial), Biomancy (partial), Elementalism (partial)
Witch is the oldest title in arcane practice, applied to any practitioner, regardless of gender, who works through bloodline, pact, or the Old Ways. The magic is inherited, bargained for, or bled for. It targets what most opponents forget to defend: Spirit and Mind. By the time the wounds stack up, the fight is already decided.
Witch traditions predate the Accord, predate the Kin councils, and possibly predate the Third Sundering. They belong to no single species; human bloodlines carry as much Old Ways power as Fae or Goblin ones, sometimes more. Witches organize into covens, each holding chartered territory under strict codes of conduct. A Witch entering another coven's domain announces herself, and violating that protocol is one of the few things that unites rival covens against a common target. The knowledge passed through women primarily, not by design but by survival: during the Great Lie, female lineages were less surveilled, and the traditions that made it through did so inside kitchens, herbaries, and midwifery, hiding in plain sight for six thousand years. A Witch in a Sanctuary tonight carries every generation of that concealment in her bones.
Titles
Covens do not hand out rank. They acknowledge what has already become true.
| Tier | Name | Earned At | What It Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | The Sighted | 2 Trainings | Always on. The active status effects and the Spirit and Mind wound counts of every target within close range are visible to the Sighted. Everyone is already telling her what hurts. |
| II | The Warded | 4 Trainings | The first physical wound the Warded would receive each encounter is reduced by 1 (minimum 0), with Mounting Success calculated after the reduction. Old protections, paid for long ago. |
| III | The Feared | 6 Trainings | When a magical Attack achieves Mounting Success (margin 10+), the target is Shaken: -2 to their next roll against the Witch. Fear is a hex nobody has to cast. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 2. |
| IV | The Wyrd | 8 Trainings | [Action] Recharge 5. Close range, contested Spirit against the target's Spirit. On success, every augment die the target rolls degrades one size for the rest of the encounter (floor d4). Their luck simply goes bad. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 3. |
| V | The Bloodsworn | 10 Trainings | [Action] Recharge 5. Take 1 Body wound. For the rest of the encounter, the Bloodsworn's Spirit-targeting attacks also deal 1 Mind wound on any success, not just Mounting Success. Blood in, dread out. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 4. |
Training
Training can be selected in any order and there is no requirement for how many you must learn. Flex Slots allow you to select more general Training available through the Archetype or All types.
| # | Training | Type | Prereq | Context | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dark Craft | Core Skill Booster | None | Combat | Your Spirit-targeting magical attack checks gain a Training d4. |
| 2 | The Sight | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Sense checks for detecting lies, reading auras, identifying magical sources, and noticing hidden presences gain a Training d4. |
| 3 | Old Tongue | Core Skill Booster | None | Social | Your Knowledge and Social checks invoking Old Ways authority (ritual identification, elder lore, negotiating with Kin who honor the old traditions) gain a Training d4. |
| 4 | Evil Eye | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Action] Close range. Contested Spirit magical attack against the target's Spirit. On success, the target's Training die degrades one step for the remainder of the encounter. |
| 5 | Blood Cost | Mechanic Modifier | Will ≥ 3 | Combat | [Beat] Recharge 3. Voluntarily take 1 Body wound. Your Magic die on your next magical action upgrades two steps. Declared before rolling. |
| 6 | Hex | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat, Social | [Action] Recharge 3. Mark a target as Hexed, logged by the Codex. While Hexed, the Mounting Success threshold against them drops from margin 10 to margin 8. Lasts until the end of the encounter. |
| 7 | Energy Shield | Signature Ability | Will ≥ 4 | Combat | [Reaction] When targeted by an attack, add a Training d4 to your defense roll. Margin 10+: the shield extends to one adjacent ally. Margin 20+: two medium allies or one large. Margin 30+: three medium or one medium and one large. All covered targets share the same defense result. |
| 8 | Spirit Peel | Signature Ability | Sense ≥ 4 | Combat | [Beat] Spend 1 Spirit wound. Your next magical action bypasses the target's Gear dice entirely; none apply to their defense roll. Declared before the action. |
| 9 | Blight | Capstone | Will ≥ 5 | Combat | [Passive] Spirit wounds you deal cannot be recovered until the encounter ends. No early removal, from any source you initiate. |
| 10 | The Naming | Capstone | Will ≥ 6 | Combat | [Action] Recharge 5. Close range, contested Spirit against the target's Spirit. On success, the Codex reveals all of their slotted Trainings and active Titles to you, and your Mounting Success threshold against them drops from 10 to 5 for the rest of the encounter. On failure, nothing. |
Flex Slots
A Witch has two Flex Slots. The craft is deep before it is wide.
| Source | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Mystic | Trainings available to every Mystic profession (Witch, Alchemist, Assassin, Wondermancer). Frequency perception, ritual fundamentals, arcane hygiene. |
| All | Trainings available to every Persona in the game regardless of archetype or profession. Universal competencies such as survival craft, first aid, general social technique, mundane skills. |
The Alchemist
Everything reacts to something. The Alchemist finds out what.
Archetype: Mystic
Magic: Yes
Requirement: Mind 3
Flex Slots: 2
Primary Skills: Logic, Knowledge
Tradition Access: Biomancy (primary), Elementalism (partial), Aetheric Weaving (partial), Wondermancy (partial)
Alchemists read the world the way others read faces: at the chemical level, where everything is either stable or about to react. Every body has a signature, every environment a formula, every compound a consequence. They know what is in the air before anyone else does, what is wrong with a target before the first roll, and exactly how to tip the balance mid-encounter. The work is precise. The results are rarely what anyone expected.
Alchemical practice emerged in city-states where magical talent was rare but intellectual ambition was not. The first Alchemists were not trying to replicate magic. They were trying to understand why it worked, and found that understanding was halfway to doing it themselves. The Accord has never known what to do with them: too scientific for the Mystic guilds, too magical for the academies. Most Alchemists prefer the ambiguity. An unclassified practitioner answers to no council and holds knowledge no faction can afford to ignore.
Titles
An Alchemist's rank can be read in what no longer surprises them.
| Tier | Name | Earned At | What It Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | The Analyst | 2 Trainings | When making Sense or Knowledge checks to detect or identify compounds, conditions, or substances, the Analyst's Training die steps up one size. The world is a label, and they read it. |
| II | The Distiller | 4 Trainings | On a successful Knowledge check to identify a substance, condition, or compound, the Distiller learns its complete mechanical profile: duration, thresholds, wound values, hidden properties. Nothing in a bottle keeps a secret from them. |
| III | The Inoculated | 6 Trainings | Compounds administered against the Inoculated have their duration halved. Encounter-long conditions become three-turn conditions. Their blood has seen worse. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 2. |
| IV | The Crucible | 8 Trainings | The Crucible's own compounds cannot harm them: wounds, conditions, and area effects from their own applications simply do not apply, including Splash Radius catches. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 3. |
| V | The Philosopher | 10 Trainings | The Philosopher's compound applications bypass all resistances and immunities to physical damage and conditions. What others call magic, they call chemistry. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 4. |
Training
Training can be selected in any order and there is no requirement for how many you must learn. Flex Slots allow you to select more general Training available through the Archetype or All types.
| # | Training | Type | Prereq | Context | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Compound Precision | Core Skill Booster | None | Combat | Your Logic checks when applying or throwing compounds gain a Training d4. |
| 2 | Alchemist's Eye | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Sense checks reading environments for chemical or alchemical signatures, or reading Personas for physiological tells, gain a Training d4. |
| 3 | Formulary | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Knowledge checks identifying substances, compounds, symptoms, and alchemical effects gain a Training d4. |
| 4 | Quick Dose | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Beat] Recharge 3. Administer a compound to yourself or a close ally at no Action cost. |
| 5 | Splash Radius | Mechanic Modifier | Logic ≥ 3 | Combat | [Passive] When you throw a compound, it affects all targets within close range of the impact point. |
| 6 | Volatile Catalyst | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Beat] Sacrifice 1 Body wound before a compound application. That application deals +1 wound or extends any condition it applies by 2 turns. Declared before rolling. |
| 7 | Reactive Agent | Signature Ability | Knowledge ≥ 4 | Combat | [Passive] Recharge 3. When you would take a Body wound, reduce it by 1 (minimum 0). Triggers automatically. |
| 8 | Mutagenic Boost | Signature Ability | Logic ≥ 4 | Combat | [Action] Uncontested Logic check (TN 20). On success, one target gains a d6 Magic die on all Might and Grace checks on their next turn. Willing targets do not resist. |
| 9 | Persistent Formula | Capstone | Knowledge ≥ 5 | Combat | [Passive] Conditions you apply cannot be removed or countered early. They expire at their natural duration or the end of the encounter, whichever comes first. |
| 10 | The Formula | Capstone | Logic ≥ 6 | Combat | [Action] Recharge 5. Contested Logic against the target's Spirit. On success, for 3 turns your compound applications deal +1 wound, conditions you apply last 2 turns longer, and their Mounting Success threshold drops by 2. The reduction does not stack. |
Flex Slots
An Alchemist has two Flex Slots. The laboratory does not forgive divided attention.
| Source | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Mystic | Trainings available to every Mystic profession (Witch, Alchemist, Assassin, Wondermancer). Frequency perception, ritual fundamentals, arcane hygiene. |
| All | Trainings available to every Persona in the game regardless of archetype or profession. Universal competencies such as survival craft, first aid, general social technique, mundane skills. |
The Assassin
Death from the shadows.
Archetype: Mystic
Magic: Yes
Requirement: Body 3
Flex Slots: 2
Primary Skills: Grace, Sense
Tradition Access: Nether Shaping (primary)
The Assassin operates in the space between the Nether and Prime frequencies. Every Training builds toward one capability: locate the target, close the distance, deliver the strike, leave clean.
Assassination is not murder; it is a profession with lineage, codes, and specialization stretching back millennia. The earliest Assassins discovered that by manipulating Nether frequencies they could navigate the boundary between physical sight and shadow detection. This was not dark magic or demonic pact. It was craftsmanship applied to dimensional physics everyone else ignored. Over centuries the practice formalized into schools, training lineages, and professional standards that outlasted empires. Modern Assassins are heirs to that tradition: licensed practitioners bound by contract law, professional honor, and the understanding that a reputation is absolute. An Assassin without honor is simply a killer. The distinction matters in courts, in markets, and in the code that governs the work. The frequency manipulation is taught, never innate, and only to those who find a master willing.
Titles
The schools rank their own. The rest of the world learns the rank late, if at all.
| Tier | Name | Earned At | What It Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | The Committed | 2 Trainings | Always on. The exact Body wound count of every target within close range is visible to the Committed. No check required. They always know how much is left to do. |
| II | The Shadow | 4 Trainings | When establishing concealment, the Shadow adds a Training die to the Grace roll that sets their Concealment Score. The dark keeps its favorites. |
| III | The Stillness | 6 Trainings | When the Stillness takes no Move before attacking on their turn, their Training die steps up one size for that Attack. Motion is noise. They have none. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 2. |
| IV | The Ghost | 8 Trainings | [Beat] Recharge 5. Become fully undetectable for up to 3 turns or until you attack. No ability, Training, or Title can reveal the Ghost's position while it holds. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 3. |
| V | The Instrument | 10 Trainings | [Reaction] Recharge 5. After taking a target Out, the Instrument immediately takes one full additional Turn at no cost. The work continues. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 4. |
Training
Training can be selected in any order and there is no requirement for how many you must learn. Flex Slots allow you to select more general Training available through the Archetype or All types.
| # | Training | Type | Prereq | Context | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghost Walk | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Grace checks for stealth, concealment, and undetected movement gain a Training d4. |
| 2 | Shadow Strike | Core Skill Booster | None | Combat | Your Grace Attacks made while your position is unknown to the target gain a Training d4. Confirmed awareness of your location suspends the die. |
| 3 | Tradecraft | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Knowledge checks for identifying, sourcing, and applying the tools of the work (poisons, concealable weapons, infiltration gear, criminal supply lines) gain a Training d4. |
| 4 | Blind Side | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Passive] Attacks against targets entirely unaware of your presence deal +1 wound on a hit. A target who survives is no longer unaware unless concealment is re-established. |
| 5 | Target Study | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Action] Recharge 3. Read a target's stance, patterns, and tells. Sense check (TN 20). On success, generate a TAD for your next Attack against them: d4 base, d6 at margin 10+, d8 at 20+, d10 at 30+, d12 at 40+. The TAD persists until used. |
| 6 | Vanish | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Beat] Recharge 3. Immediately after any Attack, hit or miss, make a contested Grace check against the target's Sense. On success, return to full concealment. |
| 7 | Shadow Frequency | Signature Ability | None | Combat | [Action] Recharge 5. Route your next strike through the Nether frequency. Your next Might or Grace Attack bypasses all cover bonuses and defensive Gear dice. The benefit persists until the Attack lands. |
| 8 | Mark | Signature Ability | Sense ≥ 4 | Combat | [Beat] Recharge 5. Designate one target as Marked, logged by the Codex. For the rest of the encounter you know their exact position through any concealment or darkness, and your Attacks against them add a d6 Magic die. One Mark at a time. |
| 9 | Nether Step | Capstone | Grace ≥ 5 | Combat | [Beat] Recharge 5. Step through the Nether to shift your distance to a target by one category. Instantaneous; costs no Move. Usable before or after Actions in the same turn. |
| 10 | The Contract | Capstone | Knowledge ≥ 6 | Combat | [Action] Recharge 5. Designate a target as your Contract (logged) and make a contested Knowledge check against their Sense. On success, wounds you deal them cannot be healed, reduced, or absorbed this encounter. On failure, the target learns they are being hunted. One Contract at a time. |
Flex Slots
An Assassin has two Flex Slots. The schools do not certify dabblers.
| Source | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Mystic | Trainings available to every Mystic profession (Witch, Alchemist, Assassin, Wondermancer). Frequency perception, ritual fundamentals, arcane hygiene. |
| All | Trainings available to every Persona in the game regardless of archetype or profession. Universal competencies such as survival craft, first aid, general social technique, mundane skills. |
The Wondermancer
Every weapon has a ceiling. The Wondermancer raises it.
Archetype: Mystic
Magic: Yes
Requirement: Mind 3
Flex Slots: 2
Primary Skills: Logic, Knowledge
Tradition Access: Wondermancy (primary), Elementalism (partial), Aetheric Weaving (partial), Nether Shaping (partial), Shamanism (partial), Biomancy (partial)
Wondermancers are the architects of Wonder Gear: clever machina infused with arcane power. Equipped with tools, tomes, gears, and glyphs, they arm their allies with items that provide a distinct edge. The craft is ancient, like a vast incomplete puzzle. Today's Wondermancy is remarkable, and it is an echo of the craft minted in the First Age.
Wondermancy traces back to the First Age, when the Dragons taught select Dwarven clans to channel the earth's vibrational energy into crafted objects. Those clans became the first Wondermancers, and their descendants never stopped working. The lineages that survive are scattered across the five Dwarven Bastions in the deep Nether, each holding a different piece of the original knowledge, each passed down through generations of apprenticeship. Surface practitioners replicate only the most mundane Wonder Gear, and repairing or modifying the ancient work is always a gamble. A Wondermancer's education is an apprenticeship into a lineage's closely guarded methodology.
Titles
The lineages measure mastery in what your hands can be trusted with.
| Tier | Name | Earned At | What It Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | The Appraiser | 2 Trainings | Always on. The gear die, magic die, and arcane properties of any item within close range are visible to the Appraiser. No check required. Every object announces itself. |
| II | The Insulated | 4 Trainings | While wearing or wielding any gear they have crafted or improved this encounter, incoming Body wounds against the Insulated are reduced by 1 (minimum 0). Good work protects its maker. |
| III | The Arcane Artisan | 6 Trainings | The Artisan's Training die is treated one size larger on all Logic, Knowledge, and Sense checks made crafting, modifying, or infusing Wonder Gear. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 2. |
| IV | The Artificer | 8 Trainings | [Beat] Recharge 5. Apply Polish or Quick Imbue at ranged distance without physical contact, on a successful Logic check (TN 20). The work has learned to travel. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 3. |
| V | The Conduit | 10 Trainings | While the Conduit personally wields a quality item, it carries a d6 Magic die as if it were Wonder Gear. The magic comes from them, not the item. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 4. |
Training
Training can be selected in any order and there is no requirement for how many you must learn. Flex Slots allow you to select more general Training available through the Archetype or All types.
| # | Training | Type | Prereq | Context | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gear Enchantment | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Logic checks for crafting, modifying, and improving Wonder Gear gain a Training d4. Bench work, field modification, infusion prep. |
| 2 | Arcane Mechanics | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Knowledge checks for designing, reading, and repairing machinery and Wonder Gear gain a Training d4. Covers diagnosing what an item can receive and identifying failed infusions. |
| 3 | Resonance Touch | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Sense checks for detecting magical frequencies gain a Training d4. Identifying Wonder Gear, reading existing infusions, sensing magic in general. |
| 4 | Polish | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Action] Touch an ally's weapon or armor and make a Logic check (TN 20). On success their Gear die upgrades one step for the encounter. Margin 10+: two steps. Margin 20+: three (maximum d12). Physical contact required. |
| 5 | Overload | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Beat] Recharge 3. Push the infusion on one piece of Wonder Gear you created. Its Magic die upgrades two steps for the next single Attack made with it. Once per item per encounter. |
| 6 | Wardsmithing | Mechanic Modifier | Logic ≥ 3 | Combat | [Action] Recharge 3. Inscribe a ward onto armor or a shield. The wearer's defense rolls gain a Training d4 for the remainder of the encounter, or until the item is removed. |
| 7 | Quick Imbue | Signature Ability | Sense ≥ 4 | Combat | [Action] Recharge 5. Touch a piece of gear and make a Logic check (TN 20). If the gear has no Magic die, it gains a d6. If it has one, it upgrades one step. |
| 8 | Machina Strike | Signature Ability | Sense ≥ 4 | Combat | [Passive] While personally wielding Wonder Gear, you may attack using Sense in place of Might or Grace. Attacks made this way carry the Magic tag and target the Spirit track. |
| 9 | The Refinement | Capstone | Logic ≥ 5 | Exploration | Out of combat only. Work a piece of gear through successive Knowledge, Logic, and Sense checks (TN 20 each). Success on all three permanently upgrades the item's Gear die one step, registered in the Codex. Materials cost applies. One Refinement per item, ever. |
| 10 | The Grand Imbue | Capstone | Knowledge ≥ 6 | Exploration | Out of combat only. Work a worthy piece of gear through successive Knowledge, Logic, and Sense checks (TN 25 each). On success the item is registered as Wonder Gear with a permanent d4 Magic die. Margin 10+ on both Knowledge and Logic: the die starts at d6. This is the real work, gear properly made, not field-patched. |
Flex Slots
A Wondermancer has two Flex Slots. A lineage is a narrow door, and they chose to walk through it.
| Source | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Mystic | Trainings available to every Mystic profession (Witch, Alchemist, Assassin, Wondermancer). Frequency perception, ritual fundamentals, arcane hygiene. |
| All | Trainings available to every Persona in the game regardless of archetype or profession. Universal competencies such as survival craft, first aid, general social technique, mundane skills. |
The Opportunist
The world is full of openings. Most people just don't see them.
Archetype: Specialist
Magic: No
Requirement: Grace 3
Flex Slots: 3
Primary Skills: Grace, Sense
Opportunists read every room the moment they enter it: exits, sightlines, who is watching, who has stopped watching. Their tradecraft is patience and position. The strike lands three turns after the setup did. They feed openings to allies, strip defensive options from opponents, and take the shot themselves when the timing is exactly right.
Access protocols, tiered security, layered social hierarchies: everything designed to keep people out generates a market for people who know how to get in. Most Opportunists came up through the grey economy. Couriers who did not ask about the cargo. Fixers who solved problems quietly. Operators who learned early that timing and position are worth more than muscle. The right place and the right time are not luck. They are manufactured.
Titles
Nobody promotes an Opportunist. Doors just start opening.
| Tier | Name | Earned At | What It Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Eyes | 2 Trainings | Always on. The Power Score and defensive augments of every Persona within close range are visible to Eyes. Every room arrives pre-read. |
| II | Slippery | 4 Trainings | Slippery cannot be Rooted or physically restrained by any Training, Title, or ability. Movement-limiting conditions simply fail. Holding them is a rumor. |
| III | Lucky | 6 Trainings | When a Grace check succeeds with margin 10+, Lucky immediately generates a free d4 TAD for their next action this turn. It is not luck. It never was. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 2. |
| IV | Slick | 8 Trainings | [Beat] Recharge 5. Move one distance category in any direction without a Move action. If Slick was concealed, concealment holds through the movement. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 3. |
| V | True Opportunist | 10 Trainings | Whenever an ally deals a wound to a target within close distance, the True Opportunist may immediately make a free Grace Attack against that target as a Reaction. Once per ally turn. Consumes nothing. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 4. |
Training
Training can be selected in any order and there is no requirement for how many you must learn. Flex Slots allow you to select more general Training available through the Archetype or All types.
| # | Training | Type | Prereq | Context | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deft Hands | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Grace checks for sleight of hand, palming, pickpocketing, and fine manual work gain a Training d4. |
| 2 | Nonchalant | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Grace checks for moving undetected (silent traversal, holding a concealed position, slipping through crowds) gain a Training d4. |
| 3 | Survey | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Sense checks for threat assessment (exits, patrol timing, guard positions, who is distracted, where the advantageous ground is) gain a Training d4. |
| 4 | Shiv | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Passive] Attacks against targets unaware of your position deal +1 wound on a hit. A target who survives becomes aware unless concealment is re-established. |
| 5 | Case the Mark | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Action] Recharge 3. Study a target's habits and rhythm. Sense check (TN 20). On success, generate a TAD usable by you or any ally on the next Attack against that target: d4 base, d6 at margin 10+, d8 at 20+, d10 at 30+, d12 at 40+. |
| 6 | Pickpocket | Mechanic Modifier | Grace ≥ 4 | All | [Beat] Recharge 5. Contested Grace against the target's Sense. Success lifts one carried item (key, document, pouch, access token). Against other Personas, Social contexts only, logged by the Codex with both parties notified. Not usable in open combat. |
| 7 | Misdirect | Signature Ability | Sense ≥ 4 | Combat | [Action] Recharge 3. Create a false focal point (thrown object, shout, sudden movement) anywhere within ranged distance. Your Sense check result becomes the TN; every opponent within close range of the point checks Sense against it. Those who fail cannot apply Tactic dice until the end of their next turn. |
| 8 | Exploit | Signature Ability | Grace ≥ 4 | Combat | [Passive] Recharge 1. When any ally deals a wound to a target, your next Attack against that target before the end of your following turn increases all Training and Tactic dice by one size. |
| 9 | Dead Angle | Capstone | Grace ≥ 5 | Combat | [Passive] Your Attacks degrade the target's defensive Gear dice by two sizes (minimum d4). Armor, shield, whatever they carry: you have already found where it doesn't cover. |
| 10 | The Setup | Capstone | Grace ≥ 6 | Combat | [Action] Recharge 5. Spend your action in complete stillness, reading every angle in the room. Your next Grace Attack this encounter adds a d12 TAD and deals +1 wound on a hit regardless of margin. |
Flex Slots
An Opportunist has three Flex Slots. Their entire profession is knowing a little of whatever the moment requires.
| Source | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Trainings available to every Specialist profession (Bounty Hunter, Opportunist, Scout, Siege Master). Fieldcraft, tradecraft, urban navigation, contacts. |
| All | Trainings available to every Persona in the game regardless of archetype or profession. Universal competencies such as survival craft, first aid, general social technique, mundane skills. |
The Bounty Hunter
Nobody runs forever.
Archetype: Specialist
Magic: No
Requirement: Body 3
Flex Slots: 3
Primary Skills: Might, Sense
The Bounty Hunter code predates the modern Accords, the factions, and most of recorded history. A contract is sacred. Once taken, it is completed as specified, regardless of circumstance. Hunters move through Sanctuaries with a recognized authority, because the laws of a Sanctuary are the Hunter's laws too. To break the code is to become the next contract. The community sees to that.
The profession traces to the Age of Myth, when human high society funded bounties on Monsters of Interest: Kin deemed dangerous, significant, or simply hated. The would-be heroes who answered those contracts were the first Hunters, and the escalation of that tradition fed the pressures that led to the Third Sundering. The work never stopped. The code governing it is simple: honor the contract, respect the Sanctuary, do not poach. It hardened through the ages into something the Hunter community enforces as a whole, with the same efficiency it applies to any other problem. Kin answer bounties now as readily as surface dwellers. Some have been on both ends of a posted contract.
Titles
A Hunter's rank is their collection record, and everyone can look it up.
| Tier | Name | Earned At | What It Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Licensed | 2 Trainings | Always on. The current bounties and contract status (wanted, protected, cleared) of every Persona within close range are visible to the Licensed. The paperwork is the territory. |
| II | Hardened | 4 Trainings | The first time each encounter the Hardened would take 2 or more wounds from a single hit, the total is reduced to 1. Automatic. Scars accumulate into armor. |
| III | Closing Distance | 6 Trainings | When an Attack against the Quarry succeeds with margin 10+, the Hunter's Training die for Attacks against them upgrades one step for the rest of the encounter. Cumulative, maximum d12. The net tightens. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 2. |
| IV | Walk Away | 8 Trainings | [Action] Recharge 5. Offer the Quarry an honorable resolution, logged by the Codex. Accepted: the Quarry is Out for the encounter and forfeits no Renown, the Hunter earns +1 Renown for the clean collection, contract resolved. Refused: the encounter continues. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 3. |
| V | Always Collects | 10 Trainings | When the Hunter takes their Quarry Out, every witness in the encounter must pass a Will check (TN 20) to take offensive action against the Hunter for the rest of the encounter. Bounty Renown resolves automatically. Everyone knows how the story ends. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 4. |
Training
Training can be selected in any order and there is no requirement for how many you must learn. Flex Slots allow you to select more general Training available through the Archetype or All types.
| # | Training | Type | Prereq | Context | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tracker | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Sense checks for following trails, reading signs of passage, seeing through concealment, and locating a specific target gain a Training d4. Urban or wild. |
| 2 | Iron Grip | Core Skill Booster | None | Combat | Your Might checks for restraint, grapple, and non-lethal takedown gain a Training d4. Also applies when resisting a grappled target's escape. |
| 3 | Dossier | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Knowledge checks researching a specific target (locations, associates, patterns, faction ties, weaknesses) gain a Training d4. Against a target under your active bounty, a successful Knowledge check (TN 20) also generates a TAD for Attacks against them: d4 base, scaling to d12 by margin. Persists until used. |
| 4 | Quarry | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Beat] Designate the target of an accepted bounty as your Quarry, logged by the Codex. Your Sense checks against them upgrade one die step for the contract's duration, and your first Attack against them each turn generates a d4 TAD. One Quarry at a time. |
| 5 | Relentless | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Passive] Recharge 3. When your Quarry moves to increase distance from you, move one distance category toward them at no Move cost on your turn. |
| 6 | Live or Dead | Mechanic Modifier | Body ≥ 4 | Combat | [Passive] Declare intent before a Might Attack. Dead: your Training die upgrades one step for that Attack. Alive: on success, instead of a wound, the target is Rooted until the end of their next turn. |
| 7 | Locked On | Signature Ability | Body ≥ 4 | Combat | [Passive] While your Quarry is designated, the No-Repeat Skill Rule does not apply to Actions against them. Both Actions may use the same Skill, provided both target the Quarry exclusively. |
| 8 | Iron Trail | Signature Ability | Sense ≥ 4 | Combat | [Passive] Your Quarry cannot fully disappear. While they are Concealed you always know their distance category, and your Sense checks to locate them gain a d8 Tactic die. Their Concealment holds against everyone else. |
| 9 | Toughened | Capstone | Body ≥ 5 | Combat | [Passive] Incoming Body wounds are reduced by 1 (minimum 0) while you are in active pursuit of your designated Quarry. |
| 10 | The Last Mile | Capstone | Body ≥ 6 | Combat | [Passive] When your Quarry acts to disengage, flee, or increase distance, make a free Might or Grace Attack before the movement completes. If it deals a wound, the movement is halted entirely. |
Flex Slots
A Bounty Hunter has three Flex Slots. Every contract is different, and the kit adapts.
| Source | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Trainings available to every Specialist profession (Bounty Hunter, Opportunist, Scout, Siege Master). Fieldcraft, tradecraft, urban navigation, contacts. |
| All | Trainings available to every Persona in the game regardless of archetype or profession. Universal competencies such as survival craft, first aid, general social technique, mundane skills. |
The Scout
First in. Last seen.
Archetype: Specialist
Magic: No
Requirement: Sense 3
Flex Slots: 3
Primary Skills: Sense, Grace
Every route has a cost, every room has a second exit, every silence has a texture, and the Scout has already catalogued all three by the time the Company catches up. They fight when they must, and they are dangerous at range, but their real weapon is the sixty seconds of warning nobody else would have had.
The Gloom sharpened Scouts into the most indispensable members of any company. Someone had to walk the tunnels first, ahead of the caravans and behind the retreats, reading the dark for the difference between settling stone and something breathing. The Kin bred generations of them, and the Reemergence sent them up the shafts first, into storm drains and subway cuts and the wilderness between cities. Human Scouts learned the craft in other uniforms and found the Awakened world short of exactly their skills. Whatever the mission is, the Scout's part of it starts earlier than everyone else's and ends only when the way home is confirmed.
Titles
Nobody sees a Scout earn their rank. That is how they earn it.
| Tier | Name | Earned At | What It Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | The Pathmarked | 2 Trainings | Always on. The Codex reveals exits, passable routes, and terrain hazards within Sight, and the Pathmarked always knows true north and their depth below the surface. The map is in them now. |
| II | The Unsurprised | 4 Trainings | The Unsurprised cannot be ambushed, and attacks from concealment gain no unaware bonuses against them. Whatever was waiting, they already heard it breathing. |
| III | The Longeye | 6 Trainings | When a Sense check succeeds with margin 10+, the Longeye generates a free d4 TAD for any Company member's next action. Seeing it first means someone else strikes it better. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 2. |
| IV | The Vanguard | 8 Trainings | [Beat] Recharge 5. The Company snaps to the Scout's read of the field: every member gains a d6 TAD on their first Action before the Vanguard's next turn. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 3. |
| V | The Ranger | 10 Trainings | Every turn, the Ranger gains one additional free Move, usable at any point in the turn. The ground simply gives them more than it gives anyone else. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 4. |
Training
Training can be selected in any order and there is no requirement for how many you must learn. Flex Slots allow you to select more general Training available through the Archetype or All types.
| # | Training | Type | Prereq | Context | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pathfinder | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Sense checks for navigation, tracking, terrain reading, and route finding gain a Training d4. |
| 2 | Silent Tread | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Grace checks for moving unseen and unheard while operating ahead of, apart from, or behind your Company gain a Training d4. |
| 3 | Field Notes | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Knowledge checks identifying creatures, tracks, hazards, and territorial signs gain a Training d4. |
| 4 | Point Position | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Passive] During the first round of any encounter, your Actions resolve as if their Speed Lane were one step faster (Slow as Mid, Mid as Fast). |
| 5 | Overwatch | Mechanic Modifier | Sense ≥ 3 | Combat | [Action] Recharge 3. Watch one target or zone until your next turn. The first time it attacks or closes distance, one ally of your choice gains a d6 TAD against it. |
| 6 | Danger Sense | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat, Exploration | [Passive] Recharge 3. When an ambush or hidden threat would surprise your Company, make a Sense check (TN 20). On success, no one is surprised. |
| 7 | Spotter | Signature Ability | Sense ≥ 4 | Combat | [Beat] Recharge 1. Mark a target you can see. The next ranged Attack an ally makes against it upgrades their Tactic die one step, or grants a d4 TAD if they have none. |
| 8 | Ranger's Shot | Signature Ability | Grace ≥ 4 | Combat | [Passive] Your ranged Grace Attacks treat Sight distance as Ranged. The bleeding edge of engagement is your comfortable middle. |
| 9 | Ghost on the Trail | Capstone | Grace ≥ 5 | All | [Passive] You cannot be tracked by mundane means, and your Concealment rolls in natural, ruined, or underground terrain add a d8 Special die. |
| 10 | First In, Last Out | Capstone | Sense ≥ 6 | Combat | [Beat] Recharge 5. Take a free Move immediately, and every Company member may move one distance category. The whole formation breathes at your word. |
Flex Slots
A Scout has three Flex Slots. The ground changes; so does the kit.
| Source | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Trainings available to every Specialist profession (Bounty Hunter, Opportunist, Scout, Siege Master). Fieldcraft, tradecraft, urban navigation, contacts. |
| All | Trainings available to every Persona in the game regardless of archetype or profession. Universal competencies such as survival craft, first aid, general social technique, mundane skills. |
The Siege Master
The position is the weapon.
Archetype: Specialist
Magic: No
Requirement: Logic 3
Flex Slots: 2
Primary Skills: Logic, Might
The Siege Master turns ground into advantage. Traps, wards, barricades, kill zones: they ready a space the way an Alchemist manipulates a compound. Give a Siege Master an hour and a room, and the room fights for them. Give them a day, and the room wins by itself.
The doctrine came out of the Deep Line. Three thousand years of holding Ashvault's gates against organized incursion produced a school of defensive engineering with no equal on the surface: Hobgoblin discipline married to salvaged Dwarven infrastructure, refined under a siege that never fully lifted. When the Kin surfaced, the doctrine surfaced with them, and it found the surface world full of soft positions and softer assumptions. Not every Siege Master is Kin. But every Siege Master, whatever their blood, is practicing an art whose tuition was paid in the dark, and the serious ones know it.
Titles
Rank among Siege Masters is simple: how long did your wall hold, and against what.
| Tier | Name | Earned At | What It Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | The Surveyor | 2 Trainings | Always on. The Codex reveals structural weak points, choke points, and optimal defensive positions in any space the Surveyor enters. Every room confesses its geometry. |
| II | The Rampart | 4 Trainings | While in cover or a fortified position, the first wound the Rampart would take each encounter is reduced by 1 (minimum 0). The wall starts at the skin. |
| III | The Toll | 6 Trainings | When the Toll wins a Defense with margin 10+ while holding their fortified zone, the attacker is Staggered. Approach has a price, and it is posted. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 2. |
| IV | The Bastion | 8 Trainings | [Action] Recharge 5. Fortify on the spot: the Bastion and all Company members in their zone gain cover and a d6 Training die to Defense until the Bastion leaves the zone. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 3. |
| V | The Citadel | 10 Trainings | At the start of each of the Citadel's turns, generate one free d8 TAD and hand it to any Company member in their zone. Costs nothing. The position pays dividends every round. Profession Depth: this Training die never rolls below 4. |
Training
Training can be selected in any order and there is no requirement for how many you must learn. Flex Slots allow you to select more general Training available through the Archetype or All types.
| # | Training | Type | Prereq | Context | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fortifier | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Logic checks to build, reinforce, or assess defenses, barricades, and wards gain a Training d4. |
| 2 | Bulwark Discipline | Core Skill Booster | None | Combat | Your Might checks made while in cover or holding a fixed position gain a Training d4. |
| 3 | Eye for Weakness | Core Skill Booster | None | All | Your Sense checks reading structures (breach points, load paths, collapse risks, the gaps in an enemy's fortification) gain a Training d4. |
| 4 | Improvised Defenses | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Action] Recharge 3. Convert your immediate surroundings into Cover for yourself and adjacent allies until you move, terrain permitting. |
| 5 | Kill Zone | Mechanic Modifier | Logic ≥ 3 | Combat | [Action] Designate a zone at Close or Ranged distance. Until your next turn, your Company's Tactic dice against targets inside it upgrade one step. |
| 6 | Trapwright | Mechanic Modifier | None | Combat | [Action] Recharge 3. Set a snare or charge in your zone. The first enemy to enter makes a contested Body check against your Logic. On your win, they take 1 wound or are Rooted until the end of their next turn, your choice. |
| 7 | Hold the Line | Signature Ability | Might ≥ 4 | Combat | [Passive] While you have not moved this turn, you and adjacent allies add a Training d4 to Defense rolls. |
| 8 | Denial | Signature Ability | Logic ≥ 4 | Combat | [Reaction] Recharge 3. When an enemy attempts to change distance toward you or an ally in your zone, make a contested Logic check against their Grace. On your win, the movement fails. |
| 9 | Unbreachable | Capstone | Logic ≥ 5 | Combat | [Passive] Cover you occupy counts one grade better, and Attacks against you from Ranged or Sight degrade the attacker's Gear die one step. |
| 10 | Spring the Ground | Capstone | Might ≥ 6 | Combat | [Action] Recharge 5. Trigger every trap, ward, and prepared position you have set simultaneously. Every enemy in your Kill Zone makes a contested Body check against your Logic; on your win they take 1 wound and are Staggered. |
Flex Slots
A Siege Master has two Flex Slots. The doctrine is total or it is nothing; ask Ashvault.
| Source | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Trainings available to every Specialist profession (Bounty Hunter, Opportunist, Scout, Siege Master). Fieldcraft, tradecraft, urban navigation, contacts. |
| All | Trainings available to every Persona in the game regardless of archetype or profession. Universal competencies such as survival craft, first aid, general social technique, mundane skills. |