I want to illustrate what I mean about unique characters by creating three sample characters based on a single class: the Wayfarer.
The Wayfarer package is built around traveling. You can make discoveries, recharge your Inventory Points, overhear gossip, and so on. You can also take a companion creature, that you can use as a proxy weapon in combat (it replaces your attack for the turn and has its own HP).
We’re not going to actually do the calculations for attributes, secondary stats, equipment, and all that. We’ll include tips on what to take, but that’s it. We’re also not giving these characters individual Identities, Themes, etc. - this is about how classes fit together.
The first example is the Tower: a hulking, durable tank for combat encounters.
Our class picks are Fury 2, Guardian 2, Wayfarer 1. Our skill picks are:
- Provoke (Fury): roll MIG+WLP to taunt an enemy to attack you. Great!
- Withstand (Fury): When you perform the Guard action, if you don’t cover a creature, you recover (SL * Bond strength) HP, and get a boost to either MIG or WLP.
- Defensive Mastery (Guardian): reduce damage by (SL) before Affinities.
- Protect (Guardian): take a hit for another character.
- Faithful Companion (Wayfarer): take a companion beast, construct, elemental, or plant at L5. You can use your action to let your companion act. HP equal to ((SL * companion MIG) + half level).
Suggested build: Stat priority is MIG > WLP > DEX > INS. Buy a martial weapon, armor, and shield. Any weapon using MIG is fine.
Suggested development: focus on increasing Bond strengths, and buy more levels of the Withstand skill; dip into Weaponmaster for Counterattack.
Normally the Tower will provoke an enemy, then repeatedly Guard to take hits. The Withstand passive will boost their MIG to let them hit harder and give them more HP back. Faithful Companion gives them a supplemental attack - it’s like a spell that doesn’t cost any MP, has its own HP pool, and can potentially inflict statuses. Build a construct or elemental with a ranged attack and maybe some utility spells, then make attacks with it when you aren’t taking hits yourself. You can fluff the companion as an actual semi-autonomous being, or as a spiritual projection or special attack.
The second example is the Child of Nature: a character at home in the wild, who can keep a party safe against wild animals and natural hazards.
Our class picks are Chimerist 3, Wayfarer 2. Our skill picks are:
- Feral Speech (Chimerist): speak with beasts, monsters, and plants.
- Ritual Chimerism (Chimerist): perform arbitrary magic rituals within the discipline. Base the roll on INS.
- Spell Mimic (Chimerist): learn spells from beasts, monsters, and plants. Base the roll on INS.
- Treasure Hunter (Wayfarer): make a discovery on a roll of (SL+1) or lower.
- Well-Traveled (Wayfarer): reduce travel roll die size by 1.
Suggested build: Stat priority is WLP > INS > DEX > MIG. Any suitable weapon or armor is okay.
Suggested development: max out Spell Mimic and Treasure Hunter; branch into Orator for Unexpected Ally
The Child of Nature’s schtick is to guide the party through wilder areas, coming across interesting things, and learning from the animals and plants the party encounters along the way - whether speaking to them as friends, or learning their special attacks for later use in combat. Naturally, the more dangerous the wildlife, the better the spells the Child can gain!
Don’t neglect Rituals! With Chimerist Rituals, the Child of Nature can ask a bird to scout a path for them, then look through its eyes as it does. They can enhance their own senses to see in the dark, or perhaps sense heat like a snake does, in order to follow a target’s trail. They might end a fight before it begins, by calming a monster the party encounters.
The third is example is the Zealous Sage. This is a character who’s in search of something or someone, or just wants to learn more about the world.
Our class picks are Arcanist 2, Loremaster 1, Wayfarer 2. Our skill picks are:
- Bind and Summon (Arcanist): summon and dismiss strange beings. We take Arcanum of the Grimoire.
- Ritual Arcanism (Arcanist): cast Rituals appropriate to your bound Arcanum’s domain (knowledge, revelations, understanding).
- Flash of Insight (Loremaster): ask (SL) questions after making a check against a creature, item, or location.
- Faithful Companion (Wayfarer): take a companion beast, construct, elemental, or plant at L5. You can use your action to let your companion act. HP equal to ((SL * companion MIG) + half level).
- Tavern Talk (Wayfarer): ask (SL) questions when you rest at an inn or tavern.
Suggested build: Stat priority is INS (to d10) > anything. Any gear is okay.
Suggested development: Bind and Summon more arcana for combat effectiveness; add Trained Memory or Focused from Loremaster; more Flash of Insight SLs.
The Zealous Sage is interested in knowing something specific, and will pursue it to the ends of the earth. Whether folks in a tavern, summoned entities, or creatures and places found along the way, the Zealous Sage is built around asking questions of everyone and everything they encounter.
In this build, Faithful Companion is the Zealous Sage’s main combat go-to. Build a companion with a decent set of attacks and some kind of utility. Good candidates include the Grey Howler (to keep the Sage safe), the Arcane Lantern (an MP reserve), or the Acorn Pixie (a versatile flying attacker with a capacity for 200 HP worth of healing).