Behold the Tower: Classes in this Setting

Your interest and choice in a subclass opens up its lore to your input, though bear in mind that a subclass represents a type of received tradition or specific magical alteration that is grouped under a class archetype. In other words, while the class itself is open to quite a bit of interpretation, the subclass usually finds meaning by its role for some community or its purpose in history. Every subclass has an origin and often entails a narrative regarding its development and notoriety.

The examples given below tie each subclass to the setting rather than the standardized "kitchen-sink" variety found in their respective sourcebooks. Your experimentation is encouraged, though keeping a similar flavor will allow you to more easily reconcile your character concept to the world.

## Barbarian

Tribal communities not a part of one of the great settled societies are often called barbarians, and their mightiest warriors undergo animalistic rage in combat. These are most often nomadic tribes, especially from the open plains or steppe.

* ***Path of the Berserker***. Germanic warriors with legendary combat prowess, known for bear-cloaks and running into battle unarmored.
* ***Path of the Totem Warrior***. Celtic orders of worship surrounding particular animals that create small pantheons based on tribal affinity.
* ***Path of the Ancestral Guardian***. The last survivor of a steppe tribe receives special guidance from the dead to help carry his lineage.
* ***Path of the Storm Herald***. Few survive the journey to and from destruction, and those who might become emissaries of its tempest.
* ***Path of the Zealot***. Called the "fourth sect" of Judaism, this ancient order of warriors still seeks the liberation of the Holy Land.
* ***Path of the Beast***. Lycanthropy and related strains turn ordinary people into "turnskins," cursed with bestial aspects.
* ***Path of Wild Magic***. Nomads who thrive near the fallen city of Troy are more sensitive to the ley-lines laid throughout the world.

## Bard

These magicians subtly leverage the hidden power of words and stories. Music, poetry and rhetoric all fall under a broad category of performers who express more than just ideas with the narratives they craft in meter and prose.

* ***College of Lore***. Some retain the fading traditions of the troubadors who recite lyric poetry for royal courts across Europe.
* ***College of Valor***. Members of the Germanic skaldic tradition who record sagas in time-spanning epics.
* ***College of Glamour***. A group of twilight elves preserve the remarkable music of latter day Troy, rife with fairy-magic.
* ***College of Swords***. Bogatyrs like Alyosha Popovich use trickery and flourish to slay dragons and catch thrown daggers mid-air.
* ***College of Whispers***. Furtive heretical sects pursue hidden realities and disguise themselves as traveling minstrels.
* ***College of Creation***. Those who know the proper melodies to the Psalms may perform renditions of music from the First Temple.
* ***College of Eloquence***. Rhetoricians that inherit the unique style of the best orators, from Cicero to Saint Augustine.

## Cleric

Saints of the Abrahamic faiths can be rightfully called clerics, who act as vessels for divine action and intervention.

* ***Knowledge Domain***. Saint Thomas Aquinas, one of the most important Doctors of the Church in history.
* ***Life Domain***. Saint Nicholas, who is remembered for various healing miracles including bringing the dead back to life.
* ***Light Domain***. Saint Peter of Moscow, a silent saint whose painted icons illuminate the rooms in which they are placed.
* ***Nature Domain***. Saint Patrick, whose staff became a living tree and banished serpents from Ireland.
* ***Tempest Domain***. Saint Elijah, known to have called on lightning from the sky and associated with various types of natural disasters.
* ***Trickery Domain***. Padre Pio, whose miracles include bilocation and the deception of the Devil.
* ***War Domain***. Saint Dominic, who led Spanish soldiers into battle against the Albigensians.
* ***Forge Domain***. Saint Clement I, known for having produced pure iron from ore and for perishing by an iron anchor.
* ***Grave Domain***. Saint Elisha, whose very bones had the power to bring the dead to life.
* ***Order Domain***. Saint Bernard, leading Crusaders into battle and stamping out heresies with fury and fire.
* ***Peace Domain***. Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus, whose multitude of miracles and intellectual gifts helped settle disputes in the Church.
* ***Twilight Domain***. Saint Anthony the Great, who survived in the desert and in darkness against evil spirits.

## Druid

Pagan religious leaders and practioners of old rites, known for shapeshifting and curses. Shamans of Celtic or steppe origin usually fall here.

* ***Circle of the Land***. Orders of druids who erect standing stones for gathering occult knowledge and the favor of mysterious entities.
* ***Circle of the Moon***. The archaic tradition of venerating the entity Trivagante in secluded glades and deserts.
* ***Circle of Dreams***. Since the fall of Troy, the mystic nymphs of the wood have sought druids to enter their service.
* ***Circle of the Shepherd***. Familiar spirits make their way about the Earth anchored by these keepers of forgotten lore.
* ***Circle of Spores***. A longstanding tradition to the gatekeepers of decay, fungi, persists today in a secluded group called the Mycel.
* ***Circle of Stars***. Inheritors of the wisdom of the Egyptians remains the oldest druidic cult in the world.
* ***Circle of Wildfire***. The burning of a wicker man for human sacrifice afford insidious power to their practitioners.

## Fighter

Though sometimes associated broadly as simply any sort of warrior, fighters are truly a class that embody the peak of martial prowess. Few would dispute their renown or skill. Elite knights of any nation can be found here, as well as the folk heroes of the ancient world.

* ***Champion***. The most esteemed victors of battle employ brute martial strength and skill to maintain their reputation.
* ***Battle Master***. Recent Italian masters have formalized swordsmanship into an art and exercise of the virtues.
* ***Eldritch Knight***. The five Pandava brothers of ancient India were "one-man armies" who wielded both spell and spear.
* ***Arcane Archer***. Paris of Troy, and some after him, can guide their arrows with eldritch precision and potency.
* ***Cavalier***. None who mount a horse have rivaled the ferocity and myth of the Hungarian hussar mercenaries.
* ***Samurai***. Courtiers and noble soldiers from the Far East with unmatched mastery of sword, bow and spear.
* ***Psi Warrior***. Coptic mercenaries occasionally hail from hidden Gnostic knighthoods and possess strange abilities as a result.
* ***Rune Knight***. Warriors from Iceland know entrancing magical staves that can invoke the hidden names of spirits.

## Monk

The philosophy of the monk's religion will play a more important role than the theology, as they require discipline, clarity and focus to achieve their aims. The fictional Shaolin sect, as well as warrior-ascetics around the world, will be at home here.

* ***Way of the Four Elements***. Enlightened holy men from the Himalayas can perform apparent feats of wonder from the Earth's elements.
* ***Way of the Open Hand***. Soldier monks are one of the oldest surviving traditions of Southeast Asia.
* ***Way of Shadows***. Shinobi mercenaries find refuge in Buddhist temples and sell their talents far and wide.
* ***Way of the Drunken Master***. Buddhist and Daoist temples will teach "drunken boxing" as an apt technique for defending their villages.
* ***Way of Kensei***. Emperors of the East require temple servants to become skilled combatants to protect their holy sites.
* ***Way of the Sun Soul***. To nurture living light is the goal of some Nestorian monasteries in the borderlands of the Near and Far East.
* ***Way of Mercy***. Cenobite monks who were especially prominent during the Black Death, both healer and defender against the undead.
* ***Way of the Astral Self***. Sufi mystics who achieve ego death develop incredible, supernatural abilities.

## Paladin

Foremost a warrior, then a pious warrior, those who cleave to an Abrahamic faith and fight with a holy cause may in general be described as paladins. The Knights of the Round Table and the Twelve Peers all fit in here.

* ***Oath of the Crown***. Jashobeam; “And thy house shall be faithful, and thy kingdom for ever before thy face: and thy throne shall be firm for ever.”
* ***Oath of Devotion***. Charlemagne; "For if he hath cast off, he will also have mercy, according to His abundant covenant faithfulness."
* ***Oath of Ancients***. Sir Isumbras; "Till the Ancient of days came and gave judgment to the saints of the most High, and the time came, and the saints obtained the kingdom."
* ***Oath of Vengeance***. Ilya Muromets; "O Lord, thou knowest, remember me, and visit me, and avenge me from them that persecute me, do not defend me in thy patience: know that for thy sake I have sufferred reproach."
* ***Oath of Conquest***. Peter the Hermit; "Take courage, and be strong: for thou shalt cast conquer the land, for which I swore to their fathers, that I would deliver it to them."
* ***Oath of Redemption***. Guy of Warwick; "I will deliver them out of the hand of death. I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy death; O hell, I will be thy bite: comfort is hidden from my eyes."
* ***Oath of Glory***. Hughes de Payens; "And I will set my glory among the nations: and all nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them."
* ***Oath of the Watchers***. The Swan Knight; "And a lion cried out: I am upon the watchtower of the Lord, standing continually by day: and I am upon my ward, standing whole nights."

## Ranger

The ranger is one who carries the torch for a tradition or even a pivotal figure in a nation's history. They defend their communities often without gratitude, showing the highest fidelity to the practice of their conclave. This is best exemplified with the fictional Rangers of the North.

* ***Beast Master***. Inheritors of a primeval tradition that once notably bound the first canines to mankind.
* ***Hunter***. Only the highest nobility may join the Order of the Dragon, who defend innocents from the perfidious enemy.
* ***Gloom Stalker***. The last of a French knighthood originating with John de l'Ours, said to have fought the devil himself.
* ***Horizon Walker***. Some today bear the mantle of the otherwordly traveler Tang Seng of medieval China.
* ***Monster Slayer***. The chivalric system of the great hero Dietrich von Bern, who fought all variety of magical foes.
* ***Fey Wanderer***. The patriarchs of the Priamer people uphold this secretive retainer for their own protection.
* ***Swarmkeeper***. The Cult of the Moth treasures their silk moth colonies and the bonds they develop with them.

## Rogue

The subtle and the stealthy is the trade of rogues, and they are most known for not being as all they appear. Rogues can come in a wide variety but few would describe a rogue without giving them praise for subterfuge and remaining out of direct sight.

* ***Thief***. One of the oldest professions, an amateur is elevated to the notorious by virtue of their competence – and their subtlety.
* ***Assassin***. The Sicarii of ancient Israel passed on their cloak-and-dagger skills to religious and spiritual successors of their movement.
* ***Arcane Trickster***. In Syria, the legendary Forty Thieves were known for their deception through magic and treachery.
* ***Inquisitive***. Ecclesial authorities rely on these skilled detectives for their formal investigations into heresy.
* ***Mastermind***. The House of Medici is almost synonymous with intrigue and political engines in Italy and beyond.
* ***Scout***. Military success has always depended on proper reconaissance, from Hannibal to the Battle of Poitiers.
* ***Swashbuckler***. Corsairs from the Maghreb find bountiful loot and high adventure sailing along the Mediterranean shores.
* ***Phantom***. Living knights who vanquish phantom knights in single combat may earn their service so long as they live.
* ***Soulknife***. Clandestine masters of forbidden mysticism in arts such as Kabbalah.

## Sorcerer

The sorcerer finds themselves a victim of circumstance, and usually hold magic powers as a result of exterior forces for which they are merely pawns, or trading in their free will for the ability to recreate reality as they see fit.

* ***Draconic Bloodline***. One who sheds the blood of a dragon under special divine protection may inherit its powers without paying its terrible cost.
* ***Wild Magic***. Wonders without limit can proceed from the hands of those born to the favor of magical interlocutors.
* ***Divine Soul***. A call from birth to seek and to walk the difficult path toward enlightenment brings others to a life of austere mysticism.
* ***Shadow Magic***. The creeping shadow of the Mouth of Dis reaches its hands across ley-lines into the souls of the unfortunate.
* ***Storm Sorcery***. Some who venture deep into the valley of death return as a kindred of storms and natural disasters.
* ***Aberrant Mind***. Gnostics who follow the notorious Simon Magus may too be splintered by something inscrutable to mortal minds.
* ***Clockwork Soul***. Since the age of Pythagoras, mathematics has been envisioned as a conduit for startling deeds.

## Warlock

Those who devote themselves to a created being receive their bounty for the privelege of their patron's desires fulfilled on Earth.

* ***Pact of the Archfey***. The Fairy King confers his favor on the bride to a prince who has built and tended to a magnificent garden.
* ***Pact of the Fiend***. Orc shamans bound to Orcus in blood and deed act as his eyes and ears upon the Earth.
* ***Pact of the Great Old One***. Certain pilgrims bow to a dark blue night said to precede time or change.
* ***Pact of the Celestial***. The Militia Immaculata consecrate themselves to the Virgin Mary and thereby receive uninhibited graces.
* ***Pact of the Hexblade***. The golden apple of Troy wants to be found, and it beckons the calamitous for its retrieval.
* ***Pact of the Fathomless***. Worship of the primordial deep persists today in disparate and unholy ordinations.
* ***Pact of the Genie***. The Friends of Solomon ensures its contact and dealings with the most enigmatic spirits remains concealed.

## Wizard

Magicians whose currency is a chant, charm or precise formula perform the work of wizards, and as such rely on grimoires and occult texts for reliably tapping into this power.

* ***Abjuration***. Shamans since days unremembered have sought wards for protection, sanctification and concealment through metrical charms.
* ***Conjuration***. Obtaining a Jewel-Thread can fulfill wishes and move or bend the folds between the material and spiritual worlds.
* ***Divination***. Oracles have long existed, though the most powerful in recent memory have constructed brazen heads who speak in hidden things.
* ***Enchantment***. Through twisted rites and incantations, certain witches of Italy have ways to overcome the free will of ordinary folk.
* ***Evocation***. Collected folk wisdom is heightened in potency within the black tomes of German mystics.
* ***Illusion***. Invoking forgotten Kangxi radicals in ink has allowed some magicians to blend together dream and reality.
* ***Necromancy***. Witches of the Levant have spoken to the dead since the Iron Age, to varying outcomes.
* ***Transmutation***. The "great work" seeks to produce talismans and rare minerals from common ingredients.
* ***War Magic***. Since the age of the *Mahabharata*, the weapons of spirits can come into possession of mortals to practice the ultimate art.
* ***Bladesinging***. Female nobility in China employ sword-dances to communicate with lost spirits and heavenly powers.
* ***Order of Scribes***. A band of peculiar scholars entrusted with the care of grimoires from the Place of Spirits.