Guild LeadersClass AbilitiesWeapons and Gear RestrictionsGuilds •
Alchemist ↪
Headcanon/Skills •
Assassin ↪
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Berserker ↪
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Cleric ↪
Headcanon/Skills •
Druid ↪
Headcanon/Skills •
Hunter ↪
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Mage ↪
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Paladin ↪
Headcanon/Skills •
Rogue ↪
Headcanon/Skills •
Spellsword ↪
Headcanon/SkillsGuild LeadersThe original ten heroes who felled Xumurdad each consumed one of Its god-organs and gained a portion of Its power. They became the first ten Guild Leaders, able to grant others a small taste of that power.
Throughout the years, the role of Guild Leader has been passed down through ritual cannibalism, each guild with its own system in place for inheritance of a god-organ. After consuming a god-organ, the new Guild Leader gains an extension on their lifespan of 100 years, the powers granted by that god-organ, leadership of the guild, and, of course, a new organ in place of the old.
People join guilds by meeting with a Guild Leader and petitioning to join. Each guild has its own standards for new members, and Guild Leaders actually have very little choice in the matter due to politics surrounding the guilds. As long as someone meets the qualifications, they are accepted. (The specifics of this can be discussed between the players involved, but its purpose is to prevent situations where a GL character might ICly deny a petitioner due to strife between the characters, or OOCly due to strife between the players.)
Class AbilitiesZenderael is not actually an MMO. Real people inside the game are not restricted by gameplay mechanics. 'Builds' as such do not exist, however, they serve a purpose as a guideline for the sorts of skills that character has concentrated on learning. Characters are not restricted to one build's skills--for example, a support paladin may have a selection of offensive skills.
However, splitting one's focus between several areas does mean being less skilled in any one of those areas.
Abilities are widely varied within a class, and even within a specific build there's plenty of room for variance. We encourage players to come up with their own ability names and effects to flesh out classes.
Please keep in mind that
simply saying an ability exists does not mean all characters of that class and build share that ability. It is perfectly reasonable for one druid to be able to talk to animals while another cannot. There is no ability that all members of a class
must have. Do not feel forced to incorporate new abilities into your character's builds, as it is entirely reasonable for them to have simply never learned those abilities.
Weapons and Gear RestrictionsCharacters who are no longer solely under player control are also no longer bound by game mechanics. A cleric could wear plate, a mage could wield a gun. However, without the training for it, a plate-wearing cleric would find the armour heavy and restrictive, and the mage would have poor aim with no gun-based skills to help them.
Essentially, they can use weapon/armour types that are not preferred by their class, but they won't be very good at it without any of training.
GuildsWhile some guilds may have overlap in skills (stealth between assassins and rogues, or healing between clerics and paladins), each class is defined by their guild's philosophy more than by the skills granted to them by the blessing of the god-organ.
Below are general ideas and limitations for each guild, but ideally there is enough room to play and come up with new ideas. Players of Guild Leaders are encouraged to take these concepts to their logical extremes, because that's the power granted by the god-organ.
It is necessary to accept some retroactive concepts as new players build new ideas, but because of the variation, some characters may simply have focused on a side of things others did not. It is okay to be different!
Alchemists: Overview: Potion makers and tinkerers! Alchemists have the ability to bring out the most in natural ingredients that a normal person could not, and Xumurdad's power gives them better perceptions and the ability to work with devices more intuitively. They come highly varied compared to many classes, some focusing on potions--and specific kinds of potions such as those for healing versus potion bombs--and others on weapon building or homunculi constructs. Their constructs are limited to rudimentary AI, but their purposes may be just as varied as potions.
The blessing of Xumurdad does not give alchemists improved physical ability, instead focusing on improved mental abilities. There is an element of magic to alchemy, and putting all the right ingredients together in the right configuration will get you nothing if you're not an alchemist.
History: The founder of the Alchemists was Khshathra, who ate Xumurdad's brain and gained Its knowledge. With this new understanding, he discovered that all he wanted to do was sequester himself and work on science. To this end, the first Khshathra founded Safta, with the Spellswords to protect it and the Mages to catalogue its works.
The Alchemists have a business partnership with the Rogues. Rogues sell them components at black-market discounts, and they sell Rogues their creations significantly marked down. This is something of an open secret; everyone knows it happens, but nobody will admit to it.
The current Khshathra, also the Sharifa of Safta, is both head of her Guild and leader of the country. She takes great care to remain neutral in all international dealings. She is a good-humoured old woman with long white hair, thick glasses, and a loud, obnoxious laugh.
Summary:Leader title: The Khshathra, Sharifa of Safta
God-organ: The Brain of Xumurdad
Builds: Combat, Support, Disrupt
Armor preference: Mail
Weapon preference: Medium, Ranged
Complement-pair: Rogues
Members:Artemis (
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
graveyardmoon)
Nova (
transfer_student)
Assassins:
Overview: Usually stealthy and acrobatic, but not necessarily so. Poison is their key feature, and assassins can magically enchant their blades with it and cast minor poison and dark spells. They often employ tools such as smoke bombs, or nonmagical poisons from vials to coat their weapons. Their speed can be superhuman.
Because of their work with poisons, they are trained to know a lot about them and many have a way of either detoxifying themselves or a natural resistance/immunity.
History: The Armaiti ascended to power after devouring the liver of Xumurdad in the back country of Pakerion. Without fail she took the deceptive powers granted to her and began dismantling what she saw as an unjust distribution of power and pretension in Zenderael.
The current Armaiti is a dark, spindly woman with empty eyes and sharpened teeth. She is without mercy in personality and in decisive action.
Summary:
Leader title: The Armaiti
God-organ: The Liver of Xumurdad
Builds: Combat, Disrupt
Armor preference: Leather
Weapon preference: Medium; Dual-Wield
Complement-pair: Paladins
Members: Gunnar (
deathbell)
Iravati (
assassinot)
Lynea (
ghostlyheiress)
Siegmund (
bloodonthestones)
Berserkers: Overview: Physical combat and melee masters. Berserkers are often blessed with abilities like increased strength and durability, pain resistance, and growing stronger the more injured they are. Increased strength allows more endurance, better jumping, etc. There have been examples in-game of berserkers punching the earth to cause small tremors or fissures.
Fury is their unique skill, letting them enter a battle state of increased power. They will stop at nothing until the battle is over, win or lose. Using fury is typically exhausting.
History: The berserkers were founded by the Ahura, who ate Xumurdad's stomach and gained Its vigor. She retreated to the wild lands of Pakerion, where she established a guild of like-minded fighters who believed that enlightenment lay in the thrill of battle.
The berserker guild accepts all comers, but the training is so intense that few make it through. Those who finish and come out as guild-certified berserkers are the toughest, most stalwart people Zenderael has to offer.
The guild largely keeps to itself, though many find their services indispensable. Berserkers are often hired out when requested, and many make a living as mercenaries. It's not uncommon to find berserkers drafted into armies.
Power in the guild is traditionally passed down through annual tournaments, the winner getting to fight the Ahura for his title. The current Ahura is Rhys Elena (
brokencrescendo).
Summary:Leader title: The Ahura
God-organ: The Stomach of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Plate
Weapon preference: Medium, Heavy; Shield
Builds: Combat, Defense
Complement-pair: Spellswords
Members: Leader: Rhys (
brokencrescendo)
Alex (
socarnivorously)
Go (
berserkbitch)
Virelai (
bantambrawl)
Clerics:Overview: Clerics specialize in healing and holy magic. They are the best healers and the only guild capable of resurrection, but only at the highest of skill levels. They're able to heal wounds and diseases, though some have foregone the study of healing to focus on smiting, exorcism, or battling the undead.
Compared to paladins, their holy magic is more potent and direct.
History: The Clerics are the only class with documentation of their existence prior to the fall of Xumurdad. Back then, they were not magical; they were merely a temple culture that focused on worshipping the leader of the land. The Clerics were the last to deign to eat the fallen piece of their God, and so received the heart of their great lord, and unimaginable power.
The current Vahishta is an angry man, they say, but he always seems to pleasant to outside interaction. He's got feathery blonde hair and a pretentious mustache.
Summary:Leader title: The Vahishta
God-organ: The Heart of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Cloth
Weapon preference: Light
Builds: Combat, Support
Complement-pair: Mages
Members: Ashtaroth (
vast_oceans)
Benedict (
fatedecree)
Druids: Overview: Nature's magic casters and summoners. Druids can summon spirits and most have a permanent spiritual companion. They can cast many nature based spells and summon lesser spirits outside of that companion. Most are categorized by the four elements: fire, wind, water, and earth.
Some have the ability to speak with animals and trees, and some can bewitch monsters to become allies temporarily.
The default elemental for each build-type are listed below. Most druids bond with only one of these and stick to lesser elemental spirits for backup.
Defense - An Earth-elemental. A giant rock turtle, he creates a defensive glow around the Druid summoning and has several devastating, but
devastatingly slow, ground attacks.
Combat - A Fire-elemental. He appears as a slender humanoid with flaming hair.
Support - A Water-elemental. He appears as a slender humanoid with dread-locks and spindly fingers.
Disrupt - A Wind-elemental. She appears as a slender, curvaceous humanoid with a wild mess of leaves for hair and clothes forever tussled in an imaginary storm.
History: Druids have often been outliers in Zenderael, courting the outskirts of proper society. Though polite, religious individuals, their communes with both animals and spirits have often set the rest of the community ill-at-ease.
They're relatively respected, outside of by the Hunters, who have always seen the Druids as invading the natural world. Historically, the first Vohu devoured the womb shortly after the first Mano.
The current Vohu is unknown.
Summary:
Leader title: The Vohu
God-organ: The Womb of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Leather
Weapon preference: Light, Medium; Shield
Builds: Support, Combat, Disrupt, Defense
Complement-pair: Hunter
Members: Evelyn (
endofthetale)
Hunters: Overview: Though typically ranged attackers, what makes a hunter a hunter are the nature based powers they've been granted. Some, including the Mano, have impressive sight capabilities. Others can be inspired by nature to increase their own physical abilities or the abilities of those around them ("animal buffs"). They are designed to live off of the land and seek out their prey easily, often trained in survival skills.
History: Xumurdad's fall and further devouring left but two organs remaining, and the uterus and penis of the dual-gendered weren't going to get eaten anytime soon. Except, of course, by the first Mano, who had heard of the virility found within the organ. His choice to devour the penis of Xumurdad bestowed upon him forever-sight, and so his followers lusted after the ability to strike any target with perfect accuracy.
The Guild is at best scattered, at worst a rag-tag set of loners that occasionally share a meal.
An unknown incident left the Hunters stationed in the dead center of the Holy Land but with a bit of a distrust for the Holy itself, leading an interesting contrast. Most Hunters dread visiting home-base, and find themselves out of place in religious talk. They're a bit more simple, and find strict organization shifty, at best.
The current Mano is Jordan Hayes (
cloverstone).
Summary:
Leader title: The Mano
God-organ: The Penis of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Leather
Weapon preference: Medium, Ranged
Builds: Support, Combat
Complement-pair: Druid
Members: Leader:
Jordan (
cloverstone)
Noelle (
catchingseasons)
Rayu (
justabard)
Sascha (
alexandrhunted)
Mages: Overview: Mages are masters of magic. This includes the shaping of elemental magic, but they are capable of breaking reality and reshaping it in several ways. Restricted from mages is the summoning of spirits, as that belongs to druids.
Unique to mages is their ability to see the oddities introduced to the world by the game itself. They can physically see strings on played characters, hear whispers, and notice other details. (If you're not certain, ask!)
The ability to cast portals was restricted from players by the game originally, but in reality any mage can learn this with some time and dedication. Extensive warp and portal magic should be considered its own major school of magic, so it would be difficult for one to learn this
and be a master of fire magic, for example.
Becoming a mage can mentally break the weak willed and the weak minded.
History: The founder of the mages was the Asha, who ate Xumurdad's lungs and gained Its courage. He quickly formed alliances with the Alchemists and Spellswords, and together they founded Safta.
Still headquarted in Safta, the mages offer their services to both the Alchemists and spellswords, sharing the finer points of magical theory with both guilds. The Asha is in charge of a magical research institution which also houses the World Library, a collection of knowledge so extensive it's a massive labyrinth. Mages working as administrators of the World Library are called Mogh, collectively Moghan, and the Asha is called the A'zam Mogh.
Being a mage is not for the faint of heart. Only those with the courage to face the truth behind reality can grasp the theories behind the magic the guild practices. The idea of ripping into the seams of reality, seeing the universe at its core, and stitching it back together to one's whims is an inherently terrifying one in practice. Many guild candidates can't handle the revelation of what the world is like beneath the surface, and go mad. Those who face it with courage come out on the other side as mages.
The current Asha is a quiet young man with a stern stare behind a pair of glasses. His knowledge is extensive and he acts as an advisor to the ruler of Safta.
Summary:Leader title: The Asha, A'zam Mogh of the World Library
God-organ: The Lungs of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Cloth
Weapon preference: Light
Builds: Combat, Disrupt
Complement-pair Clerics
Members: Alessia (
arsmoriendi)
Majestica (
frombelow)
Reilanin (
winterwhite)
Paladins: Overview: Holy knights. Paladins hold up principles of virtue and justice, and breaking these principles can rob them of their powers without the Spenta being there to take it from them.
Like clerics, they possess holy magic abilities, though not to the same extent. Paladins cannot heal diseases the way clerics can, and their offensive magic, while potent, pales in comparison to a cleric's. Xumurdad's power often grants them more durability than the average person. Even without their defensive magics in play, they can take a beating.
History: The first Spenta first ate a piece of Xumurdad on the run from the Armaiti, the newly awakened leader of the Assassins. In a panic he ate the colon of Xumurdad, hoping against hope for some sort of power. Luckily, the defensive strength he acquired prevented his untimely demise.
This war against the Assassins is still reflected in the day-to-day workings of the Paladin. They are taught the first and foremost sin is to murder, though they often take lives at their hands. The distinction between a just kill and a disgusting murder is drilled into early cadet's heads by the Spenta.
The current Spenta is Ezra Amos (
coolmonsoon)
Summary:
Leader title: The Spenta
God-organ: The Colon of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Plate
Weapon preference: Medium, Heavy; Shield
Builds: All
Complement-pair: Assassin
s
Members: Leader: Ezra (
coolmonsoon)
Acher (
fearnoreproach)
Anais (
vallinar)
Eileen (
feedtherain)
Rasmus (
bulldozer)
Ravindra (
paladont)
Rogues: Overview: Similar to an assassin, but with less functional magic. Where assassins are designed to kill and murder, rogues are designed for theft. They're mobile, they pick pockets, they've often got fast tongues and charming voices. Some rogues have managed to use Xumurdad's blessing to make themselves sound truthful even when they are lying, removing the body's subtle cues.
Rogues are able to hide in plain sight and are incredibly acrobatic, like assassins. They are more likely to be trained in ranged weapons as well.
History: Based in Pakerion, the rogues are a disorganized bunch who stick to their own devices but will come together if the guild requires it. Most of them are lone wolf types, or they'll band together in small gangs. They deal in black market everything: magic, goods, even information. They are known for their stealth abilities, not as good as the assassins', but still formidable.
The current Vairya is a vibrant red-head with a silver tongue. She can get you out of anything: your house, your wallet, your marriage...
Summary:
Leader title: The Vairya
God-organ: The Tongue of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Mail
Weapon preference: Medium, Ranged
Builds: Disrupt, Combat
Complement-pair: Alchemists
Members: Edward (
sashaand)
Nayan (
senecio)
Tristan (
heyshorty)
Spellswords: Overview: Magic knights. Spellswords are a balance of magic and melee. They do not have as much power in their spells as a mage would, but are skilled with weapons. Their weapon is used to channel and amplify their magic. (Spellswords do not have to actually wield swords as their weapon of choice, to note! They can channel magic through other melee weapons.)
While Spellswords cannot see the strange reality of the world as mages can, they can see magic in general, and very, very well. They would be skilled at combating mages because of their ability to see a spell as it comes together, and what those spell threads mean. This ability to see magic turns their eyes gold, which is considered to be their defining trait.
History: The founder of the spellswords was the Mazda, who ate Xumurdad's eyes and gained Its insight. She quickly established a relationship with the Alchemists, and set up her guild to be their sword.
Headquartered in Safta, the spellsword guild serves as the core of the country's military power. All members must complete two years of mandatory service in the Amber Gaze, so named for the distinctive eyes of the spellswords. Afterward, guild members are free to stay enlisted or leave as they please, though they will always remain beholden to the guild. In times of need, those who have left service may be called back. However, since Safta is a neutral territory, there is rarely need.
The current Mazda, also the Admiral of the Amber Gaze, is a middle-aged woman with greyed hair and Xumurdad's piercing gaze. She is militant and commands her guild with an iron fist. She does not tolerate nonsense or failure.
Members of the Amber Gaze, known as Ambereyes, rank above the rest of Safta's military. They have a reputation as fierce and strict enforcers of the law. They are greatly respected, or at least greatly feared, and anybody who may dislike the Amber Gaze would never express it to an Ambereye's face.
Summary:Leader title: The Mazda, Admiral of the Amber Gaze
God-organ: The eyes of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Mail
Weapon preference: Medium, Heavy; Dual-Wield
Builds: Support; Disrupt; Combat
Complement-pair: The Berserkers
Members: Marlene (
marleneonthewall)
Nadir (
bittersaint)
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