Class examples

• Barbarian: Barbarians will be relatively easy to fit in. There are two main groupings of barbarian peoples in this world, those from the West and those from the North. Because I don't want to complicate things and I want everyone to have a good idea of how to behave (and what accents to use) The western barbarians are culturally similar to the Celtic peoples and the Northern barbarians are more Germanic in nature. Although there is some tension between barbarians and imperials, for the most part there is a thread of common humanity uniting them and barbarian characters will be welcome in imperial territory (although they might be watched a little closer than a good honest local).
• Bard: All the cultures in this world have something of a bardic tradition. Whether it be the beloved true bards of the western people, the respected skalds of the north, or the romantic poets of the empire. Even the near human peoples are known to have minstrels and silver-tongued adventuring wordsmiths.
• Cleric: This world has a rich religious tradition and many gods are venerated across the known world. I will post later about the different pantheons but for now it is enough to know that there will be gods of the West and North worshiped by the barbarian priests, a separate pantheon for Elves and Dwarfs, and an imperial cult with a full array of deities, although the primary god of the empire was and remains Maskius, the Lord of Knowledge and the spreader of civilization.
• Druid: Druids are available for play both from barbarian cultures and from the empire, as the urban culture of the old empire has fallen into neglect and most people even in the center of the old provinces live in a much wilder setting than ever before. I will touch on the various nature gods and spirits in a later post.
• Holy Warrior: Holy Warriors are available that swear to a specific god of a given pantheon, but there are also those who swear not to a specific deity, but to a Holy Order that pursues a particular cause and calls on multiple deities for their blessing.
• Knight: Knights are of course ubiquitous , they can be both aristocratic warriors, brutal dockside thugs, or hardened mercenaries. As the saying goes, "Men with swords never starve."
• Martial Artist: To the east of Ostwin, across the Sea of Armagh there lies a tiny mountainous country whose people have long suffered under the depredations of the monstrous races. Because they lived in so blighted a land, they never had the luxury of devoting resources to supporting and equipping warriors, instead they learned to protect themselves and their families with what they had; their hands and feet, or at most simple farming implements. Often these practitioners will find reason to travel away from their homes in search of riches or even enlightenment.
• Scout: The scout is, like the knight, a very easy class to fit in anywhere. Any culture, from the empire or abroad can justify acting as a scout.
• Swashbuckler: Being that the city of Ostwin sits on the Middle Sea, a tradition of fighting has evolved that relies not on power and weight of armor, but on speed and grace. This was originally a seafarer's fighting style because being weighted down by 50lbs of chainmail when you get tipped over the side is a bad idea. But since its inception many a young noble has been entranced by the swaggering dockside bravos and sought to emulate both the method of swordsmanship but also the outrageous self-confidance of the swashbuckler.
• Thief: Times are hard, and no one should be consigned to a life of backbreaking labor and bland food that has the talent to avoid it. Thieves are endemic in the city of Ostwin simply because half of the city is in ruins and the other half is poorly guarded.
• Wizard: Much knowledge has been lost since the fall of the empire, but there are those groups and individuals who seek both to preserve the knowledge of a time lost and to push back new boundaries with the learning of magic. Ostwin is home to one of the few remaining human magical colleges, it also maintains diplomatic and trade relations with the High Elves, originators of the arts and still the acknowledged masters of its practice.