Classes

Spellswords has a system of classes based on archetypes. Each archetype has two classes, each fulfilling essentially the same role, but with a different overall style. Within those classes are several minor variations that allow for further customization.

Martial Classes
The Martial classes are the warriors, the fighters, the masters of combat near and far. They may be a master of weapons, a talented hand-to-hand combatant, a suave swashbuckler, a raging wild-man, anything in between, and more.

At their core, Martial classes are characterized by their high Base Attack Bonus progression. They also generally have good hit points. They tend to be a little light on skills, but this is not always the case. By default, they don't have any spellcasting, but with the dearth of feats available to them, it's not a stretch for them to pick up a spell or two along the way.

The Fighter
The Fighter is the savvy warrior. Whether trained or self-taught, they represent a more controlled approach to combat. As such, they receive a variety of combat maneuvers as they level that do not count towards their normal limit.

The Trance-Warrior
The Trance-Warrior is the type of combatant that has a natural inclination towards combat, and has learned how to enter a battle trance to temporarily improve their effectiveness on the battlefield. Their trance is often unique to a particular culture, individual, or school of thought. The most iconic of these is the Barbarian and his rage, but this trance can represent many different abilities.

Specialist Classes
The Specialist classes are the skillful types, mastering anything from lore to artifice to thievery, their hallmark. They are sneakthieves, scoundrels, plucky jacks-of-all-trades, and so many other roles.

The specialist classes distinguish themselves most by their high rate of skill acquisition. No other class gets as many skills as they do. They also have moderate attack bonuses; they usually aren't found on the front line, but they can hold their own. They also gain a number of bonus skill tricks so that they always have a few up their sleeves. Depending on their variant, their hit points can range from moderate to decent. Although they don't get skills naturally, their high skill progression makes getting a few spells relatively easy to accomplish. In short, specialists can usually perform well in many different fields, but they only truly excel in a few.

The Rogue
The Rogue is trained in ambush tactics, and gain their hallmark ability is the sneak attack. They can also access many different abilities that can adapt the sneak attack to different applications. They also get the most in the way of skill tricks. Rogues excel as assassins and thieves, although with the right abilities they can contribute greatly to the front line as well.

The Adventurer
The Adventurer is the true jack-of-all-trades, as they gain free ability score increases as they gain experience. The caveat is that they are forced to spread these scores out at least a little - so an adventurer will not really be able to match up with a fighter in terms of combat ability, nor will they be able to match a wizard's spell ability, but they can also spread themselves farther than any other class.

Divine Classes
The Divine classes are those connected to some element of the divine, whether it be a deity, mother nature, or just a strong philosophical belief. They can be healers, wise seers, spiritual guides, and even zealots.

Divine spellcasting is the most notable ability of these characters. When compared to Arcane spells, Divine magic tends to be weaker in its effects, but easier to control and manage. Those that wield divine magic also tend to have a little more in the way of other abilities. Depending on the variant, a divine spellcaster might be able to handle themselves in combat, with a decent base attack bonus, or they might be more knowledgable of the world, manifesting in a high skill progression. Either way, they tend to be quite versatile, with a cadre of spells helping to shore up any weaknesses that they - or the party - may have.

The Cleric
The Cleric is the devout follower, whether it be of a god (or gods), ideology, or simply a personal set of morals. As such, they are very limited in the scope of spells they can learn, and are limited to a select set of domains. That said, they have an easy time being able to cast every spell relevant to their beliefs. They can just as easily fill the shoes of a warpriest as they can a humble divine scholar.

The Shaman
The Shaman makes use of a natural connection to a divine source to channel energy. They might be a god's chosen, a lone druid, simply a village wise person. Their beliefs are typically more flexible than that of a cleric, and as such they are able to learn divine spells from many domains, although they do not have the repertoire that clerics have. They can serve in any of the same roles as a cleric, but they tend to be a little looser with their beliefs - although exceptions most certainly exist.

Arcane Classes
The Arcane Classes are the manipulators of raw magical energy, shaping it to do their bidding. They can be the wielders of fireballs and lightning, they can be the summoners of elementals and spirits, they can be transmorgifiers, charmers, and commanders of the dead.

The ability to cast Arcane spells is the primary ability of the Arcane classes. Compared to spells of divine powers, arcane magic is stronger and arguably more versatile - but it is also much more wild and difficult to control. As such, the casters of arcane magics train for little else other than this purpose. Some are tougher than others, and some more skillful, but those that want to pick up other skills must sacrifice at least a little of their magic to do so.

The Wizard
The Wizard is the scholar of arcane esoterica. Through careful study - be it through a university, lone teacher, or solo research, the Wizard amasses spells in to a volume and picks them at his or her whim. That said, their grasp of arcane magic is not as adamant of their peers, the Sorcerer, so they tend to either specialize or generalize - which is to say they can competently work with all forms of magic, or they can only work well with a few. Wizards have excellent utility, and with the ability to learn many different spells, they seldom want for a particular effect, though it may not be as powerful as they desire.

The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer has a natural grasp of arcane energy that Wizards can only envy. Any spell they learn is cast at its greatest effect. But sorcerers lack the discipline of Wizards, and the idea of writing spells down in a book is wholly alien to most of them. As such, they memorize every spell they learn, a difficult and time-consuming task. Still, a Sorcerer can usually outlast a Wizard in sheer spellpower, even as they lack the same versatility.