Character Classes for Empire, Bright Wizard, Warrior Priest, Witch Hunter

Subjects of Emperor Karl Franz, the men and women of the Empire are embroiled in a continuous struggle from all sides, facing horrors that seek to wipe them from the face of the world. With steel, faith, and ingenuity, mankind wages a daily battle for its very survival.

Bright Wizard

archetype: Ranged DPS • special mechanic: Combustion

class details: An offensive ranged career, Bright Wizards wield powerful magic that is extremely lethal to anyone in the vicinity. The spell Combustion, in particular, allows Bright Wizards to increase their spell power to such dangerous levels that they risk miscasting and hurting themselves in the process.

description: Master of the Lore of Fire, the Bright Wizard is the most destructive battle wizard in all of the Empire. The Bright wizard is renown for his ability to incinerate anything, ranging from individual soldiers to an entire hillside. However, destructive fire is not the only trick in their arsenal. Bright wizards are also capable of manipulating the wind of Aqshy to cause a variety of debilitating effects ranging from thick banks of choking smoke, to withering heat that saps the strength and endurance from even the staunchest warrior. Some Bright Wizards have even been known to dabble in the healing arts; however cauterizing a wound with white-hot fire is never a soldier's first choice!

mechanic: Due to the volatile nature of Aqshy, the Red Wind of Fire that they manipulate, the Bright Wizard is always risking a Backlash that could incinerate himself as well as his opponent. This building-up of Aqshy is known as 'Combustion' and and the greater the level of Combustion a Bright Wizard places into his destructive spells the more likely they will explode with stupendous results (Critical Hit). However even the most skilled wizard will get burned when playing with fire and pushing the combustion level too high will result in a backlash of magical energy that will damage the Wizard himself.

master classes:

Incineration   A Mastery path focused on immediate damage.
The Path of Incineration primarily focuses on destructive single target spells. About half of these spells have high values of Combustion allowing those who Master the Path of Incineration to focus on weaving high risk spells in with more reliable destructive magics for optimal single target damage.

Immolation   A Mastery path focused on longer-duration effects.
The Path of Immolation focuses on damage over time and debilitating lingering debuffs. A Master of Immolation is more patient, relying less on high-Combustion spells with explosive effect, and more on slow burns that build up into an unstoppable inferno.

Conflagration   A Mastery path focused on wide-area effects.
The Path of Conflagration is the most destructive of the Bright Wizard masteries with area effect spells capable of burning entire swaths of land to a crisp. However, Masters of Conflagration must exert the most self control; most of their spells build up high levels of combustion so using them recklessly will mean the Wizard's doom as well.

Bright Wizard - Abilities, Tactics and Morale.

Warrior Priest

archetype: Healer • special mechanic: Righteous Fury

class details: Close-combat healers, Warrior Priests use Righteous Fury to power their support and healing magic. Righteous Fury builds up via dedicated prayers and melee combat, and as a result Warrior Priests have to be actively involved on the front lines to be able to support their groups.

description: The Warrior Priests worship Sigmar, the now-deified warrior who united the tribes of man and formed the Empire long ago. In honor of their legendary patron, the Warrior Priests seek to follow in Sigmar's warrior path by purifying the Empire with equal measures of prayer and might. They march into battle shouting holy scriptures even as they bring their blessed warhammers to bear in the name of their god. By proving their devotion and righteousness through valor in combat, they are rewarded with divine powers, which manifest in the form of potent healing abilities. Their presence on the front lines of battle serves as a constant inspiration to the soldiers who march in defense of the Empire.

mechanic: Sigmar is a warrior god, and his priests gain divine favor only by fighting to defend the Empire that he built. The holy symbol of Sigmar is a hammer, and the Warrior Priests have adopted the warhammer as their weapon of choice in honor of their patron. The Righteous Fury of Sigmar fills the Warrior Priest with each swing of their weapon, and this divine power can then be used to fuel their healing magic. This becomes something of both a freedom and a restriction for the Warrior Priest - since all of his magic is powered by Righteous Fury, he can throw himself wholeheartedly into melee combat and then still have resources left to heal with, but at the same time, his healing capabilities become dramatically more limited when there are no enemies in arm's reach.

master classes:

Salvation   A Mastery path focused on healing and restorative powers.
The Path of Salvation focuses on divine magic, primarily healing abilities. A player who specializes in Salvation will become a much more powerful healer, although they will still need to place themselves into the front lines of a melee combat in order to build up their Righteous Fury.

Grace   A Mastery path focused on melee attacks and protective effects.
The Path of Grace is centered around melee attacks which inspire and bolster the Warrior Priest and his allies. A Master of Grace will be able to simultaneously wreak havoc upon his enemies with his warhammer and improve himself and his companions, making him an especially valuable player when standing side-by-side with other allies.

Wrath   A Mastery path focused on melee attacks and weakening effects.
The Path of Wrath is focused on crippling melee attacks which weaken, hinder, and harass the player's opponents. Someone who specializes in Wrath will certainly be the most offensively-focused type of Warrior Priest, as they will be both damaging their enemies and weakening them with each swing of their warhammer.

Warrior Priest - Abilities, Tactics and Morale.

Witch Hunter

archetype: Melee DPS • special mechanic: Infiltration & Accusation

class details: An offensive melee caareer that relies on ambushing and lighting fast assaults, Witch Hunters rely on careful movement and infiltration to allow them to close the distance with their targets. Once in melee range they build up Accusation against their foes, which allows them to unleash powerful execution attacks.

description: The Empire is not just under overt assault from the forces of Chaos, but is also fighting a constant war against the creeping incursions of darkness and heresy within its own borders, and no one is more aware of this than the Witch Hunter. Tasked with digging out the taint of corruption from within the healthy flesh of the Empire, the Witch Hunter is a grim figure, looked upon with equal measures of awe and dread, for they have the authority of an investigator, a judge, and an executioner. By blade, pistol, and torch, they are determined to cleanse the Empire of evil.

mechanic: The Witch Hunters are deadly fighters who seek out and destroy anything tainted by the touch of Chaos. They lay down Accusations at swordpoint until they're satisfied of their enemy's guilt, and then unleash an Execution with the booming voice of their pistol. Their combat abilities are bolstered by a variety of sacred artifacts, such as blessed bullets which add additional effects to their Executions, and potent Holy Relics which can briefly imbue them with great power.

master classes:

Confession   A Mastery path focused on toe-to-toe combat.
The Path of Confession is direct and uncompromising, and focused primarily on direct and immediate opposition to heresy. A specialist in Confession will eschew subtlety and lengthy investigations in favor of simply approaching their enemy and beating the truth out of them. While not necessarily the most powerful approach, it is effective in its straightforward brutality, and provides a small measure of increased protection when the Witch Hunter finds themselves under direct attack.

Inquisition   A Mastery path focused on longer-duration weakening effects.
The Path of Inquisition is focused on longer and detailed investigations, weakening and progressively working over an enemy until the victim's guilt is all but assured. A player with heavy Inquisition Mastery may appear less powerful at first glance, but the devastating effects of their attacks are felt more and more as the fight progresses.

Judgment   A Mastery path focused on surprise attacks and positional combat.
The Path of Judgment is taken by Witch Hunters who are assured that their targets are guilty and no questioning is needed. They tend to take their suspects by surprise, and are at their best when the enemy's attention is elsewhere. A Master of Judgment will seek to avoid face-to-face confrontations, and will be at their most powerful when they have allies nearby that can distract their enemies, allowing the Witch Hunter to lay down very potent attacks.

Witch Hunter - Abilities, Tactics and Morale.