Celestial Combatants

Those who wield celestial magic for physical or ranged combat.

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Coelventian

Type: Vigilante

Vigilantes who fly on celestial winds.

Coelventians are fully devoted to the cause of the fighting for the meek. Their life's work is freeing the enslaved, and they work to fight for the oppressed as vigilantes. They all swear an oath upon their own souls to serve in this capacity for their entire lives, and any betrayal of, deviation from, or depature from this will result in the loss of their powers - and their souls. They make this very clear to anyone who wishes to join them in the work, but they also make clear the positive sides of it. Anyone who makes this vow and lives the life is guaranteed "salvation" from the powers of the authorities (and possibly the Beyond). None who do this work may be enslaved or imprisoned, and the winds themselves may obey their will. However, this only works as long as they are engaged in the work of protecting the meek, the poor, the enslaved, the imprisoned, the oppressed, the exploited, or the abused. While they can engage in other, related work, certain powers are not in place when they are not working as vigilantes. The vow they make is sworn on an angel's feather, and if they knowingly lie, they burn.

Any coelventian who has sworn their vow must still prove themselves worthy by working for at least a year and a day at freeing slaves, fighting oppression, and standing up for the victims of injustice. After this is done, they are sent to a secret location, alone, in a small boat, where they meet a celestial figure who tests them. If they are found truly worthy, they are given a pair of blue wings made of celestial power, giving them certain powers:

• Flight: coelventians can fly on the winds. This spends no feathers.
• Celeste gale: winds tinged with blue light flow from their wings, stunning any agent of oppression struck by them. This spends 4 feathers per use.
• Uplifting breeze: a light breeze tinged with blue light flows from their wings, giving strength to any oppressed grazed by them. This spends 2 feathers per use.
• Swift gust: the coelventian turns into a fast gust of wind for one turn, moving 100' in any straight direction. This spends 3 feathers per use.
• Feather strike: a blue feather darts from their wings, striking any target for 12/18/24 damage, +3 against infernal targets. This spends 1 feather per use.
• Windwall: a blue-tinged wind forms around them, protecting them from missile attacks. This spends 3 feathers per round of use.
• Blue whirlwind: for every turn they spend spinning, a celeste whirlwind forms, drawing in every infernal or oppressor within 50', hurling them about, causing major damage. This spends 5 feathers for every three rounds of use.

Other powers may be possible around the themes of salvation or wind. Consult with the GM. Their wings have 20 feathers at a time. They get replenished every night, assuming the coelventian has not violated their vow. The number of feathers increases the more they work.

PRO +2 ATH +4 STR +1 AWA +2 WIL +1 PRS / STH +1

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Freebooter

Type: Pirate

Freebooters are pirates who gain power by resisting tyranny, fighting for freedom, targeting imperial and colonial spaceships, and liberating others. They fly on the winds of freedom, which they summon to sail them against oppressors and their forces.

Every freebooter is trained by other freebooters. They generate magical power via acts of resistance to tyranny. While they are enslaved, exploited, or oppressed, they are usually unable to wield it, but any act of resistance generates the power. Escpaing enslavement, exploitation, or oppression generates so much that every freebooter involved in the escape can sense it palpably, and they use it to help others sense it and wield it. Not every one seeking to escape oppression can or will become a freebooter - many are too afraid, too confused, too tired, too traumatized to do so. Some are too focused on escape, seeking freedom for themselves, their family, their loved ones, but not to devote themselves to fighting for others. This is respected - no one is judged for their choice of what to do with their freedom, so long as it is not to enslave or harm others. But those who feel called toward resistance and liberation are recruited immediately.

Freebooters gain power by acting in unison. This is why they go in groups to liberate others, and this is why the newly recruited joins their group if they choose to become a freebooter. Acting in unison creates an enormous amount of power. Their hearts will be filled, their bodies will be filled, their souls will be filled with power, and if they place their hands over their hearts, concentrate, and draw it forth, orange flame of liberation will spill forth. If they have a weapon - and freebooters will always have a weapon, and extras to share with new freebooters - the spark of fulvous flame will leap to their weapon.

From there, every act of resistance they engage in makes the flame burn brigther.

With enough fulvous flame, they can empower their weapons, their own bodies, armor, or other objects. Any action they undertake to free other slaves will be empowered, and any chain they find will shatter at even the weakest blow of their weapons. Their fulvous flame gives them +3 to any action in resistance to tyranny, +6 to freeing slaves, +9 to breaking chains or jail bars.

PRO +3 ATH +2 STR +1 AWA +1 WIL / PRS / STH /

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Merciful

Type: Assassin

The merciful are those who bring death as a mercy to the victims of the iniquitous - not killing the victims, but their oppressors, bringing mercy by slaying the iniquitous. These assassins wield power granted to them by living a lifestyle that embodies mercy - they don't even kill insects if they can help it; they help those in pain and in need; and they do their best to live a life that alleviates suffering. And from this, they gain the power to kill those who cause suffering.

In order to gain the power to kill, they must be exemplary in their merciful ways, and they must make a vow to always live mercifully. They must prove it every day, and their vow must be made upon something sacred to them - and at risk of losing that. (And it may not be the life of another, though it may be their own life.) Their oath must be heard by someone who also lives a life of mercy or by someone of equal power within their secret orders (one who lives by a virtue or one who draws power from one of the celeste waters, flames, stone, metal, beast, wood, or winds). Then, they prove their mercy by being tested with a vision that comes in their sleep. This vision will inevitably require them to choose a merciful action. If they succeed, they awaken with a feeling of compassion and mercy in their hearts.

This feeling can be transferred into any weapon they choose. It is tradition within their secret orders for them to select a rapier, but many use other weapons, often piercing ones.

If they fail in living a life of mercy at any point, they will weaken. If they make an egregious error or intentional renouncement of a life of mercy, they lose their powers completely.

Because they are filled with the sense of mercy, they tend to have a very calm demeanor that makes people underestimate them as a threat. The power of mercy means that even a normal wound has a chance of killing the iniquitous. And they are protected against infernal powers, and they gain special senses.

• Celeste demeanor: any rolls to detect their intentions or otherwise read them face an extra +3 PRS because they will be seen as harmless and kind.
• Merciful strike: if they choose, they may channel their mercy into an attack, forcing anyone who receives a normal wound or better to roll WIL against the power of mercy or die instantly.
• Hallowed aura: any infernal power directed at them rolls against an extra +3 on either STR or WIL.
• Detect cruelty: they gain a +3 to PRS or AWA to sense if someone is a source of suffering for others.

They are very focused, and they are hated by the ruling class.

PRO +3 ATH +2 STR +1 AWA +2 WIL +3 PRS +1 STH +1

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Pantherian

Type: Warrior

A warrior wearing pantherskin who is empowered by acts of valor. They gain power by choosing the most fearsome opponents and draw strength from doing so.

Traditionally, their first time drawing on this power is killing the panther whose skin they wear, but only if that panther has attacked their people. If not a panther, it might be a bear, wolf, or other large predator. If their first act is not against one of these, they are often given a pantherskin from a retired pantherian, often their mentor.

In order to tap into the magic of bravery, they must be acting without desire for personal gain. They must be acting against an oppressor, exploiter, or abuser - or for the protection of their people - and they must be acting with intention to help others. They must feel both fear and confidence, and they must act in spite of the former. These feelings become their fuel. They tap into them as they fight, and the emotions manifest as scarlet flame. To do this, they must act purely from feeling, letting it guide them, and they must become completely focused on their targets. If they can achieve this, their weapons ignite in the scarlet flame of valor.

Mechanically, this requires them to spend their first round against an opponent with 3 or more above their scores in PRO, ATH, and/or STR attacking without bonuses while feeling their emotions (AWA roll with their attack). Their next round must be spent focusing (WIL roll along with their attack). On the third round, their flames will come, giving them bonuses to PRO and/or stun/wound equal to how much they are outmatched in PRO, ATH, and STR, and another +3 if the opponent has infernal powers (+6 if that power is fear-based). On each subsequent round, another point of bonus will come to their stun/wound or PRO.

If they are attacking multiple opponents, their average scores are used, but the necessary gap goes down by point per opponent, even going into the negative if there are four or more.

If they defeat an opponent who is 6 or more above them in PRO, ATH, or STR, they gain a special power:

• Scarlet plume: scarlet flames erupt from their weapons and lash out at a single target within 20'.

• Bold arrival: a surprise attack against a more powerful target gives them two rounds of uninterrupted attacks before the enemy may act.

• Rallying call: they can give everyone around them greater morale with a rallying call, cancelling fear or intimidation effects and giving +1 to reaction, dodge, or parry rolls.

• Direct strike: calling a shot to an opponent's strong point gives them +6 stun/wound instead of targeting a weak point.

• Ferocity: on the sixth round of combat, if their scarlet flame is present, they may take on the form of a large predatory animal.

• Panther strength: panthers are a symbol to the pantherians of the most fearsome of animals, and thus, they revere them. They wear their skins as a symbol of their bravery, and in wearing them, gain magical strength when they are most wounded - +3 STR for being deep wounds, +6 for exceptional, +9 for critical.

If the pantherian is in a group that is a third or more pantherians, all of these powers and abilities may be applied on a whole-group level.

PRO +3 ATH +2 STR +3 AWA +1 WIL +2 PRS +1 STH +1

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Pinpoint

Type: Gunslinger

A fencer with magical danger sense. They have magical awareness of danger. They gain this power by engaging in special vigils and engaging in protective practices to serve others. Notably, they spend as much time as they can helping anyone who is prone to being preyed upon or harmed either by the authorities or more predatory individuals. The more they do this, the more potent their powers may become, especially combined with regular vigils wherein they watch over and contemplate something sacred. After years of practice at this, guided usually by a mentor, they start to see things magically.

• Danger sense: they have an innate sense of danger that gives them +3 to any defensive rolls, immunity to being surprised by an attack or stealth attacked, and forewarning of anything harmful.

• Identify enemy: they can identify anyone who is an enemy of the people with +3 to read people or perception rolls, once per day.

• Quick react: they may choose to react first in any situation once per day. In combat, this means they go to the top of the initiative order for one round, then back to their normal place in it.

• Vigil mark: they may mark someone by touching them and sense when that person is in danger as well, range of 10 miles. They may mark up to two people at once.

• Warning whisper: anyone they have marked, if they are within 10 miles, may be warned of impending danger by the pinpoint with a whisper.

• Share vision: anyone marked may be granted the pinpoint's visual perspective if they are within 10 miles of one another.

Pinpoints come from a long tradition back in the east, but they have adapted to the colonies. They are often at odds with the powers-that-be due to their distaste for colonial values, and thus, many are marked as criminals.

PRO +3 ATH +3 STR +1 AWA +3 WIL / PRS +1 STH +1

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Sworn Shield

Type: Bodyguard

A warrior who can defend others by oath alone.

A sworn shield is able to take wounds for their wards. They do this by devoting themselves to the defense of others. They gain their powers by making an oath to defend someone. Though anyone can make such an oath, a sworn shield means it emphatically and is willing to die for someone. Once they make their oath, they are tested by powerful magicks, and if they pass, they gain special abilities.

Their defensive powers derive entirely from those they mark as their wards via their oath. They mark someone as a ward via the oath (usually hand verbal). If the target is willing, there is no roll; if the target is unwilling, they roll WIL vs. WIL.

• Body shield: any physical attacks on the ward instead roll against the sworn shield’s full defense (toughness+armor) and the sworn shield receives the stun and wound instead of the ward.

• Shielding vow: any magical attacks on the ward instead roll against the sworn shield’s WIL. If the sworn shield normally succeeds, the magical attack suffers -3 against the ward; special success means -6; exceptional means -9; critical means -12. If the attack hits 0, it is negated completely. If it goes into negative numbers, it is sent back at the caster.

• Locate ward: the sworn shield can know the direction and distance to their ward is at any moment, no matter how far away they are.

• Aura of protection: if the sworn shield has three or more wards within 20', they can extend an aura of protection against all attacks at a power equal to their WIL+STR for up to 3 rounds. This barrier will not cause wounds to the sworn shield, but the sworn shield will have a -1 per point of damage repelled to WIL and/or STR for a round. If this takes them to 0 or below, they are not killed, but are stunned for the round.

• Counterguard: in place of a counter attack, a sworn shield may choose to add +3 to their next parry, dodge, toughness, or defensive WIL roll.

• Meek reflection: if the sworn shield protects anyone nearby, even if not a ward, who has a STR or WIL below 8, they will gain a bonus equal to the difference between the protectee's STR or WIL and the sworn shield to their respective stat for the next round. This only works if the protectee is not an exploiter, oppressor, abuser, or wielder of infernal powers.

• Unbreakable oath: if someone tries to coerce them into acting against their oath either mundanely or magically, the sworn shield gains +3 to resist it.

• Warding step: the sworn shield can exchange places with a ward if the ward is in a dangerous place and the sworn shield is not and if they are within 13 miles of each other.

Sworn shields can be of any culture or community, but they must be willing to die for someone, make their oath, and not be an oppressor, abuser, exploiter, enslaver, etc.

PRO +3 ATH +1 STR +3 AWA +2 WIL +2 PRS +1 STH -3

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Vanguard

Type: Revolutionary

Those who devote themselves to fighting for revolution automatically place themselves in opposition to the authorities, the ruling class, and their knowing servants. In order to survive living in opposition to oppressors, one must be principled. In order to be successful in opposition, one must be principled. While the exact details of those principles may vary by political philosophy, they all share in common their resistance to the colonial capitalists. Some revolutionaries, called vanguard, draw magical strength from their principles.

To tap into the magical essence that is created by principled action, vanguards study for years, and they spend every moment living a principled life. Any failure will weaken them, and significant failures (working with the police, becoming a boss, etc.) will render them completely powerless. After three years of study and principled living, they are tested by mentors and other vanguards, tempted, and tricked, and if they fail, they may learn from the process to try again (after at least a year and a day). If they succeed, they are given a piece that has nine principles written on, sewn into, etched into, or otherwise marked on. They wear this for another year and a day, living up to each principle, and passing another test for each principle. After this, they will wake up one day seeing the world differently:

• Recognize oppressed: the vanguard can look at a person and see what oppression(s) they face, always (read people).
• Persuading word: the vanguard can persuade a comrade not to engage in an unprincipled action with a single word, once per week (WIL).
• Instant rebuttal: the vanguard can respond to a false statement (if they recognize it) instantly with the truth (if they know it), stunning the liar.
• Correcting strike: the vanguard can respond to an attack on a comrade with an equal or better attack, effectively counter attacking a successful hit on an ally.
• Compelling speech: the vanguard can make a five-minute political speech that inspires oppressed person listening, giving them +3 reaction.
• Act of solidarity: the vanguard can provide support to an oppressed person in need by giving of their own STR, once per month.
• Devoted action: the vanguard can engage in mundane work for a day in order to give themself an extra action in combat or more magical power for the next two days.
• Deep study: the vanguard can rapidly and deeply read revolutionary works once per month.
• Self-criticism: the vanguard can improve three of their own skill scores by +3 each by engaging in a week of self-criticism, once per year.

Other powers may be possible. Consult with the GM.

The vanguard are among the most targeted by the authorities, and thus, they work at great risk. They are organizers, political activists, and workers. They engage in community building, union organizing, and direct action.

PRO +2 ATH +2 STR +2 AWA +3 WIL +3 PRS +2 STH /