Bleeding Edge (3.5e Campaign Setting)/Classes

Base Classes

Barbarian: Largely hailing from Toho in the form of warriors and pirate's muscle, barbarians can also be found in other lands under the guide of thugs and brutes.

Bard: The bard is often a traveler or explorer, either by land or ship, or any person of political power and sway.

Beastblooded: Beastblooded are creatures who have been afflicted by a particular mild form of Vulpeculae's curse. It drives them to transforming into a ravenous beast, but unlike most accursed they keep their sanity... mostly. Most beastblooded keep their curse a secret, lest they be hunted and slain.

Binder^ToM: Binding is considered a magic of old dead lands and is seen with some fear and suspicion, for you contact and make contract with spirits unknown and unvetted by the dogma of the gods. To admit you are a binder is roughly the same as revealing you are a demon summoner; it is not a popular opinion. Still, among academia binding is seen with some amount of awe, as they believe these vestiges may be related to the void after all.

Bloodcloud Assailant: A particularly bloody form of fighters, rogues, and assassins, their blood-letting abilities is seen as most useful against the forces of the accursed, but also very grim.

Bloodcloud Mage: And the magical side of the bloodcloud assailant is the bloodcloud mage. They are useful against the accursed, but seen as grim and disturbing for their powers.

Cleric: In the passing of the Eclipse, divine magic has taken an upturn in its importance not only for its healing properties, but also because it is considered safe. Clerics walk the land turning people to the faith in these dark times.

Crusader^ToB: Most commonly seen in the ranks with paladins, these brave knights are the slightly more martial bent to the knight in shining armor common in Anser.

Deacon: Not all clerics are proper spellcasters; some follow the faith even if they do not possess normal spellcasting at all. Deacons are generally religated to the ranks of NPCs, but it is a class anyone can take.

Dreamer: Various mystics exist in the land, philosophers and students of the supernatural which seek to understand beings of the Void and Dreaming Leng. They are considered wise, but sometimes they skirt dangerously close to forbidden knowledge, and it is not unheard of dreamers going mad.

Druid: The druid is a strange creature, a follower of ancient ways and old magic found within the world itself. In a sense they are like clerics, but they have no single god but instead a collection of nature spirits which empower them. They are most commonly seen in Aur Golau, and more brutal primal sorts in Narakam.

Fighter: Fighters are a good general purpose class for any martial minded being from all over the world. Alternate forms of the fighter class are recommended. Our personal recommendation is the brave fighter.

Gate Knight: Gate knights are a sort of paladin who instead of drawing power from the gods draw strength from undead and ancient entities in the negative energy plane. These entities supposedly know strange details about the Void, and trade whispers about that mysterious realm to those which trade with them.

Incantator: Hybrids between normal spellcasters and invokers, they share the mistrust invokers have for binding themselves to spirits but are respected for also following the path of arcane study. Typically incantators are those who are pursuing knowledge by any means necessary. This, of course, makes them dangerous.

Monk: Monks are meditative sorts who focus inward on self perfection and understanding. A great many hail from the desert realms of Kathib where it forms almost a religious sect of its own. Alternate forms of the monk class are recommended. Our personal recommendation is the zen monk.

Ninja^CAdv: Ninjas are the secret assassins of Loch, the police in the shadows which maintain law and order in the government when normal law will not bring justice. Some ninjas have spread out from Loch, appearing in other lands as professional assassins and spies for hire. Ninjas of course do not reveal who they actually are. Alternate forms of the ninja class are recommended. Our personal recommendation is the shinobi or sublime shinobi.

Paladin: Paladins are gish warriors dedicated to the concept of law and good, and the power of the divine. They once had a strong presence in old Vulpeculae, but as their society decayed they began to exile themselves into the land of Anser. Alternate forms of the paladin class are recommended. Our personal recommendation is the paladin from Pathfinder.

Psion: Psionics is a strong tradition in Pintado, especially of Kathib and its lizardfolk. They, like monks, are meditative beings seeking self-improvement. Instead of perfection of the body they instead seek perfection of the mind.

Psychic Warrior: Of course the true ideal is both perfection of mind and body. Though psychic warriors are not at perfection yet, they do represent the middle path between the two extremes.

Ranger: Rangers make excellent scouts, guardsmen, and skillful fighters and archers. They can be found defending cities with their arrows, or out in the open creeping around the wild. While the latter is most common in Aur Golau, rangers can be discovered in any place. Alternate forms of the ranger class are recommended. Our personal recommendation is the ranger from Pathfinder.

Rogue: Rogues are quite common among the common folk, who need street smarts and skills to survive. This is particularly common within urban areas where this manner of survival is required.

Sorcerer: Born with magical talent, sorcerers are sometimes seen with envy as enjoying a free lunch. In a sense they do get a head start with their talent, but they do need to study themselves, rather than dusty tomes, to learn exactly how their arcane powers operate. In this sense, wizards and sorcerers are the same. It is only the method which differs, and the channels they use.

Soulknife: A variant of psychic warriors, rather than obviously blending in psionics with martial perfection, the soulknife instead tries to express its enlightenment through focusing their psionic abilities in physical form. Some find this to be heresy, but all paths must be trod to discover the ultimate truth. Alternate forms of the soulknife class are recommended. Our personal recommendation is the soulblade.

Swordsage^ToB: Initiators are advanced fighters who follow partial fighting styles known as disciplines. Swordsages are those who take on more dexterous and rogue-esque rolls.

Truenamer^ToM: Truenamers are a rare and lost art, usually found only among the most curious of would-be wizards and scholars who discovered the old art, or was rarely taken in by a previous master. They scour the land for fragments and evidence of the old words in order to rebuild their missing knowledge.

Vicar: If crusaders are martial minded paladins, vicars are martial minded clerics. They are usually found among deacons, crusaders, and clerics spreading the good word and fighting evil.

Warblade^ToB: Initiators are advanced fighters who follow partial fighting styles known as disciplines. Warblades are those who take on strength focused rolls, often serving as gladiators and military leaders.

Warlock^CA: Warlocks are seen with some suspicion. Their power draws from making contract with a spirit of some kind. While the gods are usually seen as reliable draws of power for clerics, this reliability cannot be extended to the lesser spirits who are ultimately bound to mere mortal forms.

Wilder: Psions are a pursuit for self perfection, but psionics itself appears naturally in the world. Not all can control themselves, and they become wilders. Among Kathib, wilders are looked down upon as being wild and reckless beings who have not walked the road to self perfection.

Wizard: Wizards, the scientists of the world, seek to understand how the physical and metaphysical works. Great workshops of wizards are hold up in various towers discovering all of the secrets and turning it into workable forms. They have fallen under scrutiny due to the events of the Eclipse, but the experiments have never stopped. After all, the magical arms race is ever present.

Prestige Classes

Archmage: Leaders of the various mage colleges where magical studies abound, the term archmage is as much a political title as it is a designation for advanced magical talents.

Blood Magus^CA: Workers of blood, the previously obscure and disturbing spellcasters have become appearing in greater numbers than ever before. They focus around the worldwound, seeking to understand this new and alien blood. Alternate forms of the blood magus class are recommended. Our personal recommendation is the blood mage.

Black Healer: With the fall of Vulpeculae came the curse, and many diseases which spilled forth from the now poisoned landscape. Seeking to counter the spread of the curse these spooky crow-masked doctors appeared to study and cure this wounded planet.

Blackguard: Many of the paladins who stayed in Vulpeculae just before its fall became corrupted, both by the curse and their own flaws. These knights obtained a new oath and a much darker power. Alternate forms of the blackguard class are recommended. Our personal recommendation is the black knight.

Darkwraith Assassin: Many of those afflicted by the curse lose their corporeality. Like the beatblooded, those afflicted retain their sanity and (for the most part) their initial forms, but are able to slip in and out of the ethereal as they do. They have turned their curse into a blessing, admittedly one suited for the spilling of blood.

Ghostlight Exorcist: Many of the accursed in the initial Eclipse faded from reality, transforming into ghosts and wraiths which now haunt their former home. To exorcise these spirits and being them peace, some have taken up the mantle of the ghostlight exorcist.

Mystic Protector: With good reason there was a great mistrust of wizards after the Eclipse, especially wizards hailing from the cursed kingdom. Troops were raised as counters to the dark magic users, and they roam the nation slaying spellcasters of all kind while trying not to fall to the curse themselves.

Speaker of the Forbidden Tongue: As truenamers explore the deeper and more ancient ruins in search for their knowledge, some run across... other... more twisted knowledge. These speakers have learned too much, and many go mad with the insight.

Starspawn Host: And speaking of the mad, of all the "sane" accursed the starspawn hosts are probably the least stable of them all. They are slaves to their own aberrant mutations.