The Journey's End: Proffessions and Classes

Each of those professions has classes. For Templars and Scholars, those classes are based on the elemental spheres. For other professions, they are more esoteric.

Scholars are sages who have devoted their life to the study of the various elemental magics. Their area of specialization is determined early in life, where they choose major and minor sphere of elemental influence.

Fire Scholars: Having influence over the powers of chaos, thermal energy, and destruction, scholars of this sphere draw their power from the elemental power of fire. Resonating with chaotic and evil tendencies, scholars who are lawful or good cannot choose this sphere as a discipline.

Water Scholars: Encompassing the powers of healing, protection, and knowledge, scholars of this sphere draw their influence from the powers of water. Resonanting with lawful and good tendencies, scholars who are chaotic or evil cannot choose this sphere as a discipline.

Void Scholars: Focusing on maledictions, negative energy, and extraplanar manipulation, scholars of this sphere use the elemental powers of the Void. Resonating with lawful and evil tendencies, scholars who are good or chaotic cannot choose this sphere as a discipline.

Spirit Scholars: Having influence over the powers of positive energy, freedom, and life and death, the scholars of this sphere draw their power from the elemental powers of the spirit. Resonating with chaotic and good tendenices, scholars who are evil or lawful cannot choose this sphere as a discipline.

Earth Scholars: Focusing on protection, order, and strength, the scholars of this sphere tap into the elemental powers of earth. Resonating with lawful and neutral tendencies, scholars who are chaotic cannot choose this sphere as a discipline.

Air Scholars: Encompassing the studies of the winds, kinetics, and chaos, scholars of this sphere channel the elemental power of air. Resonating with chaotic tendenices, scholars who are lawful cannot choose this sphere as a discipline.

The profession of warrior is perhaps the oldest of the adventuring class. Students of the arts of war and physical combat, warriors come in four different varieties.

Gladiators: Gladiators are warriors who have been trained for the arena fighting that is so common throughout Avendar. Learned in a variety of dirty and showy techniques designed to incapacitate their opponents, they nonetheless are fearsome warriors all their own, often specializing in a wide assortment of exotic weapons.

Fighters: Fighters are by far the most common type of warriors in Avendar. Trained in the rigors of a life spent campaigning, they are true soldiers. Learned in the arts of combat strategy, fighters are also proficient in most of the known weapons of Avendar, even though their particular specialty are spears and polearms and other long handled weapons.

Swordmasters: Swordmasters are warriors who have devoted their life to mastering one weapon - the blade. Learned in ancient meditative techniques, they practice the art of ak'anginta: thought-to-form, where the blade becomes an extension of self, and acquires form. Using these "Ginta" or "forms", a swordmaster becomes one of Avendar's most formidable opponents, displaying a mastery of his weapon unparalled by any other.

Barbarians: Savage warriors of the plains, barbarians excel at brute force. Rather than being formally trained in combat they instead acquire their lessons from the harsh realities of a life given over to rage and war. Understanding little of civilization, they eschew the path of those who embrace the law and instead prefer to remain unbound by excessive rules or protocol. Allowing their rage to consume them, they become formidable opponents.

The profession of rogue is populated by the quick-witted and the secretive, who prefer to live by their keen wit and nimble fingers. Rogues come in four different varieties.

Thieves: One of the world's oldest professions, the thief is a master of acquisition, stealth, and deception. Making his living off of other's wealth, the thief makes his way through the world through the use of wits and the occasional judicious use of force.

Bandits: Bandits are the ruffians of the world of Avendar. They specialize in the use of brute force in acquiring material goods. Unlike a thief, a bandit prides himself not on stealth, but rather the swift brutality of a highwayman. Scorning the elegant solution, the bandit uses whatever tools he has at hand to acquire what he wishes. Do to their somewhat brutish tempers, bandits tend not to be noted for obedience to any formal notion of law, and consequently often roam the roads of Avendar.

Assassins: Masters of death, assassins have perfected the art of stealth the pursuit of their craft. They strike from the shadows, using knife, poison, and dart as their tools. Assassins each have find their own meaning for their actions - some devoted to the extermination of evil, others nothing more than the fattening of their own purse, but they all find unity in their perfection of the dealing of death.

Watchers: Watchers are the bounty hunters of Avendar. Often employed by the noble and the wealthy for hunting the rogues who have wronged them, watchers often work for a contract, demanding payment for thieves returned alive - or dead. Due to their association with law enforcement, watchers are never chaotic, making their fortune from their necessity in civilized society.

Templars are warriors who have trained in the ways and means of combining sword and spell. Unlike scholars, who diversify in their studies, templars only major in one sphere of elemental influence. Known far and wide as some of the greatest leaders Avendar has produced, templars are often seen leading the charge into battle, or directing the forces of varying factions. Due to the amount of time spent studying other matters, the alignment and ethos of a templar must be resonant with their elemental sphere.

Fire Templar: Historically, fire templars have reigned supreme in their capacity for combining skill in physical combat and the destructive magics of fire. First appearing as the generals of the human and srryn armies in the War of Fire, various templar warlords of this element have appeared throughout history.

Water Templar: Templars of water combine the healing and protective magics of water with the combat abilities of renowned generals. They often lead companies of men into epic battles, using their magic to protect and heal the injured, allowing them to fight legions of enemies.

Void Templar: Combining the diabolic magic of the void with a keen swordmanship, templars of the void are among the most feared in Avendar. The origins of their training lie with the shuddeni, who first trained those of their own number to utilize both swordplay and the dark arts. Combining the two leads to a fearful mixture, resulting in a templar who can bind demons into their weapons, while draining the magical energy of their foes to replenish themselves.

Spirit Templar: Spirit templars combine the magics of spirit with the combat abilities of a warrior. Historically, spirit templars first appeared in Avendar with the arrival of the ch'taren, and the defeat of the shuddeni in the War of Night. Their magic is focused on purity, unlocking their own potential, and tapping the powers of the spirit realm. Due to their intense devotion to the cause of the light, spirit templars must be of the light.

Earth Templar: Earth templars combine the magics of earth with the rigorous training of warriors. Their magics and fighting styles focus on order, defense, and focused, precise strikes.

Air Templar: An air templar combines deft swordplay with the magics of air. While they are most noticeable in their role in mercenary captains and cunning strategists (often able to use their magic to divert the energies of their opponents), quite a few take up the life of an adventurer. Air templars learn spells, skills, and forms.

Those who choose the profession of naturalist have, through one way or another, associated their fortunes with that of nature's. While not necessarily defenders of nature, all naturalists are at home there, and use the pecularities of the wild to their advantage.

Druids: The order of druids is dedicated to attaining oneness with nature. Drawing their powers from the ancient magics of nature, druids act to protect the balance of nature, protecting the purity of the natural world. Embracing from nature, they are said to be able to travel from forest to forest, drawing their strength from life itself.

Rangers: The class of rangers is composed of those who have made the forest their home, learning and adapting the ways of nature to their own needs. Relying on their own considerable fighting prowess and their ability to survive in flourish in almost any sort of terrain, rangers often work to both protect their home as well as use it for their own ends.

Psionicists: Psionicists are masters of mental discipline. Their unique command of their own minds allow them to influence the minds of others, see dimly into the future, control their own body, and use telekinesis to demonstrate the power of mind over matter.

Bards: Bards who have taken up a life of adventure are equal parts musician, storyteller, entertainer, and actor. Historically, bards have been everywhere and done everything in Avendar. From marching alongside great armies, to traveling with explorers into the wild unknown, bards compose and record songs of deeds both great and small. The greatest bards have discovered that some fragment of magic lies in music, and can use their songs with astonishing effectiveness.