Classes

Maesian Wars' classes operate via a system that can be sorted into four main "trunk categories" - magic, stealth, combat, and other classes. Magic classes include mages and druids, while stealth classes include rogues, assassins, and the like. Combat classes are organized slightly differently, focusing on different styles of warriors/fighters. The "other" class group includes secondary classes that grant additional (usually minor) abilities in addition to their main class.

During character creation, a single main class must be selected for a character, and this main class cannot be changed afterwards. However, depending on the character's history or events that occur within the span of the roleplay, a secondary class may be assigned in the creation phase or afterwards (see below section "Secondary Classes" for examples). A secondary class, unlike a main, can be swapped out to a different one, but only with good reason and specific mention within the Maesiaverse.

=Class Chart=

=Descriptions=

Mage Classes
Mages as a whole are powerful foes when dealt with at range. Due to the time and focus required to cast larger spells, a mage at close range is a significantly lesser threat and is more easily damaged by melee attacks unless some kind of defensive spell is cast (such as a sheild or wall of some kind). Though mages often carry small physical weapons with them (such as a knife or dagger), they are not typically skilled melee fighters and use their weapons only in dire situations.

All but the greatest of mages require a channel of some sort for their abilities. Commonly this is a staff or wand of some kind, but charms such as a pendant or bangle are often seen in younger generations of mages. Whatever the object may be, the mage must choose it and imbue it themselves to ensure it is tuned to their own abilities and responds only to them. A correctly imbued channel can be sensed from quite some distance away by its respective mage.

It should also be noted that mages of enough skill can apply to and possibly be accepted into one of the Six Guilds of Magic of Maesia, earning the title of guildmage. A mage who is not a member of a guild is known as a freemage. Druids (users of nature magic) do not fall under the jurisdiction of any of the Guilds, and are therefore neither guildmages or freemages, simply druids. Instead of recieving their training from a guild or specialized trainer, they turn to others of their own when learning their craft, often forming strong master-apprentice relationships.
 * Elemental mages are the most common type of mage throughout Maesia. An elemental mage is aligned to one of four elements - earth, air, fire, or water. This element cannot be changed, and no combinations of elements are possible. Some races (such as windwalkers) are bound to an element as a part of their very existence - this does not make them mages neccessarily (but it certainly helps them along if you choose to take that route), and they are unable to use any other form of elemental magic. Elemental mages have an essentially limitless range of abilities within their element, as their magic literally allows them to shape their given element into any form imaginable. A spell could be as simple as a small fiery projective, or as advanced as a massive flaming serpent - the only restriction is the mage's own abilities and mental/physical limits.
 * White mages, commonly known as "Healers" to the majority of Maesians, specialize in three strands of white magic. First, they possess healing magic, which is used extensively as a part of normal Maesian life. Secondly, they have the ability to use protection magic, which allows the conjuring of protective sheilds and wards. More experiences white mages are able to project these sheilds and actually use them as a weapon (imagine creating a sheild to block off an enemies heart from the rest of his body!). Thirdly, pure white energy - casually referred to as "light" energy - can be utilized to banish darkness and corruption from locations and individuals. When used on black (or "dark") magic creations, a white energy spell can completely destroy the targets with a simple touch.
 * Black mages are for the most part referred to as "Necromancers" by the Maesian public. Predictably, they are the opposite of white mages. Where white mages heal and protect, black mages cast horrible curses of affliction and illness, and in the case of more experienced mages (and/or weaker foes) can even drop a target dead where it stands with little to no warning. They also have the ability to command the bodies and souls of the dead, calling back a soul to its rotted corpse and sending the fiendish creation to do their bidding. With enough skill, a soul can be moved into another empty container, which often leads to black mages attempting to work together, killing themselves and having their souls summoned back into different (normally younger) bodies or inanimate, human-like forms (such as golems or suits of armor). Similarly to white mages, they are also able to utilize pure black magic energy (or dark energy) to be used to corrupt the living and smother the light with ease.
 * Nature mages are never referred to as such, always called "Druids" in even the oldest of texts. Druids call upon the forces of nature to do their bidding - most commonly flora is their weapon of choice, making them very much at home in and in tune with the forest. Those attacking a druid often see the land around them rising to action to defend the druid, such as roots and vines rising to ensare and restrict, poisonous spiny plants rising from the earth to impede progress, or the entwining of branches into a dense wall to halt a pursuer in their tracks. For offensive abilities, druids are able to create grand beasts from the foliage or uproot a massive tree to grant it mobility, allowing the creation to run rampant with its newfound freedom, crushing all in its wake before returning to the earth where it began. Druids also possess the ability to shift their forms into a creature of the wilderness, allowing them a speedy mode of transportation and a special insight by allowing them to literally converse with nature. Most druids will possess only one or two animal forms, as to obtain such a form they must be innately familiar with the animal in question, however several druids roam the lands who possess numerous forms and can shift between them with effortless ease.

Rogue Classes
Rogues are known for their stealth and cunning, their skill with small or medium-sized weaponry, and their overall knowledge of battle. A well-trained rogue will know exactly when, where, and how to strike an opponent of any size or shape they may encounter. As such they are skilled hunters of both animals and, when the need arises, Maesian citizens.


 * The basic rogue is a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Capable of basic illusory magic and with minor knowledge of poisonmaking, tracking, and stealth-based abilties, they strike quickly and without warning, using sheer speed as their advantage in combat. A basic rogue 's main advantage is their dual-wielding abilities - each rogue class is able to handle two weapons, but only a properly trained basic rogue can handle two full-sized weapons (primarily shortswords), as opposed to the double-dagger or single blade often handled by other rogue classes.
 * Assassins are not mere hired mercenaries. They are highly trained hunters of people, masters of observation and analysis. Daggers and various concealed weaponry are a favorite of assassins, and it is not uncommon to see an assassin using a custom weapon they forged themselves. Key abilities of the assassin include the ability to cloak themselves within the shadows, creating various poisons to douse their blades, a keen sense of weak or pressure points on the target's body, and the ability to strike those points with pinpoint accuracy. An assassin's first strike is their strongest, and is designed with all their cunning to take the opponent down and avoid a prolonged fight. Though subsequent strikes are often of a lesser strength, an assassin is nimble on their feet and often has planned their attack throughly beforehand, always being in control of battle. Some assassins enjoy the thrill of the kill, and will use their first-strike advange to merely disable a target so they may enjoy the rest of the process. (See full article: Assassins for further information.)
 * Rangers are trackers extraordinaire. Often filling in a sort of "bounty hunter" role in current Maesian society, they can find anyone or anything from the slightest clue. Though they are best at tracking a target across wilderness, their urban landscape navigation is unsurpassed. The primary skill (save for tracking) that a ranger has in their arsenal is an ability a druid would die for - rangers have an animal familiar that travels with them, follows their commands and protects them loyally. Familiars can vary widely based on the ranger's surroundings, but they encounter the creature in the wild during their travels and tame it, and from that point on it remains loyal to the ranger alone, always following them or heeding their call and coming to their aid (they are not magically summoned, but the ranger's taming mentally links the familiar with the ranger, allowing it to tell when its master is in danger). Literally any naturally-occurring creature can be taken as a familiar, granted the ranger is powerful enough to tame the creature and bond with it. Only one familiar can be tamed at a time, but it can be switched if the ranger wishes to abandon their current partner.
 * Illusionist

Warrior Classes

 * Natural
 * Weapon-and-sheild
 * Dual-wielding
 * Two-handed

Secondary Classes
Secondary classes are a bit tricky to include for a character. A character may have only one (completely optional) subclass at any given time, but it can be changed at any time (and with good reason). A subclass can be selected during character creation, or can be a part of the character's development while in the roleplay. For example, in her past, a character may have lived with a tribe of beastmen (specifically, verku), who taught her the secrets of tapping into her own feral rage. This could mean the character could be a subclass berserker upon her initial creation. As an example of the latter situation, an accident involving a family member may convince a character to take up the study of medicine, so he is able to better care for his family should they become ill or injured. This example would mean that the character could gain the traditional healer or potentially doctor subclass as part of the ongoing roleplay (plus leaving for training for several weeks could offer a potential out for a vacationing roleplayer).


 * Berserker
 * Archer
 * Traditional Healer
 * Doctor

=Trivia=
 * Maesian Wars has always operated on the same four-tier class framework: Magic-Stealth-Combat-Other.
 * The actual content of the class system has shifted often since its original creation in 2008. At one point it pulled inspiration from sources such as Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy X-2, and the classic Dungeons & Dragons system all at once, suffering a lengthy bout of being unnecessarily complex before finally settling down to a more reasonable management system.
 * The new class system cuts back significantly on the dozens of subclasses (which used to be based on type of weapon the character used) and sorted them in a style inspired by the Dragon Age series (and a bit of D&D), while still fitting to the original MW MSCO framework.