fallen · Healer · Plate
Warder
The iron keeper of the shrine. Healer in plate.
“They sacrificed to spirits that were no gods, to gods whom they knew not.”
The calling
Every god of the gilded city has a shrine, and every shrine has a keeper. The keepers are not priests in robes. They are warriors in blackened plate who stand at the shrine doors with a mace in one hand and a shield in the other, and they have made a bargain with whatever lives behind the god's mask. It shields their companions. It curses their enemies. And it takes a little of the Warder every time.
The Warders do not pretend their master is kind. They know very well that the face carved on the shrine is a mask, and that what wears it is old, clever and starving. They serve it anyway, because it pays. Its wards are real, grey shrouds of bone-pale light that drink up the blows meant for the Warder's allies. Its curses are real, and they fall on every enemy who dares to strike under the Warder's protection.
Like the Cleric, a Warder stands in the front line, but a Warder loves the fight. They wade into the front line beside their defender, cracking skulls with their mace, chanting words that make the enemy's ears bleed, and they mend their companions between blows. When the battle is at its fiercest, a Warder can drive a whole company into a frenzy, the way the shrine-dancers leap upon their altars at the height of a feast.
In battle
You heal and fight at the same time. You lay wards on the companions in danger, curse every enemy that troubles them, and each cursed enemy makes your wards and heals stronger. You deal far more damage than a Cleric, with a mace that hits like a smith's hammer and dark words that interrupt an enemy's spells and burn its mind. And when the moment comes, you can unleash a frenzy on your whole company, quickening every hand.
The Warder makes your companions harder to kill and your enemies sorry they tried.
Strengths
- Far more damage than the Cleric, with a heavy mace, unholy words and strange fire.
- Curses that punish. Enemies who strike your allies are cursed, and every curse strengthens your wards and heals.
- Wards and plate. Like the Cleric, you stop blows before they land and stand in the front line yourself.
- A frenzy for the whole company that quickens attacks and hardens everyone for as long as you can pay for it.
- Catches the dying. A blow that would kill a friend heals them instead.
Weaknesses
- Fewer and smaller wards than the Cleric's.
- The shrine takes its price. Every time one of your wards breaks, you lose a little power. Fight carelessly and you run dry.
- Wants to be in the thick of it. A Warder hanging back is a Warder wasting half its gifts.
Gifts of the calling
- Pact of the Shrinefrom the first day
- every enemy suffering one of your curses strengthens your wards and heals. Every broken ward costs you a little power.
- Grave Shroud
- a pale ward that takes the blows aimed at one ally until it breaks, then heals them with whatever is left.
- Bitter Draught
- a quick healing, the one you will use most.
- Seal the Wound
- a deep healing for terrible wounds.
- Profane Word
- a dark word that breaks an enemy's casting and burns it.
- Bound Back
- drag a fallen companion back to their feet.
- Shrine Incense
- heal every companion near you at once.
- Wall of Bones
- a ward over your whole company.
- Black Litany
- a chanted curse that interrupts and burns an enemy and everything near it.
- Stolen Breath
- the next blow that would kill a friend heals them instead and swells their health.
- Leaping at the Altar
- drive your whole company into a frenzy: faster, stronger and harder to touch, for as long as you can pay.
The attributes you need
| Attribute | What it does |
|---|---|
| WisdomMain | Every healing and ward grows stronger, your well of power runs deeper, and you gain a little resistance against all eight kinds of harm. |
| Stamina | More health, for a healer who fights in the front line. |
| Strength | Not your main attribute, but a heavier mace stroke. Wisdom still comes first. |
Choose the Warder if
You want to heal with a mace in your hand and blood on your boots. You like the idea of a healer the enemy fears. Just never forget who you are bargaining with. The thing behind the mask has made a great many bargains, and it has never once lost one. The only keeper who ever got the better of it was the one who walked out the shrine door and did not come back.
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