The eighteen hero classes

Ironvow

Commanders sworn to a line they will not give up. Oath grows while they hold ground and is spent to make their soldiers unbreakable.

Roles: defence, command
Leads best: Infantry
Class bonus: Infantry defence +8 %

Specializations (level 10)

Bulwark Oath — Sworn to the walls: the capital stands firmer while the hero is home. Always:: Defence (all) +3 % · Ability:: Unbroken Line — The capital's infantry locks shields; fewer defenders fall.
Banner Marshal — Leads infantry from the front under a scarred banner. Always:: Infantry attack +4 % · Ability:: Rally of Iron — One rallying cry before the charge: the whole army strikes harder.
Oathwarden — No one is left behind: more of the fallen are carried home alive. Always:: Wounded recovered +3 % · Ability:: Last Stand Vow — His soldiers swear to come home; far fewer fall.

Galewright

Wind-shapers who turn distance into an advantage. Gale charges gather on the move and are released as speed, scouting and sudden strikes.

Roles: mobility, scouting
Leads best: Cavalry
Class bonus: March speed +5 %

Specializations (level 10)

Windrider — Rides ahead of the storm; his armies cover ground faster. Always:: March speed +5 % · Ability:: Tailwind — A wind at their backs all the way there.
Stormlance — Masters the cavalry charge with lightning timing. Always:: Cavalry attack +4 % · Ability:: Crosswind Charge — The cavalry charges with the storm.
Skyreader — Reads every shadow on the wind; spies rarely slip past the capital. Always:: Counter-scouting +8 % · Ability:: Eye of the Gale — The capital sees through every disguise for a while.

Emberwarden

Keepers of the siege-fire. Cinders build up with every assault and must be vented before they burn their own camp.

Roles: siege, damage
Leads best: Siege
Class bonus: Siege attack +10 %

Specializations (level 10)

Forgebreaker — Drives the siege engines until the stone gives way. Always:: Siege attack +5 % · Ability:: Molten Ram — Siege engines glow white-hot.
Pyrebrand — Every army he leads burns hotter. Always:: Attack (all) +3 % · Ability:: Scorched Earth — Fires ahead of the army weaken the defenders.
Hearthkeeper — Keeps fire on the ramparts; the walls bite back. Always:: Wall strength +3 % · Ability:: Burning Ramparts — Walls and attackers alike burn.

Rimecantor

Singers of the cold who slow armies to a crawl. Rime accumulates on the enemy, not on themselves.

Roles: control, defence
Leads best: Mystics
Class bonus: Enemy speed near you −5 %

Specializations (level 10)

Frostbinder — Wraps the capital in rime; its defenders hold longer. Always:: Defence (all) +3 % · Ability:: Glacial Ward — A ward of ice slows and weakens every attacker.
Winterchoir — Leads the mystics in a freezing hymn. Always:: Mystics' attack +5 % · Ability:: Hymn of Hoarfrost — The mystics sing and the enemy stiffens.
Icewalker — Finds frozen paths where others see none. Always:: March speed +3 % · Ability:: Frozen Road — Rivers freeze under the army's feet.

Bonescribe

Scholars who write the fallen back onto the battlefield. Marrow Ink is distilled from every battle and spent to raise short-lived soldiers.

Roles: summoning, attrition
Leads best: Infantry
Class bonus: Wounded recovered +5 %

Specializations (level 10)

Gravecaller — The dead of his armies rise to march again. Always:: Wounded recovered +4 % · Ability:: Raise the Host — The fallen stand up again during the battle.
Inkreaper — Writes the names of the foe in black ink; his infantry collects. Always:: Infantry attack +4 % · Ability:: Black Ledger — Every name in the ledger is a debt paid in battle.
Ossuary Warden — Turns the capital into a house of bones and mending. Always:: Hospital beds +2000 % · Ability:: Bone Bastion — Walls of bone shelter the capital's infantry.

Veilstalker

Spies and ambushers who live behind the Shroud. They see the enemy's army before the enemy sees them.

Roles: stealth, scouting
Leads best: Ranged
Class bonus: Counter-scouting +10 %

Specializations (level 10)

Shadowstep — Moves armies along hidden ways, unseen and quick. Always:: March speed +4 % · Ability:: Unseen March — The army slips through the shadows and strikes first.
Nightbow — His archers shoot from the dark and never miss twice. Always:: Ranged attack +4 % · Ability:: Volley from the Dark — A rain of arrows from nowhere.
Whisperguard — Hears every whisper inside the walls; spies are caught. Always:: Counter-scouting +10 % · Ability:: Veil of Smoke — Smoke hides the capital from spies and its archers from arrows.

Thornbinder

Wardens who grow defences out of living wood. Sap flows slowly but turns every settlement into a thicket of traps.

Roles: traps, defence
Leads best: Ranged
Class bonus: Trap strength +10 %

Specializations (level 10)

Briarwarden — Sows the approaches with thorns and snares. Always:: Trap strength +3 % · Ability:: Thornwall — A wall of thorns grows around the capital.
Sapshooter — Arrows dipped in burning sap. Always:: Ranged attack +4 % · Ability:: Venom Sap — Poisoned arrows weaken the enemy before the clash.
Rootkeeper — Roots bind the wounded and pull them back from death. Always:: Wounded recovered +3 % · Ability:: Deep Roots — Roots hold the defenders; few are lost.

Tidekeeper

Healers and quartermasters who follow the ebb and flow of the Current. Their armies come home with fewer empty saddles.

Roles: healing, logistics
Leads best: Support
Class bonus: Hospital capacity +10 %

Specializations (level 10)

Wavemender — A tide of healing follows his armies. Always:: Wounded recovered +4 % · Ability:: Healing Tide — A tide of healing washes over the army.
Currentmaster — Knows every current and every pack mule; his armies carry more. Always:: Carry capacity +5 % · Ability:: Laden Current — Rafts and mules: everything goes home.
Harborwarden — The capital becomes a safe harbour with beds for the wounded. Always:: Hospital beds +2000 % · Ability:: Safe Harbour — The wounded of the capital are carried to safety.

Glyphsmith

Rune-carvers who etch glyphs into stone, steel and buildings. Glyph charges turn an ordinary settlement into a working machine.

Roles: economy, crafting
Leads best: Support
Class bonus: Aether production +8 %

Specializations (level 10)

Runewright — Carves runes into every blade his army carries. Always:: Attack (all) +3 % · Ability:: Inscribed Arms — Glowing runes on every weapon.
Wardscribe — Writes wards into the stones of the walls. Always:: Wall strength +3 % · Ability:: Glyph Wards — Glyphs flare across the capital and turn blows aside.
Sigil Merchant — Every sack is sealed with a sigil that holds more. Always:: Loot capacity +5 % · Ability:: Sigil of Plenty — Every sack holds far more than it should.

Kinbond

Beast-kin who fight beside companions rather than in front of them. Bond deepens with every shared battle.

Roles: companions, beasts
Leads best: Beasts
Class bonus: Companion experience +10 %

Specializations (level 10)

Packleader — Runs with the beasts as one of their own. Always:: Beasts' attack +5 % · Ability:: Call of the Pack — One howl and the beasts attack together.
Beastwarden — The beasts of the capital guard their dens to the last. Always:: Beasts' defence +5 % · Ability:: Den Guardians — The beasts of the capital fight like cornered wolves.
Wildheart — The bond with his beasts mends what battle breaks. Always:: Wounded recovered +3 % · Ability:: Mending Bond — The bond carries the wounded home.

Lanternkeeper

Bearers of the Lumen who expose what hides in the dark. Nothing stealthy survives long near a Lanternkeeper's camp.

Roles: detection, morale
Leads best: Support
Class bonus: Scouting reveal +10 %

Specializations (level 10)

Beaconwarden — A beacon burns over the capital; nothing approaches unseen. Always:: Counter-scouting +8 % · Ability:: Lighthouse Watch — The beacon blazes; spies are seen and attackers dazzled.
Dawnbringer — Brings light into night battles. Always:: Attack at night +6 % · Ability:: Dawn in the Dark — A false dawn breaks over the battlefield.
Hopekindler — Soldiers who see his lantern refuse to fall. Always:: Wounded recovered +3 % · Ability:: Kindled Courage — Courage burns brighter than fear.

Resonant

Battle-harmonists whose power rises when many kinds of soldiers fight as one. Resonance swells with every different unit in the line.

Roles: buffs, formation
Leads best: Mystics
Class bonus: Attack with mixed armies +5 %

Specializations (level 10)

Chordmaster — Turns a mixed army into one great chord. Always:: Attack with mixed armies +4 % · Ability:: Grand Chord — Every unit of a mixed army plays its part.
Harmonist — The capital hums with a protective harmony. Always:: Defence (all) +3 % · Ability:: Shield Harmony — The capital's defenders move as one.
Discordant — Breaks the enemy with a note that shatters resolve. Always:: Mystics' attack +4 % · Ability:: Shattering Note — One note and the enemy line cracks.

Bloodwright

Reckless masters of Vitae who pay for power with their own life. Few deal more damage; fewer live to boast of it.

Roles: damage, risk
Leads best: Infantry
Class bonus: Attack (all) +4 % · Defence (all) −2 %

Specializations (level 10)

Crimson Fury — Strikes harder, and pays for it in blood. Always:: Attack (all) +4 % · Ability:: Blood Price — Strike far harder, at the price of more blood.
Vitae Leech — Draws life from the fallen enemy into his own soldiers. Always:: Wounded recovered +4 % · Ability:: Sanguine Feast — The enemy's blood heals the army.
Bloodbinder — Blood-oaths bind the defenders of the capital. Always:: Infantry defence +4 % · Ability:: Vein Ward — Blood runes harden the defenders and sap the attackers.

Duskblade

Night raiders whose Edge sharpens as the light fails. At dawn they are ordinary soldiers; at midnight they are not.

Roles: raids, night
Leads best: Cavalry
Class bonus: Attack at night +8 %

Specializations (level 10)

Nightrider — Strikes when the moon is gone. Always:: Attack at night +6 % · Ability:: Moonless Raid — Fast and deadly in the dark.
Cutpurse — Light fingers, heavy saddlebags. Always:: Loot capacity +5 % · Ability:: Swift Hands — Everything of value disappears into the saddlebags.
Edgedancer — His riders cut a thousand small wounds. Always:: Cavalry attack +4 % · Ability:: Thousand Cuts — Riders bleed the enemy before the clash.

Skyreaver

Raiders who strike from above on winged mounts. Updraft carries them and their plunder far beyond the walls.

Roles: raids, aerial
Leads best: Beasts
Class bonus: Loot capacity +8 %

Specializations (level 10)

Stormwing — Rides the updrafts above the clouds. Always:: March speed +4 % · Ability:: Updraft Dive — Climb high and dive straight onto the target.
Plunder Lord — Leaves nothing worth carrying behind. Always:: Loot capacity +5 % · Ability:: Sky Plunder — Flying beasts carry off what wagons cannot.
Talonmaster — His beasts strike from the sky with sharpened talons. Always:: Beasts' attack +4 % · Ability:: Rending Talons — Beasts strike with every talon bared.

Riftwalker

Travellers who fold the road behind them. Rift charges bend travel time and pull armies home before pursuers arrive.

Roles: mobility, disruption
Leads best: Mystics
Class bonus: Return speed +10 %

Specializations (level 10)

Phase Runner — Steps through small rifts to shorten every road. Always:: March speed +5 % · Ability:: Rift Step — The army steps through a rift and arrives early.
Voidcaller — Opens the void beneath the enemy. Always:: Mystics' attack +4 % · Ability:: Void Breach — The void swallows part of the enemy's strength.
Anchor Warden — Anchors the capital so no rift can shake it. Always:: Defence (all) +3 % · Ability:: Rift Anchor — The capital is anchored; attackers stumble, walls hold.

Gearbinder

Engineers who bind constructs to their will. Pressure builds in their engines and is released as walls, towers and war machines.

Roles: constructs, siege
Leads best: Siege
Class bonus: Defence construction speed +8 %

Specializations (level 10)

Siegewright — Builds engines that never stop pounding. Always:: Siege attack +5 % · Ability:: Overpressure — Engines run past their limits for one battle.
Bulwark Engineer — Rebuilds the walls with steam and brass. Always:: Wall strength +4 % · Ability:: Steam Bastion — Steam-driven walls and plates rise around the capital.
Clockwork Marshal — Drills every unit until the army moves like clockwork. Always:: Attack with mixed armies +4 % · Ability:: Precision Drill — Every soldier knows the step; stronger and fewer losses.

Dreamwarden

Guardians of the waking dream who steady their own soldiers and unsettle everyone else's. Reverie is the calm before their storm.

Roles: morale, illusion
Leads best: Support
Class bonus: Morale +5 %

Specializations (level 10)

Mirage Weaver — The enemy fights phantoms as well as soldiers. Always:: Attack (all) +3 % · Ability:: Phantom Host — A phantom army draws the enemy's blows.
Sleepwarden — Lulls attackers into a heavy, slow dream. Always:: Defence (all) +3 % · Ability:: Lull of Ages — Attackers grow heavy with sleep at the gates.
Lucid Guide — Guides the army as if through a waking dream. Always:: Wounded recovered +3 % · Ability:: Waking Dream — The army marches as in a dream, and wakes alive.