Header Spotlight: Blood Mage

The Header Spotlight segment is a way to deliver some information about the specific Headers and to highlight their strengths and weaknesses.

Today, we'll be covering the Blood Mage. 

A common archetype in fantasy is a magic user that uses their own blood to cast spells.  It's usually considered somewhat profane, just due to the nature of manipulating blood for power. We decided that we wanted this archetype, and designed it so that while it may not be illegal, it's a least considered a little taboo.

The Blood Mage has three attack spells.  Drain allows them to do damage and heal themselves, Decrepify gives a slow, and Red Mist does 4 Damage and Agony.  Pretty Decent.

As far as Defensive abilities, the Blood Mage gets the Vigor skill, an Avoid against melee/missile/packet attacks, can go to spirit and walk for a brief period of time, and can become immune to aging and may resist metabolic effects and purge them for 1 damage.

The three utility skills that the Blood Mage has are Blood Magic, Surge of Strength, and Control Rigor Mortis.  Blood Magic allows the Blood Mage to spend Vitality to power spells,  but this Vitality can only be healed after 5 minutes of rest.  Surge of Strength gives a Double Grant Melee Attack for 2 Damage.  And Control Rigor Mortis allows the Blood Mage to drop an item of their choice when they go to spirit, which is huge if you're carrying the key and you die.

The way people interpret this header may vary, but expect that some people may be turned off by it.  That's the trade-off for the power of this Header.

Bound High Magic: Curse of Sight, Ethereal Bond, New Lineage, Unfinished Business

Good Header Combinations: Warden (Great Defense v Elemental and Metabolic), High Magic (some very cool Bound High Magic spells).

Pro: Excellent defense and some good attacks all from one header.  No one is better at defending against Metabolic effects.

Con: You may be ostracized, and non-Metabolic attacks are expensive to defend against. 

How will you react to Blood Magic? Would you play a Blood Mage?  Let us know in the comments!

Header Spotlight: Necromancer

The Header Spotlight segment is a way to deliver some information about the specific Headers and to highlight their strengths and weaknesses.

Today, we'll be covering the Necromancer. 

The Necromancer is a vile creature that works in death, and trades the lives of others to further their own power.  They work closely with the creatures of Undeath, as they themselves have used their magic to extend their life.

Disease is the primary way that the Necromancer does damage to others.  Cause Pain is the go-to damage spell, giving 2 uses of 2 Damage by Disease.  Their other attacks include Stench (Repel by Disease), Pox (Stricken and Slow by Disease), and End Life (Death by Disease).

But on top of that, the Necromancer has many defensive abilities.  They can use Bone Shield to get a Shield Physical, use Grave Healing to Heal Undead, or use Pass the Infection to Purge any basic Trait.  Finally, they can even use Raise Dead to Cure Death (Note - the person affected is not Undead.)  Pretty cool stuff.

However, things get particularly weird with some of the utility/specialized skills for the Necromancer.  First off, they can give themselves the Undead Trait with the Between Life and Undeath skill, which they can use to power other Abilities as well as heal themselves with Grave Healing.  They can use the Mask ability to prevent detection as an Undead or Necromancer.  They can wear an additional flesh rune with Another's Flesh, and prevent their own Death with Another's Life.  Finally, they are the only Header that can actually get Attributes back from a passive skill (Harvest Spirit.)

Seems overpowered, right?  Well, this Header was designed to be illegal.  It's pretty illicit, with many effects going off of killing blowing others, use of the disease and despair traits, and giving themselves the undead trait.   It's probably the most versatile header, and that comes at a cost. 

Bound High Magic: Call Forth Spirit, Corrupted Haven (Necro Only), Familiar, Ghaian Revival, Unfinished Business, Vampire's Bane

Good Header Combinations: High Magic (Use Harvest Spirit to charge Attribute Wells or Enchanted Items), Assassin (Makes you even harder to Expose).

Pro: Very versatile, great survivability, decent damage.

Con: Very illegal (in most places), requires a lot of Death Strikes to be particularly effective.

Would you (allegedly) play a Necromancer? How would you (allegedly) keep the law from finding out?  Let us know in the comments!

Header Spotlight: Force Mage

The Header Spotlight segment is a way to deliver some information about the specific Headers and to highlight their strengths and weaknesses.

Today, we'll be covering the Force Mage. 

Force mage is simultaneously one of the Elementalist Magic Headers, as well as being something else entirely.  The Force Mage has the ability to use magic to manipulate force, giving them great control of a battlefield.

The Force Mage can use Force Bubble, a magic spell that allows them to disengage.  Force Trap, Force Grasp, and Force Prision give them the ability to root, maim, and paralyze their enemies.  Force Armor gives them the ability to Grant Armor (which is huge, if you didn't know).  Earth Mastery, like all the Elemental Masteries, allow them to reduce the cost of Abilities that use the Earth attribute.

The three unique abilities of the Force Mage are Dispel, Force Bulwark, and Force Wall.  Dispel gives you the ability to Cure Magic or Purge Magic.  Now, it's important to note that the Magic trait is not extremely prevalent, and this won't help against any stock PC abilities.  However, some higher end or specialty magics may use that trait, and the Force Mage is the only one out of the stock headers that can remove it.

Force Bulwark turns you into a fighting machine against damage and makes your Earth Attribute abilities cost less, but you are unable to receive healing without breaking it.  In some situations, it's amazing, while in others it can be dropped very quickly.

Finally, Force Wall lets you create an invisible barrier, and allows you to do incredible damage to any that cross it.  Amazing for battlefield control, but hard to use effectively in some situations.  

Bound High Magic: Attribute Well: Earth, Enhance Weapon, Ethereal Bond, Exile, Extra-Planar Ethereal Voice

Good Header Combinations: Spellsword (Force Mage makes a great caster/fighter), Infuser (Make some Earth potions or wands to let you keep going).

Pro: Few classes have as much control as the Force Mage.  If you're working with a coordinated group, the Force Mage can really expand on the powers of the team.

Con: There isn't a ton of damage in the header, and much of it is physical (one of the easier traits to remove.) Also, if you're by yourself, you'll probably run out of Earth Attributes pretty fast.

Will you have a Force Mage on your team? In which situations do you think they'll shine?  Let us know in the comments!

Header Spotlight: Warden

The Header Spotlight segment is a way to deliver some information about the specific Headers and to highlight their strengths and weaknesses.

Today, we'll be covering the Warden. 

For those of you familiar with the Nature Magic Playtests, the Warden serves as the part of nature that's focused on hunting Elementals.  However, it's broadened a little bit in WAR Accelerant, to cover hunting anything from another plane (Elementals/Fae), as well as being incredibly effective against any Elemental Trait.

Much like the Shield Bearer, the Warden is somewhat expected to fight with a Shield.  They get access to the ability to cast with a shield in your hand, and also gain the ability to stop Elemental attacks on the cheap.  Even when fighting against people from Ghaia, you'll find that an Elementalist is probably the most likely to survive assault from an Elementalist, such as a Pyromancer, Cryomancer, or Storm Mage.

The Warden also gets access to the "It Ends Here" ability, that can prevent certain outsiders from going to Spirit (other than Dead Spirit).  While it's got an interesting call, it won't do anything to a normal person, and a monster must have a card that states how they'll react to the Anchor call.

Bound High Magic: Create Haven, Exile, Haven's Gift of Planar Protection, To the Marches and Beyond, Visions of Ghaia

Good Header Combinations: Shield Bearer (If you're going to rock the shield, you might as well be great at it), Pyromancer (Source of damage when not dealing with Outsiders)

Pro: Warden is one of those niche Headers, where you're obscenely good against Outsiders.  If you find yourself in a situation in which Outsiders are a big part, you'll be extremely effective. 

Con: On the flip side, if you're not dealing with Outsiders, you're going to run into some issues, as many of your abilities are designed to only affect Outsiders    

Would you play a Warden?  What Header would you pair up with Warden?  Let us know in the comments!

Header Spotlight: Pyromancer

The Header Spotlight segment is a way to deliver some information about the specific Headers and to highlight their strengths and weaknesses.

Today, we'll be covering the Pyromancer. 

The Pyromancer is the master of magical damage.  Of all  the Elemental Magic Headers, the Pyromancer has the most takedown power.  As a master of Fire damage, and all that goes with it, the Pyromancer is a good addition to any team.  They even have a Death spell!

One of the best things about the elemental headers is the Mastery abilities.  The Pyromancer can get the Fire Mastery, which allows them to reduce the cost of any Fire Attribute abilities after 60 seconds of concentration or 5 minutes of rest.  And that works with any fire ability!

Bound High Magic: Attribute Well: Fire, Extra-Planar Ethereal Voice, Haven's Gift of Planar Protection, To The Marches and Beyond

Good Header Combinations: Cryomancer (Stacking damage headers), Warrior (Good defenses, use some fire)

Pro: It's got amazing damage, and the reduced cost on fire skills allows you to play longer.  There's nothing wrong with it. 

Con: Other than damage, there's not a ton you can do.  Unless you're teamed up with a Guardian or stack some other headers, you might have a hard time surviving.    

Which Elemental Header is your favorite?  What would you stack with the Pyromancer Header?  Let us know in the comments!

Header Spotlight: Healer

The Header Spotlight segment is a way to deliver some information about the specific Headers and to highlight their strengths and weaknesses.

Today, we'll be covering the Healer Header. 

The Healer is a staple in Fantasy games, and this game is no different.  If your character is hurt or has been hit with some nefarious effect, hopefully there's a healer to back you up.  While many Headers have means to remove certain effects or perform limited healing, none of those come even close to the usefulness of a Healer.

While you can choose to adventure without a Healer, it's really not suggested.  Every team that's serious is going to have at least one person who goes deep into Healing.  Healers can Cure practically any Effect and most of the standard Traits, provide exceptional healing, and even Cure Death.  What's not to like!

The Prolonged Healing ability gives the Healer the option of saving Attributes by delivering Healing in a slower, more controlled fashion.  But when stuff starts to get ugly, they've got a slew of abilities that they can dump their attributes on.

Finally, remember that not every healer has to have everything!  It's perfectly viable to have a Healer that is specialized in Healing instead of Curing, or a Healer that's great at spot removal of effects, but isn't generally as useful when removing trait effects.  Feel free to spread it out amongst a few people if you don't have anyone who wants to be a dedicated Healer.

Bound High Magic: Call Forth Spirit, Create Haven, New Lineage, Unfinished Business, Vampire's Bane

Good Header Combinations: Cryomancer (Water Mastery leads to powerful Healing), Shield Bearer (Defend yourself while helping others), Infusions (Plenty of useful spells in the Healer Header for Wands)

Pro: It's healing.  You're going to need some healing in your group.  As a Healer, everyone will want to be your friend, and you'll have plenty of opportunities for adventure. 

Con: Unless you pick up some offensive headers, it can be pretty difficult to defeat an enemy as a healer.  And even if you do, every Attribute you spend taking someone out is an Attribute you don't have to heal your friends.    

How many Healers will your team have?  If you are going Healer, what type of Healer are you focusing on?  Let us know in the comments!

Header Spotlight: Hexer

The Header Spotlight segment is a way to deliver some information about the specific headers and to highlight their strengths and weaknesses.

Today, we'll be covering the Hexer Header. 

Hexer is one of the Magic Headers, focused on delivering negative effects to your enemies. Additionally, they have the Empathic Healing skill that allows them to remove negative effects from others. Almost all effects from the Hexer use the Mental Trait "Gloom." The Capstone abilities grant the Hexer a renewable Shield Gloom (to fight other Hexers), and a particularly powerful Personal curse that can drain Attributes from a named enemy.

There are few people that you'd rather cross than a powerful Hexer, so treat them with respect. Gypsies always have at least one Hex that they've learned from their families, regardless of whether they have the Hexer Header or not. But this does make Gypsy Hexers more common, which is why you should be leery about making enemies with a Gypsy.

Bound High Magic: A Mark Upon You (Hexer Only), Curse of Sight, Familiar, Vampire's Bane


Good Header Combinations: Warrior (Purge Effects with Empathic Healing), Pyromancer (Source of Damage)

Pro: The wonderful list of effects include Slow, Disarm, Weakness, Agony, Frenzy, Stun, Silence, and Stricken. There is no header that is able to produce this number of effects. When combined with a source of damage, this can be an extremely potent class. Using Empathic Medicine with Purge abilities makes for essentially free cures.

Con: The Hexer has almost no defenses, making heavy Hexers a bit more vulnerable than most. Also, since there is no passive that reduces attribute costs, Hexer will need help from other Headers to sustain Attributes throughout the day.

Would you play a Hexer?  What is your favorite Hexer Ability?  Let us know in the comments!