The Primal

Triad:

Greater

Dichotomy:

None

Dictate:

Inclusive

Association:

The elements and the natural world

Description:

The Primal is unique in its defiance of the structures and strictures typical to archetypes. Unlike other archetypes, the Primal is not associated with any certain type of calling, career, or philosophy. Rather, its abilities correlate with the elements that define the natural world. According to Realm records, the Primal actually predates all other archetypes, existing in the days prior to even the precursor city-states, when humanity had not yet learned the arts that would come to define modern civilization. Curiously, considering their wild origin, Primal gifts are extremely consistent in the abilities they offer, always granting a manifestation and a defensive ability at low levels, with both power and flexibility coming as the gift progresses. Gift scholars have even noted a marked synergy that defines the interaction of Primal gifts with those of nearly all other inclusive archetypes, further contributing to their popularity.

Also notable among Primal gifted is that they almost never identify themselves by their Primal gift. While it is common enough for one to refer to themselves as a vanguard, or an evoker, or a thief, it is all but unheard of for someone to refer to themselves as a fire gifted. Instead, Primal gifts are often referred to as augments, after the combination ability produced by two gifts. Examples include earth-augmented brawlers or wind-augmented thieves. Pyromancers, fire-augmented evokers, are perhaps the most significant exception to this rule.

Quintessence Pool:

Similar to Mage gifts, the Primal's blessings grant access to a unique resource known as quintessence–although, according to many gift scholars, this similarity may actually be inverse in source. Quintessence as a resource allows Primal gifted to defy normal natural laws at an extent beyond that of even other gifts, letting them generate energy and even solid matter from almost nowhere. As smaller amounts of quintessence are required even for abilities that don't manifest new matter, the exact nature of the resource is unknown, although many have theorized that it predates even magic as a fundamental building block of existence.

Gift of Fire

Boons:

Stamina, Focus

Description:

Among the most offensive of the Primal's blessings, the gift of fire is common amongst battle-gifted of all shapes and forms, with pyromancers being as common as fire-augmented warriors. This is of little surprise, of course–at low levels, the gift of fire offers an offensive flexibility unheard of among many gifts, while at high levels, it grants access to devastating attacks at all ranges. However, fire does have a notable disadvantage–after the initial manifestation, it is incredibly difficult to control, with only pyromancers having any real mastery of fire in its natural form. This can make fire-augments a danger to allies, or even to themselves if their quintessence gets too low.

Notable Abilities:

Ignite:

The signature ability of the gift of fire is able to produce a small, consistent orb of fire, capable of being used for utility purposes as easily as for attacking. At higher levels, Ignite can be used to make more varied shapes of fires at various ranges, but nearly all fire-augmented battle-gifted will keep an Ignite active in their offhand

Heat Resistance:

The defensive ability of fire-augments is obvious and efficient, triggering whenever the gifted in question would be exposed to dangerous heat and spending quintessence proportional to the heat to resist it.

Fire Blast:

Perhaps the most feared ability of the gift of fire, Fire Blast isn't available until Adept level, but becomes a key piece of a gifted's arsenal at that level, giving access to a massive, searing hot wash of flames that makes for an extremely powerful way to start, and often end, many fights.

Common Augments:

Evoker:

The gift of fire is perhaps most associated with the pyromancers of the Twin Cities, a powerful guild of fire-augmented evokers who utilize their combination of abilities to manipulate their flames with a level of skill and subtlety far beyond that of other fire-augments.

Brawler, Vanguard:

The gift of fire makes a powerful combination with the more melee-oriented Warrior gifts, granting the decisive ranged damage while enhancing their normal attacks.

Smith

: The many gifted smiths prefer the gifts of metal or the artificer, fire-augmented blacksmiths are able to work with metals beyond the ability of other artisans, thanks to their ability to apply consistent, well-controlled heat turning them into their own forges.

Gift of Earth

Boons:

Strength, Resilience

Description:

Another common Primal gift among battle-gifted, the gift of earth trades the versatility of the gift of fire for raw power. Earth-based attacks are difficult to stop, often able to overpower even potent defenses through sheer weight and force. While weak at long distance, even at Novice level, the gift of earth provides decent mid-ranged damage through Stone Toss. The gift also has a variety of non-combat uses, providing valuable benefits to quarrying, mining, and construction.

Notable Abilities:

Stone Toss:

Available at Novice level, this simple ability allows earth-augements to hurl a stone a short distance. At higher levels, the number, power, and size of the projectives can be increased. Notable, while the ability can manifest a stone, its cost is reduced if the gifted has a natural stone to use.

Earthen Wall:

Another of the characteristic abilities of earth-augments, earthen walls are slower to manifest than other defensive abilities, but they require no additional investment to maintain.

Common Augments:

Guardian:

A pure defensive build, earth-augmented guardians are able to defend not only with their own bodies, but by tactically reshaping the battlefield itself with augmented earthen walls.

Brawler, Vanguard:

Both of these Warrior gifts benefit from the weapon creation augments granted by the gift of earth, allowing them to always be armed, while benefiting from the tactical benefits or earth manifestations.

Laborer, Mason:

Though less combative than the above augments, the gift of the earth provides a significant advantage to those who work with stone on a daily basis. Many miners and quarry workers often unintentionally earn the gift of earth.

Gift of Wind

Boons:

Coordination, Speed

Description:

The gift of wind offers much more utility based abilities than the gifts of fire and earth. Between its lack of offensive power and trade usage, it is one of the least common Primal gifts, used primarily by wide-ranging scouts. However, it commonly features in many adventure tales, as a thematic fit for the wide-ranging heroes of those ring novels. Some unorthodox battle-gifted even claim that the gift's rarity makes it more useful than others might be, as many gifted don't know how to counter its abilities.

Notable Abilities:

Gust Blast:

The most basic ability of the gift of wind allows for a projection of abruptly violent winds. Though this attack does little damage, it can knock lighter enemies off-balance or temporarily blind them. At higher levels, its strength and shape can be modified.

Mantle of Wind:

Though less effective than the defenses provided by many Primal gifts, the cloak of swirling air granted by this ability both provides valuable weight-reduction and mild defense against ranged attacks. At high level, the mantle's effect even allows limited flight.

Common Augments:

Skirmisher, Archer:

Scouts can benefit greatly from the subtle abilities characteristic of the gift of wind, with skirmisher's able to turn the wind into a continual hindering force while archers can use it to strengthen their attacks.

Sorcerer:

All Mage gifted benefit from the addition of a quintessence pool to their mystical well, and the air spirits wind-augmented sorcerers gain access to fit very well with their typical distant scout strategies.

Raptor:

Though totem gifted are few and far between, the augment of any winged totem gift with the gift of wind can allow a level of aerial prowess unavailable to any other gifted.

Gift of Water

Boons:

Coordination, Focus

Description:

Similar to the gift of wind, the gift of water is almost aggressively unaggressive, to the point that it is all but unheard of amongst battle-gifted. However, it has a significant presence amongst trade-gifted and other supportive roles, who benefit from easy access to quickly conjured pure water, much less water that can be manipulated as needed by a focused gifted.

Notable Abilities:

Water Spray:

Shoots a dense jet of focused water. Like Gust Blade, it can't do any significant damage by default, but especially at higher levels, it can be used to manifest large quantities of water for non combat purposes.

Whirling Wave:

Hypothetically a defensive ability, whirling wave allows water to be quickly moved, undermining enemy footing and throwing up walls of water to block attacks. More often, however, this ability is used by trade-gifted to direct the flow of water.

Common Augments:

Farmer, Laborer:

The ability to produce and move water had obvious value for farmers, as it allows rapid watering of even large spaces. The use of the gift for laborers may be less obvious, but it's a common augment choice for professional fishers along the Cliff Road and the coastal cities.

Animist, Alchemist:

Similarly, these Mage gifts gain significant benefits from easy access to pure clean water, and are able to turn the water into a flexible medium for their respective magical arts.

Sailor Gifts:

The sole exception to the usual limitations of the gift of water, Westerlen's patron Sailor archetype caters primarily to aquatic battle-gifted, whose plentiful access to water, especially in combat environments, gives them plenty of chances to put the gift of water to use.

Gift of Wood

Boons:

Coordination, Stamina

Description:

The gift of wood is most closely aligned with trade-gifted over battle-gifted, similar to the gift of water. While incredibly helpful to a variety of crafts and jobs, its impact in combat is generally minor and situational–though the right environment, like the rolling forests common throughout the heartlands, can change this.

Notable Abilities:

Splinter:

Produces a large, spear-like wooden projectile, either by conjuring or by manipulating extant wood. While clearly offensive, the projectile is significantly slower than an arrow without augments, and many trade-gifted use it to create wooden blanks to be further worked.

Flexible Growth:

Uses quintessence to facilitate rapid growth, even in already cut deadwood. Though it takes a large level of skill and concentration, this growing effect can be manipulated to form a desired shape. Certain augments make it easier to use this ability to produce a set shape (ie, the weapon creation augments available to most Warrior gifted.)

Common Augments:

Carpenter:

The vast majority of gifted carpenters are wood-augments, their ability to manipulate the material they're working with allowing for much faster and finer products.

Hunter:

As the hunters of the heartlands often spend large portions of their time in dense woods and other vegetation, they are able to get significant utility and combat power out of the gift of wood.

Thorn, Bloom:

The totem gifts associated with bramble-spawn and other flora monsters work very well with the gift of wood, with the manifestations of both totem gifts being enhanced by the ability to conjure wood on demand.

Gift of Metal

Boons:

Resilience, Focus

Description:

Uniquely among the Primal gifts, the gift of metal is as common among trade-gifted as battle-gifted, as it offers versatile and powerful abilities to a variety of disciplines across the wide spectrum of gifted. To craftsmen, the ability to manipulate metal provides a priceless advantage, while battle-gifted gain no small number of advantages from these same powers. Notably, unlike many other Primal gifted, metal-augments cannot conjure metal from raw quintessence without appropriate augments. While this restricts their powers in some ways, requiring extant metal to work with, it makes their abilities far more efficient than most Primal gifts.

Notable Abilities:

Metallic Service:

Simultaneously a defensive, offensive, and utility ability, metallic service allows a metal-augment to move metal with their mind. In a forge, this might allow a smith uncanny precision in moving a project between different phases for smithing, while in battle, it allows for the crude manipulation of spare metal as a weapon or shield.

Reinforce Metal:

This ability allows metal-augments to use their quintessence to add potency into a metallic object. Though this potency's lifespan and tier is limited by level and quintessence investment, the ability to strengthen a weapon or armor at a crucial time is as valuable for battle-gifted as trade-gifted.

Common Augments:

Smith:

Few are more likely to subject themselves to the pain of the trial of metal than dedicated gifted smiths. Generally, metal-augment smiths specialize in the creation of bulk products, supplying for sentinels and mercenaries, as opposed to the fine crafting preferred by fire-augment smiths.

Warrior Gifts:

With the exception of archers, all Warrior gifted gain major benefits from the gift of metal. For brawlers and vanguards, this allows the spontaneous crafting of weapons, which can be then made potent with Reinforce Metal, while skirmishers and guardians can make valuable defensive and utility items on demand using the gift.

Gift of Ice

Boons:

Coordination, Will

Description:

Though similar in efficacy to its counterpart, the gift of fire, the gift of ice (often called the gift of frost) is much less common. Most frequently, it ends up in the hands of hunters and wardens, though even then, only the most dedicated end up facing the severe conditions needed to be offered the gift. However, to those who do obtain it, the gift of ice offers the dangerous combination of power and versatility that make Primal gifts so feared. Notably, all gift of ice abilities have reduced cost when used in low temperatures.

Notable Abilities:

Icicle Throw:

A simple ranged attack combining dangerously cold magic with a sharp, solid projectile. This is the core ability of the gift of ice, becoming more flexible in its shape and use at higher levels.

Aura of Frost:

This defense makes a cloud of chill frost surrounding the user, harming those who come too close. At higher levels, this aura is actually able to push frost away, creating a flexible sphere of comfortable warmth.

Freezing Touch:

Though more limited in range–without the benefit of an augment, at least–Freezing Touch is much more feared than Icicle Throw. With sufficient time and quintessence, an ice gifted can freeze a being to its very core, killing it with no need for direct harm.

Common Augments:

Hunter:

Village hunters, required to fight so often in the harsh environment of winter, are frequently offered the gift of ice. As it provides both valuable attacks and survival-oriented support augments, it is particularly valued by these same hunters.

Gift of Lightning

Boons:

Strength, Speed

Description:

Of all the Primal gifts, none are as feared, or as rare, as the gift of lightning. Partially, both are due to the difficulty of acquiring it. While Primal Halls attempt to replicate the circumstances needed to prove one's will in the face of the various elements, lightning refuses to be harnessed. The only way to receive the gift is to be struck by the most powerfully destructive force in nature. However, its power proves worth the risk and difficulty of acquiring it, with many considering the gift to be on par with the powerful exclusive gifts granted only to Initiates, boasting a lethal combination of boons and the very same destructive power that makes receiving the gift so difficult.

Notable Abilities:

Lightning Bolt:

Exactly as the name claims, this is a simple offensive ability that is nonetheless extremely effective. Though its quintessence cost is considerable, few can survive a direct bolt of lightning, especially as higher levels increase its raw power and magical potency.

Lightning Ward:

The defensive ability of the lightning gift is similarly potent, lashing out with less lethal but still stunning force at any attempted physical assailants.

Common Augments:

Mage Gifts:

Though no combination can truly be considered common for the extremely rare gift of lightning, Mage gifted are best known for seeking out this power, with some evokers purposefully abstaining from the raw power of pyromancy so that they can seek out the gift of lightning as their third blessing.

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