The Archivist of Aetolia

The Archivist is Aetolia’s numerological scholar, a Shadow-tethered class that treats reality as a math problem to be solved, wielding Geometrics (psychic energy through geometric tokens), Numerology (the fundamental arithmetic of existence), and Bioessence (physiological mutation through ambient shadow), housed at the Archivium overlooking Spinesreach.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Tether | Shadow |
| City | Spinesreach |
| Guild | Archivists (no Divine Patron) |
| Skill sets | Geometrics, Numerology, Bioessence |
| Mirror class | Voidseer (Spirit) |
| Sister class in guild | Alchemist |
| Signature mechanic | Codex and tokens, Spheres of Influence |
| Best for | Players who want a scholar class with mutagenic combat and math-as-magic |
The Archivists were established by Sneak the Numerologist on the 1st of Lanosian, 464 MA, amid the chaos of the Crystalline Void. Today, the Archivium nestles within a fortified cliff face overlooking the Republic of Spinesreach, safeguarding old relics and innovative curios alike.
This is one of Aetolia’s most distinctive classes. If you want to play a scientist who treats numbers as the foundation of reality, mutates their own body with ambient shadow, and answers to no god (the Archivists guild has no Divine Patron, which is unusual in Aetolia), the Archivist is the only class with that exact combination.
Origin and lore
Sneak the Numerologist founded the Archivists in 464 MA in the Crystalline Void. The guild gathered iconoclastic academics, methodical scholars, confident outcasts, and obsessive lunatics, all united by an obsession with enlightenment and progress. The Archivium is built into a cliff face overlooking Spinesreach, holding both old relics and new curios.
Archivists treat reality as a numerological problem. The universe is ordered and manipulated through numbers, also known as the Spheres of Influence. The Spheres are:
- Yuef (1): the Individual
- Ef’Tig (2): Pairs and Relationships
- Rafic (3): Place and Location
- Jherza (5): Physicality
- Yi (7): Mystery and Magic
- Jhako (11): Balance
- Lgakt (13): Chaos and Uncertainty
An eighth number, the Immortal Number, is hypothesized but has eluded contemplation. All previous attempts to grasp it have ended in disaster. The Patron slot in the Archivists guild is empty by design, an unusual feature in Aetolia where most guilds answer to a god.
Skill sets
The Archivist skill sets are Geometrics, Numerology, and Bioessence.
Geometrics is the primary art. Archivists manipulate psychic energy through geometric tokens and a codex, using shapes as a stable focus for arcane algorithms. The codex provides a stabilized foundation for purposeful expressions of will. Tokens are malleable, movable reference points that extend the Archivist’s reach in combat and ritual alike.
Numerology is the foundation. By contemplating the Spheres of Influence, the Archivist can elicit changes and effects depending on which number they hold in mind. Geometrics expands this work into stable shapes. The two skills are tightly linked, but Numerology is where the raw work happens.
Bioessence extends the math into the body. By using ambient shadow to break the order Spirit imposes on living forms, an Archivist augments and amalgamates how the elements work within mortal bodies. The skill lets them mutate themselves and others, plaguing enemies with dreadful mutagens by rejecting physiological restraints.
Skill abilities
Geometrics
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Incite
DescriptionThe act of inciting is performed by visualising a shape within your mind, and then pressing it upon an object or person in order to cause a change in the world. Each incitiation will cause a different effect depending on the shape, and how clearly the shape is held within your mind. Thus it is often ideal to possess a physical representation of that shape in order to avoid the pitfall of relying purely upon your recollection.
As each shape is a little different to incite, you will be unable to utilise them until you have full knowledge of their practical use. By typing AB GEOMETRICS <shape> you can learn how each shape will act once incited.
Incitement will require your codex in hand in order to visualise from, however if you are blind, you will be unable to do so.
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Codex
DescriptionSyntax: GEO CRAFT CODEX
Additional syntax: READ CODEX <shape>
Additional syntax: GEO MARK <codex>Components: 2 wood
The Codex of Shapes is a hand-sized book containing simple diagrams of each shape in order to help visualise the distinct imagery required in order to incite a shape. Without it, attempting to utilise the shapes becomes beholden to the memory of the user and can often result in harmful failure.
Anyone may read the codex in order to view what each shape looks like, as long as they are holding it.
If you obtain a codex from another source, for example a Papercrafter, you can instead mark that codex as your own.
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Token
DescriptionSyntax: GEO CRAFT TOKEN [SPHERE|CUBE|PYRAMID]
Components: 1 woodA geometric token is generally a small wooden trinket with an unmarred surface designed to hold impressions of more complex shapes. As long you hold your geometric token within your hands, it will help you focus and bestow a small boon to the regeneration of your willpower.
You have the decision of choosing what shape your token should take, or you can choose none in order to receive a random shape. The shape of your token has no effect beyond cosmetic value.
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Impress
DescriptionThis ability will allow you to impress your token with one of the complex shapes, with each shape having a different effect that will trigger in differing scenarios. In order for your token to have an effect, it will need to be placed upon the ground.
You can learn more about the complex shapes and their effects by typing AB GEOMETRICS <shape>. You will need to have learned about the shape before you can impress it upon your token.
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Afterimage
DescriptionThis ability is passive.
After inciting one of the five basic shapes upon a target, the incitation will leave behind a sharp impression that will linger upon the subconscious. Once a few seconds have passed and if the opponent is completely alone, the impression will stir itself from the depths of the mind and the original effects of the shape will relapse upon the target.
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Invert
DescriptionSyntax: GEO INVERT
By inverting the existential nature of your token, it will blend with the non-physical in such a way that it will turn into a permanent fixture of the current location it resides in. If anyone attempts to pick up or destroy your token, they will find themselves unable to do so.
Using this ability once more will unbind it from the non-physical and return it to normal.
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Trace
DescriptionSyntax: GEO TRACE [target|NONE]
Trace your token to the existential signature of another, ensuring that your token will always be not far behind them should they attempt to leave. This will only trigger as long as your opponent stays still momentarily and remains within the same area as you.
You can additionally trace your token to yourself, either by specifying your own name or omitting a target.
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Conjoin
DescriptionSyntax: GEO CONJOIN
By conjoining the Triangle, Square, and Circle together as one, you can hide any notions about the shape you are inciting upon your opponent. This will cause the previously mentioned shapes to have their effects hidden for a limited time and deal a small amount of psychic damage.
Additionally, it will hide the effects of Afterimage, however no damage will be caused.
Cooldown: 20 seconds
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Pattern
DescriptionSyntax: GEO PATTERN <target>
You can alter the chemistry of another to see patterns and shapes where there are none, often to their own detriment. This will allow Afterimage to affect your opponent when they aren't alone until it is cured.
Note that afflictions cured with panacea pills will make pill balance recovery take twice as long.
You can read AB GEOMETRICS AFTERIMAGE to learn more about this skill.
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Sealing
DescriptionSyntax: GEO SEALING <TRIANGLE|SQUARE|CIRCLE> <target>
If the opponent is mind-riddled completely by a shape, you may seal the effects and prevent them from curing those afflictions through pills for a limited time, even if those afflictions are reapplied at a later stage. Sealed shapes will also boost the damage of the Crux ability.
While the sealing only lasts for a limited amount of time, successfully sealing a shape once more will refresh the timer of all seals upon the target.
Abilities such as the tree tattoo will still be able to cure the sealed afflictions.
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Matrix
DescriptionSyntax: GEO MATRIX <target>
You can twist the order of the world into your favour by subconsciously implanting the Triangle, Square, and Circle in the mind of your opponent all at once. This will trigger the Afterimage effect upon your opponent for all three of these shapes.
You can read AB GEOMETRICS AFTERIMAGE to learn more about this skill.
- The basic shapes
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Crux
DescriptionShape: The Crux.
The Crux is a shape that can cause termination to a logical process, such as thought.
Syntax: INCITE CRUX <target>
When incited upon another, it will deal psychic damage as it severs the current train of thought.The damage is further increased for each sealed shape that exists upon the target. Please see AB GEOMETRICS SEALING for more information.
DetailsTarget Location Same location
Damage Type Psychic
Damage Source Arcane
Base Damage 340 + 12%
Base Damage (Denizen) 1035
Added Bonus Damage (Per Seal) 50 + 3%
Equilibrium Recovery 3.50 seconds
RequirementsRequires balance and equilibrium.
Costs 50 mana to use.
Costs 30 willpower to use.
Requires at least one arm functional.
RestrictionsConsidered an aggressive action.
Cannot be entangled, paralysed, or fallen.
(Denizen) Considered a basic attack against denizens.
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Fork
DescriptionShape: The Fork.
The Fork is similar to the Crux, however it allows for a graceful end rather than utilising force.
Syntax: INCITE FORK <target>
When incited, it will disperse the magical shield defence, causing a small amount of mana loss to the target if successful. -
Triangle
DescriptionShape: The Triangle.
The Triangle has the ability to set alight passion and emotion within others, bringing them out in their fullest.
Syntax: INCITE TRIANGLE <target>
When incited upon another, it will first cause laxity, followed by infatuation, peace, and lastly magnanimity. This order is sequential, depending on what afflictions the opponent already has. -
Square
DescriptionShape: The Square.
The Square will encapsulate thought and produce mental boundaries that will spread discord within.
Syntax: INCITE SQUARE <target>
When incited upon another, it will cause dizziness, then faintness, epilepsy and lastly shyness. This order is sequential, depending on what afflictions the opponent already has. -
Circle
DescriptionShape: The Circle.
The Circle is known to bring out neurotic habits and behaviours, removing rationality as an inhibitor.
Syntax: INCITE CIRCLE <target>
When incited upon another, it will cause mercy, then masochism, mania, and lastly recklessness. This order is sequential, depending on what afflictions the opponent already has. - The complex shapes
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Swirl
DescriptionShape: The Swirl.
The Swirl will cause a sensation of falling, either physically or mentally, depending on the intention.
Syntax: INCITE SWIRL <target>
If your opponent is above or below you, you can instill them with a hidden sense of vertigo.Syntax: GEO IMPRESS SWIRL
Should an enemy fall over, their mental stability will sink with them. This will give them the delirium affliction. -
Arrow
DescriptionShape: The Arrow.
The Arrow allows for a certain amount of control, letting you define how something should procede.
Syntax: INCITE ARROW <target> <direction>
This will allow you to implant a subsconscious direction to take when your target attempts to move. You can stack multiple directions, up to a total of ten. Once they move, the actions you have implanted will fade after a short time if they stand still.Syntax: GEO IMPRESS ARROW
When an enemy leaves the location, they will be struck with an intense compulsion to remain where they are. This will deal psychic damage as they leave. -
Lens
DescriptionShape: The Lens.
The Lens can serve as a focus for yourself, or for the distortion of focus within another.
Syntax: INCITE LENS
If you possess a token, then this ability will squeeze it through space and back into your hands. If the token is inverted at the time, then it will additionally remove the effect.Syntax: GEO IMPRESS LENS
Any enemy who tries to GLANCE or SQUINT into a location with your token will find that the horizon will never end. -
Wave
DescriptionShape: The Wave.
The Wave is a tool that can be utilised to cleanse or increase the difficulty of abnormal abilities.
Syntax: INCITE WAVE <target>
This will cleanse the mind of any abnormal sensory abilities the target might have.This includes: Mindseye, Thirdeye, Lifevision, Shadowsight, Spiritsight, Hypersight, and Truth.
Syntax: GEO IMPRESS WAVE
When an enemy attempts to FOCUS their mind, it will cost them more mana than normal. -
Bloom
DescriptionShape: The Bloom.
The Bloom brings forth deeply buried thoughts and notions, forcing them to the surface.
Syntax: INCITE BLOOM <target>
This will allow you to judge the feelings of another and determine if they consider you a friend or foe.Syntax: GEO IMPRESS BLOOM
Once an enemy gains a total number of mental afflictions that is divisible by six, they will begin to manifest a case of vomiting. -
Rod
DescriptionShape: The Rod.
The Rod has the ability to deny another from their intended destination, baring their actions.
Syntax: INCITE ROD <direction with door|container>
The Rod will seal a door or container providing it is shut. If the object is then opened, then a magical explosion will occur that will stun and damage the person who opens it. The seal will only last a limited amount of time.Syntax: GEO IMPRESS ROD
Whenever an enemy uses an ability that will let them magically teleport, they will be prevented from doing so. -
Crescent
DescriptionShape: The Crescent.
The Crescent will act as a gate to two paths, changing if it is acting upon the singular or plural.
Syntax: INCITE CRESCENT <target>
After a delay, if the target stands in the same location as you, their senses will thrown into a blackout and struck with psychic damage, otherwise they will be briefly stunned and be drained of some mana.The damage and secondary effect will be increased for each sealed shape upon the opponent.
Syntax: GEO IMPRESS CRESCENT
When an enemy assists another, they will begin to feel their ego grow. This will give them the egocentrism affliction. -
Hex
DescriptionShape: The Hex.
The Hex will cause deterioration as time moves forward, increasing in potency depending upon if there is a conscious ability to resist.
Syntax: INCITE HEX <target>
Inciting the hex will slightly unhinge your target, dealing psychic damage over time for a short period. If they have dementia, hallucinations, and paranoia when taking damage, they will receive a random physical affliction.Syntax: GEO IMPRESS HEX
When an enemy successfully performs a diagnosis on themselves, their confidence will wane and they will become stricken with hypochondria. -
Star
DescriptionShape: The Star.
The Star represents important moments in time, such as birth and death. It allows one to replicate their effects on a limited scale.
Syntax: INCITE STAR
This will allow you to reform yourself in the location of your token, swapping places with it after a short delay.Syntax: GEO IMPRESS STAR
When an enemy crosses below 75%, 50%, or 25% health, they will find that their body will fall numb. This will afflict them with paresis. -
Lemniscate
DescriptionShape: The Lemniscate.
The Lemniscate has a strong effect on the time stream, allowing minor changes to how it is perceived by others.
Syntax: INCITE LEMNISCATE <target>
The effects of the Lemniscate will trap your target within a small loop of time. Each time an Afterimage affects the target, it will relapse without any effort on your behalf. The effects of the Lemniscate will remain as long as they have at least one affliction from either the Triangle, Circle, or Square.There is a grace period of nine seconds before the Lemniscate will fade after casting.
Once fifteen total Afterimage loops have occured, the affliction will expire. Loops that occur when the target is not the same room as you will count as three, instead of one.
Syntax: GEO IMPRESS LEMNISCATE
The Lemniscate will stretch time and space, delaying the movements of your enemies. This will only work as long as you are not present within the same location and they are afflicted with patterns.
Numerology
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Primality
DescriptionSyntax: CONTEMPLATE <number>
Additional syntax: NUMBERSWith Primality, you now have the ability to contemplate a single number in order to elicit Numerological effects based upon its nature.
The known, stable numbers that one can contemplate are:
Yuef, 1, the number of self.
Ef'tig, 2, the number of pairs.
Rafic, 3, the number of place.
Jherza, 5, the physical number.
Yi, 7, the number of mystery.
Jhako, 11, the number of balance.
Lgakt, 13, the number of uncertainty.Each of these numbers has its own sphere of influence which can be learned about by reading through AB NUMEROLOGY <number>. You will not be able to contemplate multiple numbers at first, but as you learn more you will begin to understand the process behind utilizing them.
You can check NUMBERS any time to remind yourself of what numbers you are currently contemplating.
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Forget
DescriptionSyntax: FORGET <number>
This will remove a number from your contemplation.
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Duality
DescriptionThis ability is passive.
You are now experienced enough in the art of Numerology to contemplate two numbers at once.
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Triunity
DescriptionThis ability is passive.
Your knowledge of Numerology has now advanced to a state that you can contemplate up to three numbers at once.
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Spheres
DescriptionSyntax: CONTEMPLATE SPHERES and FORGET SPHERES
Contemplating all the numbers at once, you can temporarily tap into the rhythms of the universe. Once complete, you will be able to harness the powers of Numerology without the need to contemplate, although this will come at a continuous effort of will to maintain your sanity. Be warned that once you begin, you must see it through or you will suffer heavily for it.
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Empower
DescriptionSyntax: EMPOWER <number>
You are now intimate enough with the various numbers that you can bolster the influence of one when eliciting an effect to produce a slight variance in the final result. You can review the AB files for each ability to see the potential effects empowering a number might cause. Note that not all abilities may be affected by an empowered number.
In order to empower a number, you must first be contemplating it. If you are unable to continue contemplating the number you have empowered then the empowerment will be lost.
Cooldown: 16 seconds
- You can elicit the following effects
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Fix
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT FIX
Required numbers:
Rafic.By fixing yourself to the ground, you can prevent yourself from moving from the location by your own means or another's, providing you are not prone. Simply recast this ability in order to release yourself.
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Settle
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT SETTLE
Required numbers:
Rafic.If there is obscuring fog in the atmosphere around you, you may settle the air and cause the fog to disperse.
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Position
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT POSITION <target>
Required numbers:
Ef'tig.Will tell you an immediate direction to travel to find another player within a large radius.
Empower effect (Ef'tig):
Invoking a desire for pairing will additionally reveal their location to you. -
Collapse
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT COLLAPSE <item>
Required numbers:
Jherza.Collapse the threads that tie an item to reality. This can only be used on items that are being held by you.
Empower effect (Jherza):
The left over energy will be entwined into your own physical being, restoring a small portion of health. -
Oneness
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT ONENESS [END]
Required numbers:
Yuef.By contemplating the self, you can periodically reveal hidden afflictions you are burdened with. This requires a constant upkeep on your behalf and will tax your mind.
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Retrieve
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT RETRIEVE <target>
Required numbers:
Yi, Rafic.Retrieve another from the same area and bring them to you, providing that they are not protected by the cloak defence.
Empower effect (Yi):
Shreds all mystery from their form if successful, removing defences that might hide them. -
Glimpse
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT GLIMPSE <target>
Required numbers:
Rafic, Yi.Glimpse through the threads of the world and pull forth the location and area of your target for a brief moment. You can glimpse any target you choose from across the globe.
Empower effect (Rafic):
If you are in the same area, you will also be able glean detail about their surroundings. This will act as though you are there. -
Absorb
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT ABSORB
Required numbers:
Ef'tig, Jherza.Absorb an affliction from each ally within your location, allowing you to transmute its harmful effects into a small amount of mana for each one removed.
Empower effect (Jherza):
Increases the amount of mana restored for each affliction absorbed. -
Ascent
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT ASCENT and LAND
Required numbers:
Jherza.Bend the laws of gravity to lift yourself into the skies and out of reach.
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Veil
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT VEIL
Required numbers:
Rafic, Yuef.Pull a fragment of the void around you and obscure yourself from prying individuals attempting to glimpse your location. Should you move, your veil will be lost.
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Changeheart
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT CHANGEHEART <target> <ALLY|ENEMY|NEUTRAL>
Required numbers:
Ef'tig, Yuef.This will force your target to reconsider how he or she values you.
Empower effect (Ef'tig):
Forcing allyship will also afflict them with infatuation, forcing enemyship will afflict them with hatred, and forcing neutrality will afflict them with indifference. -
Bloodwork
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT BLOODWORK
Required numbers:
Jherza, Yuef.Through your will, you can recall life-giving blood into your veins, replenishing your blood reserves should you be low.
Cooldown: 30 seconds
Empower effect (Jherza):
Should you be bleeding, then you will find yourself bleeding for less. -
Sublimation
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT SUBLIMATION [target]
Required numbers:
Yuef, Rafic, Yi.Form a powerful shield around your mind that will mitigate psychic damage directed at you. You can also protect the mind of another if you so choose.
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Weakness
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT WEAKNESS <target>
Required numbers:
Jherza, Lgakt.By considering their defenses, you can determine their weakest resistance and further reduce it for a limited time.
Cooldown: 30 seconds
Empower effect (Lgakt):
Increases the amount of time the instilled weakness will linger for by a random amount. -
Formation
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT FORMATION <environment>
Required numbers:
Rafic, Jherza, Lgakt.You can now tear away the very environment around you and rebuild it in your own vision, however this is no ordinary feat and will put great strain on your mind and body. This change to the environment is temporary and will eventually revert to its true form.
You can choose from the following environments:
Forest, Desert, Hills, River, Valley, Swamp, Mountains, Tundra, Garden, Temple, Ice, Graveyard, Loose Terrain, Cliffs, or Cavern.Cooldown: 120 seconds
Empower effect (Rafic):
Increases the radius of your landscape to the surrounding locations. -
Stream
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT STREAM <target>
Required numbers:
Ef'tig, Yi.By forming a mental link between yourself and your subject, you can begin to quickly drain them of their mana and add it to your own. If they leave the location, then the stream will be broken.
Empower effect (Ef'tig):
Increases the range of the streaming effect so that it will continue to draw mana even if the target leaves to an adjacent location.Empower effect (Yi):
If the target leaves the location, then it will cause a brief stun when the stream is broken. -
Affliction
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT AFFLICTION <target>
Required numbers:
Jherza, Yi, Lgakt.You can fabricate a random affliction upon your target, simply by eliciting it. This affliction will be hidden to the target. You can also do this from afar, providing you stay within line of sight.
Empower effect (Yi):
The affliction that you elicit upon your target will be revealed to you. -
Dilation
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT DILATION [target]
Required numbers:
Jhako, Lgakt.By dilating the star light around you, you can increase the magnitude of the stars influence upon your body for a limited amount of time. This will double both the positive and negative effects. If you so choose, you may use this ability on another however the duration is much shorter.
You can read HELP ASTRONOMY for more information on the stars and their effects.
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Symphony
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT SYMPHONY
Required numbers:
Rafic, Yi, Jhako.The mind is a frail object for a numerologist. Thus, to bolster your mental strength and replenish your will to function, you may enter a trance, of which allows you to meditate upon the continuous symphony of the spheres.
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Syncopate
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT SYNCOPATE <target>
Required numbers:
Jhako, Ef'tig, Yi.The rhythm of the body is a vital instrument to any living creature, it helps regulate their body and governs many functions. With this ability, you may disrupt their internal rhythm and increase any ability on cooldown by three seconds. This will increase by an additional second for each mental affliction upon the target.
Cooldowns not counted in seconds upon your target will not be affected by this ability.
Look at HELP TYPES for more information on what is regarded as a mental affliction.
Cooldown: 40 seconds
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Link
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT LINK <0-50%>
Required numbers:
Yi, Jherza, Jhako.Form a powerful bond between your mind and body that will link them together as one. While this persists, any health lost will be reduced by the percentage specified and then three quarters of that will be redirected as mana damage. This will happen after damage reductions and will not affect health that is lost through direct means such as bleeding.
You can select to reduce 0% of damage in order to turn this ability off if you so choose.
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Return
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT RETURN <ME|target> <seconds>
Required numbers:
Ef'tig, Rafic, Jhako.Lock an opponent to your current location, causing them to eventually return after 3 to 10 seconds depending on what you choose. You can use this ability on yourself if you wish.
Empower effect (Jhako):
The mental fatigue of being shifted through space and time will unbalance the mind, giving your target a migraine providing they are an enemy. -
Madness
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT MADNESS <target>
Required numbers:
Ef'tig, Jherza, Jhako.Cause your target to become riddled with madness, giving them dementia, hallucinations, and paranoia in one hefty mental blow.
Cooldown: 8 seconds
Empower effect (Jhako):
This will bring the mind of your target back to a neutral state by removing the clarity defence first. -
Unravel
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT UNRAVEL <target>
Required numbers:
Rafic, Jherza, Lgakt.The ultimate destructive ability is to unravel another from the face of Creation. To pull this off on an unwilling opponent, you must first have your target in a state where they have three mental afflictions, three physical afflictions, and infected with an active mutagen of your own design. If successful, then they will be unravelled and instantly slain.
Empower effect (Rafic):
You may attempt to unravel your opponent as long as they remain within the same area as you.Look at HELP TYPES for more information on what is regarded as a mental or physical affliction.
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Direcall
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT DIRECALL
Required numbers:
Rafic, Yuef, Lgakt.Reach and tug upon the sphere of uncertainty to sweep you from the location you stand and swap places with another. Anyone across the land not within indoor safety or upon a monolith are vulnerable to the unpredictability of this ability. There is a moment of delay before this ability activates, during which you may do nothing else.
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Recollection
DescriptionSyntax: ELICIT RECOLLECTION
Required numbers:
Yuef, Jhako, Yi, Jherza.This ability will allow you to advance slightly through time in order to speed up your internal rhythm, reducing all abilities on cooldown by three seconds.
The equilibrium cost of this ability cannot be modified. Cooldowns not counted in seconds will not be affected by this ability.
You will be unable to utilize this skill if afflicted by paresis.
Empower effect (Yuef):
Increases the reduction of cooldowns to five seconds instead of three.
Bioessence
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Jolt
DescriptionSyntax: BIO JOLT
Consumes 1 energy.By jolting your adrenal gland, you can enhance your perception of time and grant yourself the speed defence.
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Energy
DescriptionSyntax: BIO ENERGY
In order to perform certain feats, it is required that you possess the biological means to maintain them. This is denoted by the amount of energy your inner core can sustain, of which everyone begins with three. This command will tell you how much energy you have on hand.
Some abilities will consume energy while others will completely expend it. Consumed energy will return after a limited amount of time, while expended energy will be consumed until the related effect expires.
Cooldown (when consumed): 20 seconds per
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Diagnose
DescriptionSyntax: DIAGNOSE or DIAG [target]
You can now quickly diagnose yourself or another of any afflictions, hidden or otherwise.
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Infection
DescriptionSyntax: BIO INFECT <target> WITH <mutagen>
Expends 1 energy.This ability allows you to infect another with a mutagen you have formulated and marked as complete. It will eventually fade once its potency runs out, or if the target leaves the same area you are within.
Utilising Dome from Manipulations will terminate all active mutagens.
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Preservation
DescriptionSyntax: BIO PRESERVE <target> <MILD|MODERATE|SEVERE>
Consumes 1, 2, or 3 energy.Depending on the severity specified, you can cause the formation of black frost upon your opponent. This will either completely freeze or simply chill your subject.
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Tension
DescriptionThis ability is passive.
Through advanced knowledge granted by your abilities, you can now maintain high tension within your arm muscles allowing you to utilise a shield as a tool to parry an incoming attack upon one of your limbs.
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Knitting
DescriptionSyntax: BIO KNITTING [target]
Consumes 1 energy.Bestow enhanced regeneration upon another, making their wounds knit and heal themselves over time.
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Flare
DescriptionSyntax: BIO FLARE <target>
Consumes 1 energy.If your target is currently affected by a mutagen implanted by you, you can cause it to flare brilliantly with a moment of extreme development. This will cause the next cycle of your mutagen to occur early.
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Steroid
DescriptionSyntax: BIO STEROID
Consumes 1 energy.By inducing a surge of hormones into your body, you can tap into the hidden potential of your muscles and hasten the recovery of your balance. This will require you to be off-balance in order to obtain the benefits of this effect.
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Probe
DescriptionThis ability is passive.
When you diagnose another person, if they happen to have any abilities on cooldown, you will see how much longer they have before they are available once more.
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Adaptation
DescriptionSyntax: BIO ADAPT <corpse> and BIO ADAPT END
Expends 1 energy.If you are holding the corpse of an adventurer and they are of a different race to you, you may adapt your body to take on their racial traits. This will grant you access to their racial abilities along with the ones you already know.
If they are one of the endgame races, then you will absorb the traits of their heritage instead.
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Osmosis
DescriptionSyntax: BIO OSMOSIS <target>
Consumes 2 energy.Swap the health and mana of your target.
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Stimulant
DescriptionSyntax: BIO STIMULANT
Consumes 1 energy.The mind can be stimulated by sending an increased amount of energy to your brain for consumption. This will allow you to hasten your mind's ability to recover when you lack equilibrium. You must be off-equilibrum in order for you to obtain the benefits of this effect.
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Ethereal
DescriptionSyntax: BIO ETHEREAL [target]
Consumes 2 energy.By partly shedding your physical form, you or an ally can enter an ethereal state that is trapped between the physical and the ether for a short period of time.
In this state, opponents have a chance to miss you with physical attacks and you gain increased resistance against physical damage. This will slowly diminish over time until it no longer has an effect.
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Catabolism
DescriptionSyntax: BIO CATABOLISM [OFF]
Grants 1 energy.By driving your inner core into an exhaustive frenzy, you can gain an extra point of energy for use towards other abilities. This will lower the maximum health of your body and mind, but only while the defence remains active.
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Ameliorate
DescriptionSyntax: BIO AMELIORATE [OFF]
Expends 1 energy.Ramp up your healing factor, allowing you to periodically heal one random affliction every so often. This will additionally affect nearby allies.
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Growth
DescriptionSyntax: BIO GROWTH <target>
Consumes 2 energy.Providing your opponent has been infected by a mutagen, this ability will form a growth within them that will reach maturity after a few seconds.
If they possess any of the afflictions the current mutagen can give once it reaches maturity, then it will give them all possible effects that mutagen can cause and they will fall onto the ground.
If the opponent has at least two afflictions from the antipsychotic tree, then the energy cost is reduced by one.
You can view HELP CURE ORDER for information on the various curing trees.
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Autonomy
DescriptionThis ability is passive.
The first mutagen you infect another with will no longer have an energy cost upon you. Instead, it will feed upon its host in order to sustain itself.
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Nexus
DescriptionSyntax: BIO NEXUS <mutagen> and BIO NEXUS END
BIO ADVANCE <target>Expends 1 energy when a mutagen is advanced.
This powerful ability will infect everyone who actively damages you, or comes in contact with you through an emote, with a dormant mutagen of your choosing. Once infected, you may advance the dormant mutagen within a target and bring it to life. Advancing a mutagen out of dormancy can be done while you are off balance and/or equilibrium.
While you are employing this ability, there is a steady willpower and endurance drain to keep it active.
- Your mutagen may be modified in the following ways
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Mutagen
DescriptionSyntax: MUTAGEN NEW <name>
MUTAGEN LIST
MUTAGEN <name> POTENCY <strength>
MUTAGEN <name> EFFECT <effect>
MUTAGEN <name> COMPLETE
MUTAGEN <name> DELETE
MUTAGEN TERMINATEMutagens are agents capable of infecting the core and soul of an opponent, mutating their genetics over time into less than desirable outcomes depending on how it is concocted. Each mutagen placed upon another that is not dormant will expend your energy, and will fade if both you and the host with your mutagen are in seperate areas. If you wish to end the lifespan of any active mutagens, you can terminate them at will.
You only may include up to three effects within a single Mutagen. It will cycle through the effects one by one then start from the first effect once more.
Delivery of a mutagen is performed by certain skills, you can read AB BIOESSENCE INFECTION for the basic method of doing so.
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Depressant
DescriptionType: Effect
This mutagen effect will target the mind, filling it with bleak and dispiriting thoughts. This will bestow the sadness affliction upon the host.
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Acute
DescriptionType: Potency
An acute mutagen is one that has had its ability to harm heightened, but as a result it will last for a much shorter time then other mutagens.
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Somnolent
DescriptionType: Effect
Sluggishness will creep into the bones of the host, turning their actions lethargic and sloth-like. The end result is the host gaining the lethargy affliction.
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Psychoactive
DescriptionType: Effect
A giddy euphoria will poison the mind, imparting the host with a rich desire to harm him or herself in order to feel alive. This will afflict the host with the masochism affliction.
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Virulent
DescriptionType: Potency
A virulent mutagen is weaker then normal in the beginning, however as the mutagen reaches the end of its lifespan, it will become much stronger and deal more damage before expiry.
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Reactive
DescriptionType: Effect
By mutating the immune system, the body will begin to turn upon its self. The skin will flush red and quickly become deadly the longer it is left alone. This will afflict the host with the allergies affliction.
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Narcotic
DescriptionType: Effect
The body will begin to crave elixirs to the detrement of the host, and will cause them to throw away reason just to achieve the next fix. This will give them the addiction affliction.
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Chronic
DescriptionType: Potency
A chronic mutagen is one that can persist indefinitely, although it will have a weaker effect then normal when it damages its host.
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Degenerative
DescriptionType: Effect
The body will begin to suffer severe degeneration as it mutates, afflicting the host with the impairment affliction.
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Malignant
DescriptionType: Effect
Malignant mutations will begin to form beneath the skin, culminating into bulbous blisters that ache and weep whenever duress is placed upon the body or mind. The blisters affliction will be bestowed upon the host.
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Sporadic
DescriptionType: Potency
A sporadic mutagen either trigger its effects more quickly then normal, or slightly slower. The odds favour it being faster than normal.
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Atrophic
DescriptionType: Effect
The muscles within the host will begin to fray and their mind will become weaker and fatigued. The end result is the host gaining the weariness affliction.
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Morphic
DescriptionType: Effect
Morphic mutagens will take the form of any pre-existing effect at random, allowing for a whole cycle of different effects. There is however no control over what it might choose.
This effect is not considered when utilising the Growth ability in Bioessence.
Visual style and identity
Archivists follow precise but fluid movements as they work, drawing power and direction from their codex and materializing effects with their tokens. The visual signature is the codex held open, the float of geometric tokens, and the subtle play of shadow as Bioessence mutations take hold.
The class reads as a scientist mid-experiment, neither robed wizard nor armored knight. Costume varies wildly across Archivists. The tools, the codex and the tokens, are the constant.
Side effects of the work
Numbers, wielded with enough reckless mastery and power, could unravel all of Sapience. Archivist tradition keeps the most dangerous techniques tightly held. Tales abound of Numerologists who unwittingly erased themselves from existence. Caution is built into the curriculum.
Bioessence carries different risks. The skill produces irreparable and unexpected consequences if not handled carefully, since the nature of shadow is unpredictable. Practitioners who push too hard can find their physical form deviating in ways they did not plan for, sometimes permanently.
Who plays this class
The Archivist suits players who want a scholar class with serious magical depth and mutagenic combat. Not necessarily all bookworms, but a good number tend to be. Archivists, like their Cabalist predecessors, often have an affinity for one Sphere over the others, and that affinity shapes both temperament and combat style.
Mechanically, the class rewards players who like layered, tool-based combat. The codex and tokens system gives Archivists a different feel from most Aetolia mages. Bioessence’s self-mutation options also make this one of the few classes where transforming your own body is a core combat mechanic, not a side feature.
If you want a Shadow-aligned mage who answers to math instead of a god, the Archivist is the class.
City and guild
The Archivium overlooks Spinesreach, the city of artifice and the Shadow Tether’s scientific bastion. Patron: none. The Architect of Progress, Legyn, leads the guild, with Curators Solen and Semyon overseeing the Classics and Neoterics divisions. The guild houses both the Archivist class and the Alchemist class, which joined in 503 MA.
Joining the Archivists means committing to Shadow. You will not be able to actively hold any Spirit-aligned classes alongside it, though you can multiclass into other Shadow classes or any of the seven untethered classes. Race is independent of class, so you can play an Archivist of any Aetolia race.
The Archivist mirror is the Voidseer, the Sentaari’s Void-gazing scholars in Duiran. Both are esoteric scholar classes built around perception-bending magic. Archivists treat reality as math and mutate the body with shadow. Voidseers study the Void itself and reshape the mind through chakras. Same combat chassis, opposite cosmology.
Frequently asked questions
Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if the Archivist profile interests you. Or see every Aetolia class for the rest of the roster.
Alchemist
The sister class in the Archivists guild. Alchemy, Experimentation, Botany. Pick Alchemist if you want the same Shadow-aligned scientist frame but prefer chemical reactions, blighted plantlife, and live test subjects to numerological abstraction.
Voidseer
The Spirit mirror. Cultivation, Enlightenment, Voidgazing. Pick Voidseer if you want the same esoteric-scholar chassis but prefer Duiran’s Sentaari monastery and Void-and-chakras work to Spinesreach’s Archivium.
Sciomancer
The Spinesreach Shadow mage neighbor. Sciomancy, Sorcery, Gravitation. Pick Sciomancer if you want a more direct Shadow-channeling mage in the same city, swapping the Archivist’s tools and math for raw Plane of Shadow power.
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