The Wayfarers of Aetolia
The Wayfarers are hardy warriors, originating from the wastelands and wilderness of Albedos. The original Albedi group maintains a constant watch over the forces of Drakkenmont, resisting the Empire as it strikes forth from its southern bastion to regain power over the continent.
The other primary group of Wayfarers roams the continent of Sapience, their training independent of the regulation of its four major city-states, even if they hold citizenship themselves.
Loners by nature, the Wayfarers tend to avoid large settlements, scavenging what they need from the land. They venture into outlying towns solely for information and bounties. Scattered across the continents, they unite only to share stories, trade information, and warm themselves by the vigil fires in their camps and hideouts - then, they venture forth once more. They have never had a need for a central authority, eschewing the guild structure common upon the continent of Sapience.
A Wayfarer will always be found carrying several handaxes - their weapon of choice - and they don leather armor in preference to heavier protection in order to preserve their mobility. When opportunity presents itself, they will cut a raging swathe through their opponents, stopping only to claim trophies from the fallen. They dive fearlessly into the fray, their commanding shouts inspiring allies and striking terror into their foes.
Above and beyond other fighting folk, they are a fury to be reckoned with upon the battlefield, employing the arts of Wayfaring, Fury, and Tenacity to endure, outlast, and destroy their enemies.
Adventurers looking to apprentice as a Wayfarer should seek out Hemold, typically found in Helba in Albedos. For a fee of 40 credits, he will share his knowledge (LEARN WAYFARER FROM HEMOLD at v50477).
Adventurers may practice these skills within their guilds, however newbie Wayfarers that join through the introduction can not join a guild until they have met the multiclassing prerequesites of being Virtuoso in Wayfaring, Fury, and Tenacity, or Transcendent in two of them.
Wayfarer Skills
The skill of Tenacity is a versatile and powerful martial art, practiced by the Wayfarers and focused solely upon the use of handaxes. The Wayfarer's strikes are both accurate and devastating, and are lent broad usefulness by the handaxe's utility in both close and ranged combat. The handaxe, in this fashion, is an expression of the mindset of the Wayfarer: infinitely adaptable, and relentlessly brutal to one's enemies.
Tenacity
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Proficiency
DescriptionUsage: RETURNING <ON|OFF>
THROW AXE [direction] AT <target>
AXE <ability> <target>
AXELEFT <ability> <target>
AXERIGHT <ability> <target>You are now innately capable of using two handaxes in combat. Some Tenacity attacks require both weapons, and cannot be used if another weapon is traveling or if the associated arm is off balance. Others only require one weapon, and can be used so long as you are on-balance with the axe wielded, even if you have a second axe in the air. You can additionally specify to use the left or right axe for one weapon abilities.
By turning the RETURNING defence on, any axe you THROW will automatically return to your wielded hand, although there is a willpower drain associated with it.
Most Tenacity thrown Axe attacks will always return to you after a delay, regardless of whether this defence is active or not. In this scenario, the axe always returns to your wielded hand, and having no hands free to catch the axe will cause it to hit you in the head, damaging and stunning you.
Melee axe attacks will draw upon your strength for damage, are considered 'melee' for dodging, and can be stopped by rebounding.
Ranged axe attacks will draw upon your dexterity for damage, are considered 'ranged' for dodging, and go through rebounding.
There are also unique queuing commands that you can use with your axes:
QUEUE AXES <command>
Will wait until you have caught one axe after throwing in addition to balance.
QUEUE AXES2 <command>
Will wait until you have caught both axes after throwing in addition to balance.Please read AB SURVIVAL QUEUEING for more information on queues.
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Envenom
DescriptionSyntax: ENVENOM <weapon|LEFT|RIGHT> WITH <venom>
WIPE <weapon>With this ability, you may layer venoms on an edged weapon. Each time that weapon hits somebody, one venom will poison your opponent, and disappear from the weapon.
Venoms work on a last-on, first-off basis, so if you put xentio on a weapon, and then put voyria on, the voyria would come off first, and the xentio second. You must possess a rag with the venom in order to apply it to a weapon.
In order to get rid of the venoms on a weapon, simply WIPE <weapon>.
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Parrying
DescriptionSyntax: PARRY <limb> or PARRY NOTHING
This ability allows you to parry an attack aimed at one of your limbs, providing you wield a weapon or item that allows you to do so.
You can parry your head, torso, left or right arm, and left or right leg.
You will be unable to parry if you become prone (see HELP PRONE). Being fallen is excluded from this list.
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Avert
DescriptionUsage: AXE AVERT <ON|OFF>
You may watch the skies for incoming projectiles, giving you a chance of knocking the weapon from the sky before it strikes you. Having this defence activate comes with a small drain to your endurance.
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Crossblade
DescriptionThis ability is passive.
If you have a handaxe in both hands - that is, none currently in the air - your successful parry attempts will fuel your rage, increasing your fury. In addition, hitting an enemy's own parry with your melee attacks will increase your fury.
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Obstruct
DescriptionUsage: AXE OBSTRUCT <ON|OFF>
Should a non-ally attempt to flee your location in terror as a result of being feared, you may lash out with a quick blow to the skull that will send them toppling over.
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Rampage
DescriptionUsage: AXE RAMPAGE <target>
AXE RAMPAGE OFFAt a constant cost to your mana, you may concentrate on throwing your axes such that successful strikes have a chance to ricochet off of your target and strike a secondary target that you must specify. This strike will do somewhat less damage. This ability will only work off of the Lob, Assault and Cripple abilities.
While enraged, this ability will always fire, for the full amount of damage. There is a small chance of striking a third target at random in this scenario.
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Retrieval
DescriptionThis ability is passive.
You'll now concentrate on retrieving your weapons after they're thrown. If your attack strikes a prone target, you will recover your balance faster from the strike.
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Opportunity
DescriptionUsage: AXE COUNTER
After a successful dodge, you will have a short window of time where you may chop into your attacker with an axe, however it will deliver no venoms. This ability may be done off balance.
- You know the following melee attacks
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Chop
DescriptionUsage: AXE CHOP <target> <bodypart> [<venom>]
Swing your handaxe at a target's bodypart, quickly delivering a venom in the process.
This attack uses a single axe.
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Sweep
DescriptionUsage: AXE SWEEP <target>
Swing your axe in a low arc, knocking your foe to the ground so long as they suffer from some affliction to their legs.
This attack uses a single axe.
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Lacerate
DescriptionUsage: AXE LACERATE <target>
Gouge your foe's skin deeply, causing haemophilia and bleeding. The amount of bleeding is increased for each leg and arm that is crippled.
This attack uses a single axe.
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Bash
DescriptionUsage: AXE BASH <target>
This quick blow with the blunt end of your weapon will rattle your victim, causing damage to their head. If your target is also prone, it will cause confusion and dizziness to them.
This attack uses a single axe.
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Dropstrike
DescriptionUsage: AXE DROPSTRIKE <target>
Leap from high above and deliver a terrifying blow to your enemy. If your intended victim falls below 33% maximum health as a result of your strike, they will perish as your axe cleaves them in two. This threshold increases to 50% if their torso is broken.
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Whirlwind
DescriptionUsage: AXE WHIRLWIND [<venom>]
Swing your axes in a wild arc, hitting everyone present. You may specify a venom to use with this attack.
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Punish
DescriptionUsage: AXE PUNISH <target> <ARMS|LEGS>
With a whirling of your axe, lash out at a victim to punish them. As long as one of the targeted limbs is crippled in some manner, this attack will be successful. Should this blow connect, you'll worsen the condition, causing lingering issues even after the original affliction has passed.
Punished arms will prevent your foe from occasionally parrying, for a moderate duration.
Punished legs will greatly hinder a target's ability to move for a moderate duration.
This attack uses both axes.
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Ravage
DescriptionUsage: AXE RAVAGE <target>
This precise strike with both axes will lacerate a foe's body, causing them to suffer significant harm whenever a restoration salve is applied. The effect will last for a short time.
Each time they take damage from applying a restoration salve, the damage dealt will increase the next time they do so.
This attack uses both axes.
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Ambush
DescriptionUsage: AXE AMBUSH <target> [<venom>]
Should your foe be in an adjacent location, you can leap upon them and deliver a surprise blow, inflicting a venom and knocking them off balance.
If you are enraged, you will knock over anyone who might block you, and break through any walls in your path.
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Execute
DescriptionUsage: AXE EXECUTE <target>
Should your foe be lying helpless with a broken head and at least one other broken limb, you may remove their head from their body in a single, brutal stroke. The wind-up for this strike is somewhat obvious, and as a result any other aware opponent will dodge it entirely.
This attack uses both axes.
- You know the following thrown attacks
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Lob
DescriptionUsage: AXE LOB <target> [<venom>]
With a quick flick of your wrist, you can fling your axe at a nearby target, striking them for damage and delivering a venom in the process. The speed of this strike prevents you from properly targeting any body part.
This attack uses a single axe.
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Assault
DescriptionUsage: AXE ASSAULT <target> [<venom>] [<bodypart>]
Heave your axe forward and smash a targeted body part, causing damage and delivering a venom. This will weaken the targeted body part for two seconds, causing any melee axe attack afterward to do more body part damage to it.
This attack uses a single axe.
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Cripple
DescriptionUsage: AXE CRIPPLE <target> <LEFT|RIGHT> <ARM|LEG>
Throw your axe with momentous force and crippling a target's limb. Throwing with such force incurs a much longer delay on weapon return than other thrown attacks.
This attack uses a single axe.
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Retrieve
DescriptionUsage: AXE RETRIEVE <target>
Throw one of your axes, attempting to hook and retrieve your intended target from your line of sight.
This ability is blocked by the target being too dense or clinging to the branches of a nearby tree.
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Toss
DescriptionUsage: AXE TOSS <target> <HIGH|LOW> [<venom>]
Pull an axe from your reserves and fling it high into the sky, causing it to rain down on your victim some time later and deliver a venom. A low toss will hit seconds later, while a high toss is delayed past that. There is a degree of uncertainty when it comes to predicting exactly when the axe will land. You may only have one axe in the air at a time.
By default, this skill will attempt to use an axe in your inventory that is not being wielded before using your wielded axes.
You can throw it from line-of-sight or in the same room as your target.
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Carve
DescriptionUsage: AXE CARVE <target>
Fling your axes together directly at your target's gut, causing vomiting and trauma to their torso. If the target already has vomiting or a broken torso, they will be stunned and fall to the ground.
This attack uses both axes.
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Embed
DescriptionUsage: AXE EMBED <target> <limb>
PULL AXE FROM <target|ME>Spotting an opportune moment to strike, you may embed your axe into any limb that has already been broken. The weapon will cause considerable bleeding while it remains in place - when you feel the moment is right, you may wrench the weapon from their body, causing heavy trauma. You may only have one axe embedded in a foe at a time. Your foe may pull the axe themselves, with a similar result.
This ability does not scale with weapon damage or any stat, meaning any axe may be used for this purpose. By default, this ability will attempt to pull an axe from your inventory that is not being wielded, before attempting to use an axe that's wielded.
Cooldown (embed): 30 seconds
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Devastate
DescriptionUsage: AXE DEVASTATE <target> [<venom>]
Rain your axes down upon your foe, destroying first any shield defense present, then destroying any aura of rebounding. If only one is present, you will continue with a brutal axe strike. If neither is present, however, you'll fumble the attack entirely.
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Slaughter
DescriptionUsage: AXE SLAUGHTER <target> <venom>] <venom>]
Unleash a devastating thrown strike with both handaxes, delivering two venoms and damaging your foe. A prone foe is a much easier target, and as a result will reduce the return time of the axes for this attack.
This attack uses both axes.
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Roleplaying a Wayfarer
Wayfarers are warrior rangers, first originating from the wastelands and wilderness of the continent of Albedos. These first Wayfarers stand in opposition to the forces of Drakkenmont, resisting the northward incursions of the Dreikathi Empire. As the tradition has spread beyond its origins, a second group of Wayfarers emerged upon Sapience. Their arts are fully independent of the conflict between Spirit and Shadow, though Wayfarers can and often do serve one side or the other.
The sources of the Wayfarer's arts include:
- Survival skills, including the ability to subsist off of the land and adapt to different environments, in the skill of Wayfaring.
- Berserk rage, expressed via shouts and battlecries during combat, in the skill of Fury.
- Martial training in the use of handaxes, in both melee and ranged applications, through the skill of Tenacity.
Visual style of the class
Wayfarers are hardy, physically imposing warriors, and they rely upon speed and cunning, as well as brute rage, to subdue their foes. The use of handaxes is their most notable characteristic, consisting of various targeted strikes, powerful throws, and dexterous counterattacks. This balance between strength, speed, and cunning is at the heart of the Wayfarer's survivalistic style.
Side effects of the class
The arts of a Wayfarer are purely physical, eschewing the magical and telepathic augmentation common in various Sapient arts. Although these skills demand the Wayfarer's physical fitness, they regularly push themselves beyond their limits in order to compensate for the enhanced capabilities of their foes. Over time, the Wayfarer way of life leads to joint problems, aches, and permanent injuries in old age - that is, in the unlikely event that they live that long.
Roleplaying the class
Loners by nature, most Wayfarers tend to avoid large settlements, scavenging what they need from the land. They venture into outlying towns solely for information and bounties. Scattered across the continents, they unite only to share stories, trade information, and warm themselves by the vigil fires in their camps and hideouts - then, they venture forth once more. They have never had a need for a central authority, eschewing the guild structure common upon the continent of Sapience, and otherwise tend to pursue their own ends.