The Dia’ruian Sylvans

Following a summit of the Dia’ruian High Courts and a declaration of an ongoing wildhunt, the Sylvan class is now available to the Shamans guild!

Sylvan is a mirror of the Praenomen class and, for the most part, follows all the same conventional choices as the Akkari class.

As said by Ictinus during the Akkari class release back in 2022, it does bear repeating that Vampires are one of the core parts of Aetolian lore and have some of the most intricate mechanics. While we have worked hard to come up with suitably thematic mirror equivalents for all of the various different aspects of vampire gameplay, there are some minor changes that were necessary in order to preserve the theme and protect Enorian’s own interpretation. This will be reflected as you go through the AB files and start figuring the class out.

With that in mind:

– The mirror of the vampire subrace is a sylvan.
– The Sylvan class is part of the Praadi guild, which was renamed from the Shamans guild as part of this release event.
– Styles are already available for the Extirpation skill of Thrash – be sure to check out STYLE PREVIEW THRASH!
– There is no equivalent of undeath or duamvi; you are either a sylvan or you are not.
– The Sylvan equivalent of nightstalkers/aspirants are COURTIERS and Aaranu is able to make someone into a Courtier. (ASK AARANU BECOME COURTIER)
– Sylvans, like vampires and Akkari, do have to still manage and spend blood (to clarify a lore point, blood and spirit are heavily intertwined); use of the SLAKE and SAVAGE abilities will be of interest here.
– Upon death, instead of assuming a mistform or ascending as an unbound consciousness, sylvans instead release their soul to the wild world and can choose to face the Mirror (in a different way) at any time.
* Instead of earthmelding or inhuming, they must return to life by regrowing their corpse within a seedbed, though only after proper obeisance to Dhar.
* DIFFUSE MIST and APPEAL TO SANCTUARY become FACE DEATH for sworn sylvans.
– In place of bloodlines or chain of command, Sylvans have courts; these mechanically obey the same rules and ability access as bloodlines.
* This hierarchy only dictates Primal authority; the High Courts – those true Fae from Dia’ruis – possess unilateral authority over any Primal Sylvan and can thus force them to do their bidding without question.
– In place of a Primus or Grand Crusader, the head of the Sylvan courts is known as the Oathkeeper.
* This is a separately elected guild position within the Praadi.
* To elect the first Oathkeeper, CONTEST VACANCY AS OATHKEEPER OF PRAADI. Subsequent contests can be done using the current position holder’s name.
* Only sylvans can hold this position.
– Sires become Oathbearers, and Childer become Vassals.
– Direct Oathbearers or direct Vassals are always the next ‘link’ in the court’s chain.
– Oathbearers and Vassals may also be used to refer to anyone in that chain.
– For Sylvans, blood rituals and prayers are now SACRAMENTS, and can be carried out before the Drum of Life and Death at v43843.
– Like Akkari, Sylvans suffer physical pain and maladies from the dark stars, and only at night.
* Like vampires and Akkari, this is negated if your blood level is high enough.
* The Illumination Blaze and Subterfuge Light skills can also negate this, as well as the Light artifact power.
– Where Akkari use the twin-bladed manta, Sylvans gain an automatic proficiency in scythes like Praenomen.
– In place of coffins or holy icons, Sylvans use seedbeds invested with life magic. These are made by woodcrafters.
– Sylvans do not raise minions from the dead or enlist living sentient beings, but instead bewitch villagers as pawns in the Dia’ruian quest for vengeance.
* This is only possible in certain areas, details of which can be found in AB GLAMOURS BEGUILE.
– Similar to how Praenomen and Akkari work, if you are not a sylvan while holding the class, your skill ranks will be capped at Skilled for Extirpation/Caprice and Inept for Glamours. You are effectively considered a Courtier again.

Some lore points:

– Yes, sylvans are still mortal; their contract with the Dia’ruian courts allows their soul more freedom to wander for the archaic purpose of mischief and survival for their purpose. When a sylvan is ready to return to a physical form, they face the Mirror through a sequence mechanically equivalent to earthmelding. This process then allows their soul the freedom to join with a body regrown by the land or their seedbed.

– Sylvans are considered honourary Fae and successors to a legacy left behind by ancient times. They are not true Fae, but exist in a liminal space between normal Primals and actual Fae. Any creature claiming Fae heritage not from Dendara or Dia’ruis are not considered actual Fae by scholarly standards; the race (and its many subtypes) originates from the two known planes of Life in Aetolian history.

– A Sylvan’s oath is the source of their power; it operates as a form of archaic spirit magic, using the spirit found inherit in a living being’s blood to empower a constant enchantment that holds them to the terms of an oath in exchange for patronage. This means that the shadowy influence of the dark stars can abrade and damage their oath, explaining the harm they experience at night and how they access their powers.

Other details can be found in HELP EXTIRPATION, HELP CAPRICE, HELP GLAMOURS, HELP SYLVAN COURTS and HELP SYLVANRP.

** New characters selecting Sylvan as their class upon creation will be made into Courtiers. Much like vampires and Akkari, you will need to be properly pactbound (embraced/evangelised) in order to become a sylvan in full. **

Lastly before I move on, is this: THERE IS CURRENTLY NO ‘CURE’ FOR BEING A SYLVAN. THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE CHOOSING TO BECOME ONE SINCE BECOMING A SYLVAN CAN HAVE ROLEPLAY IMPLICATIONS DUE TO THEIR LINK TO DIA’RUIS AND THE UNILATERAL CONTROL OF THE FAE COURTS.

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With the skills of Extirpation, Caprice, and Glamours, Sylvans are the sworn avengers of scorned Dia’ruis, serving as vessels for the undying rage inherent in Her wrathful dreams and blood-soaked nightmares. Armed with ancient Fae magic and a predatory aspect, they roam the land on sacred wildhunts as outlets for Life’s ceaseless desire for blood, brutality, and redress against the undead and undying.

The skills translate in the following ways:

Extirpation – Corpus/Ascendance
Caprice – Mentis/Dictum
Glamours – Sanguis/Discipline

Mor’vaeg at v43843 is currently the only denizen tutor available for Sylvan skills. Learning from players is unrestricted.

While some abilities are directly shared between the native classes and this mirror, most (particularly in Extirpation and Glamours) are entirely distinct and a significant departure from the original theme. I’d encourage reading all the helps and the AB files in order to get a full grasp of what we’re aiming for with it!

Sharing the class, particularly with veteran players, can be done via the PACTBIND ability in Glamours. This will make someone into a sylvan and grant them the class in the process. There are no limits on how many people you can pactbind.

Artifacts for Sylvan will be available in the next few minutes for your enjoyment:

– a banner of the High Courts (hunt_sylvan1-3); for hunting
– a Vimunan seedbed (artifact_seedbed); mirror of artifact_coffin/artifact_holyicon
– a bewitched talisman of fury (extra_sorcery); mirror of blood thin/spirit_bind (NOTE: this power and its mirrors will work mechanically with any class, the difference is purely flavour.)
– a Titanian lock (swift_court1-3); mirror of quick_path/swift_sect
– an amulet of the dawn (nightbane) – we did not mirror this, it will work just fine for Sylvans!
– a long string of dangling vials (life_preserve**); it is a mirror of a holy ciborium (spirit_preserve), which (sort of) works like corpse_store

** The life_preserve power has some different functionality to reflect the differences in how minions (pawns) are raised (beguiled), much like how squires are recruited. See the AP INFO for details!

As always, while we’ve done a lot of testing behind the scenes, please report any bugs or typos right away through BUG or TYPO respectively.

Penned by my hand on Tisday, the 5th of Dharos, in the year 13 AC.