Every story generated by Stories from Danger’s Den has a unique hero with their own motivations. They may set out on a quest to search for something they want, or to help someone they care about. Or…there are many possibilities out there.

Occasionally a hero must brave the wilds alone, but usually they find allies along the way. Some adventurers may be eager to join them. Others may need to be persuaded first. Depending on the story, a hero and their allies form an adventuring party of up to four playable characters.

Most who venture out have trained for the challenges ahead. A character’s class helps you know what they’ll be good at. Because each story is short, a character’s stats and skills are predetermined by their class, with a little bit of randomization up front to make each character distinctive.

Stories are randomly generated with guidance from templates; so are the heroes and allies who appear in them. Some heroes and allies have classes hand-picked by the templates to match the stories, but most are randomized to give you surprises. So far, random party balancing is simple: if two characters are rolled up with the same class, one of them is re-rolled. As more classes join the game, I’ll make the generator take further measures to balance physical and magical, damage and healing.

Below I describe seven common classes you may encounter.

Soldiers

Soldiers are trained to equip heavy weapons and armor for war against enemy nations or against chaotic hordes of monsters. In peacetime, many find employment as guards or bouncers, or hone their skills at arenas. Their steady strength is an asset to any party. As they level up, they learn a variety of weapon-specific skills.

Medics

Swift and resourceful, medics are trained to administer medicine on the battlefield. Herbs, bandages, and other medicinal items heal twice as much when used by a medic. As they level up, they pick up a few additional skills that are useful in combat.

Paladins

Paladins are honor-bound warriors who rush to intercept attacks aimed at weakened allies. They can equip a broad variety of weapons and armor. As they level up, they learn a touch of magic: they can heal their allies, and make their enemies shake with fear.

Seekers

Seekers devote their lives to exploration and study. They competently wield medium-weight weapons and armor, and also learn spells from various branches of magic. However, their mana pool is small, so they must carefully choose when to cast their spells.

Priests

These disciples of divine power excel in healing and blessing their allies. As priests level up, they also master holy magic that smites their enemies; it’s especially effective against ghosts and other unholy beings.

Enchanters

Enchanters use magic to bend their surroundings to their will. A high-level enchanter can send rocks flying, make enemies fall asleep, or even enhance their allies’ weapons and armor.

Mages

Mages call forth arcane and elemental power to devastate their foes. However, they lack physical training. They seldom get far without an ally’s protection.

…And More!

This is not a complete list of all playable classes. More classes are in the works, both common and rare. In time, some stories may even have nonhuman characters join the party.