Fighters who revel in the thrill of blazing close to the frontlines of battle, where the most intense and passionate encounters with enemies set lifelong memories of the rawest emotions in stone, hardened warriors know fear is the deadliest emotion to feel.

Type: Warrior

There is a very old and very strong tradition that goes by many names across many cultures, culminating in the one unshakable principle of the warrior way nearly impossible to vanquish: Stand fast in the face of the enemy, and never admit defeat. Only a few know its true meaning.

Type: Warrior

Another obscure and mysterious race of shades, Doomcarvers wield deadly elaborate axes capable of both physical and magical harm. Larger and stronger than Eyes, Doomcarvers drift swiftly and intently through the Nightmare in search of their nemeses, able to see targets from vast distances as well as close the gap in mere moments. The mere sight of one drives the faint of heart to flee and hide, but though adversaries may run from them, they cannot hide forever.

Type: Warrior

Though widely considered a force of good for their trained skill in the treacherous field of demon slaying, Demon Hunters frequently use them in their vengeful search for deadlier demons to dispatch, and have even been known in some cases to become corrupted by the very demons they hunt, and so become one of them. Masters of glaives, swords, and counterdemonic tactics, Demon Hunters are the bane of demons. They prove a valuable addition to any team who fears their dark machinations.

Type: Warrior

Perhaps the fantastical creation of a mysterious madman, perhaps something more, Nether Dragons combine traits of both humanoids and dragons. Their dagger-sharp claws complement their scaled wings nicely, and though they may only take flight for brief periods of time, their capacity to breathe fire and ice is endless. Reticent, reclusive, grave beings, Nether Dragons are fearless and destructive in the field of battle. They may often be seen to lead the charge of companies in their dark conflicts and magical wars within Otherworld.

Type: Warrior

Samurai have learned to ascend to new forms and planes, fighting for glory and strength against all adversaries. They remain rooted firmly in a tradition of honor, discipline, and warrior philosophy. They can be biomorphs, fiends, cyborgs, or other beings. Wielding deadly katana, they walk one with their swords, which become extensions of their bodies. Samurai can choose to wear kimono, which improve speed and agility, or a fortified gusoku, bolstering defense at the cost of nimbleness.

Type: Warrior

Adepts follow a path parallel to the way of the Samurai. Masters of martial arts, they abstain from use of blades and other weapons. Their bodies become honed weapons themselves. Trained fists and brutal kicks decimate and incapacitate opponents. Agile as cats, strong as bears, Adepts remain some of the fastest and cleverest combatants on the Nightmare FFA ladder. Though extremely nimble, their delicate frames make them high priority targets.

Beings among the demonic types aren’t as straightforward or familiar as mischievous red devils with horns and pointy tails. Demonics come in all shapes and sizes, hailing from parallel dimensions or nightmares of minds themselves. It’s proven somewhat difficult over time to define the term, but it’s generally understood what distinguishes one from other life forms.

Type: Demonic

Perhaps one of the least understood species of the Nightmare, common Demons are a notoriously mysterious and elusive breed, and though their propensity for evil and corruption is legendary, there is a certain kind of demon that offers a dark friendship. Even companies comprised of humans or other races may find a diabolic counterpart a valuable addition to their numbers, not least for the Demon’s cunning mastery of black sorcery and doom. Demons are by and large a wicked, selfish lot. Even the sight of their gazes alone can prove deadly, or worse. See their signature horns near or far, and one had better have a solid plan to kill them, or else run.

Type: Demonic

Quiet, observant, and thoughtful, Reapers exploit the phantom mastery of shadow magic to drain the life force of their foes and adroitly annihilate them. Like their counterparts the Stalkers, Reapers are feared for their relentless sinister will to sow chaos and wrought death. Unlike Stalkers, Reapers do not specialize in the art of knives, but the art of pure shadow essence. Identifiable by their black ominous hoods and the frequent possession of a single visible hand, the very sight of this shade holds the power to inspire a legendary dread in even the most intrepid souls. While they can be loyal friends, they are notoriously secretive.

Type: Demonic

Called “hat men” by many, Stalkers are widely known for their peculiar penchant for dark coats and hats, and, especially for those who happen to encounter one, their malignant and inhuman disposition. As their name suggests, Stalkers obsessively haunt and terrorize their victims, sometimes for nights on end. Like their counterparts the Reapers, they are skilled in the grim art of shadow magic. Stalkers also sometimes have a propensity to menace and harm their victims using nightmarish knives. Their black voices, too, are dreadful, and if heard for too long, may drive a victim mad and ultimately omen their doom.

Type: Demonic

Nightmare Weavers master the manipulative and lethal arts of webs and venom. They like to bleed and poison their prey to prepare them for their imminent demise. The lairs of Nightmare Weavers harness the treacherous powers of silk and constriction. Stumble foolishly into one of their countless webs, and before long you will be met with the calculated horror of nightmare itself, whether before you, or behind.

Type: Demonic

Infamous for their eponymous trapdoor lairs, Trapdoor Spiders are regarded as some of the most fearsome, patient predators in the cosmos. Trapdoor Spiders of the Nightmare are larger and deadlier than their smaller, weaker cousins of the Physiverse. Capable of the swift and precise murder of the deadliest blackguards and monsters, these diabolical arachnids will wait and watch from the shadows of their gruesome lairs for hours, even nights on end before they finally decide to take the opportune moment to strike. Once inside a trapdoor lair, it may prove fatal to attempt to escape, rather than face the horror directly.

Type: Demonic

As the Nether Dragons, Night Horrors also seem to be the fantastical conjuration of some morbid maniac, and yet they too transcend imagination, or rather, transfigure imagination, and transform what may have once been the private ruminations of an obscure mind’s nightmares into living incarnations of pure horror and death. Night Horrors wield the power of horror itself. They are known to conjure material and illusory horrors in their nefarious designs within Otherworld. Best avoided altogether under certain circumstances, the Night Horrors are a grotesque, foul breed, and on occasion go so mad they lose control.

Type: Demonic

Eyes often serve as the malicious minions and sinister spies of greater demons, particularly the nightmare demon Malkoth. They’re wicked, elusive, perilous demons. Shrouded in dark hoods and known for the erratic tendrils that sprout from their backs, Eyes obsessively orchestrate and spread evil, even amongst their own ranks. They enjoy vile powers of corruption and annihilation. These demons are brittler than their common demonic kin, and as such frequently bind their sight to disembodied eyes to scout Otherworld and gather intelligence before they make their next move. Better suited to groups than solo missions, if an Eye wishes to operate alone, it had best plan its course carefully, and take its time.

Type: Demonic

Hell Reapers specialize in the diabolic torment of souls, draining them of all hope and will to live and feeding upon the terror and despair of their victims to empower their own malice. They remain some of the most vicious and maniacal demons in the ranks of the Infernal Empire. Fast, quick-witted, and wickedly focused, Hell Reapers are as ethereal as they are nefarious, shifting between planes of Hell at will and often operating in league with Hell Terrors to blend concentrated infernal animus with volatile monstrous insanity. The Hell Reaper’s greatest weakness, perhaps, is the malice of another Hell Reaper.

Type: Demonic

Unlike Hell Reapers, Hell Terrors exist less to torment specific doomed souls in isolated spheres of Hell than terrorize any and all souls who inhabit the horrific reaches of the Cursed City, including other demons. In their native domain, Hell Terrors commonly wander the vast planes of Hell in search of random lost to frighten and anguish, though such abominable demons may also linger in a single spot for long stretches of time, antagonizing and dismaying any unfortunate souls who stray too close. Counterparts of Hell Reapers, who typically assume a humanoid form, Hell Terrors will almost always be encountered in grotesque monstrous guises not unlike deformed leviathans seen in nightmares. On the circuit, these colossal evils channel ancient infernal powers to harrow the precarious planes of Rifts and Otherworld’s manifold magical dimensions, and, depending on their alliance, prepare unsuspecting adventurers to enter dreadful realms of Hell.

Minds develop a certain acuity for subtle energies that exist beyond sight and outside scientific classification. Even small animals seem to exhibit this paranormal sensitivity at times. Within Otherworld, psychics share one common trait: a unique ability to sense, warp, read, and otherwise control the minds of others, and channel forces of their own minds most souls struggle to wield.

Type: Psychic

A fabled race of highly intelligent aliens known for their characteristic large brains, black almond eyes, and advanced technological expertise, some Greys possess the ability to enter alternate dimensions, even the dreams of beings, and have been observed to employ exotic devices and psionic techniques to control and neutralize targets. Greys who play Enn Corp’s Nightmare FFA and other competitive leagues specialize in teleportation, paralysis, weaponized technology, and psionic magic to weaken, confuse, and eliminate opponents. Powerful but fragile, the sleek, delicate bodies of Greys render them most vulnerable to physical attacks. Their evolved physiology and mastery of psi heightens their ability to withstand hostile magics.

Type: Psychic

Shadow Elves are known in certain esoteric circles for their signature commonly crimson cloaks and sharply perceptive yellow eyes enshrouded in the darkness beneath their hoods, being one of the most obscure and enigmatic kinds of shadows seen as little more than gnomish hallucinations by many. A spectral parallel of the Greys, Shadow Elves specialize in advanced psionic techniques, also capable of teleportation, levitation, paralysis, and the distortion and constriction of foes. Reticent and evasive – and more than a bit playful and mischievous, but ruthlessly tactical, they won’t hesitate to annihilate an unfriendly the instant a suitable opportunity arises. It would be unwise to let their diminutive statures deceive you. Even in the smallest of creatures there is deep power.

Type: Psychic

Some psychics possess their powers despite hailing from races whose members are not all psychic. Most psychics in Arcadia Prefecture are a kind of race class, their class itself constituting a specific type of being. Psibenders can be of multiple races. These diverse psychics exhibit several classic magics. They can conjure electricity, direct psi, and manipulate matter. As beings of common species, they have minimal mobility within their unique skillset, trading movement for a rechargeable Psifield providing protection from damage.

Type: Psychic

A little-known and secretive race, Gazers possess acute powers of perception, calculation, and consumption of magic to enhance their own essence and convert the powers of others into forces of calamity and ruin. Capable of levitation, remote observation, and paralytic techniques, these small beings can silence spellcasters, penetrate concealments, and convert simple observation of magic into pure power, typically serving as familiars of warlocks and greater demons. Aside from their bizarre habit of compulsively muttering evil omens to themselves even in the field, their primary weakness lies in their fragile frames of flesh, vulnerable less to malefic sorceries than the palpable ills of blades, poisons, and other such weapons. As such, Gazers seek to dispose of their master’s foes before they can reach them.

Type: Psychic

When nightmares fester and grow long enough, every once in a long while, they become more than nightmares. Some arcanists consider Dementors a class of demon, while others believe them a forsaken race of nightmares. Whatever they are, their obsession is singular and unyielding: dread, and, after enough corruption, final and irreversible insanity. Dementors know one trick even most demons can barely perform. When a victim – friend or foe – is brought to the brink of death, a Dementor can infest its mind and slowly corrupt and dement it. The victim is not dead, but a subject of the Dementor’s insidious mind control, and so will serve its master as a weakened shell of its former self for as long as its master lives.

Perhaps the most despised of classic personalities of old, rogues all more or less carry the same air about them, gleefully picking pockets as easily as cutting throats. Except it would be a drastic oversimplification to say they’re all nasty no-good no-lifes, as popular as the sentiment may be. Indeed, it’s been observed some rogues become fly-by-night heroes, lurking in the shadows and waiting for an opportunity to strike at the hearts of rotten brigands and other scum of the wilderness.

Type: Rogue

Assassins are rather like spiders in their agile, calculated use of exsanguination and venom. Like metallic fangs coated in toxic or psychotropic poison, their deadly daggers dispatch foes of flesh and shadow alike with ease. Drawn to the stealth and elusiveness of darkness to observe situations and plan their ambushes, Assassins become overexposed if they remain in the open for too long. A swift and silent death is usually their best course of action, followed by a swift and silent disappearance into the ether.

Type: Rogue

Hailing from far-off planets and other assorted sectors, Technicians specialize less in the exotic methods of black magic than the earthly skills of technology and conventional weapons. Equipped with custom goggles, a handy-dandy blaster, psitex grenades, a recon bot, and multiple gear modules, Technicians are a crafty and shrewd type less interested in the bizarre creatures and magics of Otherworld than how to effectively eliminate them. Any team could use one for their versatile toolkit and proficiency in multiple weapon types.

Type: Rogue

Clever, cunning creatures of myth, the Vampire’s thirst for blood is infamous. Only when they’ve had their fill of a coveted’s essence will they entertain the notion of satisfaction, and even then, some seek more than blood. For some, blood is not enough. They must sow chaos, fear, death, or maybe just have a bit of fun at the expense of civil society. And so some of the vilest Vampires join forces with others like them to wreak havoc, and plot the demise of their foes, even their own kind.

Type: Rogue

We find more than one kind of rogue in the old stories and times. One is a merciless killer and hired gun, never shying away from a contract if the job is right. Another lurks in dark woods and desolate haunts, perhaps lusting for blood above all else. Yet another is a personality describable as a true hooligan, a jack-of-all-trades who works for no one and wants nothing but trouble. Even on the circuit, some of these ne’er-do-wells are tracked by those who play the game for more than bloodsport.

Type: Rogue

Historically, Rangers have served as archers and woodland trackers for kingdoms and mercenary organizations, discreetly wielding bows, arrows, and other medieval equipment to quickly and quietly dispatch targets and conceal their presence when possible. In modern times, some Rangers have adapted firearms and energy weapons to their craft in place of bows. Those who specialize in traditional bows can execute precise and powerful shots from long range, while Rangers who carry guns can lay heavy suppressive fire at short to medium range, playing a more versatile role in combat and gaining access to other technologies.

Type: Rogue

Card sharks, dice rollers, gamblers of fate, the Tricksters who play the circuit know a thing or two about sleight of hand and illusion. The dagger-sharp cards in their decks are as much deadly shuriken as obnoxious distractions. They live to make others laugh, bringing joy and revelry to every match and making sure no one goes home without having a bit of fun.

Magic is an exceptionally tricky and deceptive art. To master it, one must first overcome the natural doubt of its existence. Only then can the mind and soul begin to feel the etheric outer limits of the mysterious force we call magic. Nor can one be deceived by the initial impression it has any absolute single meaning or form. Wizards all know this, on some level. Their combat spells are only one of the many sorceries they wield in their colorful adventures.

Type: Wizard

Astral Wizards study and learn to control the powers of starlight and spirit. They can assume an astral form and travel at high rates of speed, trading vulnerability for arcane magics especially powerful against demonic forces. In the tradition of classical wizards, they use staffs or wands to cast their spells and wear robes to keep their bodies light and able to channel sensitive sorceries. This makes them weak against melee attacks and guns.

Type: Wizard

Chaos Witches dedicate their studies and experiments to the taboo art of chaos magic, seeing chaos as an ultimate magical school and philosophy to be refined and perfected. They channel iridescent enchanted energies as well as elemental powers of fire, frost, and lightning. Chaos Witches are known to be less sane wizards than most, and so may rarely lose control of their own magics and endanger their own lives.

Type: Wizard

In Otherworld and the universe beyond, many kinds of orbs exist: chaos orbs, shadow orbs, nightmare orbs, infernal orbs, death orbs, frost orbs, to name a few. Spheromancers dedicate themselves to the fine art of orbs and divination. Once they’ve chosen one, they can channel and conjure many kinds of energies and entities from and into it. They can also peer into orbs to attain visions, or, rarely, isolate focuses within orbs for brief periods. They are, like other wizards, not the strongest ilk, and so can be easily killed if assaulted directly.

Type: Wizard

The art of death is multiplicative and duplicitous: knowledge of methods to cause death, the stages of death, preservation of the dead, death magic, and, naturally, raising of the dead. As magi obsessed with the forbidden sorcery of death, Necromancers know how to conjure necrotic constructs and command undead minions. When they’ve slain an adversary by their own hand, they can, with the proper power, reanimate its corpse and render it a revenant slave. This witchcraft can be precarious however, as, sometimes, if an undead is not continually fed, it will grow hungry and turn on its own master.

Type: Wizard

Followers of nature, friends of animals, cultivators of plants, Druids preserve a close connection to the natural universe in their hearts. As monks of nature, they can take animal and plant shape, embracing the principles of raw force and the ancient powers of sun, moon, and sky to protect allies and combat foes.

Type: Wizard

Reserved for the most studied and skilled artisans of wizardry, nightmare magic harnesses the odious and convoluted secrets of nightmares to horrify, haze, and doom minds. Noxious and potent, the dark powers of the Nightmare Mage should not be underestimated. Even from afar a Nightmare Mage can corrupt and damage its enemies, and, like some demons, their dire gazes are deathly. Such sorcerers can never join a party with those like them, lest their combined madness warp the very fabric of spacetime and shatter their deranged psyches in two.