Blight Seeker Combat:

Blight Seekers experience combat that is entirely different from what soldiers in the military face. Seekers face far more varied threats, and they need to cultivate a flexible mindset to survive what a festerfont might throw at them.

The Party System:

Modern seekers are grouped into archetypal roles when they cooperate with others. The “party” is loosely defined by the Blightbane Guild as a group of seekers who take on one or more contracts together. The Guild encourages seekers to find others to cooperate with because doing so dramatically increases their chance of survival. It offers services to make the process of forming and disbanding parties easier. The Guild also gives advice and provides mediation when required.

There are three core roles currently recognized by the Guild. Specialties exist within each position, but a seeker need not restrict themselves to just one or two. Some seekers even alternate core roles to meet their party’s immediate needs.

Vanguard:

Also called “frontline” or “melee” fighters, Vanguard are responsible for taking the brunt of the blightbeast attacks for the party. They withstand this aggression and do not purely evade it. They must be able to endure this punishment and remain standing to protect those behind them, which means that they wear heavy armor. The vast majority of Vanguard use conventional melee weapons, though some will supplement these skills with magic.

The survivability of Vanguard is dependant upon their body. Under normal circumstances, these seekers will not quickly die off. Still, their path of advancement is limited beyond a certain point. They will see diminishing returns when they cannot kill the more dangerous blightbeasts nearly as quickly, even if they band together with other Vanguard.

The value of a Vanguard is the most readily apparent of all the core seeker roles.

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Midknight:

Also called “Link”, “Flexible”, or “Irregular” fighters, Midknights alternate between front and back roles as needed. They link a party together, generally providing the whole unit with much more resilience through flexibility. The Midknight is similarly advantaged because a Midknight on their own is in a more precarious position than a Vanguard would be. They specialize in more evasion strategies than a Vanguard would. Midknights wear lighter armor than the Vanguard to give them more mobility. Sometimes, a Midknight will temporarily transition to either the Vanguard or Cloak roles for some time. Unfortunately, this comes with its own disadvantages, as those who hope to do so must switch out their equipment for more suitable gear.

The survivability of Midknights is dependant upon their agility, reflexes, and mental and physical flexibility, and other skills governing the rapid analysis of a situation to respond appropriately. These seekers are tested early on in their careers, and they are more likely than Vanguard to die off early in their careers. After they graduate out of the Initiate seeker rank, Midknights must find a party to fight with or risk death when taking on more difficult contracts.

The value of a Midknight becomes more apparent when they begin to face more variety in their contracts.

Cloak:

Seekers in this role are also called “Backline”, “Tracer”, or “Veil” fighters. Cloaks are not able to fight up close with blightbeasts because they are unable to withstand attacks like the other two roles can. Cloaks are the ultimate specialists, and the composition of different Cloak specialties in the seeker populations varies depending on their seeker ranking. This is because seekers learn the heights they can reach with many weapons. A more significant percentage of mage Cloaks are in the higher seeker ranks. It is difficult to achieve mastery in the practice of magic, and it is a more versatile tool than most conventional weapons and equipment. But mages are not the only Cloaks who prove their value to the Blightbane Guild.

The survivability of Cloaks is dependant upon their specialty. These seekers experience an inconsistent growth path. Cloaks face great danger early in their careers. The seeker life gets less dangerous for Cloaks around the intermediate seeker ranks. Risk sharply increases again as they push the limits of their chosen specialty. Some Cloaks do not experience difficulty early on, wielding weapons, equipment, or mastery of powerful tools that trivialize risk as Seeker Initiates.

The value of a Cloak is entirely dependent upon their specialty.