Newbie Class Guide: Sentinels

Gretel

THE SENTINELS
PRIDE IN THE HUNT

______________________________________________________________________________________
Overview | Alignment | Location | Guild NPCs | Basic Hunting | Starting Equipment | Skillsets | Core Defences
______________________________________________________________________________________
OVERVIEW

Description
A savage group of woodland warriors, the Sentinel Pride's roots date back to ancient times, first gathered together from the woodsman and trackers of the forests to fight in an epic defence of the Wilds during the Ankyrean age. Their mastery of woodlore ensures they are at home in the wilderness, training them to silently stalk prey, erect temporary shelters and call upon animal companions to assist them in hunting and battle. Using tracking, they are able to lay traps to ambush their target, before pelting them with shots from wrist-mounted crossbows and igniting resins for deadly effect. Their main weapon, a dhurive, is a handheld staff with obsidian blades, perfect for performing an array of slashing, stabbing and thrusting attacks at enemies to painfully deliver venoms.

Combat
Sentinel combat is heavily focused upon venom delivery and affliction management, with loyal animals augmenting the active, two-hit attack with the dhurive. Crossbows and traps allow the Sentinel to create moments of opportunity to exploit, helping push the enemy behind enough to disable their legs and slice their spine, killing them instantly.

Roleplay
Sentinel roleplay centers primarily on relationships to the wild, but there is a high amount of diversity within this role. Some Sentinels are feral and rugged, spending the majority of their time in the forests, running with their animal companions, while others focus on nurturing the land, exploring distant wild areas and reporting back about any unnatural disruptions. The savage nature of Sentinel combat appeals to some, creating brutal fighters who harshly cut down the Undead and Vampires, whom they view as abominations against the Rhythm of nature. The Sentinels also highlight tradition and history, with sacraments serving as ritualistic ways to honor their ancestors, settle conflict or welcome new members to their Pride.

______________________________________________________________________________________

ALIGNMENT

Tether: Spirit
Starting City: Duiran
Outlook: The Sentinels are focused on the wilderness and nature - while this typically means a more "good" role, there is plenty of room for neutrality here. Sentinels have been known to make morally ambiguous choices to fight for the wilds.

______________________________________________________________________________________

LOCATION

Guildhall:The Sentinel guildhall mirrors the guild's symbiotic relationship to the wilds, with their buildings built within the trunk of Duiran's Great Oak itself. Low impact and intertwined with nature, the chambers are rugged and feral, with lush gardens, crude furnishings and a shrine, at the very heart, to the ancestral spirits of hallowed Dendara.
Entrance: Before a vine-covered trapdoor, in Duiran (room number 44033)
Directions from Portals: out, e, w, ne, e, nw, n
Special entry: HEARTBEAT MINSJA

______________________________________________________________________________________

GUILD NPCs

Inesse
Tutor - You can LEARN # LESSONS FROM INESSE to study skills
Merchant - ASK INESSE WARES to see what she sells!
Found at: Within a warm library in a wooden nook (room number 6873)
Directions from entrance: d, d, w

Atala
Combat Trainer - GHELP ATALA explains how she can help you practice.
Found at: Amidst broken columns of obsidian (room number 15524)
Directions from entrance: d, d, in

______________________________________________________________________________________

BASIC HUNTING

Dhurive
You can use a variety of attacks with your dhurive against NPCs:
DHURIV COMBO (target) BLIND THRUST
-OR-
DHURIV COMBO (target) SLASH STAB
-OR-
DHURIV COMBO (target) STRIKE THRUST
-OR-
DHURIV COMBO (target) STRIKE HEARTBREAKER


REFRESH BODY: This will grant you a temporary bonus to both your strength and constitution.

VITALITY: This defence will restore a surge of life to you, should you fall below 25% health.

SUMMON NIGHTINGALE: This animal companion will passively heal your health and mana.

______________________________________________________________________________________

STARTING EQUIPMENT

Armor
- Chainmail

Weapons
- Dhurive: AB DHURIVE COLLECT and AB DHURIV ASSEMBLE explain how to assemble your own dhurive from natural components.
- Crossbow

Gear
- Crossbow gauntlet: Ask INESSE WARES to purchase a crossbow gauntlet
- Quiver
- Arrows
- Resins: AB TRACKING RESINS explains how to prepare these

______________________________________________________________________________________

SKILLSETS

Woodlore: Encompassing the Sentinels' core relationship to the wilderness, woodlore is probably the most engaging and thematic of the Sentinel skills. Key abilities that focus on how the Sentinel moves through and utilizes nature can be found here, such as track, which lets you chase down a target, and wildmark and signal, which let you communicate to other Sentinels through trail markings and birdcalls. Through woodlore, Sentinels can even erect customizable tents and create campsites to carve out their own little niche in a forest. Perhaps most importantly, the skillset also allows you to summon animal companions, ranging from the wily weasel who will shred enemy defences to the cunning crocodile whose very bite can afflict enemies. You can even use some of the creatures as a mount, riding the mighty elk or the lumbering bear through the forests.

Tracking: Used almost exclusively for player-versus-player combat, this skillset is all about opportunities - natural or created. Using crossbows and traps, a Sentinel fighter can use their own keen reflexes and quick thinking to set up situations where enemies are overwhelmed by venoms. Timing and insight is key here, making the skillset a brutally efficient weapon in the right hands. In group combat, the ability to snipe from treetops and lay out traps to help control the area comes in very handy, making a Sentinel a strong asset to his or her team.

Dhuriv: The core bread-and-butter of the Sentinel offense, this skillset teaches you how to create a weapon from natural materials, and then use it for savage, two-hit attacks. Opening attacks feature brutal moves like reaving apart enemy defences, ambushing from adjacent rooms or crushing a target's throat, while follow-up attacks include abilities such as stabbing, disarming and even piercing a foe's heart.

______________________________________________________________________________________

CORE SENTINEL DEFENCES

Defence: Flexibility
Message: Your flexibility allows you to unentangle more easily.
Purpose: Quicken your writhing time out of entanglements.
Source: Dhuriv flexibility
Use/Priority: Combat (moderate)

Defence: Barkskin
Message: Your skin is hard and tough, like the bark of an oak tree.
Purpose: Increase your resistance to physical attacks.
Source: Woodlore barksin
Use/Priority: Hunting (high), Combat (high)

Defence: Concealed
Message: You have the concealed defence.
Purpose: Mask you name when you enter/exit rooms.
Source: Woodlore conceal
Use/Priority: Combat (moderate)

Defence: Hardiness
Message: You are hardened against the cold.
Purpose: Increase your resistance to cold and poison damage.
Source: Woodlore hardiness
Use/Priority: Hunting (high), Combat (high)

Defence: Foreststride
Message: You are striding through the forests with ease.
Purpose: Move quicker outdoors, especially in forests.
Source: Woodlore foreststriding
Use/Priority: Hunting (moderate), Utility (high)

Defence: Lifesap
Message: You are sapping the life energy of others.
Purpose: Heal yourself when you make targets bleed.
Source: Woodlore lifesap.
Use/Priority: Hunting (high), Combat (high)

Defence: Vitality
Message: You will call upon your fortitude in need.
Purpose: Heals you if you fall below 25% health.
Source: Woodlore vitality.
Use/Priority: Hunting (high), Combat (high)

Defence: Refreshed
Message: You are feeling refreshed.
Purpose: Temporarily boost strength and constitution, restore endurance.
Source: Woodlore refresh
Use/Priority: Hunting (high), Combat (high)

______________________________________________________________________________________

ADVANCED INFORMATION

Information for fighters interested in learning about the intricacies of Sentinel combat:
- Links to class guides [none so far]
- Links to logs [none so far]

Sentinel Roleplay: Example logs showing roleplay from the guild:
- A guild novice interview
- Sentinels and Shamans out hiking

______________________________________________________________________________________

Feel free to post any questions you have about the Sentinel class in this thread for the forum community to answer!

______________________________________________________________________________________