Archetypes

An archetype is a job, not a destiny. Gates restrict only the advanced ability pool — a Bruiser with a crossbow is a worse Skirmisher, not an illegal build.

The Starting Six (locked)

Archetype	Role	Signature
Bruiser	Burst opener	Shatterblow — opens the window
Warden	Protector	Bulwark — takes the hit meant for you
Footpad	Window-exploiter	Slip & Backstab — wounds through shields
Skirmisher	Force-multiplier	Called Shot — every ally gains a Boon
Devout	Cleanse & mend	Benediction — Boon plus condition-clear
Hedge-Mage	Ranged attrition	Emberbolt — Break plus Burn

The Horizon Twelve (playable — kits bound, numbers unvalidated)

Each carries a kit — a signature plus supporting abilities — written against the real combat vocabulary (Wind/Guard/Vitals, Boons/Banes, conditions, the clock). All twelve now ship as pickable archetypes with executable signatures. Numbers are first-pass; four kits were simplified against the engine as it stands (Envoy’s Parley stalls rather than preventing a fight; the Scrapwright’s contraption and the Straykeeper’s companion are one-shot rather than persistent bodies; the Trapper’s snare triggers on a target rather than waiting on a tile) — see Loose Threads §4.

Archetype	Role gap it fills
Relicmancer	Artifact-channeling caster
Torchbearer	Light, vision, and reveal control
Envoy	Talks instead of fights
Scrapwright	Jury-rigged contraptions
Tomb Surgeon	Horrifying but effective medicine
Squire	Logistics and the enormous backpack
Grenadier	AoE with friendly-fire stakes
Figurehead	Party-wide buffs from an unelected captain
Hexbinder	Manipulates the Boon/Bane pool itself
Gambler	Wagers their own defenses for burst
Trapper	Repurposes the dungeon’s hazards
Straykeeper	Shared-action companion bond

Character assembly targets under sixty seconds to a playable novice: archetype → attribute array (swap any two) → loadout picks → trait → name and portrait. You are not meant to grow attached.