Classpect Profile Guide

Classpect Profile Guide

In my previous post, I posited a theory that all standard classes and aspects can describe an individual, beyond the Hero Title and subrole.

Here's a step-by-step process of how to determine a Classpect Profile, all 12 roles. I will use myself as an example.

1) Divide the aspects into 6 complementary pairs/opposites:

Space & Time

Light & Void

Hope & Rage

Heart & Mind

Breath & Blood

Life & Doom

2) Look at each individual aspect, and consider how you typically interact with it. (See Aspect Keywords post for reference. bladekindeyewear and infinitywhale go into more depth here and here.)

For interactions, here are some keywords for class types:

Manipulate/Change (Witch/Heir)

Understand (Mage/Seer)

Destroy (Prince/Bard)

Create (Maid/Sylph)

Redistribute (Thief/Rogue)

Apply (Knight/Page)

You can also use these keywords for individual classes:

Control (Witch)       Influence (Heir)Experience (Mage)       Study (Seer)Demolish (Prince)       Deconstruct (Bard)Generate (Maid)       Mend (Sylph)Take (Thief)       Share (Rogue)Exploit (Knight)       Empower (Page)

3) Next to each aspect, write the class keywords you think might fit. You should be able to narrow each aspect down to a few potential keywords.

(Note: I recommend starting with the 6 class type keywords instead of the 12 unique ones because it paints a larger picture of the class themes, but if you’re confident (or feel lazy), feel free to start with the 12. You can also mix and match, but just be sure to distinguish types from individual keywords, or it may become confusing down the line. For the purposes of this guide, I’ll start with the 6.)

Possibilities, in my case:

4) Eliminate any keyword that doesn’t have an inverse under an opposite aspect. Inverse keywords are Manipulate & Understand, Destroy & Create, and Redistribute & Apply.

For example, in my case, Manipulate and Redistribute Space don’t have inverses—Understand and Apply—for Time, Space’s opposite, so I can remove them as possibilities.

Narrowed results:

5) Split the class type keywords into individual class (–/+) keywords.

For example, Apply, keyword for Warrior classes, divides into keywords Exploit (Knight) and Empower (Page).

(Note: If you started with the 12 individual keywords, Steps 5 and 6 aren’t necessary.)

6) Narrow your results by removing any class keywords that don’t fit your interactions with an aspect.

7) From there, eliminate class keywords without an inverse keyword for its opposite aspect, just as before. Inverses are Control & Study, Influence & Experience, Demolish & Mend, Deconstruct & Generate, Take & Empower, Share & Exploit.

For example, in my case, Mend Space doesn’t have an opposite Demolish Time, so I eliminate Mend.

8) Use the process of elimination to figure out the rest. No duplicate keywords/classes are allowed, so remove any duplicates of those already solved.

(Note: All class keywords will be used, so if you’re missing any, you’ll have to go back and reconsider your options.)

For example, in the previous step, I narrowed Light and Void to Influence and Experience. That means I can’t use Influence or Experience for Hope and Rage, which narrows Hope and Rage to Mend and Demolish. Likewise, I narrowed Heart and Mind to Empower and Take, because those were the only instances I had of those class keywords.

Simple process of elimination narrowed my results considerably! Most of them are solved!

That just leaves two classpect pairs I’m unsure about, or 4 total.

9) For any remaining pairs left to solve, look at each class description more closely…

…And figure out which descriptions most accurately fit your interaction with each aspect.

In my case, I feel like Knight fits better than Maid for Space, which narrows Space and Time to Knight and Rogue, respectively.

I still can’t determine Breath and Blood, as Maid and Bard both seem fitting. I use dahniwitchoflight’s Aspect posts as a guide, looking at descriptions for all four. Bard of Breath sounds especially like me, and Maid of Blood more than Bard of Blood.

10) Convert the keywords back into classes, and that’s it! You’ve now determined your full Classpect Profile!

I like using my Classes Chart and Aspect Keywords to create a brief description of each of my 12 roles.

Example:

Seer of Life: Invites understanding of/with/through Life (life force, energy, growth, power, persistence, wealth, boldness, enthusiasm, efficacy), guiding others.

All 12 seem pretty accurate to me!

How to determine a Hero Title and subrole Look at which aspect pair has the strongest influence on your actions and perspective. Most likely, it will also match the dual class pair that most accurately describes how you naturally operate in general. Both class and aspect are important to consider, especially if you have difficulty narrowing either down to one pair.

One of those classpects will sound like you at your best; it’s your area of greatest potential and method of having a maximum impact on reality. Its opposite/inverse classpect is your primary focus when you are stressed and in an unhealthy frame of mind, yet it’s also something you can put to good use. You’re probably naturally skilled with both classpects.

Your Hero Title is your best, ideal, and healthiest state, and your subrole is the stressed-but-useful state. Sometimes it’s easier to figure out your subrole first and invert it to discover your Title.

As for me, I am a Seer of Life! My subrole is Witch of Doom.

Alternate possibilities? If you’re not fond of your Hero Title, go with the alternate roles that have the next strongest influence in your life. Most likely, these will be the classpect pairs in which you can easily distinguish a “healthy” role and an inverse “unhealthy” role.

In my case, Heir of Light Mage of Void and Sylph of Hope are strong alternate Hero Titles. (Ugh, why do my top three aspects have to be the color schemes I most dislike? Void is awesome.)

Using an alternate role won’t be as ideal as your primary role, but it’s still a useful option.

Now what? After you’ve determined your Classpect Profile and Hero Title, I highly recommend learning more about each of your 12 roles in Dahni’s Aspect posts. Then use your Classpect Profile however you like!

I hope this guide was helpful and informative!

Doomed vs. Void Timelines

A doomed timeline is associated with time travel. It is an offshoot timeline, branching from the Alpha Timeline. It is destined for failure, for an ill fate. It can never succeed because, by itself, it cannot propagate reality's existence. A doomed timeline invariably ends when someone travels in time to undo its events.

So what happens when someone retcons events? Retconning is different from time travel. It doesn't create a doomed timeline because the timeline is the Alpha, not a branching offshoot. It doesn't create a stable time loop, either, because events are actually changed, as opposed to linked by causality. Doomed timelines and stable time loops are the results of time travel, not retcons. So what is the result of a retcon?

A retcon, instead, creates a void timeline. When the Alpha Timeline is changed, it renders previous Alpha (or canon) events null, void, ineffective, cancelled out.

The Alpha Timeline is the timeline of Light; it is the most important, significant, and relevant timeline, the path that successfully propagates reality and existence itself. Retcons turn the Alpha Timeline's Light to Void, making previously canon events unknown, irrelevant, ineffective, and as though they do not exist.

So, to clarify:

Doomed timeline = Offshoot timeline events undone via time travel.

Void timeline = Alpha timeline events undone via retcon.

Okay, John's note that "it was gamzee," on the most obvious level, means Gamzee is responsible Nepeta's murder, not Vriska, whom Gamzee is framing and Terezi suspects.

But what if there's a deeper meaning to the message?

What if John inadvertently answered his own (and likely poor, confused Terezi's) question?:

"you don't need him."

Who's "him"?

"it was gamzee you idiot!!!"

By pairing together these two seemingly disconnected messages from John, maybe it'll plant the idea in Terezi's mind that Gamzee is the one she doesn't need. ...Unintentionally, at least on John's end. Granted, she probably won't even make this connection until much later, perhaps after more messages, but hey.

Inception, Egbert style.

Here we have a nice picture of the Green Sun in the black void of the Furthest Ring:

But if we take the image and invert it...

...We have a Pink Sun in a white void.

If the Green Sun and black void symbolize the current instance of Paradox Space, perhaps the Pink Sun and white void symbolize a new instance of Paradox Space, a new reality to where the heroes will escape.

So, Knights are a Warrior class. I just realized that is absolutely a stealth pun:

Warrior = worrier

Classpect Profile

When people try to determine a mythological role (or "classpect"), they often tend to focus on only one class and one aspect that fit an individual. Possibly two if they subscribe to the inversion/subrole/duality theory. That is, they focus only on the Hero Title and possibly its inverse.

But really, if the 12 aspects are meant to encompass all of reality, and the classes are how one interacts with an aspect, wouldn’t that mean every aspect has influence on an individual, not just one or two of them? That would mean an individual consists of every aspect and class.

I theorize that there are 12 different roles (or classpects) that fit a person—6 unique pairs of roles—comprised of each standard classes and each aspect.

I call these 6 pairs a Classpect Profile. The primary pair is the Hero Title and subrole.

Example profile:

Significance of a Classpect Profile

Essentially, a Classpect Profile helps you gain a better understanding of yourself and how you might affect reality, beyond one or two aspects.

If you’re having difficulty determining your precise Hero Title (and subrole), solving your Classpect Profile can help you discover it, through process of elimination.

A Classpect Profile also provides Hero Title options! For whatever reason, you’re not fond of your primary role, you can choose an alternate role as your Hero Title. Not a fan of the Bard codpiece? Or maybe you have a “gender-exclusive” class opposite of your gender, and you’d prefer one that matches. Maybe your session needs a Space or Time player. Maybe your session has players with overlapping classes or aspects, and you want everyone’s to be unique. Whatever the reason, now you have alternate possibilities!

Determining which roles comprise a Classpect Profile

First, it requires a full understanding of what each class and aspect means. It also requires a lot of introspection, self-reflection, and self-understanding. There are many useful tools and resources to aid you in the process.

In my next post, I’ll guide you through a step-by-step process to solve your Classpect Profile.