ARCHETPYES

Archetypes are the 'character class' of Urban Shadows. They each offer a different spread Main Stats and Faction Stats, a selection of individual moves unique to that Archetype, and a certain place in the general narrative.

Each Archetype can only be used once per table. There may be many vampires in a game of Urban Shadows, but only one PC may be 'The Vamp.'

Upon choosing your Archetype, you (the player) get to declare how that kind of person or creature works, operates, exists in the setting. For example, if you choose the Vampire, you get to decide if they sparkle in the sun, or die without blood, or have to wear lots of lace, or whatever. The MC has veto power over the process, but failing that, you are the final authority on 'your people.'

Each Archetype Playbook contains the following:

• Name and Faction
• Options for Name, Look and Demeanour
• Starting spread for Main Stats and Faction Stats
• Intro questions
• Gear
• Debts you owe and Debts owed to you
• List of possible Advances (see below)
• Tracker for Harm, Armour and Scars (see next thread)
• List of moves unique to that Archetype
• Debt tracker
• Drama moves (one each for Intimacy, Corruption, and End, see below)
• Space for Other Moves, Notes, etc

The Core Archetypes of Urban Shadows are:

• The Aware (Mortality): a mundane human aware of, and always wrapped up in, the world beneath
• The Hunter (Mortality): a mortal who has dedicated themselves to fighting the darkness all around them
• The Veteran (Mortality): once prominent and involved and dangerous, now retired, with friends and enemies everywhere
• The Spectre (Night): the shade of the deceased, bound to this earth by unfinished business
• The Vamp (Night): a predator stalking the nights to feed their eternal hungers
• The Wolf (Night): a primal predator of fury and wrath whose laid claim to a territory
• The Oraclee (Power): a seer who uses their visions to advance their cause
• The Wizard (Power): caster of spells and weaver of webs, wizards can always be found where there's power
• The Fae (Wild): a strange exile from Somewhere Else, with strange goals and stranger allies
• The Tainted (Wild): a mortal who has allied themselves with a dark Patron, who grants power at a price

In addition, there are four expansion Archetypes:

• The Scholar (Mortality): a connected broker who trades favours for relics and vice versa
• The Revenant (Night): a once-wronged, now resurrected spirit of justice, driven by mysterious forces to avenge their death and the deaths of those dear to them
• The Hallowed (Power): a cult leader, holding court over a fanatically loyal group of followers
• The Vessel (Wild): a created being, with strange motivations and values, seeking to redeem themselves by becoming more human

The playbooks themselves are very easy to follow and understand, and similarly the unique moves are mostly self-explanatory. The layout of the Archetype in the pdf is a little strange, as it assumes you'll be printing them and folding them into 'playbooks' to be used around a table, so they sort of start at the end and wrap around.

The Core Archetypes
The Expansion Archetypes