The title of Embergut is given to those who've shamelessly entered a pact with a powerful being from the Plane of Fire.

The being offers a portion of its power, and marks you with a prominent brand in exchange. For many, this mark is kept a secret from the world, especially in the sphere of politics where stooping so low for power is, at its most generous, a point of controversy.

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Hey there folks, today I'd like to share some details on one of the classes in Distal, and show off some of the unique mechanics it has access to.

The Embergut class has "warlock" feels with a pyromantic twist, and their abilities convey the volatility of power drawn from the Plane of Fire.

Embergut have access to a handful of spell slots (renamed invocations, in the next alpha update,) that can be recovered during downtime. This is pretty standard fare. However, they can also Bargain for more.

Bargaining for Spells
Once every 24 hours, an Embergut can speak to their pact entity through a telepathic connection -- and they must choose a specific attribute (Str, Dex, Fort, Int, or Wis,) when doing so. They immediately gain a number of extra invocations equal to the attribute they chose. So, if you had 3 Dex, you immediately gain 3 extra invocations.

So, if you're in combat, and really need some extra spell juice -- you can always take the devil's bargain...

But here's the drawback... For the next 24 hours, that stat becomes a -2, as you've effectively sacrificed that part of yourself to your pact entity for them to do -- whatever it is they do with it. Eeeesh.

This is a moment of radical transformation. Your body becomes charred and ashen, and molten rivulets replace your veins. Maybe your Dexterity depletion is represented by sacrificing your arms or legs to the all-devouring furnace.

Fortunately, once your Bargain ends (24 hours later,) your attributes return to what they were.

Power and Control
A lot of the Embergut's dynamic is a give and take between stability and chaos, power and control. This is also represented by their use of willpower die, which they lean on far more than other classes in the game.

One of the class signatures you can choose at level 3, is that of the Volatile Embergut. When your pool of willpower die is empty, you can gain a willpower die if you take on the burning condition in exchange. Separately, whenever they're burning, they can "combust" to deal damage in an area around them, at the cost of willpower.

So, set yourself on fire. Get a willpower die. While you're on fire, expend that willpower die to explode! Synergy!

Alternatively, another signature you can choose at level 3 is that of the Herding Embergut, which allows you to summon just a lil guy known as a Brandling. These lil guys act as a (limited time) companion that can bite your enemies, detonate into flames -- or be sacrificed as fuel for one of your other abilities.

There are loads of fun abilities and setups you can take advantage of when playing the Embergut, and the timeless trope of being on the leash of an entity more powerful than yourself leaves a little fuel for the narrative fire.

Let me know what you think about the Embergut, and if you dig these class overviews in the comments section!

Thanks folks!
-Wrel