In my last preview for Wyrd Street, I highlighted the Iconic Character Blue Rose, the Vigilante. Today, let’s look at another Iconic: Ji Wensdottir, the Street Preacher

At the heart of Wyrd Street’s story is a single refugee family. The Holder herbalist Karl Vinnarson; the retired Tiahnese soldier Na Wen; and their adult children, Ji and Lo. As war breaks out between the Free Holds and Tiahn, they find themselves torn between the two sides, distrusted by both.

The younger child, Ji Wensdottir is in many ways the heart of the family. Full of the optimism of youth and with a strong connection to the world of spirits, Ji tries to bring comfort to all she meets, be they the destitute of the slums or the fae spirits who still linger in the forgotten corners of the Holds.

Ji is the first character in the story I had a clear image of, and in my mind she’s become something of a mascot for Wyrd Street. Similarly, Street Preacher was one of the first class concepts I had, and when I finally started actually designing the game, Street Preacher was the very first part I wrote out. The class has had some revisions since then, but the general concepts remain the same.

Street Preacher is of course Wyrd Street’s answer to the traditional cleric archetype, though there’s also a touch of wizards and sorcerers to them.

With plentiful healing and buffing abilities, Street Preachers are an ideal fit for the support role, and they are also one of the best classes in the game for dealing AoE damage, capable of devastating hordes of foes by summoning mischievous Flame Imps and deafening Divine Bells. Lest you fear getting caught in the crossfire, they can also take the passive ability Shelter the Faithful to prevent their allies being harmed by their massive AoE bombardments.

That said, Street Preachers are perhaps the most versatile class in the game, so they can be built to fill virtually any role to at least some degree. With heavy armour and mastery of polearms, they can make resilient front-liners, or they can take up bows and magic charms to fight from a distance. Their only major blindspot is a lack of efficient damage options against strong singular enemies, and of course a jack of all trades does risk becoming a master of none.

At level ten, Street Preachers gain access to rituals, incredibly powerful abilities with high focus costs that often require multiple actions spread out over more than one turn to fully activate.

Each ritual emphasizes a different aspect of the Street Preacher identity. Ritual of Flame calls down the wrath of the heavens to deliver devastating and precise multi-target damage. Ritual of Glory blankets your party with a variety of powerful buffs. And Ritual of the Ancestors provides the ultimate expression of a Street Preacher’s versatility, allowing you to temporarily gain the use of a level ten ability from any other class.

Versatile, supportive, and eternally helpful, a Street Preacher can be the heart of any party, just as Ji is the heart of her family.

Of course, if you don’t want to be a Street Preacher, you can always ask your GM to let you change her class. The optimistic Dreamer class is also a natural fit for her, or if you want to take her in a more physical direction, you could make her a Vigilante, allowing her to follow in her mother’s martial footsteps while still wielding divine magic.

Before I go, I would like to provide one more little tease. I recently received the finished cover art for the core rulebook, and as the game’s mascot, Ji has a central role. I’m not going to reveal the full cover today, but I would like to offer you a glimpse of our inspiring Street Preacher in action.

Wyrd Street’s IndieGoGo campaign is scheduled to launch March 29th.