Taoist

封印師 · Sealer — A guardian of balance who seals danger and confines power

The sealer specializes in sealing away powerful monsters, gods, curses, and forbidden powers. Their primary role is nullification, sealing, and purification rather than attack, making them indispensable when facing ultimate beings like demon kings or ancient gods. Drawing sealing inscriptions or using talismans and barriers to confine targets' power within a defined space. The Eastern martial arts and fantasy Taoist or onmyoji is the prototype, with Japanese manga and anime onmyoji (modeled on Abe no Seimei) being the most familiar image. They can also unleash sealed powers as their own weapons — a double-edged sword carrying the risk of being devoured by the sealed entity if sealing fails.

巫師 · Shaman — A spirit communicator who traverses between the spirit world and reality

The shaman is a religious intermediary who travels between spirit and physical worlds, communicating with spirits, ancestors, and gods. The name derives from the Tungus 'šamán' of Siberia, but anthropologically the role exists universally across all continents in primitive religions — Siberian, Mongolian, Native American, African tribal, Korean mudang — varying in form but identical in essence. They enter trance states (possession) during rituals to receive spirits for prophecy and healing. In fantasy they become a class using totems, rituals, and spirit summoning — Warcraft's Shaman class and D&D's Shaman are prominent examples. Korean mudang are the same lineage as religious specialists for gut rituals, divination, and healing.

俠客 · Wandering Swordsman — One who traverses the martial world with justice and a blade

The wandering swordsman (俠客) is an independent swordsman roaming the jianghu (martial world) of wuxia fighting injustice. Not bound to specific clans or nations, they act by their own chivalric spirit (xia), with 'returning kindness and avenging wrongs in the jianghu' as the core value. The origin lies in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian Biographies of Knights-Errant, recording chivalrous figures of the Han dynasty — true xia help the weak, don't bow to the strong, and value loyalty above their lives as moral heroes. From Qing-era wuxia novels to 1950s neo-wuxia by Jin Yong and Gu Long, and modern films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero, they've become global characters. The ideal life is freedom requiring only a sword, a horse, and a cup of wine — often a romantic hero archetype meeting tragic fates.