Mythological role

Each player in Sburb has a mythological role which consists of two components: a class and an aspect. A title can be assembled from any combination of class and aspect: John is the Heir (class) of Breath (aspect), while Tavros shares his aspect as the Page (class) of Breath (aspect) and Equius shares his class as the Heir (class) of Void (aspect). All classes and aspects have single-syllable names.

Aspects are a form of generalized "elements", in that they are primal forces of reality. Classes describe mechanics and intended roles, "channeling" the aspect into possible action and powers. Classes come in active (-) and passive (+) pairs, which can mean multiple things but roughly described as the active classes employing or affecting their aspect directly and for their own gain, and the passive classes being affected by their aspect, and sharing their actions with the team. In short, aspects describe a type of power that a player would have and classes describe how the power manifests itself.

Do note though that literal interpretation of the aspects' and classes' names can be misleading, e.g. "Prince" actually means "destroyer", and "Light" means "fortune".

Players with different aspects can end up with very similar powers depending on their class. The Life and Doom aspects may be radically different, but depending on the class their powers may end up being similar.

Players may also develop abilities contrary to their role if they are "“heavily resistant to their trUe calling. or, if corrUpted in some way by an oUtside inflUence.”" Rose Lalonde is the most prominent and extreme example of this. Other examples can be constructed, but remain speculative due to exposition on the class and aspect system being sporadic.

The terms "Hero" or "Player" can be used in lieu of the class when the speaker wishes to be generic, e.g.: John and Tavros are "Heroes of Breath" and Roxy is "a Void player." Both components of the title appear to have some mechanical effect on the game, depending on the class or element assigned. The salamanders of the Land of Crypts and Helium and the B2 Carapacians use the term "Noble" to refer to their Heroes, possibly implying that Nobles suffer and become martyrs rather than saving others as a Hero might.

Sburb may design planets with the titles in mind. For the kids one part seems to come from their aspect, while the other comes from their associated element, or a force actively opposing it (dark clouds in John's case and frost in Jade's). The trolls' planets mostly relate to their interests, but some show a clear connection to their titles.

Doc Scratch implies that every successful session will have a Hero of Time, so as to provide access to a scratch construct should the players irreparably fail. Because their amphibian ectobreeding duties are necessary for victory, Heroes of Space are also a constant in a successful game. Calliope has confirmed that these two aspects are indeed the minimum requirement for a session to not inherently be a Null session or worse. The only exception seen is potentially with the post-scratch kids, who, though they lack both Time and Space players and as a result lack a frog planet or scratch construct, through cosmic consequence their session anticipates the arrival of their pre-scratch players, with all their planets in tow, creating an effective 8 player session that does include a Space and Time player.

There are at least two rare classes referred to as "master classes". One, the Muse, is "the most passive class" and strictly for females. Its counterpart, Lord, is the male master class and the most active class.

It is entirely possible that the number of players in a given session will determine what titles the game can and will assign. It appears games with four or more eliminates the chance to receive master classes, which may serve the purpose of fulfilling multiple roles in under-populated games.

Character titles and related data

Mythological Roles

	Space	Time	Mind	Heart	Hope	Rage	Breath	Blood	Life	Doom	Light	Void
Rogue				Nepeta			Rufioh					Roxy
Thief									Meenah		Vriska
Heir							John			Mituna		Equius
Maid	Porrim	Aradia							Jane
Page					Jake		Tavros					Horuss
Knight		Dave	Latula					Karkat
Seer			Terezi					Kankri			Rose
Mage				Meulin						Sollux
Sylph	Kanaya										Aranea
Witch	Jade	Damara							Feferi
Bard					Cronus	Gamzee
Prince				Dirk	Eridan	Kurloz
Muse	Calliope
Lord		Caliborn

Key:

• A light gray background indicates a passive class.
• A dark gray background indicates an active class.
• A purple background indicates a Derse dreamer.
• A yellow background indicates a Prospit dreamer.
• A gradated background indicates two dream selves.

Humans

Name	Title	Planet and denizen	Powers and role
John Egbert	Heir of Breath	Land of Wind and Shade	Able to control the wind and create tornados, affinity with the Breeze Supplied with items and challenges meant to aid his maturation Able to turn himself into wind
		Typheus
Rose Lalonde	Seer of Light	Land of Light and Rain	Able to see into Magic Cue Balls Complete knowledge of fortune and the Most Fortuitous Path Had her intended role inverted by external influences for some time of the session
		Cetus
Dave Strider	Knight of Time	Land of Heat and Clockwork	Time shenanigans Planet has Beat Mesa Uses time as a weapon (Caledscratch, time-travel assisted self-cloning) Can intuitively complete stable time loops and sense alterations to the timeline. Assisting the Hero of Space with frog breeding (?)
		Hephaestus
Jade Harley	Witch of Space	Land of Frost and Frogs	Frog breeding, Forge stoking and preemptive dream self awakening Manipulation of objects' size and momentum (First guardian powers inherited from Bec by way of Jadesprite; although these are not directly a result of her role, they largely deal with portals and teleportation, which still fit into the theme of space.)
		Echidna
Jane Crocker	Maid of Life	Land of Crypts and Helium	Resurrecting the dead (can only be done once per individual; she appears to have been able to auto-revive when killed, and this is presumably not an exception to the "once per individual" rule.) Creation of life (in the shape of forests) during Trickster Mode
		Hemera
Jake English	Page of Hope	Land of Mounds and Xenon	One who uses the raw power of Hope Nearly powerless to start, but has an exponential growth of power later on (Created a brain-image-duplicate of Dirk that could only be seen/smelled by himself and the Seer of Mind.) Vaguely described ability to make things real via Hope. Possibly alluded to earlier here. Suppresses the "fakeness attribute" of imaginary things, making them temporarily real for as long as the effort is actively placed into making them real. Can generate a "Hope Field" strong enough to overpower and knock out a completely powered up half-sprite god tiered first guardian.
		Abraxas
Roxy Lalonde	Rogue of Void	Land of Pyramids and Neon	Blacking out the entire session from external viewers Going into dream bubbles by sleepwalking through the void of the Furthest Ring. Able to use the powers granted to carapaces by the Ring of Void. Later (notably, post-ascension) uses these abilities without the ring equipped. Knack for confusing others Stealing the abstraction of nothingness from concepts, thus making them "not nothing" i.e. creating objects out of thin air. Doing the same to make mute characters speak. Apparently able to redistribute Void to existing objects, as displayed in [S] GAME OVER.
		Nix
Dirk Strider	Prince of Heart	Land of Tombs and Krypton	"[...] “one who destroys heart/soul, or caUses destrUction throUgh heart/soul” [...]" Simultaneously conscious as both real and dream selves, with additional personalities as the Auto Responder and within Jake's dreamscape after Jake has woken Able to rip the soul out of a person's body.* Personality unaffected by Trickster Mode
		Yaldabaoth

Trolls

Name	Title	Planet and denizen	Powers and role
Aradia Megido	Maid of Time	Land of Quartz and Melody	Time shenanigans Planet has version of Cardinal Movement? "Housekeeping"- cleaning up loops and preventing alternate timelines
Tavros Nitram	Page of Breath	Land of Sand and Zephyr	Control over the wind (potentially) Possibly using air for revival: "breathing life" into a person
Sollux Captor	Mage of Doom	Land of Brains and Fire	Prophetic visions involving utter ruin, failure, and death. Doomed to die many times, and has overcome death on more than one occasion (thanks to two dream selves and his "half-ghost" form)
Karkat Vantas	Knight of Blood	Land of Pulse and Haze	Being able to form alliances, as in "blood brothers" (such as with Spades Slick and Gamzee) (?) Assisting the Hero of Space with frog breeding (?) Mutant Candy Red blood colour
Nepeta Leijon	Rogue of Heart	Land of Little Cubes and Tea	Theft of heart or soul, to the benefits of others.
Kanaya Maryam	Sylph of Space	Land of Rays and Frogs	Frog breeding, Forge stoking Preemptive dream self awakening
		Echidna
Terezi Pyrope	Seer of Mind	Land of Thought and Flow	Skilled at manipulating others through mind games Can literally envision the results of people's decisions as a sprawling path of alternative possibilities Is able to sense the presence of and converse with Jake's mental projection of Dirk Coordinating battle tactics by examining possible outcomes
Vriska Serket	Thief of Light	Land of Maps and Treasure	Theft of luck for her own advantage
		Cetus
Equius Zahhak	Heir of Void	Land of Caves and Silence	Resistance against scrying and omniscient beings Blood used to obscure references to an indestructible demon in Calliope's tome
Gamzee Makara	Bard of Rage	Land of Tents and Mirth	Augmented attack power and berserker rage (?) Dealt massive blow to the Black King, possibly greater than Vriska's finishing blow. "One who allows rage to be destroyed, or invites destruction through rage"
Eridan Ampora	Prince of Hope	Land of Wrath and Angels	Destruction of hope (such as the Matriorb) Able to channel his aspect with his belief (or hope) in the truth of science, and apply it to destructive ends.
Feferi Peixes	Witch of Life	Land of Dew and Glass	Able to heal others' injuries (such as WV's) "brings the past back to life" and saves ghosts from total oblivion by establishing dream bubbles (natural longevity, presumably due to blood color) Likes to nurture sea creatures, wants to end the killing of weak trolls
Damara Megido	Witch of Time	Land of ??? and ???	Time shenanigans Planet has Cardinal Movement Uses time to sabotage her team
Rufioh Nitram	Rogue of Breath	Land of ??? and ???	Theft of "breath" for the benefit of others Has wings
Mituna Captor	Heir of Doom	Land of ??? and ???	Prophetic visions involving bleak futures, doom and destruction.
Kankri Vantas	Seer of Blood	Land of ??? and ???	Post-scratch self able to see some of his pre-scratch life.
Meulin Leijon	Mage of Heart	Land of ??? and ???	"An ardent disciple of the romantic sciences" Talented matchmaker
Porrim Maryam	Maid of Space	Land of ??? and Frogs	Frog breeding, Forge stoking Preemptive dream self awakening
		Hinted to be Echidna
Latula Pyrope	Knight of Mind	Land of ??? and ???	Assisting the Hero of Space with frog breeding (?) exploiting "mind" as a weapon
Aranea Serket	Sylph of Light	Land of ??? and ???	Healing eyes Helping others see themselves clearly for emotional healing Speculates that her powers should allow her to sustain and repair a doomed timeline, allowing it to eventually usurp the alpha timeline
Horuss Zahhak	Page of Void	Land of ??? and ???	"All of his proficiencies were hard won, built from the blank slate as his aspect would imply, advancing at the slow pace his class would as well." Always ignored despite his accomplishments
Kurloz Makara	Prince of Rage	Land of ??? and ???	"one who destroys rage, or causes destruction through rage"
Cronus Ampora	Bard of Hope	Land of ??? and ???	"One who allows hope to be destroyed, or invites destruction through hope"
Meenah Peixes	Thief of Life	Land of ??? and ???	"Steals" lives of her coplayers in order to survive the scratch as ghosts. (natural longevity, presumably due to blood color, which can be extended to others by her touch, such as the Helmsman) Post-scratch self attempts to "steal" the Matriorb from the void to give her species another chance at life.

Cherubs

Name	Title	Planet and denizen	Powers and role
Calliope	Muse of Space	N/A	Frog breeding and Forge stoking, hypothetically Preemptive dream self awakening (until she was assassinated) Inspires with her aspect (?)
		N/A
Caliborn	Lord of Time	Land of ??? and ??? (Multiple planets)	Time shenanigans Always "already here" Temporal inevitability always seems to be in his favor Is the lord (leader) of a bunch of minions with (mostly) time-based powers Planet has scratch construct (?)
		Yaldabaoth

Sprite fusions

Due to sprites being able to be prototyped with two components and the ability for players to be prototyped, it is therefore possible for two individuals with separate titles to be merged together. The nature of the mythological roles of such fusions is unknown. It is possible the two separate titles continue to exist simultaneously and unaltered in the sprites. Potential alterations include: The two classes and two aspects exist with each other in a way to represent all four title combinations of those classes and aspects simultaneously, or a recombination of the two titles where the class or aspect is swapped to create two new titles, or that only a single class and a single aspect remain.

Name	Prototyped players	Titles	Powers and role
Tavrisprite	Tavros Nitram	Page of Breath	The Vriska half continued to act like a Thief of Light while in the sprite by stealing a copy of Tavros's memories. Being fused with Tavros caused Vriska to gain motivation and direction in the afterlife. The creation of the sprite momentarily stole Jane's breath away.
	Vriska Serket	Thief of Light
Erisolsprite	Eridan Ampora	Prince of Hope	Can not/has not exploded, possibly due to being the "Prince of Doom," meaning he is the destroyer of his own doom.
	Sollux Captor	Mage of Doom
Fefetasprite	Feferi Peixes	Witch of Life
	Nepeta Leijon	Rogue of Heart
Arquiusprite	Equius Zahhak	Heir of Void
	Lil Hal	Unclear: None or Prince of Heart

Speculation

• In one of Karkat's memos, Kanaya speculates that Skaia assigns titles to players to challenge them, rather than to suit their strengths.
  • This would certainly explain some of the apparent inversions, such as Rose being the Seer of Light despite her fascination with darkness and horror, and Jade's title as the Witch of Space despite her life never leaving her small island and seeing the past, present and future in Skaia's Oracle Clouds. However, this theory should be taken with a grain of salt, considering that the titles of a lot of the players match them perfectly.
  • It would also explain the post-scratch kid's aspects as Dirk said it "“a life player who felt lifeless, a hope player who felt hopeless, and a heart player who was just a stone cold motherfucker.” “[...]” “A leader who was invisible to us all along. Fittingly, a void player to lead a void session.”"
• It could be speculated that players are meant to "grow into" their roles; that is, when they first begin the session their title and its duties force them outside their comfort zone and seem very unsuited, but a fully realized Hero has matured into the role the game has assigned them.
• It is hinted that Calliope's power as the Muse of Space may be the power to physically influence all that she imagines in the form of fanfics and artwork.

Trivia

• According to Andrew Hussie, other characters have also assumed these titles:
  • Nicolas Cage is the Nick of Time.
  • fedorafreak is the Gent of Piss.
  • Dennis's bro would have been the Douche of Tears. ( Which does not fit the 4 or 5 letter theme )
  • Hussie is(n't) the Huss of Lips.
    • Hussie does indeed have a Hero of Space outfit, but he has stated that it was just a cosplay, and while many fans had been calling the god tier Waste of Space, the class name was never actually revealed. In addition, all 14 class outfits have been shown, and his costume matches none of them.
• In Problem Sleuth, Problem Sleuth obtains the title Champion of Pulchritude by saving a universe. It is the only known "mythological role" outside of Homestuck.
• It could be that the title of Lord English is related to Caliborn's echeladder, as it bears a similitude with John's final echeladder rung, Heir Transparent.
• The title Muse of Space can be parsed as being roughly synonymous with "one who fondly regards creation".
• Fitting the common theme of playing cards in Homestuck, a player's aspect could be analogous to a card's suit, and their class could be analogous to its rank, based on the format of cards' names and players' titles. (ex: Prince of Heart, Jack of Hearts).
• All of the post-scratch trolls share their aspect (but not their class) with their pre-scratch counterparts. Notably, this is not true of the human players.
  • This may be due to the fact that Trolls often share close traits with their Ancestors while humans do not.
• In Namco High, the Cousin is pseudo-canonically an Heir of Heart.