Mythological roles

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).

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 his own gain, and the passive classes being affected by his or her aspect, and sharing his or her actions with the team.

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

Heroes 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.

Player abilities may also manifest in ways contrary to their aspect if they are heavily resistant to their true calling, or if an outside influence corrupts them. This happened to Rose Lalonde, and may have also occurred to other players in the troll session (as their entire society was corrupted by and ).

The term "HS 5528 (Hero)" can be used in lieu of the class when the speaker wishes to be generic, i.e.: John and Tavros are "Heroes of Breath". 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 ominously use the term "Noble" to refer to their Heroes, as Nobles suffer and become martyrs, instead of the way Heroes save people.

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.

implies that every session will have a Hero of Time, and if the breeding duties are indeed linked to the Hero of Space they would be a constant in the game. Calliope has confirmed that these two aspects are indeed the minimum requirement for every session. The only exception seen is with the post-Scratch kids, who lack both Time and Space players, and as a result lack a frog planet, though this is likely a cosmic consequence of the eventual arrival of the pre-Scratch players, with all their planets in tow, into the post-Scratch session.

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.

Speculation

 * In HS 4467 (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. 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 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 HS 7331 (hinted that) the 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, or otherwise will when they ascend to the God Tiers.
 * Nicolas Cage is the Nick of Time
 * FedoraFreak is the Gent of Piss
 * Andrew Hussie is the Huss of Lips
 * And, simultaneously, the Waste of Space.


 * In Problem Sleuth, Problem Sleuth obtains the title PS 1760 (Champion of Pulchritude) by saving a universe. It is the only known "mythological role" outside of Homestuck.
 * When John, Jade, and everyone on the meteor arrive in the post-Scratch session, their shared session will have one Hero for every listed aspect but Space (of which there will be two: Jade and Kanaya) and Doom (of which there will be none, since Sollux left with Aradia). This session will have all classes as well, except for a Mage (again due to Sollux's departure) and a Thief (unless Meenah comes along), doubling up instead on Knights and Seers.
 * The fact that Caliborn is the Lord of Time may refer to the fact that his future self is, the Head of a certain Mafia that can manipulate time.