A painter uses pigments made by hand from various minerals, plants or insects, mixed with a bonding agent such as egg, wax, oil or event spit. Applied on to canvas made from linen stretched over a wooden frame. Brushes are made from hair attached to a handle usually made of wood.

Painters will often work from their home, but the most successful ones will have their own studio or a one within an estate belonging to a wealthy patron. Within every generation there might be one exceptional painter, so good at his craft that their name becomes synonymous with it.

Crafting:

Skills:

A painter can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Painter or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A sculptor shapes clay or carves stone, such a task takes many hours, and a sculptor will often only produce a handful each year, so they are often expensive. Some clay sculptures are used as the form to make a plaster cast which is then used to create a bronze final piece.

Sculptors will often work from their home, but the most successful ones will have their own studio or a one within an estate belonging to a wealthy patron. A single sculptor can direct a team of lesser skilled persons to create huge statues, with only the final details done by the artist.

Crafting:

Skills:

A sculptor can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Sculptor or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A banker is involved with the safe keeping of valuables including currency, often from a secure building which houses a solid iron or steel construction called a safe. Some bankers are part of a large network allowing their customers to access their currency away from home.

Bankers take a fee for the safe storage and transaction of currency or precious goods; in turn they guarantee its safety by covering any loses caused by thieves.

A banker ABILITY_LICENCE_TEXT

Bankers must be part of a licensed organisation to allow banking facilities across a region.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Banker or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A barber cuts hair and trims beards for the vast majority of citizens and nobles. Barbers are also known to pull teeth when they get infected.

Barbers can operate pretty much anywhere, but they typically operate from their own premises or attend the homes of the client.

Skills:

A barber can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Barber or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A bleacher washes clothes for general citizens. First the cloth would be washed in water and soap which would remove dirt and grime, then with ammonia, gathered from urine canisters used in public privies. Then to each their name the cloth in then hung where the sun can bleach it dry.

Bleachers only function in areas where public urination stations, typically called a privy, are found. These are on common in the more advanced nations where peeing in the street is known to cause pests and damage to buildings.

Skills:

A bleacher can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Bleacher or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A drayman drives a cart or wagon, either in the employ of a company or as a private individual moving their cargo from location to location on an ad hoc basis.

If in the continual employ of a company, they will always be on call and must maintain the cart or wagon when not in use. If independent, they will own their own horse and cart and work when desired.

Skills:

A drayman can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Drayman or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

An elder is a very old and wise member of any tribe, clan, group or nation, it's a title that is gifted when they no longer practise any trade and have passed any other title to a descendant or younger person.

Now they pass their wisdom to others, from advising the new leaders to imparting knowledge of their craft.

Skills:

An elder can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as an Elder or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A falconer captures and trains wild birds. Larger birds are to aid hunters, medium birds are used to hunt small prey like rabbits. Well trained birds can also intercept enemy messenger birds, typically only done during a war or siege.

Other birds are used for messaging, while the training is more a reliance on them returning home, this required birds to be sent away to other locations, ready to send messages back to the home falconer.

Skills:

A falconer can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Falconer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A ferryman will have a small boat or raft with which to take passengers across waterways such as lakes and rivers. Often these ferrymen will operate a single route for their entire career, even so much as to pass it to their children.

Offering a continuous service that citizens can use as needed for a fee. If a route becomes unpopular or replaced by a permanent crossing such as a bridge, they will have to move to find a new route.

Skills:

A ferryman can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Ferryman or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A hawker distributes news sheets and other publications designed to be sold to citizens for information. Forced to buy their material from a printer unless directly employed by one means they are very driven to make sure each one is sold and as quickly as possible.

Found on busy street corners in towns and cities, they are the primary distribution method for the citizen to hear about wider events. Very popular places the see hawkers will set up a simple stand to facilitate their throughput and give the citizens a known location to get the latest news.

Skills:

A hawker can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Hawker or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A horse trainer moves from stable to stable, breaking in horses to make them amenable to being ridden or harnessed. They can also train a horse out of bad habits, although the amount of time is always different as no two horses are the same.

Horse trainers need no office or workshop, their work is done on site, typically in fields or stables. There are no tools for such a profession, just a lot of experience, understanding, determination and patience.

Skills:

A horse trainer can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Horse Trainer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

Employed to take a message from one point to another, some will take a single message for a single payment, others will organise a regular route to take many messages at once.

It is a dangerous job, and so messengers are often quite adept fighters, while the average message means nothing to bandits or wandering creatures, messages from royalty or military often contain vital and important information.

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

A messenger can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Messenger or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A navigator plots a route over vast open expanses of water. Using maps, the winds, an in-depth knowledge of the ocean and the ability to maintain a sense of direction. While some only know their local region of ocean, some brave explorers have travelled all five of the world's great oceans.

Many learn their craft in the military, moving from sailor to apprentice navigator after spending hundreds of hours at sea, and many more while an apprentice before becoming a navigator. The greatest are sought out by adventuring parties and audacious merchants.

Skills:

A navigator can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Navigator or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A printer uses a large complex machine called a press, with engraved plates of brass dipped in ink to press on to paper to create news sheets sold by hawkers direct to passing citizens or they can print posters to be distributed by businesses and authorities.

Printers are only found in the most advanced of societies, and even then, only in large towns and cities. They require a workshop and often a staff to assist and they will employ many hawkers to distribute the news sheet.

Crafting:

Skills:

A printer can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Printer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A scribe is employed to write the minutes of meetings or other such events that need documenting. Occasionally a scribe will copy one document to a fresh parchment or paper, for duplication or due to deterioration. Scribes can be hired by the authorities to transcribe witness statements.

When hired to accompany a party on an adventure a scribe sits away from combat, watching and documenting everything they see. Staying away does not mean out of dagger, and many a scribe have died to flanking enemies, hidden traps, or foolish decisions.

Crafting:

Skills:

A scribe can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Scribe or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A translator will travel around attending meetings, negotiations and disputes when the two or more parties do not speak the same language. While the authorities may have dedicated translators, or multilingual staff, companies must hire an appropriate translator.

The best translator earns enough to warrant offices, but many are just translators by chance, with a primary source of income elsewhere.

Skills:

A translator can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Translator or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

An arborist cares for the forests of civilized nations, keeping the trees free of dead growth and felling diseased ones. Planting new ones where needed, especially in previously felled areas, particularly important in areas of heavy lumberjacking.

Arborist don't spend a lot of time doing the hard labour, they use local lumberjacks to do that, they merely identify what needs to be done. Using cottars to plant new trees under their direct supervision.

Skills:

An arborist can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as an Arborist or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

Bailiffs collects rent from tenant of the monarchy or government holdings, such as homes, farms and other business sites. Each bailiff knows their route, when to have guards and when not to, but bailiffs do not get the job if not capable of handling themselves.

A single bailiff can cover a large area, with rents due monthly they have time to travel. As such they have an office within their regional capital, moving from town to town over the course of a month.

A bailiff ABILITY_LICENCE_TEXT

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

A bailiff can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as a Bailiff or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A member of the city watch is similar to a solider, but they do not report to a military commander, but instead to the watch commander. They are well trained, often ex-soldiers who want stability, as unlike soldiers they do not leave the city to perform their duties.

The city watch are allowed to live at home or in barracks, meals are provided, and they are well looked after. In return they swear an oath to protect the city and its citizens, unlike constables, the watch does not police the citizens themselves.

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a City Watch or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A clerk works in an office of a company, estate, bank or similar setting, wherever the need for constant noting of figures, filing of paperwork or tracing the status of products, deliveries or receivables.

Clerks are educated persons, there are many grades of clerks from the basic intern to the clerk manager, a hierarchy of clerks determining responsibility and pay.

Skills:

A clerk can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Clerk or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A crier is an officer of a royal court or public authority who makes public pronouncements as required. As such they will carry an official document or seal to prove their authority.

Criers will travel along a prescribed route to inform each settlement of important news, decrees and most importantly states of war. Their arrival will trigger a gathering of citizens.

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

A crier can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Crier or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A curator manages a collection of artefacts, relics, art or a combination. Curators are only hired by the wealthiest of citizens or nobles, as only they have the funds to afford such a collection.

Curators come from all trades, either through a natural talent in spotting valuable items amongst junk, or a skill in the restoration or preservation of the items on their safe keeping.

Skills:

A curator can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Curator or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A dock master takes payments of ships using the dock, incoming ships must pay a fee for not only landing, but an unloading too, where dockhands will help, this fee is based on time to unload and load, and the value of cargo.

Dock masters will have an office on the edge of the dock, allowing them to oversee the incoming ships, making sure non try to evade the fees. A secondary duty in times of war is to coordinate the defence of the dock area, to make sure the enemy don't come in on merchant vessels.

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Dock Master or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A dockhand is employed by the city or port authorities, constant work for constant pay. The dock sues taxes and fees to cover this cost, having dockhands on site speeds up ships' turnaround quicker. Secondary is the extra security this provides the dock, a big step to stopping smugglers.

Dock work is laborious but steady, many hands make light work and quickly a group of dock workers become like brothers. Dockhands are renown for protecting each other, this can often lead to scuffles between sailors and the dock workers.

Skills:

A dockhand can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Dockhand or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A firefighter is always ready to deal with fire. Dedicated fire fighters are uncommon, only in the most advanced nations and the biggest cites do they earn enough to not require other work.

In other places several if not dozens of citizens will be ready to deal with fire, this often leads to one or two taking up the title of firewatcher, which is a firefighter in all respects, albeit an unpaid one.

Skills:

A firefighter can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as a Firefighter or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A gravedigger is a rile of hard labour, continually digging large and deep holes for the dead, then filling them back in. During the down time they tend to the existing ones, removing weeds and wildflower.

While gravedigging is hard back breaking work, far less time is spent doing the work, so it suits ditchers and cottars looking for an easier more permanent position.

Skills:

A gravedigger can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Gravedigger or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A lamplight is found within more advanced nations, their sole job is to light the lamps that line the streets of cites or large towns at dusk and then put them out again at dawn. Lit streets reduce crime and increase the hours that businesses can trade, therefore increasing the economy.

Lamp lighting is a hereditary profession, joined by a child as the parent becomes too old to complete the task unaided and then passed to them when the parent passes or retires. Failure to have the lamps lit on time though can result in being stripped of the role.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Lamplighter or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A mortician deals with dead bodies, regardless of how they died they do their best to prepare the body and casket in a way to allow family to grieve before burial. Some morticians are capable carpenters and masons, allowing them to construct caskets and tombs.

Morticians raise their kids within the profession, so there are always family ready to take over or lend a hand but takes many years to learn each aspect of the profession.

Crafting:

Skills:

A mortician can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Mortician or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A notary will officialise a document, either by the application of a stamp, seal or signature. Documents that represent contract between two parties require the notary to be present when both parties sign the document before adding their official mark.

Most notaries have an office within a government building, keeping documents in a record room, in which scribes will also work to provide copies when needed, typically the notary is in charge of the scribes and the records.

Skills:

A notary can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Notary or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A rat catcher is employed by authorities or the wealthy to hunt and kill rats within their estate or premisses. Often covered in dirt and filth from the time spent in sewers and other dirty areas of the estate, this outward appearance puts people off the profession, and it is not well respected.

It's a simple task that is very important, often the presence of one rat will indicate thousands nearby. Left uncontrolled rat will devour stores of foodstuff, spread disease and even unsettle foundations.

Crafting:

Skills:

A rat catcher can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Rat Catcher or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A sewer worker is responsible for the maintenance of city sewage systems, while most of the time it's a case of clearing blockages and fixing broken sections, they must also keep an eye out for people that do not belong in the system.

Low paid work for the most desperate of people, while there is always a need for a night soiler no one chooses to do it, but when people get desperate, they don't have a choice.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Sewerman or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A street cleaner works from dawn to dusk sweeping the streets of paved cities, a lot of debris from the day's commerce needs to be cleared constantly, otherwise the city will look degraded and fetid.

Street cleaners are generally looked down upon by the citizens despite doing a necessary job to keep their city clean. Pay is good but only because the hours are long.

Skills:

A street cleaner can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Street Cleaner or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A watch captain commands the city watch within their city, each city will have two captains, so at all times there is an active commander. Typically, they come through the ranks of the watch but can also come from officer positions within the military, or heroic adventurers looking to settle down.

Watch captains only report to the lord of the city, they have no other authority, they work from a government building and often amongst the most respected and wealthy of citizens.

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Watch Captain or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A draper buys cloth would come from local weavers and visiting merchants who bring in cloth from foreign sources. They sell their wares to local trades and direct to the consumer.

Drapers will have a stall, cart or store to sell their wares from and a storehouse in which to keep their supply. They commonly travel from settlement to settlement to maximise the supply and demand.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Draper or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A dyer uses minerals and plants to change the colour of fabric by adding them to water in which to soak the cloth. The dye can be applied at various stages, as a spun fibre, as sheets or even after knitting.

Dyers don't own the cloth they are dying; the batch of cloth is coloured for a fee. A workshop is required to store and process the cloth.

Crafting:

Skills:

A dyer can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Dyer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A fuller cleans the freshly trimmed wool by scrubbing it with water and a cleaning agent like soap, lye or even urine. A fuller will clean wool of farmers for a fee, the farmer would then take the clean wool to a spinner.

Fullers can clean the wool at the source, such as a farm, or in a workshop within the local farming area. Fullers commonly wash the wool for dozens of farms at any one time.

Skills:

A fuller can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Fuller or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A hatter uses cloth and leather to make hats, both practical and decorative. Many within the cloth and leather industry become hatters in additional to their main role, to branch out and provide more avenue of income. The best hatters become dedicated hatters, providing hats the wealthy.

Hatters will have a stall, cart or store to sell their wares from and to take and create commissioned work. The best hatters are situated in wealthy cities.

Crafting:

Skills:

A hatter can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Hatter or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A Knitter uses spun wool to create a wide range of clothing and accessories such as blankets. It is a time-consuming process, so they spend many hours a day producing just one item.

While individual knitters do sell their wares, they typically band together and share a market stall. A single workshop may contain several knitters, or a mix of spinners, spinners and weavers.

Crafting:

Skills:

A knitter can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Knitter or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A pursemaker uses cloth and leather to make coin purses, small bags, satchels and packs. Often a pursemaker is also a weaver, tailor or even rugmaker with available time, and the skills to produce alternative items as a way to raise their income.

Pursemakers will have a stall, cart or store to sell their wares from and to take and create commissioned work. This is typically shared with other cloth crafters.

Crafting:

Skills:

A pursemaker can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Pursemaker or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A rugmaker uses spun wool to make floor coverings, while rugs amongst the lower citizens are typically just furs, a rugmaker can create colourful and precise designs, allowing the grander buildings to decorate and embellish their floors.

Rugmakers are also curtain makers, this allows them to coordinate their designs and only the most lavish of buildings have curtains. Made in their workshop, they have no need for cart or store as all items are made to order.

Crafting:

Skills:

A rugmaker can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Rugmaker or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A spinner takes either fibres of various plants or wool from animals and spins them into the long strands that become yarn. This yarn would then be supplied to weavers, ropers, knitters and citizens to make their own items.

Spinners don't own the fibre or wool they are spinning; each batch is spun for a fee. A workshop is required to store and process the cloth. A single workshop may contain several spinners, or a mix of spinners, knitters and weavers.

Crafting:

Skills:

A spinner can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Spinner or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A tailor uses purchased cloth to create clothing and accessories. The better the tailor the finer the clothing. Most common clothes are made when tailors don't have commissions, but the real money comes from making bespoke and made to fit clothing.

Tailors will have a stall, cart or store to sell their wares from and a workshop in which to produce the items. The more luxurious or upmarket the finished product the more likely the tailor operates from a single store, and customers come to them.

Crafting:

Skills:

A tailor can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Tailor or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A weaver purchases yarn from the source, after it has been cleaned, dyed, and spun. Weaving it into blankets or sheets of cloth called bolts which is then sold to tailors, citizens and any excess is sold to drapers.

A workshop is required to store and process the cloth. A single workshop may contain several weavers, or a mix of spinners, knitters and spinners.

Crafting:

Skills:

A weaver can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Weaver or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

An auctioneer overseas the sale of goods at auction, steadily taking bids from the gathered patrons until one buyer outbids the rest. Auctions are often the holdings of failed companies or households with no heir, there are also livestock auctions where famers sell their goods for the best price.

Auctioneers only spend a fraction of their time actively auctioning items, most of their time is spent cataloguing inventory, being sure to get an approximate value, and advertising the auction to get maximum attendance.

Skills:

An auctioneer can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as an Auctioneer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A bookkeeper is employed by large merchants, large business owners, estates and authorities, to manage the accounts. Responsible for paying suppliers and ensuring revenue is uninterrupted within these organisations.

Bookkeepers require an office; due to the volume of documentation such a role produces and stores.

Skills:

A bookkeeper can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as a Bookkeeper or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A croupier works in a gambling house, either stood at a table as a dealer or arbiter or moving about making sure that patrons are not cheating or getting out of hand.

Croupiers are paid well, highly skilled and very perceptive, they need to out play, outwit and out deceive the patrons, otherwise they end up paying out too much, and the house must always win.

Skills:

A croupier can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as a Croupier or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A guildmaster is the head of a guild, either by voting or experience, often the most respected members of the wider society. Their main duties include ensuring fair prices for their members and trade deals with other guild masters.

Supplementary they find work for members, by spreading word and negotiating with authorities, estates and nobles. A guild must be ratified by the authorities to be able to function as intended. Underground or illegal guilds are often run by kingpins in place of a guildmaster.

ABILITY_GUILD_CHARTER_TEXT

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Guildmaster or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

An Innkeeper is specifically the owner of an Inn or tavern, supplying refreshments, typically alcoholic in nature, often alongside food and board.

Innkeepers will typically employ a range of staff to assist in running the establishment, commonly these are family members.

An innkeeper ABILITY_LICENCE_TEXT

Most innkeepers are part of a local Publicans' Guild.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as an Innkeeper or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A merchant buys and sells goods for profit, often this requires them to take an over produced resource from one area to one where it's in demand. Successful merchants can own their own fleets of ships, traversing the world all in a bid to make profit.

Merchant often set up repeating routes, these become autonomous from their point of view, with the ship's captains taking charge of the inventory management and ensuring the right cargo is loaded and unloaded.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Merchant or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A peddler moves from settlement to settlement selling their latest creation or acquisition, typically these are scams, sold through clever marketing and deception before the peddler leaves town and the citizens can find out the truth.

The typical product will boast some that it can do something beyond its capabilities, like elixir that can stop you ageing, which of course is impossible to disprove, or selling land of which the deeds are fake, often selling the same piece of land a hundred times over before found out.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Peddler or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A proprietor owns an establishment in which patrons visit to have a good time, paying for various goods and services. Common establishments include gambling dens, theatres, boxing arenas and many more. A combination of an entry fee plus the sale of food and drinks for revenue.

Proprietors of successful establishments are often pillars of the community, loved by all, heling the community, but they can also be underground criminals, using their legitimate business to hide and facilitate their criminal enterprise.

Skills:

A proprietor can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Proprietor or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A tattooist uses sharp tools like sharpened bones, thorns, or needles to puncture the skin and then rubs natural pigments like soot, charcoal, or plant dyes into the wound.

Tattooing requires a lot of concentration, so most have a space in which to work, this can be a house or store, as long as it is quiet, and preferably clean.

Crafting:

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Tattooist or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A thriftdealer buys and sells second hand items, when people have an item, they no longer need they sell or trade it to a thriftdealer. Thrift dealing isn't hugely profitable, so they travel from settlement to settlement to find new buyers and sellers, often living withing their wagon.

Thriftdealer rarely venture between nations, except those with peace treaties, as its too dangerous, but the further they travel the greater chance of profit.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Thriftdealer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A wench is a collective term the people that work within an Inn. These low paid workers will do most of the hard work, carrying drinks to tables and waiting on guests, keeping rooms tidy and general cleaning.

It's a derogatory term for bar staff, kitchen porters and other that work the floor in a tavern or inn. But being low paid, they rarely dare challenge the term, and so it became the normal.

Skills:

A wench can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as a Wench or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

An architect designs buildings, public spaces and defensive structures like city walls, gates and watchtowers.

Hired on a commission to design a building, the plans of which can be used multiple times over. Occasionally they are hired to oversee its construction.

Most architects are part of a local Masons' Guild.

Crafting:

Skills:

An architect can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as an Architect or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A boatbuilder uses lumber and nails to create small rowboats or hollow out large trees to make simple sail boats, neither of which can be too large for one person to build.

Anything larger requires a shipwright, who can coordinate a team of boat builders and carpenters to make large vessels called ships.

Crafting:

Skills:

A boat builder can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Boat Builder or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A brickmaker makes bricks from clay, using wooden moulds to make the desired size and shape before firing them in a very hot furnace. Brickmakers are more common in places short on construction stone or abundant with clay, often whole regions have a dominance of one building material over another.

Brickmakers will have a workshop with a forge where they can make bricks in large quantities for the continual need for construction.

Crafting:

Skills:

A brickmaker can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Brickmaker or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A carpenter builds chests, furniture, wagons and carts by cutting, shaping and joining lumber, occasionally using components from smiths, ropers and drapers. More experienced carpenters are also part of construction, from fences to houses. The best become masters of their trade.

Carpenters makes items to order and sells general items from their workshop. Carpenters often share their workspaces with either other artisans or work on construction sites with others, often led by a master mason or master carpenter.

Crafting:

Skills:

A carpenter can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Carpenter or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A cartwright is a specialised carpenter and wheelwright, forgoing the range of items that a carpenter could make to focus on the continual supply of carts, wagons and carriages. Carriages are only purchased by the wealthy, as dedicated cartwrights are only found in the wealthiest regions.

A cartwright will have their own workshop, typically working on just a few commissions at any one time. Cartwrights employ carpenters and wheelwrights during busy times and will commission clothmakers for the interior upholstery.

Crafting:

Skills:

A cartwright can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Cartwright or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A ditcher predominately digs moats and foundations. It is mind-numbing, back-breaking labour most don't do it for long.

While a Ditcher will be in constant demand, as is always work of this kind that needs to be done. Paid at the end of each by the employer, even if the offer of work is expected to take many days.

Skills:

A ditcher can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Ditcher or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A lumberjack will go into the forests and cut down suitable trees for the job at hand, oak ash and beech are great for building, tools and weapons, while any wood can be burnt for warmth, ovens or smokers.

Persimmon is often required as the trees are not always theirs, they also ensure that new plantings are made, and trees are tended to so the lumberjack can ensure supply for generations. The trees are cut up on site to make them small enough to transport to a workshop to turn into timber.

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Lumberjack or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A mason is a general builder that uses brick and wood as the primary source of material. It takes teams of masons to construct a building, as designed by an architect, the build would be led by a Master Mason.

Many citizens will be capable of building mundane structures, like simple fences or low-level walls, even house when made simply, but to make a stone house, or anything larger requires experience and tried and tested methods.

Most masons are part of a local Masons' Guild.

Crafting:

Skills:

A mason can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Mason or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A master carpenter has reached a level of skill that they are either in such demand or their work fetches a high price that the stop making the basic items and move on to greater works, typically more construction orientated or military commission.

Master carpenters work alongside masons and stonemasons to builds houses and alongside teams of carpenters to create warmachines, such as ballistae, catapults and trebuchet.

Crafting:

Skills:

A master carpenter can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Master Carpenter or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A master mason is the lead builder on any project, with a team of Masons working under them, often the Master Mason would be the head of a building company and employ the same Masons for each job.

Most masons aspire to become a master in their craft, moving from the day-to-day labour to a position of oversight and education. If they reach this status then they become well known, widely respected and well paid.

Most master masons are part of a local Masons' Guild.

Crafting:

Skills:

A master mason can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Master Mason or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A master shipwright leads a team of other shipwrights in the construction of larger vessels, like schooners, galleons and frigates.

Ships of this size require a dry dock and a large team of other shipwrights and carpenters, along with many other trades to get the smaller components installed.

Crafting:

Skills:

A master shipwright can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Master Shipwright or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A plasterer makes plaster or render to apply to the interior or exterior of buildings and city wall from a mixture of lime, earth, sand and sometimes dung or blood. This render is re applied every few years which builds up over time adding a layer of protection form the weather.

Due to the continual reapplication, plastering is always in demand, often the plasterers themselves use cottars to supplement their workforce to make sure they can keep up with demand. Large estates and castles often have a plasterer on staff as its takes so long to finish they have to start again.

Crafting:

Skills:

A plasterer can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Plasterer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A plumber is responsible for the water and sewage systems of an estate or settlement. Plumbing is about the routeing of water and waste; it is rare to find water pipes leading directly to sinks or baths but lead and clay pipes can allow water to reach buildings from nearby wells or reservoirs.

Sewage systems are built by teams of cottars, masons, stonemasons and plumbers, mostly in brick, with pipes leading from the buildings above directly into the underground waterway. Later changes are always done by plumbers, as structural maintenance, clearing the wastes is for the sewermen.

Crafting:

Skills:

A plumber can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Plumber or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A quarryman hews rock from the earth for construction purposes, often in teams they use metal tools such as pickaxes, hammers and chisels. New settlements often form when new quality rock deposits are found.

In some regions advancements in engineering have produced faster methods to mine; steam or electro powered saws, better explosives or drills. These methods often allow the mining of harder or deeper rock, otherwise inaccessible.

Skills:

A quarryman can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as a Quarryman or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A shipwright makes everything from fishing ships to schooners, depending on skill and workforce, the best shipwrights will become masters of their craft and be able to create bigger vessels.

Small ships are typically made on the shore of a river or an ocean, but anything bigger requires a dry dock and a master shipwright. A shipwright doesn't work alone and uses carpenters and boat builders in order to build small ships.

Crafting:

Skills:

A shipwright can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Shipwright or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A stonemason cuts and shapes stone for building processes, including building decoration such as columns and pedestals. While a standard mason will work in stone, a stonemason's skill is vastly superior and much rarer.

Stonemasons often teach their children, so the skill is passed down, this inherently keeps numbers low, and only stonemasons that go on to become master masons will teach others.

Most stonemasons are part of a local Masons' Guild.

Crafting:

Skills:

A stonemason can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Stonemason or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A street layer is specialised mason or stonemason, often either of those trades will become a street layer, due to demand within a large town or city. While roads are first formed by the passage of traffic, once a route becomes important enough it is widened, gravelled and edged by the authorities.

In more advanced nations or cities these roads can become paved in stone, a tireless process that often needs dozens of masons, stonemasons and cottars overseen by a street layer. It is the street layers job to ensure a consistency of stone, shape and size, and in the right location.

Crafting:

Skills:

A street layer can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Street Layer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A thatcher uses longstraw or reed to make a waterproof roof covering, for buildings made of timber and or stone. The thatch is grown, harvested and dried prior to being fitted.

Those that use thatch are more often found in isolated communities, or farming areas, where reed or longstraw is readily available.

Crafting:

Skills:

A thatcher can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Thatcher or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A roofer will make roof tiles from clay or slate and floor tiles from clay or stone. In smaller communities often a mason or stone mason will also take on this role, producing tiles during the off season when building is more difficult.

Clay is dug from the bottom of rivers by the tilers themselves or bought from nearby mines. It is then shaped and fired to become hard and impermeable. Laid on to buildings via iron nails or preformed groves, or a combination of both.

Crafting:

Skills:

A tiler can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Tiler or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A wheelwright uses wood and iron to make cartwheels and other such devices. These wheels are supplied to other tradespeople to build things such as carts and wagons.

Wheelwrights requires a workshop, typically this is with other carpenters, occasionally a carpenter becomes a wheelwright when cart and wagon demand is high, this cross trade creates dedicated cart markers or wagonmakers.

Crafting:

Skills:

A wheelwright can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Wheelwright or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A woodcarver takes dried wood and turns it into shapes and forms suitable for sale, some supply the public some will work for other tradespeople. Some settlements do not have access to metal for food use, in these situations a woodcarver will also make cups, bowls and simple tools.

Most woodcarvers are also other trades, typically a lumberjack, or carpenter, something associated with wood. This provides them with spare pieces to carve up. The pieces are then sold form the workshop or at a stall or cart.

Crafting:

Skills:

A woodcarver can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Woodcarver or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A black-Marketeer will buy and sell stolen and illegal items, often purchased from smugglers and thieves. Selling stolen items on the cheap to make quick gold or selling illegal items for huge profit.

As they need to maintain their secrecy, and to avoid being spotted by the law, they must operate in the dark alleys and shadows of the world, approaching only those desperate, bold or foolish enough to buy without questions.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Black Marketeer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A forger makes illegal copies of official documents such as oathpapers, deeds, contracts, wither with a little change to supplant the real one, or to fake ownership to either sell or borrow against.

Forgers are often draughtsmen or scribes that have fell on hard times, or given an opportunity and got greedy, although there are some that have natural talent and choose this path.

Crafting:

Skills:

A forger can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Forger or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A handler manages harlots, taking a large share of their earrings in return for sub-standard accommodations and most of their freedoms, a handler is the black market, underworld version of a madame.

Typically, a handler's harlots will service their clients at the clients place of choice, their home or a private tavern, even on the streets for the lower end service providers and users.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Handler or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A harlot will satisfy the needs of anyone willing to pay for their time, often looked down on by others, they often have influence over their regular customers who view them as alternative partners.

Harlots rarely work for themselves, so either a Handler or Madame will take a large share of their earnings in return for lodgings and food.

Skills:

A harlot can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as a Harlot or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A highwayman lays in wait, for the right type of wagon or carriage to come along. From a place of advantage, a blind corer, a rocky overlook or river crossing the trap is sprung. If alone the trap will be mechanical, if a group, an overwhelming show of force, whatever it takes to get control.

Highwaymen are usually formidable fighters, looking for easy money. A particularly personable figure can lead a band of thugs, killers, poachers and thieves, in time their group will catch the attention of the authorities and be hunted down.

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

A highwayman can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Highwayman or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A hustler is a low-level criminal, eager to relieve citizens of their coinage through subtle, often rigged, gambling.

Hustlers will set up in a tavern or busy street, with lots of passing citizens in the hope to catch one in a game of chance and deception.

Skills:

A hustler can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as a Hustler or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

Murder is not a profession for most, it's a one-off event, often an act of instinct regretted immediately, but when an individual proves to be very capable of this horrific crime it can often escalate. Most will be caught, the few that don't, can start to sell their services.

Although part of the criminal underworld, they typically lead a second life as another member of the community, either as a cover or to avoid isolation. Killers can often find work with military persons, seeking to eliminate someone without ties to their position or nation.

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

A killer can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Killer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A kingpin is the head of a large organised criminal group, feared by their subordinates and the public, respected by others of their standing. Despite this they must always be sure to surround themselves with trusted persons, as there is always someone looking to usurp them.

As head of a criminal group, they are very wealthy and powerful, but to be seen outside of the criminal group requires a legal appearance, some are even nobles or respected members of society.

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Kingpin or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A handler manages harlots, taking a moderate share of their earnings in return for good standard accommodations and a degree of safety and protection, a madam is the legal version of a handler.

Typically, a madame's harlots will service their clients at the clients place of choice, their home or a private tavern, even on the streets for the lower end service providers and users.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Madame or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A poacher is an unlicensed hunter, hunting whatever they can and either selling or giving it the needy, depending on their character. Often skilled in the art well before turning to poaching, ex game keepers or soldiers turned to a life of crime out of necessity, of themselves or others.

Those doing it for profit sell their kill on the black market, this allows merchant to either get animals off limits or at a reduced price. Those doing it for the community give it away freely to those in need, often becoming heroes in the eyes of the people.

Manoeuvres:

Crafting:

Skills:

A poacher can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Poacher or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A smuggler imports and exports illegal items from one region or city to another, often the items are only illegal in the destination. Adept in going unseen, knowing who they can bribe and who to distract.

Some smugglers specialise in one type of product, or one particular city or settlement, some will do whatever the demands require at the time.

Skills:

A smuggler can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Smuggler or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

Some thieves are an expert at sneaking into and out of a building or city to locate and retrieve an object or document for whomever contracted them to obtain. Others roam the streets looking to pick the pockets of unwitting or distracted citizens.

Thieves often turn to such activity from desperation, but those with have natural abilities quickly go down the path of a career thief. The best thieves work alone, others work in teams, but they trust no one, even other thieves.

Skills:

A thief can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Thief or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A thug is employed by other criminal elements such as Kingpins or a Usury to act as guards, to dispense a beating to those in their way, or to collect money from debtors.

Thugs are muscular individuals, often not to bright, but strong and steadfast. While not the only work they can find it is a lot easier than the basic jobs they would likely end up in.

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

A thug can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Thug or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

An ursary is the unofficial means of borrowing currency, often the repayments are far greater than they should be but are often the average citizens only means of gaining finance. Usuries come from multiple backgrounds, from upstanding nobles to thugs who found themselves with spare gold.

Whatever the source of their lending they pray on the weak those who have just enough to survive but need to replace something important, or those with foolish but potentially lucrative ideas. But when they are not repaid the ursary uses intimidation and brute force to get what they are owed.

Skills:

An usury can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as an Usury or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A beggar is the lowest of the citizenship a nation can have. They own nothing, contribute nothing to society and only survive through the generosity of others. Looked down on by all other citizens.

At the mercy of others for food, water, clothing and shelter, a beggar will purposely call for others to give them coins in which they use to buy food and water while they sleep on the streets in tatty old clothes.

Skills:

A beggar can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as a Beggar or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

Those that can't find a trade or regular work become cottars, the lowest paid citizen class, they are tasked with anything that needs doing that no one else wants to do.

Paid per job or per hour, often lower than they should be paid, but if work is scare, they have no choice. Often bands of Cottars wait in groups near mines or farms hoping they need additional labour.

Skills:

A cottar can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Cottar or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

An exiled has been expelled from their homeland, usually due to some dishonourable act or misdeed, not typically due to criminal activity as that would result in prison or death, although some fallen heroes are saved from prison or death by being exiled as a lifetime of heroism cannot be ignored.

Someone who has been exiled will wander for some time before an opportunity to settle comes before them, usually far from the boarders of their homeland. Sometimes this can be a as simple as a lending hand to an individual, other times it can end after seeking out faith.

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

An exiled can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as an Exiled or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A hermit is a term applied to those that shun society, living alone in the wilderness, living of the food they grow or catch, with no goals other than to be left alone.

Hermits choose this life, for a variety of reason such as regret, remorse or just a desire to be alone. This does not mean they are not wise and capable persons and often rumours of great deeds circulate in nearby settlements.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Hermit or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A prisoner is an incarcerated person, having committed some crime and been caught they now find themselves behind bars, often without any chance of redemption or appeal. Should a prisoner be released, they will forever be known as a prisoner unless they travel far enough away.

While a prisoner they still may have a trade, and this is often put to use by the authorities, although under guard and without pay. Should a prisoner escape, they will of course hide their identity, should their past come to light, they face immediate execution.

Skills:

A prisoner can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Prisoner or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A slave is person that is forced through threat, either of injury, starvation or both, to work. The work is often hard and long, respite never comes except the little time they are allowed to rest overnight, the only opportunity to eat is if food is provided.

Living under constant threat of harm, or worse, a slave will continually look for a way to escape, that is until their will is broken. Slavery is often prohibited in advanced society, although this doesn't always ensure it adhered to.

Skills:

A slave can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as a Slave or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

An urchin refers to a child who lives or spends most of their time in the streets, generally dirty, often an orphan, left destitute by circumstance or behaviours. Often, they turn to petty crime, such as pickpocketing, in an attempt to survive.

Urchins are treated differently depending on the region, some are ignored, other conscripted, even at a young age, in a bid to remove them from the street and put them to work. In less civilized areas they are often killed without mercy or thrown into slavery.

Skills:

An urchin can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as an Urchin or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

An alderman is a settlement specific elected leader, they can go by other names such as mayor or unique regional titles. They ensure the settlement is kept safe and prosperous, they report to and petition senators.

Aldermen are often the oldest of the settlement, with age comes wisdom, and greed is less prevalent, often they serve until they pass, but can still be many years. This does mean that the alderman's position is a dangerous one, as a vote for the next alderman is only called after one dies.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as an Alderman or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A chancellor is the upper most rank of elected officials within a democracy, they rule with absolute authority, at least until they complete their term which a new chancellor must be elected. There are other titles that fit, president, supreme leader as well as unique regional titles.

Much like a king or queen a chancellor must make every decision for the nation, often at the head of a council or senate. In place of a series of nobles a democracy will often use a series of council members or senators as a chain of command all of which must be elected.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Chancellor or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A governor is a regional democratic official, similar to a senator in senate-based nations, or a duke or earl under a monarchy. With regional level control, only reporting to the chancellor or equivalent, they decide the taxes, duties and law for their region.

Like nobles and senators, governors enjoy the wealth of their position, living in large estates, while doing very little physical work. For some, governorships are about driving their nation forward, dealing with crime and any enemies that arise, but for some it's about greed and power.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Governor or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

a senator is the core of democratic officials, all regions will have an elected senator, all reporting to the chancellor of the nation, some cities will also have one, depending on how large the nation is. Some nations will have a maximum time a senator can be in power.

Senators have great power, knowing they need to be re-elected every few years forces them to act, at least publicly, in the best interest of the nation. Corruption can occur in senators that are not at risk of losing their seat, and much of this corruption is to keep them in office.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Senator or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A bard records huge narratives dealing with the entire past of the tribe and set them in music to be recounted by themselves and others, often these stories last for hundreds of years, albeit not with perfect accuracy.

Bards routinely travel with adventurers even if not combat capable themselves, this allows them to record and recount tales of heroes and mighty battles. Some will become full on adventurers, often resulting in them becoming the hero who saves the day, at least, in their version of events.

Most bards are part of a local Bardic Guild.

Crafting:

Skills:

A bard can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Bard or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A costumer is a tailor dedicated to making the costumes and outfits of the cast of plays, along with those of other entertainers that can't quite get the clothing they desire from a regular tailor. Some are tailors first, some remain tailors, others are or once were performers.

Costumer will make all of their garments within a workshop or theatre, buying cloth as needed from local weavers or travelling drapers. Local dyers are important to create some of the unique items, and so are glaziers, to which make fake gemstones for no play can afford the real thing.

Crafting:

Skills:

A costumer can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Costumer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A gladiator fights in an arena in front of a huge crowd for the entertainment of the masses. Some are slaves, some are criminals, some are prisoners of war, they all share in the promise of freedom should they become the champion of the arena. Gladiator owners are called lanistas.

The promise of freedom is the ultimate prize and goal for a gladiator, as such they push themselves hard to be able to reach the top, the lanista's use this to their advantage, better gladiators earn them better hiring fees and greater renown, but ultimately, they never wish to free their champion.

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

A gladiator can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as a Gladiator or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A jester is specifically an entertainer for the royal court, employed for the sole purpose of being ready to entertain at moments notice.

Jesters are typically afforded a place within the castle of ruling monarch, and they afforded the protection of that same monarch to entertain however they see fit, the protection necessary to prevent them from harm by those ridiculed.

Skills:

A jester can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as a Jester or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A lanista is an owner and trainer of gladiators, after buying a slave or prisoner they train them hard, in return they get good and lodgings, but are still slaves. The lanista will promise great benefits for doing well, good food, nice clothes, companionship, but most of all, freedom.

The promise of freedom is the ultimate prize and goal for a gladiator, as such they push themselves hard to be able to reach the top, the lanista's use this to their advantage, better gladiators earn them better hiring fees and greater renown, but ultimately, they never wish to free their champion.

Skills:

A lanista can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Lanista or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A minstrel is a freelance musician and entertainer, skilled with a lute or similar instrument, specifically one that allows them to play a tune while also singing.

Minstrels are usually found in taverns, inns and on the street, earning money from happy patrons at the grace of the owner of the establishment. The payoff for the owner is a good minstrel will attract customers, and happy customers spend more coin.

Most minstrels are part of a local Bardic Guild.

Skills:

A minstrel can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Minstrel or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A performer works as part of a troupe or cast, putting on shows retelling history, fictional stories or the fictional history as they see it all for the entertainment of others. Often within these groups one will be a leader this is typically the most experienced or eldest of them.

Troupe leaders often take the most prominent roles within a performance, a privilege of being the longest. But it also their responsibility to negotiate with theatre directors and ensure the whole cast or troupe receive a fair share of their earning.

Most performers are part of a local Bardic Guild.

Skills:

A performer can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Performer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A pair of pugilists fight in a ring while spectators place bets on the outcome, they will fight until one surrenders or is knocked out. Once the winner is determined the victor and all those who bet on them to win, will collect their winnings.

The best pugilists of course win more fights, so those taking the bets will offer odds for both parties, and that dictates the level of payout when the time comes. Pugilists have been known to throw a fight for money, this is typically illegal and brings great shame if caught.

Manoeuvres:

Skills:

A pugilist can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Players can start as a Pugilist or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A ringmaster is found in the small roped off arena otherwise known as a ring. It is their job to promote and referee the fight, and to declare the winner should both remain standing at the end. Rules vary from region to region.

Bareknuckle fighting is the most common, but many fighting styles are found in the ring. In some areas the fights go underground, either due to the law or taxes, either way they secrecy adds to the excitement for the crowd.

Skills:

A ringmaster can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Ringmaster or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A theatre director owns or runs a theatre, they are in charge of getting troupes or casts in to perform and enticing paying audience members in which to make profit.

Theatres are only found in the most populated areas, cities, large ports or nearby other attractions to provide enough patrons. A theatre director will also employ lots of people, from carpenters and masons to cottars and those within the clothing industry for sets and costumes.

Most theatre directors are part of a local Bardic Guild.

Skills:

A theatre director can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Theatre Director or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

The matriarch is the female head of a family although all families will have one, only in larger and wealthier families do they hold any sway. If there is a business, property or criminal interest within the family, the matriarch will call the shots, make all the decisions and hold all the cards.

A family will either have a matriarch or a patriarch, even if wedded, one will have been born into the family, the other married in. If the head of the family dies leadership falls to their blood heir or appointed successor, this is a tough time for a family as often challenges can arrive.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Matriarch or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

The patriarch is the male head of a family although all families will have one, only in larger and wealthier families do they hold any sway. If there is a business, property or criminal interest within the family, the patriarch will call the shots, make all the decisions and hold all the cards.

A family will either have a matriarch or a patriarch, even if wedded, one will have been born into the family, the other married in. If the head of the family dies leadership falls to their blood heir or appointed successor, this is a tough time for a family as often challenges can arrive.

Skills:

Can not be hired.

Players can start as a Patriarch or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A bookbinder purchases parchment, leather, wood and a binding material such as spun cotton to make cut shape and stich into a journal, ledger or codex. The parchment can be blank or pre inscribed and small locks from a blacksmith can be attached.

Bookbinders will have a stall, cart or store to sell their wares from and a workshop in which to produce the items. Often large estates that value their libraries will have an onsite bookbinder as a means to make copies together with a scribe.

Crafting:

Skills:

A bookbinder can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Bookbinder or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A cartographer creates a variety of maps, typically on parchment with ink and quill. They will use other maps and personal exploration as reference. Part of the profession is improving existing maps or updating maps if boundaries change.

Cartographers will have a stall, cart or store to sell their wares from and a workshop in which to produce the items. Estates, companies and military forces will make extensive use of maps and will commission ones that focus on the details they need.

Crafting:

Skills:

A cartographer can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Cartographer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A chandler uses animal fat from a butcher or for more expensive candles, beeswax, which they often farm themselves. Cotton and hemp are the most common materials used as wicks.

Chandlers will have a stall, cart or store to sell their wares from and a workshop in which to produce the items. Ongoing contracts with estates are often their focus as they bring in continual income.

Crafting:

Skills:

A chandler can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Chandler or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A charcoal maker burns wood, typically the offcuts from woodcutters or carpenters, which is often their primary trade. The wood must burn for several hours to become charcoal, so space and open ground is needed. A byproduct of making charcoal is wood tar, used as a waterproofing or in alchemy.

Charcoal is used by many trades, as well as most citizens. It has medicinal and alchemical uses, and is a readily available writing implement, which means it's in constant demand. Many bladesmiths become charcoal makers to enhance the properties of their steel blades.

Crafting:

Skills:

A charcoal maker can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Charcoal Maker or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A clockmaker makes the intricate inner workings of clocks, from the intricate pocket watches and freestanding pendulum clocks found in wealthy homes to the clocks in tall stone buildings built to show the time to the settlement.

Clockmakers will require a workshop to be able to make their items, often it will have a small forge to allow the cutting of brass sheet supplied by a brazier.

Crafting:

Skills:

A clockmaker can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Clockmaker or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A Cooper creates wooden casks, barrels, vats, buckets, tubs, troughs and other similar containers from timber and iron fixings.

Coopers will have a workshop where they cut, shape and bend the wood, and a small forge to shape the iron into bands. They will sell from this workshop, but most customers are other tradespeople.

Crafting:

Skills:

A cooper can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Cooper or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A fletcher's singular activity is to make arrows, the shaft is made from wood, shaped or carved into a smooth length before adding feathers from geese or swans and arrowheads forged by an arrowsmith.

Fletchers will have a stall, cart or store to sell their wares from and a workshop in which to produce the items, often sharing a space with an arrowsmith. Military organisations often employ their own fletchers.

Most fletchers are part of a local Bowyers' Guild unless employed as part of an army or authority.

Crafting:

Skills:

A fletcher can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Fletcher or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A florist grows or gather flowers to sell at market, arranging them in the most desirable way to maximise their value, while flowers for gifts is only for the wealthy, many estates require a steady supply of fresh flowers for decoration, particularly for events in which guests are in attendance.

Florists will have a stall, cart or store to prepare and sell their flowers, in the smaller towns and villages they will walk the streets with a basket, trying to sell a handful of flowers each day, particularly flowers that have a purpose, such as masking a bad smell or superstition.

Crafting:

Skills:

A florist can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Florist or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A flutier uses wood to make instruments, from the simple pan pipes to the more complex flute, those with some skills in leather, or working alongside a leatherworker a flutier can make bagpipes, a combination of wood and leather instrument.

Flutiers require a workshop in which to produce their items, mostly made to order, items made when commissions are slow are sold from the workshop.

Crafting:

Skills:

A flutier can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Flutier or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A glassmith uses a forge to turn clean sand into molten glass, which can be coloured with various minerals during the process. To make glassware air is blown inside using a long tube while centrifugal force is then deftly applied, or for panes the glass is poured into a smooth flat surface.

Glassblowers will have a stall, cart or store to sell their glassware from and a workshop in which to produce the items. With glass work requiring very specific tools and skills you often find glassblowers sharing space with other smiths. Glass panes are always made on commission.

Crafting:

Skills:

A glassblower can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Glassblower or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A luthier is a maker of string instruments, most notably the lute, but others include guitars, fiddles, lyres, harps and mandolins. Each instrument takes many hours to complete and as such command a high price.

Luthiers of the highest quality are often sought out by musicians from all over the nation, if not further afield. They will have a workshop in which to make the items but have no need for a store or stall as clients come to them.

Crafting:

Skills:

A luthier can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Luthier or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

An optometrist makes spectacles, using polished glass to get a degree of magnification suitable for the wearer. Brass is typically used to make the supporting frame, for the right price this can be embellished with precious metal or even gems.

Optometrists also make magnifying glasses, telescopes, spy glasses, any form of magnification using glass, a skill with leather and wood is essential for these items. From within their store or workshop they see their clients and custom the fit, adjust and finalise the item.

Crafting:

Skills:

An optometrist can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as an Optometrist or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A parcheminer uses textiles like used clothes, rags and similar fibres, which were mashed and soaked down to a pulp to make paper, or animal skins to make parchment & vellum.

While cities have a great need for parchment, smaller settlements do not, so parcheminer are only found in the largest of settlements. Outside of that some citizen who need paper often make their own, therefore parchment is an expensive commodity in isolated communities.

Crafting:

Skills:

A parcheminer can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Parcheminer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

Potters use clay to form pots, jugs, and other items designed to eat and drink from. Using the wet clay and a spinning wheel they shape the clay into the desired shape and the and then fire them in a very hot oven to make them rigid.

A Potter will have a stall, cart or store to sell their wares from and a workshop in which to produce the items. Some potters work in teams, these workshops typically reside in and supply large cities.

Crafting:

Skills:

A potter can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Potter or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A roper makes rope from a variety of materials such as hemp, straw and hair, while they sell ropes in the marketplace, they predominantly supply other trades, most notable the maritime industry.

Ropers will have a stall, cart to store to sell their wares from and a workshop in which to produce the items. Some industries, like boatmaking, have on site rope makers solely dedicated to producing rope for them.

Crafting:

Skills:

A roper can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Roper or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A sailmaker uses cloth soaked in flax, commonly called canvas to create sails. Weaving, stitching and cutting to create the required shape and form. Small sailmakers will create their own canvas for the small shallow water boats used nearby, while ship makers will purchase canvas from merchants.

A Sailmaker will have a stall, cart or store to sell their wares from and a workshop in which to produce the items. Some ship makers have on site sail makers solely dedicated to producing sails for larger ships.

Crafting:

Skills:

A sailmaker can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Sailmaker or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A soap maker uses the animal fat from butchered livestock to create tallow, the main ingredient in soap. Add in various herbs and spices to create different scents.

Soap makers will have a stall, cart or store to sell their wares from and a workshop in which to produce the items.

Crafting:

Skills:

A soap maker can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Soap Maker or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A toymaker uses various materials to make toys, puzzles and games. The range of materials used depends on skill and experience, most start with cloth and move on to wood and rarely metal. Often toy makers start out as carpenters, clothiers or smiths who wish to make their children something fun.

Toymakers with an affinity for such things often open store just to sell toys, although this only really happens in areas of wealth and peace. They are also known to make puzzles for the wealthy, as they see gifts that challenge the mind a sign of intelligence and grace.

Crafting:

Skills:

A toymaker can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader, or hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Toymaker or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A whitesmith is so called because everything they sell needed to both be forged and either enchanted or imbued, but they themselves often can't or don't do either. Often a middleman, selling items on behalf of those who can make them, or buying such items and selling them for their own profit.

Whitesmiths must have a stall, cart or store to sell their items from, most commonly they use a store as they are able to protect their items to a greater degree. While those that can make enchanted or imbued items can sell them, their time is better spent producing more.

Skills:

A whitesmith can be hired on commission by an adventurer.

Players can start as a Whitesmith or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A butler, often known as a head servant, is in charge of the service staff within a house, also likely to be hands on and serving the head of the estate personally.

Butler's have the respect of all other staff, even those on a similar standing such as a chef or housekeeper. In smaller households they are often top of the staff and occasionally the only staff member.

As a member of staff for an estate, a butler will have lodgings and food included.

Skills:

A butler can be hired as Staff by a Seneschal for an Estate or Company.

Players can start as a Butler or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A coachman drives a carriage, either in the employ of an estate or as a private individual moving their carriage or wagon from location to location on predetermined published routes.

If in the continual employ of an estate this role will come with food and lodgings as part of the pay. In return they will always be on call and must maintain the carriage when not in use. If independent, they will own their own horse and carriage and work when desired.

As a member of staff for an estate, a coachman will have lodgings and food included.

Skills:

A coachman can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Alternatively, a coachman can be hired as Staff by a Seneschal for an Estate or Company.

Players can start as a Coachman or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A dresser will attend to the members of a household when they dress, aiding in putting on and off clothing so the individual has to do less work. Only wealthy or high-ranking military have dedicated dressers.

Dressers are likely only assigned to aid one or two members of any household, as such they often hold a higher status than Maids or Servants. Military dressers covering all officers of a regiment or camp.

As a member of staff for an estate, a dresser will have lodgings and food included.

Skills:

A dresser can be recruited as an Auxiliary by a Leader.

Alternatively, a dresser can be hired as Staff by a Seneschal for an Estate or Company.

Players can start as a Dresser or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

An ewerer heats water for bathing around an estate, and they are responsible for the washing of clothing. Using a water store and a stove they heat buckets of water and port it around to where it needed.

Employed by an estate they work dawn to dusk, ensuring that water is always hot and where it needs to be. When water doesn't need to be moved, the ewerer will spend their time washing cloths and dishes.

As a member of staff for an estate, an ewerer will have lodgings and food included.

Skills:

An ewerer can be hired as Staff by a Seneschal for an Estate or Company.

Players can start as an Ewerer or use as a background when creating an adventurer.

A footman is similar to a servant, but a notable step up in formality, appearance and status. While a servant will be assigned to an estate a footman be expected to travel with their employers when they are out and about, often having to walk by foot instead of on a carriage.

Employed by an estate for a singular role but often given other tasks such as delivering messages and notes, sending instructions to other staff and helping prepare for ventures outside the estate.

As a member of staff for an estate, a footman will have lodgings and food included.