Vocations

A Vocation represents expertise in a particular skillset. Because of jobs, your upbringing, your race, events in your backstory, or natural talents, you have achieved an exceptional level of proficiency that very few people ever achieve.

 

A Vocation is not associated with any one Attribute. However certain Vocations lean towards the use of certain attributes more than others. When roleplaying, simply describe your actions in the present tense. The GM determines when you must make a skill check, and what attribute it is associated with. If you have a Vocation relevant to the skill check, then the GM will grant you Advantage. The GM has final say on which attribute is being used and whether a vocation provides advantage or not.

 

Additionally, a lot of the vocations come with special gear or spells that allows your character to use their vocation to the best of their abilities, within reason.

 

Any Vocation and the gear it provides can be described in any narrative the player chooses, for example, a character may describe the clock that comes with “Orientation” as actually being a candle that burns different colours depending on the hour of the day. As long as the function is the same, the description can be altered however the player chooses.

How Backstories and Vocations fit together
Backstories are a freely written summary of your life events, they only aid you directly as memories and relationships. Backstories do not represent a special talent or skill in any area.

 

Having been a hired assassin works well with the Killer Vocation, but if you don’t take it, you can still recall knowledge about the lifestyle but your skills are on par with any other adventurer.

 

Your backstory can include that you are a chef, but without the Cook Vocation, your skill in cooking was decently good, but not extraordinary, as in not worthy of advantage in a situation where you cook a meal.

 

In the same vein, a vocation such as the Cook would receive advantage to a Charisma Check to get a kitchen in line. Someone who was a chef in their backstory only may have an understanding of how to get a kitchen crew organised, but has no special talent in doing so, and therefore receives no benefit.

Definition of a Tool
When the word tool is used in any of the below Vocations, then the tool can be described as magical or mundane in whatever way you would like

Animal Handler
Communing with animals comes effortlessly and naturally to you. To you, animal noises and gestures are like a language you are fluent in, or they may actually sound like they are speaking a common language to you. Regardless, you have no problem understanding them and they have no problems understanding you. You can ask questions or attempt to command or persuade them as if they were people, though their actual intelligence varies.

You bring the following on your adventures:
 * Different types of animal feed
 * A Tool that creates a loud whistling noise

Aristocrat
You understand the in’s and out’s of the upper class like the back of your hand. Mannerisms and etiquette comes second nature to you, even ones you had just learned moments ago in a new land. As long as it’s a society you are somewhat familiar with, you know the details on the politics, relations, norms, and vices. It is incredibly easy for you to charm nobles, to earn their trust, and to play their own desires to your benefit. You don’t just know the ladder, you can climb it with one hand tied behind your back.

On your adventures, you bring:
 * Extra Cash
 * A signet ring, coat of arms, or other insignia. The insignia can be tied to your actual family or title, or it can be fictitious.
 * Ink, quill, and paper.

Artisan
You possess great expertise in one craft of your choice. You have a full understanding and background of what it takes to get to a complete product, and you carry most of the necessary tools and materials with you. You can create with this craft to a quality that is incredibly rare and sought after.

On your adventures, you bring some of the tools and raw materials necessary for your craft. Choose them for yourself, and use the examples below as guidelines for how much and how useful the items are that you can bring.

Possible Artisan Specialties: Painting, Smithing, Sculpting, Cartography, Carpentry, Brewing, Calligraphy, Glassblowing, Leatherworking, Pottery, Weaving, Mechanics, Machines

Example: Smithing
You possess great expertise and knowledge in the areas of smithing, metalworking, and metallurgy. You have an uncommon talent for identifying metals and working with them, forging them into weapons and tools with ease.

 

On their adventures, you bring with you the following items:

- A portable anvil

- A bag of coal

- Hammer

- Pliers

Bruiser
You have an exceptional talent for taking hits and dishing them out. You have a distinct advantage when fighting in narrative combat, such as beating down drunk patrons in a bar fight, shaking off a sucker punch to your face, knocking out guards giving you trouble, and otherwise brawling outside of tactical combat. Besides that, you can size up other people with ease, or break up a fight without breaking a sweat.

Climber
You are an expert in scaling difficult or sheer surfaces that anyone else would consider impossible to traverse. As long as there are a few things to hold onto, scaling a wall is nothing, and clinging to a ceiling is attemptable. You can impart your wisdom others, aiding them as you guide them through a difficult climb.

 

Your character carries the following with them:

- climbing rope 50 feet in length

- A grappling hook

Cook
You are a professional when it comes to anything culinary related. You can make a delicious meal out of even the most basic ingredients and the most primitive of tools. You have a sense of how to work with difficult to use ingredients, even ones you have just held for the first time. For better or worse, you also know how to work poisons into dishes with an undetectable subtlety, as well as being able to detect poison laced into any prepared meal.

Food Cleanser. A culinary trinket of your choice that when used on rotten or spoiled food, will cure and make the food edible once again. It doesn’t however, improve the taste or smell.

A set of tools for a certain type of cooking. Such as equipment for soup making, or baking, or butchering.

Diviner
Your character has a special connection with their religion, god, pantheon or cult. Through worship or other actions the Divine will communicate with you and impart wisdom and strength. You additionally are an expert in the teachings and morals of your religion.
 * Divine Blessing. Once per chapter, you can call upon the powers that be to grant you advantage on one Skill Check. Consider putting limitations on the type of skill checks you will use it with to be closely tied to the tenets of your religion.


 * Holy Symbol. Your character carries around the simple items that allows him or her to divine. This could be a small theological book, an amulet, or incense.

Drunkard/Junkie
You have a special affinity-rather an addiction- to a certain substance, be it alcohol or something else. You always have more than a steady supply of this substance on hand. You have a deep enough understanding of the substance that you can ignore its effects when you need to, and you also have a great understanding of the process of its manufacture, as well as a decent understanding of similar substances and practices.

You bring the following with you:
 * A significant amount of Alcohol or substance.

Freerunner
A master of flips, keeping balance, moving quickly past obstacles, vaulting, and fitting through tight spaces. Making chase or running away is an easy game for you, regardless of whether you’re navigating a dense jungle or a crowded city street.

Interrogator
You can read people like an open book, and you can use a wide array of social techniques to glean whatever information you need out of someone. You know all the tells that someone is lying, you also know all the techniques you need to get someone to tell you what you need to know, whether it’s through subtle conversation or through more brutal means.

Once per Chapter, you can use a spell, tool, or technique to force a character to answer a yes or no question truthfully. The character will know that they are under the effect of the enchantment, and upon you asking the question, must respond with Yes, No, or I don’t know. The answer must be what they truthfully believe to be the case. Many Characters will not like the fact that they were under control and may have negative feelings towards you after.

Killer
You are an expert of more subtle assassinations, such as poison expertise, killing at night, killing in public inconspicuously, and disposing of evidence. In essence, you are exceptional at assassinations out of combat.

Lethal Poison, it must be ingested and it’s your choice whether it is a powder or liquid.

Small and easily concealed knife

Merchant
You are a master of sales and coin. You can convince anyone that they need anything you’re trying to sell them. You can also negotiate with a silver tongue. If you need it, money seems to flow into you through clever trades and exchanges.

Extra Cash

Weight Scale

Musician
You are a musician of rare talent. You play an instrument at a level that could melt hearts, move souls, and invigorate the spirit. Your instrument of choice could be woodwind, brass, percussion, or even your voice. Additionally, you can count your instrument as part of any one or more of your loadouts. For magical loadouts, your songs and performances are how you cast your spells. For Weapon Loadouts, your instrument is part of your weapon, for example the shaft of your axe doubles as a flute, or your club is a hardy stringed instrument.
 * Musical Instrument of your choice, or your voice
 * Intricate Casting. Once per Chapter, outside of combat. When you make an attack with an ability that would cause a character to die, you can instead cause them to begin Bleeding Out. You can use this after you learn that the character will die from your attack.

Outlander
You are a master traveller in the outlands and wildernesses of the world. Tracking, finding food, and estimating your location comes incredibly naturally to you. You can survive for as long as you’d like in inhospitable landscapes without breaking a sweat.

Included Gear:

Water Gathering Tool: A sponge, bucket, or spell that when used, gathers moisture from the ground and air to generally get you 1 litre of water per minute.

Performer/Speaker
You are a natural at inciting emotion in those that are watching you. Motivating a populace or entertaining a crowd, you are a rare talent with words.

Megaphone. You can project your voice very loud and very far

Costumes or Outfit. One Costume or Outfit suited to the type of performer or speaker you are. If you are an actor or a dancer, your outift reflects your profession. If you are a speaker, then perhaps your outfit is very formal or intimidating, or belongs to the class of people you usually reach out towards.

Physician
Wound and injury identification, disease identification. Possibly, curse identification.

Sailor
Anything nautical, ship related, sea combat, navigation. Optionally, can apply to air travel entirely instead.

Scout
You have extensive talent in hiding, spotting, and moving silently. You can use these abilities to spot things that others might not notice. Moving while making minimal noise and determining the best vantage point to spy or ambush comes naturally to you.

You bring ONE of the following with you:
 * A tool that lets you see in the dark up to 30 feet
 * A Spyglass that lets you see up to 1 kilometer clearly, as long as you have a clear line of sight.

Sleightist
Skilled in picking locks, pockets, other sleight of hands, removing restraints.

 

You bring the following with you:
 * Lockpicking Tools
 * Silk Gloves
 * A small pocket mirror

Trickster/Charlatan
Forgery, Coded Messages, lying and deception

Disguise Tools. A Kit of tools including makeup, wigs, and other facial cosmetics that can help in creating a disguise or different appearance.

Underworlder
Interacting with shady people, instinctually knowing your way around, or whos in charge. Knows the rules, reflection of aristocrat really. Can lead an underworld from the front, or pull strings from the shadows.

Racial Traits
Breathing underwater, freakish appearance, floats on water, has wings (not really, plays into shapeshifter) also roleplay only ones like no blood, doesn’t breathe, is immortal.