Profession: The character is accomplished at one type of nonlabor profession such as politics, cooking, estate management, horse grooming, scribing (the character must be literate), etc. The character can make his living with his skill, and (with a successful roll) make expert commentary on subjects pertaining to his skill. The player must indicate which specific profession his character knows; a character can buy several different Profession skills.
📜 Racial Variants #
| Variant | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Elven | Estate Sylviculture | (Estate Management) Elves manage land over centuries. Their “estates” are often indistinguishable from wild forests to the untrained eye. They gain a +4 bonus to rolls involving the long-term health and defense of a natural territory. |
| Dwarven | Bureaucracy of Stone | (Politics/Scribing) Dwarven politics are tied to ancient legal precedents carved in deep vaults. A Dwarven scribe or politician can navigate the “unbreakable laws” of a mountain hall to find legal loopholes that have existed for a thousand years. |
| Halfling | Culinary Diplomacy | (Cooking) Halflings use food as a political tool. If a Halfling professional cooks for an NPC during a negotiation, they provide a +2 bonus to any subsequent Persuasion or Bargaining rolls made by the party. |
| Gnomish | Chronometer Scribing | (Scribing) Gnomes don’t just write; they document with microscopic precision. Their records include exact timestamps and environmental data. They can use their scribing skill to detect even the slightest forgery in other documents. |
🌍 Regional Variants #
- The Metropolitan Grand Vizier (Urban/Politics)
Trained in the cutthroat “Lions’ Den” of capital city politics.
- Specialty: Rumor Architecture. They can “commentary” on who truly holds power in a room, regardless of titles. A successful roll identifies the “hidden influencer” in a group of NPCs.
- The Frontier Equerry (Wilderness/Horse Grooming)
In the wilds, a horse’s health is the difference between life and death.
- Specialty: Field Veterinary. They can identify a mount’s illness or lameness hours before it becomes obvious. They gain a +2 bonus to Riding checks because their animals are always perfectly maintained.
- The Desert Caravan Steward (Arid/Estate Management)
Manages the “mobile estate” of a massive merchant train.
- Specialty: Rationing & Logistics. They excel at managing limited resources in harsh environments. They can stretch 5 days of supplies to last 7 days without the party suffering exhaustion penalties.
- The Monastic Script-Master (High Altitude/Scribing)
Trained in isolated mountain monasteries where books are considered sacred.
- Specialty: Ancient Cryptography. They are experts at reading “Dead Professionalism”—styles of management or record-keeping from fallen empires. They can interpret 500-year-old ledgers or political scrolls as if they were written yesterday.
Why other options are incorrect
- ❌ Labor is incorrect because it focuses on physical production (mining, bricklaying); Profession focuses on service, management, and expertise (grooming, politics).
- ❌ Knowledge is incorrect because it is the academic study of a topic; Profession is the practical application of that topic for a living.
- ❌ Leadership is incorrect because it is the charisma-based ability to command; Profession (Politics) is the technical understanding of power structures and policy.
