Post by nightninja on Jun 9, 2016 18:23:07 GMT
Hello all you fine people, I am crafting a setting that is slightly magitech in nature. So magic powers rudimentary technology.
In the process of wanting to make sure my players characters have roots in the world, I wish to give each class some form of fraternity, as well as some responsibilities they could be called upon to perform. (Side quests anyone?)
I have finished some preliminary work on this, but would love your help fleshing it out further. Especially in the area of coming up with responsibilities, I'm hitting writers block a bit there. Thanks in advance, the stuff I've got is below.
FYI: Alchemist and Craftsman are homebrewed classes from the Middle Finger of Vecna blog. Alchemist is bombs and potions, Craftsman makes their own weapons or armor. But tinkers with it. So it might have spikes, or hooks for climbing or whatever.
Alchemist
Fraternity Type: No organized group. If setting up shop, merchants union or some such depending on the city.
How to get in: Start mixing potions.
How to leave: No restrictions.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Brewing of potions and medicines. Providing cheap healing.
Barbarian
Fraternity Type: Brotherhood
How to get in: To be recognized as a barbarian by other barbarians, you must complete great contests of strength, besting a fierce beast or another applicant. (These contests occur in Buckwynshire Arena, judged and run by the oldest barbarian alive.) This awards you the Lions Crest, which all barbarians wear somewhere on their person. It is a symbol of their strength and ferocity, making them sought after as bodyguards and feared by ruffians.
How to leave: You can be forced out for dishonoring the lion through treachery or subterfuge. Lions do not desert or run, and they always fight fair.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Contests of strength, defense against monsters.
Bard
Fraternity Type: Group of Universities.
How to get in: Apply for education. The secrets of Barding are held by the Fraternity of Minstrels. The headmasters run the colleges that make up each university. Graduation awards you a certificate of authenticity and the right to perform in towns and villages.
How to leave: You can’t. Once you graduate, you are a graduate for life. May retire by sending in a formal request with a reason.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Entertainment. Either in taverns or for festivals. May also be asked for healing. Consult with historians.
Cleric
Fraternity Type: Church
How to get in: Ordained by leaders of the church or order or fraternity/philosophic group. Must have served as a layperson or deacon/elder/clergy type first in most situations.
How to leave: Death, usually. Or promotion to preside over an area or group.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Presiding over weddings and funerals. Hearing confession of sins. Healing the sick. Giving guidance. Blessing births, businesses, journeys. Converting and instructing others in the faith. Mediating and judging issues within the faith.
Craftsman
Fraternity Type: General respect towards other craftsman. Usually only one per town, more per city. Determined by amount of business for quality work.
How to get in: In order to work as a Craftsman in a city you must present examples of your work to the merchant council. If they feel your work is high enough quality you will be granted a shop permit. Working privately for yourself or family is allowed without a permit.
How to leave: Stop making things.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Repairing weapons and tools and buildings.
Druid
Fraternity Type: Loose circles.
How to get in: Initiation into your druid circle is part of the process of becoming a druid. Once you have a home circle type, all other circles of that type will welcome you. This is usually indicated by the color of your clothing, but all druids of any circle wear a color appropriate rope belt. There are a few minor rivalries between circle types, but generally the loose fraternity works well.
How to leave: You can’t. Initiation is a lifetime responsibility.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Fixing problems in nature, helping farmers, taking care of animal issues.
Fighter
Fraternity Type: School of hard knocks. Most fighters find their profession by doing. They learn in the army or help defend their town from assault and discover a knack for it.
How to get in: Self taught usually. No real organized group.
How to leave: Set of skills usually results in death. Fighters don’t really ever retire.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Defense. Destroying monsters or other threats. Tactical advice. Training others.
Monk
Fraternity Type: Brotherhood. Monks ascribe to particular ways, following a philosophy or aspect of their god. Schools and Monasteries are set up around these groups to teach seekers.
How to get in: Accepted into a monastery and taught the philosophy and way of life that mirrors the aspect. Also receive training in martial arts and combat. Each school is run by several masters with their own hierarchy, and they choose their students.
How to leave: Become a master and start your own school, or take over a school from an old master. Monks do not easily leave the brotherhood. Usually you are cast out in disgrace, voluntarily leaving only happens in extreme circumstances.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Guidance. Teaching knowledge.
Paladin
Fraternity Type: Tied to the church or group that ascribes to the same beliefs.
How to get in: Must be accepted by the church or group. Take an oath till death.
How to leave: Death. Or disgrace, although all disgraced paladins have a chance for redemption except in extreme cases.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Healing. Defense against assault or monster attacks. Taking care of great threats against the world or society. The church’s enforcers.
Ranger
Fraternity Type: Master-apprentice relationship. Rangers protect people from the threats of the wild. Think like the Rangers from LOTR/Witchers/Grey Wardens. They hunt raiding parties from the Fallen, and stop horrible monsters from terrorising people. Rangers will select people to train before introducing them into the fraternity.
How to get in: You must either be chosen by an existing Ranger or find their base/headquarters/camp. This being a difficult feat, those that succeed are offered the chance to join the cause.
How to leave: You may retire only once you have trained at least three Rangers to replace you.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Hunting food. Guiding parties in the wilderness. Called upon to hunt and kill monsters or take out monster groups threatening towns.
Rogue
Fraternity Type: School of Hard Knocks. Most rogues are self taught, although a few enjoy a master-apprentice situation. Usually learning through the school of thievery and what not, rogues are seen as a necessary evil. Most work as spies or informants for various organizations or countries.
How to get in: You find a handler of some sort, and you start running jobs. Information, theft, plants, etc. Deliveries. You work your way up by proving your worth.
How to leave: Spies don’t quit. They die.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Retrieving items lost, spying on people. Tracking people down. Think fantasy PI’s.
Sorcerer
Fraternity Type: Born with the power.
How to get in: Get born with it.
How to leave: You can’t, you’re born with it, so to lost it you have to die.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Magical duties. Helping new sorcerers, or children born with power.
Warlock
Fraternity Type: None.
How to get in: Make a pact. Warlock’s make deals for power, they can’t stay organized because they are eminently self-serving. Or their goals just don’t align.
How to leave: Death. Usually at the hand of your patron.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Magical Duties.
Wizard
Fraternity Type: Master-Apprentice.
How to get in: Wizard acolytes must find a willing master to train them in the arcane arts. All masters ascribe to a particular college, and will only teach those that wish to learn that college.
How to leave: Death. When wizards are tired of the affairs of state or whatnot they retire to their towers to study and learn. Upon death, all the other wizards of their school show up, and an auction of sorts is held for the dead wizards place of residence and stuff. This prevents dangerous magical things from getting into the hands of untrained people. Mostly.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Teaching magic and other knowledge. Magical duties. Fix magical equipment or doohickeys that aren’t working right.
In the process of wanting to make sure my players characters have roots in the world, I wish to give each class some form of fraternity, as well as some responsibilities they could be called upon to perform. (Side quests anyone?)
I have finished some preliminary work on this, but would love your help fleshing it out further. Especially in the area of coming up with responsibilities, I'm hitting writers block a bit there. Thanks in advance, the stuff I've got is below.
FYI: Alchemist and Craftsman are homebrewed classes from the Middle Finger of Vecna blog. Alchemist is bombs and potions, Craftsman makes their own weapons or armor. But tinkers with it. So it might have spikes, or hooks for climbing or whatever.
Alchemist
Fraternity Type: No organized group. If setting up shop, merchants union or some such depending on the city.
How to get in: Start mixing potions.
How to leave: No restrictions.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Brewing of potions and medicines. Providing cheap healing.
Barbarian
Fraternity Type: Brotherhood
How to get in: To be recognized as a barbarian by other barbarians, you must complete great contests of strength, besting a fierce beast or another applicant. (These contests occur in Buckwynshire Arena, judged and run by the oldest barbarian alive.) This awards you the Lions Crest, which all barbarians wear somewhere on their person. It is a symbol of their strength and ferocity, making them sought after as bodyguards and feared by ruffians.
How to leave: You can be forced out for dishonoring the lion through treachery or subterfuge. Lions do not desert or run, and they always fight fair.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Contests of strength, defense against monsters.
Bard
Fraternity Type: Group of Universities.
How to get in: Apply for education. The secrets of Barding are held by the Fraternity of Minstrels. The headmasters run the colleges that make up each university. Graduation awards you a certificate of authenticity and the right to perform in towns and villages.
How to leave: You can’t. Once you graduate, you are a graduate for life. May retire by sending in a formal request with a reason.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Entertainment. Either in taverns or for festivals. May also be asked for healing. Consult with historians.
Cleric
Fraternity Type: Church
How to get in: Ordained by leaders of the church or order or fraternity/philosophic group. Must have served as a layperson or deacon/elder/clergy type first in most situations.
How to leave: Death, usually. Or promotion to preside over an area or group.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Presiding over weddings and funerals. Hearing confession of sins. Healing the sick. Giving guidance. Blessing births, businesses, journeys. Converting and instructing others in the faith. Mediating and judging issues within the faith.
Craftsman
Fraternity Type: General respect towards other craftsman. Usually only one per town, more per city. Determined by amount of business for quality work.
How to get in: In order to work as a Craftsman in a city you must present examples of your work to the merchant council. If they feel your work is high enough quality you will be granted a shop permit. Working privately for yourself or family is allowed without a permit.
How to leave: Stop making things.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Repairing weapons and tools and buildings.
Druid
Fraternity Type: Loose circles.
How to get in: Initiation into your druid circle is part of the process of becoming a druid. Once you have a home circle type, all other circles of that type will welcome you. This is usually indicated by the color of your clothing, but all druids of any circle wear a color appropriate rope belt. There are a few minor rivalries between circle types, but generally the loose fraternity works well.
How to leave: You can’t. Initiation is a lifetime responsibility.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Fixing problems in nature, helping farmers, taking care of animal issues.
Fighter
Fraternity Type: School of hard knocks. Most fighters find their profession by doing. They learn in the army or help defend their town from assault and discover a knack for it.
How to get in: Self taught usually. No real organized group.
How to leave: Set of skills usually results in death. Fighters don’t really ever retire.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Defense. Destroying monsters or other threats. Tactical advice. Training others.
Monk
Fraternity Type: Brotherhood. Monks ascribe to particular ways, following a philosophy or aspect of their god. Schools and Monasteries are set up around these groups to teach seekers.
How to get in: Accepted into a monastery and taught the philosophy and way of life that mirrors the aspect. Also receive training in martial arts and combat. Each school is run by several masters with their own hierarchy, and they choose their students.
How to leave: Become a master and start your own school, or take over a school from an old master. Monks do not easily leave the brotherhood. Usually you are cast out in disgrace, voluntarily leaving only happens in extreme circumstances.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Guidance. Teaching knowledge.
Paladin
Fraternity Type: Tied to the church or group that ascribes to the same beliefs.
How to get in: Must be accepted by the church or group. Take an oath till death.
How to leave: Death. Or disgrace, although all disgraced paladins have a chance for redemption except in extreme cases.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Healing. Defense against assault or monster attacks. Taking care of great threats against the world or society. The church’s enforcers.
Ranger
Fraternity Type: Master-apprentice relationship. Rangers protect people from the threats of the wild. Think like the Rangers from LOTR/Witchers/Grey Wardens. They hunt raiding parties from the Fallen, and stop horrible monsters from terrorising people. Rangers will select people to train before introducing them into the fraternity.
How to get in: You must either be chosen by an existing Ranger or find their base/headquarters/camp. This being a difficult feat, those that succeed are offered the chance to join the cause.
How to leave: You may retire only once you have trained at least three Rangers to replace you.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Hunting food. Guiding parties in the wilderness. Called upon to hunt and kill monsters or take out monster groups threatening towns.
Rogue
Fraternity Type: School of Hard Knocks. Most rogues are self taught, although a few enjoy a master-apprentice situation. Usually learning through the school of thievery and what not, rogues are seen as a necessary evil. Most work as spies or informants for various organizations or countries.
How to get in: You find a handler of some sort, and you start running jobs. Information, theft, plants, etc. Deliveries. You work your way up by proving your worth.
How to leave: Spies don’t quit. They die.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Retrieving items lost, spying on people. Tracking people down. Think fantasy PI’s.
Sorcerer
Fraternity Type: Born with the power.
How to get in: Get born with it.
How to leave: You can’t, you’re born with it, so to lost it you have to die.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Magical duties. Helping new sorcerers, or children born with power.
Warlock
Fraternity Type: None.
How to get in: Make a pact. Warlock’s make deals for power, they can’t stay organized because they are eminently self-serving. Or their goals just don’t align.
How to leave: Death. Usually at the hand of your patron.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Magical Duties.
Wizard
Fraternity Type: Master-Apprentice.
How to get in: Wizard acolytes must find a willing master to train them in the arcane arts. All masters ascribe to a particular college, and will only teach those that wish to learn that college.
How to leave: Death. When wizards are tired of the affairs of state or whatnot they retire to their towers to study and learn. Upon death, all the other wizards of their school show up, and an auction of sorts is held for the dead wizards place of residence and stuff. This prevents dangerous magical things from getting into the hands of untrained people. Mostly.
Duties and responsibilities in society: Teaching magic and other knowledge. Magical duties. Fix magical equipment or doohickeys that aren’t working right.
