Builder

Alternatively: Roofer.

Builders are the common laborers who bring the plans of architects and nobles into fruition, laying bricks, putting up scaffolding, placing timber, etc. In rural communities, folks tend to work together when a building needs to go up - so, builders generally only work in cities, or at castle worksites, where a large number of full-time workers are needed to complete project in a timely fashion.

          Builders rarely have anything to do with adventurers, but sometimes adventurers do need builders for whatever reason - often when extremely rich adventurers want to build a castle or guildhouse of their own. Builders who live a life of adventure are likely to see everywhere they go the footprints of what came before - buildings, aqueducts, sewers all give way to the ghosts of a once empty plot of land, and this knowledge can come in hand to see into events long in the past.

          Voracious Foreman: With your hands-on experience with building projects, you know how to direct a project to go more smoothly. For every week of downtime that you oversee a building project (or a project sufficiently similar to a building project, as decided by the DM), you count that work as two weeks-worth, and count the costs for the week as still one week's worth of cost. This means that if you oversee an entire project that lasts at least two weeks, you reduce the time to build by half and the cost to build by half. This can be used towards building Strongholds.

If you choose Builder, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Strength score or a +1 to your Intelligence score~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Athletics or History~

~A Tool Proficiency with Carpenter's tools~

~The following items: Carpenter's tools, 50ft of hempen rope, a small hammer, a dusty tunic, and a belt pouch with 10sp~

~Voracious Foreman feat~

Charcoal Maker

Charcoal makers often live in rural villages or even in the wilderness, and are responsible for providing for the great quantities of charcoal needed in the medieval world, in particular to feed the forges of large settlements and cities. Charcoal makers take lumber and build huge mounds of wood covered over with dirt, which they slowly smoke and cook from within over the course of days. The work is tedious, and long, and someone always has to stay awake, no matter how long it takes, or else the burn mound might get too hot, and you might lose all your work in a great bonfire.

          Charcoal makers are often the source of local rumors and suspicions, seeing as they often work for weeks at a time far from town. Sometimes, they are sought out by adventurers seeking to learn about the comings and goings in the local wilderness. Adventurers who are former charcoal makers are likely hard pressed to find boredom in their new jobs, and rarely ever seem to need to find where the action is - just about anything is more action than their old profession after all.

          Smoldering Sanctuary: You are very familiar with building fires - not just any fire, but fires that burn at the rate and intensity that you want to achieve. Anytime you build a campfire for the party to camp next to for a long rest, you are able to control the fire, making it larger or smaller, based on the threats in the local area. When the party sleeps next to your campfire, the die that the DM rolls to determine whether a random encounter occurs is incremented in size once (e.g. d6 becomes a d8) up to a maximum of a d20, so that sleeping around your campfire decreases the chance of a wandering monster.

If you choose Charcoal Maker, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Strength score or a +1 to your Wisdom score~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Survival or Perception~

~A Tool Proficiency with any one Musical Instrument~

~The following items: A fire-starting kit, a musical instrument, a one-legged stool, a wide-brimmed hat, and a belt pouch with 10sp~

~Smoldering Sanctuary feat~

Circus Performer

Alternatively: Juggler, Acrobat, etc.

Circus Performers are the travelling entertainers who move from town to town, setting up shop to entertain a community for a while, and then moving on when the locals get bored or run out of money. Circus performers live on the fringe of society, never quite settling in a single community, and often are made up of folks who are ostracized by "civilized society." They might also be young people running away from their home or family, either for good or ill.

          Circus performers are used to traveling around Adra, and have sets of skills that come in handy in a fight. That, and they tend to make pennies for their good work, so circus performers often get pulled into the ranks of adventuring parties who pass. Adventurers who used to work in the circus are likely to never completely let go of the bonds they formed there, and might view their new party as a kind of new circus family, if not much smaller.

          Circus Trick: In the circus, you had to perform tricks in front of hundreds of people over your career. You can apply these tricks to the battlefield. When you take this feat, select Acrobatic Trick or Performative Trick from below, receiving its benefits and not that of the other:

               Acrobatic Trick: Once per short rest, you may turn an opponent's momentum into your own. When hit by a melee attack, you may, as a reaction, make a DC 13 Acrobatics check. Upon a success, you take the damage but immediately can leap up 10ft and forward 25ft in any direction, and this movement triggers no attacks of opportunity. If you get a 23 or higher, you take only half damage and may leap 10ft up and 30ft forward instead. If you get a natural 20, you take no damage and may leap 15ft up and 35ft forward instead.

               Performative Trick: Once per long rest, you may jeer and mock your opponents while acting a fool. All opponents not immune to being Charmed must make DC 15 Wisdom saves, or else must direct their focus on you and attempt to kill you. They do so recklessly, taking the most direct path possible, and not disengaging away from other combatants. They may make the saving throw again at the end of each of their turns. If it is physically impossible to reach you in a minute or less, then this ability has no effect on them.

If you choose Circus Performer, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Dexterity score or a +1 to your Charisma score~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Acrobatics or Performance~

~A Tool Proficiency with a Playing Card set, any Musical Instrument, or a Disguise kit~

~The following items: Either a playing card set, a musical instrument, or a disguise kit, juggling balls, a poster from your act, a colorful onesie, and a belt pouch with 10sp~

~Circus Trick feat~

Climmer

Climmers are laborers, working in and around certain coastal cliffs, and their job is to climb down the cliffs in order to harvest the eggs from nesting sea birds. A team of climmers can haul in hundreds, thousands of eggs to feed nearby communities, but the work is extremely difficult, and very dangerous, often just a rope being all that separates you from the rocky shoals below.

          Climmers risk life and limb to bring home food for their local communities, or else to bring rare eggs to market for big cash payoffs. Still, the work can be more dangerous than going with some adventuring parties, and the work, based on nesting cycles, is often feast or famine. Climmers who go on to adventure later in life are likely to see vertical obstacles as just that - obstacles, but never impassable barriers - they might sometimes advocate climbing a cliff, ravine, or mountain, rather than walking around it.

          Climmin' & Climbing: You were a professional cliff climber, and in your pursuit for eggs, you learned many tricks on how to stay safe while climbing. You treat your climbing speed as 2/3rds of your normal speed (rounded down), instead of half. Furthermore, if you fall while climbing, you treat the fall damage as if the fall were 20ft lower than it actually was, and you roll d4s for fall damage rather than d6s.

If you choose Climmer, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Strength score or a +1 to your Dexterity score~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Athletics or Acrobatics~

~A Tool Proficiency with Cartographer's tools (for mapping out the nests)~

~The following items: Cartographer's tools, a climber's kit, a bag of eggs, canvas overalls, and a belt pouch with 10sp~

~Climmin' & Climbing feat~

Ditch Digger

Ditch Diggers are just about the least lucky laborers out there. Most folks will do any other kind of work if they can help it, since ditch digging is break breaking work, exhausting, bad for one's health, boring, and low paying. Some folks might just do some work as a ditch digger for a little, or may travel with an army on campaign for a season doing ditch digging, but many more do the work for years, or perhaps their whole lives.

          Ditch diggers are pretty much some of the lowest of the low, and so when they are lucky enough to encounter anyone that pays them the time of day, they'll be intrigued. Ditch diggers are rarely talented enough to survive long as an adventurer, but then again, they are highly motivated to try any line of work other than ditch digging. Former ditch digging adventurers will probably do anything they can to avoid digging a hole - and may be insulted if the party assumes that they will be the one to do it when the need arises.

          Strongback: You did the most physically taxing work that the world had to offer. As such, you can carry far heavier loads than most others can. Your encumbrance threshold is increased by 50lbs.

If you choose Ditch Digger, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Strength score or a +1 to your Constitution score~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Athletics or Acrobatics~

~A Tool Proficiency with any Gaming set~

~The following items: A sturdy shovel, a pickaxe, a gaming set, mud-spattered boots, and a belt pouch with 7sp~

~Strongback feat~

Dockworker

Alternatively: Stevedore

Dockworkers are common laborers who specialize in moving cargo to and from ships, docks, and warehouses, as well as mooring and unmooring ships, and in general dealing with the kinds of work found on a dock. Dockworkers are often associated with vices and crime, with many highborn often seeing the lowly dockworker as the root of what ills a town - boozing and brawling, and anything else, is often laid at these lowborn workers' feet.

          Given the intrigue that often takes place at a city's docks, and the reputation dockworkers have, for good or ill, they often have run ins with adventurers hired to solve a problem spilling out of the docks of a settlement. Dockworkers who take to a life of adventure are likely to carry their old lingo and social cache with them, always checking in at the local docks for information, or to get a lay of the land.

          Hefty Hauler: The cargo that needs loading on and off ships rarely weighs less than 100lbs. You therefore possess not only raw strength, but also the techniques required to life far more than one normally should. When Pushing, Dragging, or Lifting, you can do so with an object that weighs up to 45 times your Strength score. Furthermore, when Pushing, Dragging, or Lifting, your speed is 10ft instead of 5ft.

If you choose Dockworker, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Strength score or a +1 to your Charisma score~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Athletics or Deception~

~A Tool Proficiency with any Gaming set~

~The following items: A gaming set, a keg of ale, a lifting hook, a lifting belt, and a belt pouch with 10sp~

~Hefty Hauler feat~

Fisherman

Alternatively: Oysterer or Crabber.

One of the world's oldest professions, fishermen either sit on the coast or river, or else, and more commonly, take out into harbors on boats, trolling the waves for a catch, either with poles, nets, spears, or anything they can use to bring in dinner. They may hunt more than just regular fish, in some cases trying for sharks or whales - though with a bigger catch comes a bigger risk.

          Fishermen tend to have boats of their own, and are often hard up for cash. Adventurers sometimes need to borrow a boat to find something out in the water, and fishermen are usually the ones they go to when the trip is short and their pockets aren't overflowing. Fishermen who become adventurers are likely to continue to fish as a way to relax, and save some money on rations.

          Wrenching Grasp: The difference between an amateur fisher and a professional one? Size. You have brought in fish that weigh well above 100lbs, and you have the equipment and the grasp to make it happen. You may apply this skill to the land as well. If you have your fishing pole equipped, you can use special hooks that grab onto anything that passes by them, and so can cast your line and grapple at a distance of 30ft, using the rules for grappling as normal. Furthermore, after you have grappled your target, you can begin to reel them in by making an opposed Strength check, pulling them 10ft closer for each success. Both the grappling at a distance and reeling in both count as actions. You can also use this on unconscious bodies or objects, but they must weigh no more than 25 times your Strength score in pounds, while the grappling is automatically successful, and so is the reeling in. Furthermore, when on an unconscious body (or object), you reel in 15ft closer instead of 10.

If you choose Fisherman, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Strength score or a +1 to your Constitution score~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Athletics or Nature~

~A Tool Proficiency with Water Vehicles~

~The following items: A rowboat, fishing tackle, a bucket of dirt and worms, a seal-skin hat, and a belt pouch with 10sp~

~Wrenching Grasp feat~

Gladiator

Alternatively: Pugilist.

Gladiators are professional fighters, but rather than fighting as a soldier or mercenary, they fight for sport, as performers in an arena. Often in some places they work as slaves, while in others choosing the life for the glory and wages it can bring. Gladiators might fight for the pleasure of others, but they fight for their life, for in most arenas, matches always end in blood.

          Gladiators might take their skills and decide to ply them as a soldier, mercenary, or adventurer, given that those lives are less dangerous, and often pay just as much, or even more. Gladiators are often famous, particularly in the arena frenzied towns of Arissia. As such, gladiator adventurers might sometimes meet fans of their as they travel Adra.

          Unconventional Warfare: Since you had to go toe-to-toe with fierce fighters and caged animals on a regular basis, you had to learn how to fight in ways your opponents would not expect, that is if you wanted to survive at least. You are proficient with improvised weapons and nets. However, with a net you have a range of 10/20ft. In addition, because you keep it moving while using it, your nets have an AC of 13. Finally, if you have an ability that would allow you to attack more than once with a single action, bonus action, or reaction, you can still use that ability even if you have attacked with the net on your turn.

If you choose Gladiator, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Strength score or a +1 to your Constitution score~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Athletics or Performance~

~A Tool Proficiency with any one Gaming set~

~The following items: A simple weapon, a net, a gaming set, a shoulder pad, and a belt pouch with 15sp~

~Unconventional Warfare feat~

Gong Farmer

Alternatively: Raker or Sewer Worker.

Gong farmers are the medieval equivalent of sewer workers. In most towns and cities without advanced plumbing systems, which most of them in Adra, the refuse and waste of the community, in particular their feces, is all gathered into a central place, the cesspool or cesspit, which is a sealed pit to prevent leakage or excess odor in the community. However, the pits do fill up, and when they do, it is the job of gong farmers to empty the cesspit, by physically going inside, and filling up buckets and wheelbarrows.

          The only thing keeping most gong farmers doing what they do is the pay they receive - generally gong farmers are paid a competitive wage to keep them doing their work without complaint. Still, even then, if the life of adventure seems more profitable, it may be a life that gong farmers are drawn to. Gong farmers who become adventurers are unlikely to be bothered by any stenches the party encounters, and might even leverage their resistance to such foul scents to get strange but lucrative jobs.

          I've Smelled Worse: No one has smelled worse than a gong farmer. No matter how foul, you are immune to any negative effect caused by smell, mundane or magical. You also have advantage on Constitution saving throws against effects that are caused by some kind of disgusting element.

If you choose Gong Farmer, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Constitution score or a +1 to your Strength score~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Survival or Athletics~

~A Tool Proficiency with any Gaming set~

~The following items: A metal rake, a sturdy shovel, a bucket, a bandana, and a belt pouch with 15sp~

~I've Smelled Worse feat~

Miner

Miners in the medieval and classical world had an extremely dangerous job, digging deep underground, picking at rocks and metals, many of which are poisonous in themselves, and often creating cave-ins and unleashing monsters along the way. Miners often don't live past 30, and those who work in the mines are often brought their either against their will, or because they have no other options left.

          Miners often meet adventurers when dangerous monsters or other disasters spill out into the mines, and the bossmen need to bring in help to set it straight. Sometimes, these miners might join the frontier ruffians in order to get a better shot at living a real life - or at least living an exciting one. Miners who become adventurers are likely to take the lead in any underground adventures, and take advantage of their time on the surface to relax when possible.

          Stone Sense: You are particularly skilled at moving through underground environments. You always detect new construction underground (built within 1 year), detect slanting passages, and hidden doors made to look like natural stone. Furthermore, you have 15ft of Darkvision, and add this to the distance of any Darkvision you have because of your race as well.

If you choose Miner, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Strength score or a +1 to your Constitution score~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Athletics or Survival~

~A Tool Proficiency with Mason's tools~

~The following items: Mason's tools, a pickaxe, a lamp, a dented helmet, and a belt pouch with 10sp~

~Stone Sense feat~

Ostler

Ostlers are lowly paid servants, usually in the employ of inns or similar establishments, who run the local stable or manger. There, they will take folks' animals, pen them, feed them, and water them. Ostlers tend to be younger folks, and they may be paid by their employers, or may work for tips. 

          Ostlers are often tasked to take care of the animals and mounts of adventurers who pass through their working establishment. Often, they are paid quite well by these mysterious heroes, who seem to have more money than sense, and like to see their animals treated like kings. Ostlers who become adventurers themselves will tend to take care of the party's animals, making sure that every night their packs are stowed and they have water and plenty of food.

          Horsing Around: Your time around horses and other pack animals has helped you grow a deeper understanding for their emotions. You can make an animal handling check (DC 13) that involves a pack animal (horse, donkey, mule, oxen, etc.) in order to glean a small piece of important information from them. You can try to direct them to give you a piece of information that is relevant to something you are doing, but they may know only mundane information.

If you choose Ostler, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Wisdom score or a +1 to your Strength score~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Animal Handling or Athletics~

~A Tool Proficiency with Land Vehicles (for untying horses and carts, etc.)~

~The following items: A loyal donkey or mule, a pack saddle and saddle bags, 5 days of animal feed, a hoof pick, and a belt pouch with 5sp~

~Horsing Around feat~

Rat-Catcher

Rat-Catchers are what one might call the first, most natural step someone might take towards the life of an adventurer. While many rat-catchers work professionally for some agency or business, many are independent agents who move from business to business, offering their services in exchange for coin - sometimes, people have bigger things than rats that need catching, but rat-catchers might try to catch those too. Indeed, rat-catcher is just a title some people use to refer to adventurers with.

          Rat-Catchers don't just rub shoulders with adventurers - they are them. Often, packs of rat-catchers might group together to take down a larger threat, and before you know it, they are moving from rats, to ogres, to dragons. Adventurers who began as rat-catchers are probably driven by their wanderlust, their greed, or perhaps a combination of the two - when the party wants to take on jobs that are boring or unprofitable, they may raise an objection.

          Budding Adventurer: You were always a bit of a budding adventurer, and that experience goes a long way when negotiating with clients. When accepting a quest with pay, you can make a DC 13 Persuasion check to receive up-front bonus pay, to help pay for equipment and gear for the quest (at least that is what you tell them). If you fail, you suffer no penalties. If you succeed, you roll a d12, with the result being the percent of the quest's payment that you receive as up-front pay. This bonus is not subtracted from the pay you receive at the end of the quest, and is in addition to any up-front pay that the quest giver is offering already.

If you choose Rat-Catcher, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Dexterity score or a +1 to your Constitution score~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Sleight of Hand or Perception~

~A Tool Proficiency with a Poisoner's kit~

~The following items: A simple weapon, a poisoner's kit, a block of cheese, leather armor, and a belt pouch with 12sp~

~Rat-Catcher feat~

Sailor

Alternatively: First Mate or Navigator.

Sailors in the medieval world are a rare breed - most folks can't swim, and fear what terrors the oceans hold. A life on a ship is dangerous, and tends to be not too fun either. Sailors therefore tend to be folks driven to the work out of necessity rather than love - after they have lived the life for long enough, they know little else than a life on the sea, and the locker makes prisoners of them all in the end.

          Sailors live a kind of adventure in their everyday life, traveling great distances to faraway lands, and often dealing with life and death threats. Still, they get paid a lot less, and if a sailor feels a life of adventure is a possibility, they may just pursue it. Sailors who go on to become adventurers might still feel at odds with the land and landlubbers in general, often pushing for the party to take jobs that pull them to or at least near the sea.

          Aquatically Acclimated: In a world in which the average person cannot swim at all, much less swim well, you stand out as someone with the skills to survive in the deep ocean. Add 5ft to your swim speed (unless swim is your fastest speed, in which case add 5ft to your land speed). Furthermore, when you use your action to dash while swimming, treat your swim speed for your initial movement and your dash as your fastest speed type. Finally, because of your dealings with sea creatures, when you are attacked on solid ground from the water, you gain a +1 AC bonus.

If you choose Sailor, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Strength score or a +1 to your Dexterity score~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Acrobatics or Athletics~

~A Tool Proficiency with Water Vehicles or Navigator's tools~

~The following items: 50ft of hempen rope, a bag of dried oranges, either a peg-leg, an eyepatch, or a hook, a bandana, and a belt pouch with 10sp~

~Aquatically Acclimated feat~