Careers

Being a hero isn't a job. It's a calling. But before you answered that call, you had a different job or vocation that paid the bills. Thank the gods for that, because the experience you gained in that career is now helping you save lives and slay monsters.

Career Questions

The careers in this section don't go into great detail about the actual jobs they represent. We assume that you know the basics of what an artisan, a criminal, or a gladiator does for a living. However, each career includes a list of questions you should think about to help you define the specific details of your hero's career. For instance, if you pick the Artisan career, one of the questions is: "What did you create?"

You don't need to answer these questions, but doing so can help shape a more complete picture of your hero. And if you do answer them, consider telling your Director the answers so they can think about working those details into the game. Directors already have a lot to juggle, but they certainly can't create dramatic moments from your backstory if you never tell them what that backstory is.

Career Benefits

Your career describes what your life was before you became a hero. When you select a career, you gain a number of benefits, the details of which are specified in the career's description.

Skills

Each career grants you two or three skills, detailed in the Skills section of Chapter 9: Tests.

Languages

Some careers allow you to learn extra languages, chosen from those available in Languages in Orden above.

Renown

Some careers increase your starting Renown score (from a base score of 0). See Renown in Chapter 13: Rewards for more information.

Wealth

Some careers increase your starting Wealth score (from a base score of 1). See Wealth in Chapter 13: Rewards for more information.

Project Points

Some careers provide project points you can put toward crafting and research projects (see Chapter 12: Downtime Projects). These project points can be divided among multiple projects, but they can't be used more than once. You must meet the other prerequisites for a project to start it, as usual.

At the Director's discretion, your career might also let you start the game with the materials needed for one or more projects, so you can immediately put your project points toward those projects—possibly before the adventure begins! This is especially useful for characters who are going on only one adventure. Otherwise, you can hold onto the points and spend them once you do start a project.

Perk

Your career provides you with a specific type of perk—a special feature that lets you customize your character, with a focus outside of combat. See Chapter 7: Perks for more information.

Inciting Incident

Each career has a list of inciting incidents, each of which suggests a potential reason why you gave up your career, turned away from a possibly comfortable and reliable living, and took up the sword (or axe or wand) to become an adventuring hero. Each inciting incident represents a life-changing event that might have motivated you to change course, becoming a person who risks it all to save others.

You can roll for or choose an inciting incident from the table that accompanies each career. You can also use your career's table (or another career's table) as inspiration as you work with your Director to come up with a unique inciting incident of your own.

What Was Taken From You?

During your inciting incident, something was taken from you. It might have been a material object, such as an heirloom sword or a locket that proves your royal heritage. Perhaps a person you loved was killed, kidnapped, or cursed. It might be something deeper and more abstract, such as a chance for happiness, belief in the future, belief in basic goodness, or a lifetime goal snatched away.

It might be the case that you're obsessed with getting back what you lost. You might be in a position where you'll never recover what was taken from you, but you want to prevent that same loss from happening to others. Perhaps your loss left you in a position where helping others is the only thing that gives your life meaning. Whatever the case, the loss you've suffered is part of what drives you to be a hero. Record what was taken from you on your character sheet, and let your Director know.

Careers A to Z

The careers your character can select from are presented in alphabetical order.