Common Folk

Common Folk are, unsurprisingly, the most common station in life. These are the masses of people who are not distinguished by noble blood, inherited wealth, or a special calling that sets them apart.
Varying as much as the profession with which they occupy themselves, common folk are typically identified by the work they do. Often finding themselves pawns in the machinations of those who would consider themselves their betters, commoners generally look after one another in tight circles of trust. Commoners are a great background for most professions and character concepts that do not fall within another background.
Skill Proficiencies: Choose one from Animal handling, Athletics, Insight, Nature, Perception.
Languages: Choose one standard language.
Tool Proficiencies: One tool or instrument proficiency.
Equipment: Common clothes, a tool kit or instrument of your choice, a small drawstring pouch, and 10gp.

Villager

You hail from a small settlement like many others, populated mainly by subsistence farmers and local craftsmen. Common villagers look out for their own, typically because few would b e willing to represent them. while lesser nobility regard you with disdain, fellow commoners recognise you with their hospitality, provided there is enough to go around. They may request a few hours of light labour in exchange for short stays, if the host is a landholder. Commoners are also willing to share information with their peers that they would withhold from people of higher stations.
Skill Proficiency: Insight.
Additional Equipment: An iron pot, a shovel, a tinderbox.

Local Gossip

Upon spending an hour speaking to other commoners, and succeeding on a DC15 Wisdom (Insight) check, you can learn of any rumours, political intrigue, or other gossip related to a subject of your choice. This includes jobs and information people tend to hide from the authorities.#

Rank 1 - Peasant

Born to a landless farmer and his wife, you found work as a labourer on the estate of a local lord tilling fields, tending to animals, or milling grain for a meagre salary. While the work was punishing, it made you physically strong, capable of working for extended hours without fatigue.
Holdings:

• A shack or hovel which you call home.
• A deed to a heavily indebted farmstead which has been seized until its debts are cleared. You may have acquired this deed through inheritance, gambling winnings, or some other means.

Progression: Clear the debt on your deed and restore your farmstead to operating condition.

Rank 2 - Land Owner

You oversee a modest farm that produces various crops and small goods that you sell to local businesses and at markets for a modest profit. You have cultivated your reputation as an honest distributor among your customers, and a fair boss to the hired hands who help you manage your land.
Holdings:

• A small farmstead, including livestock, crops, and stores suitable to the location.
• Half a dozen unskilled hirelings who live and work on your farm.

Progression: Become a respected and influential member of your local village.

Rank 3 - Council Member

You have been elected to a seat on the local council, assuming a public role in the governance of your village. You and your fellow council members discuss matters of trade, infrastructure, keeping the peace, and placating the local lords. You receive complaints and resolve disputes among locals, reaching an amicable resolution where possible.
Holdings:

• A skilled, professional hireling assistant. They may be a lawyer, accountant, or other expert who helps you manage your affairs.
• Resources allocated by the Mayor for you to complete your duties as a council member.

Progression: To be elected or appointed Mayor by a lord, council, electorate, or other means.

Rank 4 - Mayor

You have risen from your humble beginnings to become the Mayor of your village, either by election or appointment. Charged as a custodian of the peace, you preside over council meetings and represent your local province at ceremonial events and in dealings with the regional government.
Holdings:

• You have the resources of your village council at your disposal.
• A team of skilled hirelings trained in professional services who assist you in your endeavours to run your holdings.
• Resources granted to you by your Monarch, such as gold, military support, and other useful assets, to maintain order within the settlement.

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Entertainer

Entertainers thrive in the spotlight, relishing applause and delighting in the fanciful. Entertainers are expert performers able to enthral, inspire, and delight their audiences with a range of artistic displays. Their poetry captivates, speaking to the depth of human emotion in portraying sadness, love, or joy. Their music likewise enlivens or stirs sorrow. Their dance steps are nimble and cheering, and their humour is often tailored to their audience, whether low-born or noble.
Skill Proficiency: Performance.
Additional Equipment: An instrument of your choice, colourful performer's clothes, and a tuning fork.

Find Fandom

Upon spending an hour performing and speaking to locals, and completing a DC15 Charisma (Performance) check, you can find a contact among the local community leaders, such as village elders, tavern owners, and other well-respected common folk. This contact begins as friendly to you and will answer questions you have regarding life within the town, local news, and public opinion.

Rank 1 - Stage Hand

Whether you have grown up surrounded by musicians or ran off to join a band of travelling performers, you have become invaluable to a more experienced performer. You pitch in wherever needed, whether as a page turner for musicians, mopping the cages of exotic animals, or helping set up camp for the night. Occasionally, they even allow you to join the performance.
Holdings:

• Lodging with an entertainer's troupe, which includes food in exchange for regular performances or carrying out menial tasks.
• An anonymous letter from a loyal admirer and fan who is desperate to meet you.

Progression: The troupe leader asks you to fill in for an unreliable performer, and offers you a permanent position in the troupe, owing to your musical or other talents.

Rank 2 - Performer

You have made a name for yourself as a travelling performer, whether by yourself or as part of a troupe of other entertainers. You are easily identifiable by your colourful attire and striking appearance. Your performances stir the hearts of those who hear you.
Holdings:

• Access to a troupe's performing equipment and supplies, including instruments, concoctions, and other resources.
• Free lodging and food at any establishment you perform in.

Progression: A travelling noble or court official observes your performance, and days later you receive a letter of invitation to perform at a court or estate.

Rank 3 - Troupe Leader

You are the leader of a troupe of travelling performers, and are responsible for securing performances in towns, cities and noble estates. You have mastered the various components of artistic performance: poetry, dance, music, and comedy. Proprietors of establishments that you perform in compensate you and your troupe with free lodgings and food.
Holdings:

• A following of loyal fans, including several influential individuals.
• A troupe of skilled performers who are adept in a variety of forms of entertainment.

Progression: You have been offered a large sum of money by a wealthy fan to perform for them on a semi-regular basis.

Rank 4 - Court Troubadour

You have secured a permanent position as an entertainer in a prestigious estate or court, performing for the delight of high nobility. You are considered a virtuoso in your chosen art.
Holdings:

• Permanent lodgings at the noble estate or court where you are employed.
• A scandalous secret about the lord of the manor or a prominent courtier, which you have irrefutable evidence of.

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Merchant

Merchants are the lifeblood of trade, and can be found anywhere from hawking goods in local marketplaces, to having established their own stores selling artisan wares. Merchants typically belong to a Merchant's Guild, and pay a yearly sum to register for protection by local law enforcement, though this varies by province. Merchants buy, sell, and trade wares of all sorts, knowing not just the price of everything but how to haggle that price up or down at will.
Skill Proficiency: Investigation.
Additional Equipment: An abacus, a quill and ink pot, an empty inventory record, fine clothes.

Appraisal

Upon spending an hour examining a subject, and succeeding on a DC15 Intelligence (Investigation) check, you can accurately appraise the value of a particular item or good such as art, or a natural resource. If you do so within a settlement, you can also find the most profitable location to sell the item or goods.

Rank 1 - Clerk

You work as a bookkeeper for a local merchant. You keep records of sales and the purchase of new inventory, balance the merchant's ledger, and make sure they are maintaining a modest profit margin. You aspire to become the proprietor of your own store selling rare and desirable items.
Holdings:

• A small back room in a shop, which serves as an office and doubles as your sleeping quarters.
• A leather-bound ledger book containing the accounting methods of your mentor and teacher.

Progression: Acquire a loan, or save up funds, and find a suitable shop or storefront to start your own business.

Rank 2 - Merchant

You have struck out on your own to seek your fortune, opening your own shop in the marketplace. You begin to cultivate a reputation as a keen appraiser, providing fair prices to customers both buying and selling. You balance the books yourself, taking care to ensure that you do not fall into debt through risky investments.
Holdings:

• A quaint store or shop front, in which you sell your specialised goods.
• A clerk who maintains your store and runs it on a day-to-day basis in your absence.

Progression: Own and maintain multiple successful businesses simultaneously.

Rank 3 - Magnate

You have become a business mogul, opening a chain of successful stores. You are wise or exceptionally lucky in your investments, and your risks have proven profitable, while maintaining an amicable relationship with both customers and fellow Merchants. Your fortune is more secure now that it comes from several different kinds of businesses.
Holdings:

• A series of successful businesses spanning multiple industries, and a network of suppliers.
• A senior position in the regional Merchants Guild, including networks and guild benefits.
• Teams of skilled and unskilled hirelings who work to keep the day-to-day operations of your businesses running smoothly.

Progression: Defeat your largest competitor by driving them out of business, buying them out, or merging your businesses.

Rank 4 - Guild Chancellor

You have been appointed Guild Chancellor of your Merchant's Guild. You oversee the membership of new merchants, approve regulation prices and supply, and provide protection for caravans, goods, and stockpiles for guild members under you chancellorship.
Holdings:

• A Trade Certificate signed by your Monarch, granting you an exclusive right to sell certain specialist goods in your area.
• No other business within may trade in this commodity without your consent.
• Complete control of the regional Merchant Guild you originally joined.
• A trade empire containing many businesses and subsidiaries, each serving your interests.

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