Valikan

Valika is a land of ice and snow with a long and storied history. The climate, terrain, and heroes of the past all offer valuable lessons to those willing to learn. Valikans carry these lessons with them wherever their lives take them. Learning how to survive in harsh conditions is a necessity, but learning how to thrive in them is something unique to the people who make Valika their home.
Skill Proficiencies: Choose one from Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Nature, Perception, or Survival
Languages: Valiki and Primordial
Equipment: A set of traveler's clothes, an animal pelt cloak, a tinderbox and a pouch with 5gp

Ice Fisher

In the frigid lands of Valika, the earth gives little as predators fight for prey. You have found your calling fishing the icy waters of the region, for though the land may be sparse the sea is bountiful. Despite this abundance, ice fishing is no easy work. You spent years learning how to safely navigate across iced over bodies of water, identify which sea creatures are safe to eat, and endure long periods of waiting in freezing conditions. Although a successful haul doesn’t earn you quite the same glory as a victorious raid, you are used to being respected for your part of keeping your community fed through even the harshest winters.
Skill Proficiency: Survival
Tool Proficiency: Water vehicles
Additional Equipment: A fishing rod, fishing tackle, a jar full of moist dirt and bait, two fishing nets, and an ice pick

Bountiful Haul

When you spend an hour fishing a body of water home to fish or other marine life, you can make a DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check. On a success, you catch enough fish to feed yourself and ten other people. If you share your haul freely with other humanoids, and they aren’t already hostile towards you, they are more likely to be friendly with you and possibly even share information or resources.

Rank 1 - Angler

You are either still an apprentice or recently finished your apprenticeship and continue to work with a team of other ice fishers. When you're on the job, your primary responsabilities are to check lines, haul in nets, and repair rods and traps.
Holdings:

• A rickety rowboat with oars that have seen better days
• A small stand in the nearby market to sell your catch
• A bed in a communal lodge

Progression: Make a name for yourself catching a whopper of a fish or some other sea creature of unusual size or coloration.

Rank 2 - Piscator

You are a fisher of repute in your community and your stall sells out within hours of opening. Other experienced fishers come to you to discuss techniques and observations about fish migration patterns. You have one or two stories about sea monsters you’ve seen and know several more told by others you trust in your trade.
Holdings:

• A new or well cared for two-person rowboat
• An apprentice fisher
• A lucrative fishing spot you've told no one else about

Progression: Catch a rare or unheard-of sea creature, develop a new fishing technique, or recover the remains of another ice fisher so they can be properly laid to rest

Rank 3 - Skipper

You now run a team of apprentices and less experienced fishers. Although you do plenty of fishing on or near the shore, or in freshwater rivers and lakes, you also fish on sea excursions that last days or weeks. You are known for the consistency of your hauls and the occasional rare or exceptional quality catch. There are rumors your talent for catching fish is a result of a tryst you once had with a merfolk.
Holdings:

• A sailing vessel large enough for a crew of four to eight people
• A license to dock at regional ports for no addtitional cost
• A medium size stand in the market
• A humble house big enough for a small family

Progression: Defeat a monster or particularly viscious sea creature, such as a shark or giant squid, that threatens you and your crew.

Rank 4 - Lodge Master

Novice and experienced fishers alike seek your counsel and teaching. You have established a lodge where you train others in the techniques you’ve mastered. Merchants visit your lodge to offer bounties for certain varieties of fish and sometimes even a specific sea monster. You have cornered most of the local fish market with your mastery of fishing and deep knowledge of regional bodies of water.
Holdings:

• A sailing vessel large enough for a crew of two dozen people
• A loyal crew large enough to operate your vessel
• The master suite in a fishing lodge on a lake or the coast

Musher

The snowy terrain of Valika can be treacherous, but you have learned to traverse it with speed and grace using animal- drawn sleds and sleighs. The most common animals are dogs and reindeer. You have learned to care for, raise, and train these animals to draw such vehicles, as well as how to maintain and repair the vehicles themselves. As a musher, you might find work as a courier, delivering bulk goods, or transporting people from one isolated community to another. Even in the most inclement weather, you can drive your team long distances to finish the job.

Skill Proficiency: Animal Handling
Tool Proficiency: Snow vehicles
Additional Equipment: A backpack, a flask, a mess kit, 10 days of rations, a signal whilstle, a two-person tent, and a pouch filled with dried meats.

Pack Master

When you spend at least an hour with up to 10 domesticated or herbivore animals and succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check, the animals become friendly towards you. They remain friendly to you until you or your companions do something to harm them or you are away from them for 8 hours or more. If the beast is familiar with commands, or can be trained to understand commands, it obeys your commands to the best of its ability while it is friendly to you, unless doing so would cause it harm, put it in danger, or overtly harm another creature it is friendly towards.

Rank 1 - Beast Keeper

Although you know how to drive a sled, your primary responsibilities are caring for the dogs and reindeers of more experienced mushers. Although less exciting than carving through the ice and snow, caring for the animals is a responsibility of vital importance. These animals must be kept healthy, in shape, and well trained if they are going to successfully pull passengers and cargo across Valika.

Holdings:

• A snow vehicle big enough for one person and 200 pounds of cargo
• A small pack of dogs
• Reins and harnesses

Progression: You progress when your master promotes you or when no one else is available to make an important delivery and you must step up to do it yourself.

Rank 2 - Dog Sledder

You have gained sufficient experience dog sledding that it is now your primary responsibility. You may dog sled competitively as entertainment for others but more likely you are involved in the delivery of parcels from your own community to nearby settlements. On rare occasions, especially when time is of the essence, you may transport a client or participate in a search and rescue.
Holdings:

• A snow vehicle big enough for two people or one person and 400 pounds of cargo
• A large pack of well-trained and well-fed dogs
• A cabin to live and work out of with an attached kennel for the dogs

Progression: Win a dog sledding competition, rescue someone who would have died to exposure otherwise, reliably deliver parcels and packages between surrounding settlements for a year or more.

Rank 3 - Sleigh Driver

You’ve proven yourself as a dog sledder and have now taken on the more expensive, and lucrative, responsibilities as a sled driver. If you live in an isolated settlement, you are one of the most important members of the community as your sleigh is the most reliable and safest method for getting people and resources in and out. If you live in a large settlement, you may work with apprentice dog sledders who move smaller hauls while you move cargo in bulk or transport the wealthy who wish to travel in style.
Holdings:

• A snow vehicle big enough for four people or one person and up to 1,200 pounds of cargo
• A few reindeer
• A small farmstead where you can raise, feed, and care for reindeer

Progression: Fight off a deadly wild animal or monster to protect your cargo or passengers, escort a noble or other person of influence a long distance safely, successfully drive a sled or sleigh on a route famously believed to be too dangerous for travel.

Rank 4 - Tundra Trailblazer

Your name is synonymous with dog sledding and sleigh driving throughout Valika. When you aren’t finding new routes across the snow-covered region, you’re training future dog sledders and sleigh drivers. The wealthy and powerful ask for you by name when they need to travel by sleigh.
Holdings:

• A snow vehicle big enough for eight people or one person and up to 2,500 pounds of cargo
• A herd of reindeer
• A large farmstead

Skald

Although literacy has increased in Valika since ages past, there is still a strong oral tradition of reciting legends and tales of old. Skalds are the keepers of this tradition. Accuracy is highly important to skalds, as well as Valikans generally, so storytellers in this tradition focus first on memorizing the facts and sequence of events in any legend they hope to retell. Once they have mastered the facts, a skald begins crafting their own version of the story by including a series of flourishes and details that are understood by the listeners to be non-canonical additions to the tale. Some skalds become popular for weaving a particular detail or theme into each of the legends they tell, while others become popular for their voice acting, ability to emote, or evocative gesticulation.

Skill Proficiency: History
Languages: Two additional languages
Additional Equipment:  A tankard, ink, an ink pen, and 10 pieces of parchment containing your own storytelling notes

Local Legends

When you spend an hour retelling famous legends and stories and succeed on a DC 10 Intelligence (History) check, the people who listened to your tales are willing to share any local information that might conceivably help you craft a new story about their community. Examples of such information might be long-held family secrets, the name of the settlement’s biggest crime boss, or the specific location a local hero was buried after her untimely death.

Rank 1 - Lorekeeper

You are an apprentice to a more experienced storyteller. Your role as an apprentice is to dedicate yourself to memorizing historical facts as taught by your master. Occasionally, when your master performs, you are asked to tell a short interlude story, or a small segment of a larger overall story being told by your master.

Holdings:

• A donkey, old reindeer, or some other affordable mount
• A room at an inn you're welcome to stay in free of charge, provided you tell a story each night you stay

Progression: Impress your master or a wealthy sponsor with the accuracy of your knowledge of legends.

Rank 2 - Storyteller

You have begun to find your own voice as a storyteller and effortlessly weave in details that draw listeners’ attention. You can be found most nights at a tavern or other public venue spinning tales for all who would listen. Many skalds never make it past this point, content to share their deep knowledge of Grarjord’s history for food, drink, and lodging as they travel the land.

Holdings:

• An apprentice
• A horse, reindeer, or other mount of good quality
• A small trunk of props to use when telling stories

Progression: Discover a previously unknown fact of a known legend or research and fashion a new story based on real historical events.

Rank 3 - Legend Seeker

You are no longer content with telling familiar stories and now seek out new legends or new facts of well-known sagas. Though you still spend much of your time telling stories to captive audiences, you also spend time exploring ancient ruins and the sites of major events, hoping to glean new information about the happenings there. An especially talented skald can turn a minor piece of local folklore into the next must-hear story.

Holdings:

• Your own copy of the Lord Edda
• A rare historical artifact you discovered on your journeys
• Free lodging in any settlement provided you perform a story or two every week

Progression: Spend years travelling Valika learning about regional histories, visiting historical sites, and regaling audiences with your tales.

Rank 4 - Grand Skald

You are a living encyclopedia of Valika’s history. As such, the various political factions of the region consider you a person of honor and show you deference, provided you don’t explicitly take a side in their conflicts. The common folk see you as a conduit between the grim present and the legendary past, a symbol of hope that the heroes that once saved the world may one day return or that new ones inspired by your tales might take their place.
Holdings:

• Dozens of less experienced skalds vying to learn form you
• A standing invitiation to tutor children of the wealthy at a rate that would afford you a luxurious lifestyle
• A book of your own writing that serves as an addendum and expansion of the Lord Edda