Peasants

Around 80% of the continental population are serfs who work on fields to provide food for themselves and others. These peasants form the backbone of every economy and every noble relies on them heavily to provide taxes and food for them. Most of the population of The Continent live in villages or other small settlements and toil on the lands of their lord to grow crops such as wheat or vegetables.

Workers

While the arable land usually belongs to a lord who leases it for peasants, some richer serfs can gain enough wealth to buy their own plot of land. When this is the case, the peasant becomes a farmer, who has more rights than the average peasant.

Servants

Peasants have very few rights and privilages, being only slightly more than slaves. Unlike slaves, peasants don't have an owner, they can not be sold and they can have possessions, such as a house and livestock. They do, however belong to a lord, who they must pay taxes to in exchange for their protection and access to the fertile lands. When a peasant wishes to move to another village or country, they must have their lord's approval to do so. If a transgression against this is discovered, peasants can be forcibly returned to their lord. When a peasant moves to the lands of a new lord, they must also appeal to that lord in order to ask to become their new serf. Lords rarely refuse new serfs, but it does happen. Peasants belong to the lord whose land they are born on at first. If they are born on their family's land or in a city, they are considered free men (and women) instead.

Providers

Peasants work to provide food, but it is not the only thing they are good at. Many of them own at least a few animals, most commonly chicken, which provides an excellent food source in the form of eggs. After chickens, the most common animals are goats for their milk and pigs for their meat. These animals often share a house with their owners, who can rarely afford large yards to keep animals in.

Type

Agricultural / Fishing / Forestry