Non-weapon Proficiencies

 

Backgrounds

 

            How your character learned their skills.

 

 

Childhood

 

            The events of your character’s life up until starting up learning how to be their class, about age 14.

 

 

Primitive

            A tribal setting, probably nomadic and lacking the technology of the standard campaign setting.  These are not common.  More than likely they exist apart from all the countries around them and live in out of the way and inhospitable environments.  Their spiritual and political beliefs are often strange to the surrounding people.

            For examples think of Mongolian nomads, nomadic Native American tribes, South American tribes, and the Zulus.

            NWP:  6  (common: 3, survival: 3)

 

 

Farmer

            While they don’t actually live in a village they often travel to villages for special events and for protection.  This of course includes people who grow crops or raise animals for sale in the village or possible in a city.  It also includes many fishers, hunter/trappers, and others who don’t actually live in a community but have regular access and thus are still a part of the community.

            NWP:  6  (common: 3, family training: 2, player’s choice: 1)

 

 

Beggar

            Anyone who is raised in a city but not part of the regular communal structure.  Beggars, thieves, homeless, insane.  Villages usually can’t support beggars, nor will they tolerate them, and they defiantly wouldn’t let anyone be raised in this setting.  It would take a city to be big enough for a child to slip between the cracks.  Thus the child will be mostly self educated with a very strong emphasis on things that will aid in surviving in an urban environment.

            NWP:  6  (common: 3, urban survival: 2 ½, player’s choice: ½)

 

 

Villager

            Raised in a small community.  They may have some basic education if there is some social or political force mandating it.  Their education will probably focus heavily on vocational skills.  They will probably learn whatever they do from their parents, unless the village has someone, probably a wise woman, to teach them.  The vocations they learn will be of whatever is common to the village. Baking, milling, blacksmithing, tending a small garden, perhaps pottery, blacksmithing, and fishing.

            NWP:  8  (common: 3, family training: 2, schooling: 1, player’s choice: 2)

 

 

City Folk

           Raised in a larger community.  They will probably be a little better off than the villager.  Their education will likely be required to a point, and from there they will begin an apprenticeship with a master in expectation to join a guild.  Adventurers will probably leave some time during apprenticeship to go pursuer the education for their class (excepting most irregulars).  The range of possible vocations varies greatly and may be just about anything. 

            NWP:  8  (common: 3, family training: 3, schooling: 1, player’s choice: 2)

 

 

Noble

Born of noble blood, this ranges from land owners who are little more than villagers, to kinds and queens of entire nations.  Most nobles are not in line for much, if any title.  Many won’t even have much of an inheritance.  Thus they usually must find some method of providing for themselves.  Joining a religious organization, sports and gaming, arts and sciences are all possible,  so is being a general slacker and hoping to marry up in rank and living off of your combined inheritances.  Usually anything that requires a good deal of extra free time, practice, and education. 

            NWP:  10  (common:4, literacy: 2, regal studies: 2, schooling: 2)

 

 

Clergy

            It is common for parents with children they can’t support to give their children to a religious organization.  In exchange the child’s dowry is given to them for the care and education of their child.  Often a child is left only until they can be married off for the betterment of the family.  Though commonly the child is trained as a monk, nun, priest, priestess, or whatever that particular religious group calls them.  It is not a requirement, though learning religious teachings is.  Once the child is of age and trained in vocation, they are let out to pursuer it.

            NWP:  10  (common: 3, literacy: 1, religion: 2, schooling: 2, player’s choice:2)

 

 

Schooled

            Often similar to being raised by clergy but without the religion aspect.  This is very rare for most settings, and requires a large investment by the parents of the child.  It’s common for lesser nobility who can’t afford private tutors, and by upper class families hoping to give their child a better chance at life.  The education granted them is often FAR above anything given to village, or city children, or even by the clergy.  The education has the potential to go up to all the state of the art studies in any field.  Their education is all but equal to the education given to the nobles who are given every chance and the best tutors.

            NWP:  10  (common: 3, literacy:3, schooling: 2, extended education: 2)

 

 

Warrior

            Warrior societies are uncommon.  They usually exist primarily on raiding and pillaging villages.  The social structure is very dependant on war and surviving in battle.  Children are trained with a variety of weapons from an early age.  However their education tends to be rather one sided and thus lacking in anything that isn’t related to survival either in battle or otherwise.

            For examples, think of Vikings, Mongolians under the Huns, Klingons, Kzin, Dorsi or how bloodthirsty Native Americans are portrayed in movies.  There is a reason why these don’t exist anymore or are fictional, the life expectancy of someone in a society like this is very short.  These groups have a tendency of getting killed off.

            NWP:  6 + 1 extra weapon proficiency at character creation

                        (common:3, survival: 2, player’s choice: 1)

 

 

Classes

 

Fighter

            Fighter’s require 2-4 years of apprenticeship, or schooling.  Like a being a squire before being a knight.  It can be done alone, by hit or miss, but it takes longer.  That actually falls under the realm of irregulars, and they will probably be a mercenary, or soldier, or a bodyguard or something like it.

            NWP:  2

 

 

 

Ranger

            There are really no schools that teach how to be a ranger.  Most people learn from another ranger, or learn from necessity, stumbling into it.  To a degree rangers are chosen but not as much as paladins.  It takes years to learn how to learn to be a ranger.  This time can be lessened somewhat depending on how much and what was learned before hand.  Training to be a ranger requires several years spent in the woods with little contact with the outside world

            NWP:  4

 

 

Paladin

            Some countries or religious orders may have schools where they can teach and guide those who are chosen to be paladins.  Sometimes they might have a guide, either a paladin or in rare cases, the spirit of a paladin that has been placed in sword may guide them.  If none of this is available, in extraordinary circumstances, the gods may talk directly to them, guiding and training them.

            NWP:  4

 

 

Mage

            Wizards receive the most training of all the classes, 4-8 years worth. 

            NWP:  4

 

 

Specialist

            Wizards receive the most training of all the classes, 4-8 years worth.

            NWP:  4

 

 

Cleric

            It is all but assumed all clerics receive 2-4 years of training by their religious teachers.  Though they may have been anything before their powers became known.

            NWP:  6

 

 

Irregular

            Irregulars must become the apprentice of a master.  There they learn about their trade and gain practice in it.  Once they are good enough, they must craft a master work, or take a masters test.  Once they have finished their masterpiece, and it is approved of by they master, they are themselves a master and usually start their own shop.  Or they my stay with their master but as a partner and may even now take on their own apprentices.  An irregular, at first level, has finished their masterpiece.

            NWP:  8

 

 

Skills

 

 

Levels

 

For each proficiency there are 6 levels of proficiency, depending on the number of points placed into them.  Each skill level is equal to ABOUT one year of study.  The levels are as follows.

 

            0:         no knowledge about the subject.  Might not even know that that skill

exists.  It requires no study or practice, it is common knowledge. 

½:        has seen it done and has some idea of how it the basics would be done.

1:         is well experienced or well studied at the skill

            2:         has a professional or exceptional knowledge of the skill.

3:         full knowledge and mastery of the skill

4:         a sage in matters concerning that skill.  Someone may study or practice their whole lives and never achieve this level.  It requires a special devotion.

                       

 

Non-weapon Proficiencies

 

Family Training

Armorsmithing

Baking

Blacksmithing

Boating

Boatwright

Bowing and Fletching

Brewing/Distilling

Carpentry

Cobbling

Cooking

Digging

Dyeing

Farming

Fishing

Glassblowing

Gold/Silver Smithing

Herding

Jeweler

Leather working

Masonry

Milling

Navigation

Painting (functional)

Pottery

Quarrying

Rigging

Sewing

Sheepherding

Spinning

Tailoring

Weaponsmithing

Weaving

 

 

Survival

Animal Handling

Lumberjacking

Tracking

Trapping

Wilderness Survival

 

 

Schooling

History

Languages

Mathematics

Reading/Writing

 

 

Extended education

Alchemy/Chemistry

Astronomy

Cartography

Clock Working

Construction

Engineering

Falconing

Herbalism

Law

Magic (knowledge of)

Medicine

Metallurgy/Smelting

Religion

Siege engines

Soldiering

Strategies

Tactics

 

 

Regal Studies

Etiquette/Culture

Heraldry (knowledge of noble houses and politics)

 

 

Urban Survival

Appraising

Backstab

Black Marketeering

Conning

Cryptography

Disguise

Forgery

Gambling

Lock Picking

Pick Pocketing

Poisoning

Slight of hand

 

 

Other

Carving (wood)

Dancing

Juggling

Music

Painting (artistic)

Sculpting (rock/clay)

Storytelling

Swimming

Tumbling