Redwood Devlog #4: Professions
The one-two punch of character creation that you know and love.
Character creation in Redwood has a familiar flavor - you choose an origin (a.k.a. ancestry, race, kin) and the profession (a.k.a. background, class, job).
These two choices carry the lions share of the setting’s flavor. I like having a spread of character options, which is why we have 12 professions to match the 12 origins. You could be a Sky Searcher Outlaw, a Dwarfkin Tiderunner, a Brineling Speaker or a Glass Hunter Wildling.
Your profession determines your starting skills, your equipment, and your starting talent. Where your character ends up from there is up to you - skills can be trained and advanced at any session, and over 10 levels of character advancement you will be able to select 4 additional talents.
Here are a few example professions.
Range-rider
The mounted herdsmen of Kuyama are legendary for their skill with a rope and their ability to endure weeks in the saddle. It takes a quick hand and a lot of guts to manage vast herds of cattle or bison, or to track temperamental four-ton shovelhorns across the plains. More than their skill with a rope, their intense bond with their mount is the thing that keeps them going through the dusty valleys and long, lonely silences of the hills.
Key Skill: Horsemanship (Quick)
Skill List: Sneaking (Quick), Guns and Bows (Quick), Spears and Staves (Quick), Athletics (Grit), Woodcraft (Wits), Crafting (Wits).
Talent: Wrangler.
Gear: Horse, lasso, broad-brim hat (p), plus:
Saddle, saddlebags, musket (b), powder & bullets (D6 ammo), D6 coins
Leathers (light armor), spear (b), bone whistle (p), D12 coins
Bow, willow bark (p), asphaltum cake (p), 2D10 coins
Speaker
The gods are rarely silent in Kuyama. Preachers of the Gilded Church travel far and wide spreading the strict light of the Radiant Eye and the 13 Mortal Rules. The doctors, dreamers, and spirit-speakers of the First Ones hold positions of respect as they guide their people through the shifting balance of the Three Worlds. Tension between First Ones and Lucent Sovereign is more than a struggle for land - it is a war for the soul of the Middle World, and Speakers from all nations are the leaders in the fight.
Key Skill: Prayer (Spirit)
Skill List: Oration (Shine), History (Wits), Cultures (Wits), Medicine (Wits), Music and Dance (Shine), Astrology (Spirit).
Talent: Initiate. Select 2 Petitions to learn.
Gear: Incense, prayer book or scroll, walking-staff (b), plus:
Consecrated wine, cleansing censer, backpack, D12 coins
Pocket clock, almanac, pen & ink (p), 2D10 coins
Medicinal chest, block of chocolate (p), bandages, D6 coins
Tiderunner
Crew aboard massive expedition galleons. Otter hunters on deep-sea canoes. Fish trappers sailing tule-reed skiffs silently through the saltmarshes. The people of Kuyama take to the water like they were born in it. It takes a complex blend of knowledge, strength, and intuition to find the channels, currents, and winds needed to navigate the foggy coasts of the sunset lands. Masters of their craft are invaluable as guides, captains, and smugglers.
Key Skill: Boating (Quick)
Skill List: Athletics (Grit), Crafting (Wits), Carousing (Shine), Woodcraft (Wits), Spears and Staves (Quick), Knives and Swords (Quick), Brawling (Grit), Astrology (Spirit).
Talent: Steady.
Gear: Cudgel, fishing traps, breathing reed, plus:
Reed boat, harpoon, water basket, D12 coins.
Canoe, lantern & oil, bone whistle (p), D6 coins.
Spyglass, rope, grappling hook, 2D10 coins.
Conjuror
Most people in Kuyama can feel the places where the Lower World is near, where unpredictable powers seep through the plants, the soil, the very air. These thin places are dangerous, and most avoid them. The Conjuror, however, seeks them out. Those few who have devoted their lives to understanding this power can reliably draw it forth from the depths, though it costs them dearly. A Conjuror is rarely beloved, but, should they survive the fraying of their mind and spirit, will become an undeniable force in the shifting landscape of Kuyama.
Key Skill: Conjuring (Spirit)
Skill List: Oration (Shine), History (Wits), Medicine (Wits), Astrology (Spirit), Woodcraft (Wits), Cultures (Wits)
Talent: Binder. Select 1 Border Conjuration to learn.
Gear: A focusing-pin (lead, bone, or feather) (p), pouch of salt, warding talisman (p), plus:
Notebook, quill & ink, magnifying glass, D12 coins.
Ritual paints, splendid outfit, promise of a powerful favor, D6 coins.
Vial of mercury (p), datura (p), flask of oil, 2D10 coins.
You should have a pretty good idea for the flavor of the world by now! In the next devlog I’ll talk about the core rules and some of the mechanics I’m excited about.