Some become adventurers by choice. Others, by chance. For you, it's part of the job. You're employed by a powerful patron - a local noble, the head of a major guild, the curator of an otherworldly library or a similar person of wealth and influence. Your duties vary, but ultimately amount to "whatever your patron wants" - which, apparently, now includes going adventuring.
Are you a beleaguered clerk, thrust into adventuring life by office politics? Are you an inspector, foisted onto a group of adventurers to safeguard your patron's interests? Are you your patron's favored troubleshooter, sent wherever surveyors or tax collectors go missing? Are you a noble retainer, tasked with making sure another party member makes it back in one piece? Are you a natural survivor, whose track record of miraculous successes sees you just given more and more important (and dangerous) assignments? Are you a Warlock who serves two patrons, or are they the same one?
Work with your DM to establish the type and identity of your patron, as well as your role in their employ. Consider if your time as an adventurer is meant to be a one-off assignment, the first of many, or do you intend to quit and become one full-time. If your patron is also the one sending the entire party on a quest, you may wish to consider having your character be the point of contact between the two, or the one who hired them in the first place, or simply the person to get blamed when something invariably goes awry.
- Skill Proficiencies: Investigation, and your choice of one of the following: Arcana, Insight, History, Persuasion, or Religion.
- Tool Proficiencies: Calligrapher's Supplies.
- Languages: One of your choice.
- Equipment: A signet ring, reading glasses, a set of common clothing, and a leather shoulder bag containing paperwork confirming your identity, a set of Calligrapher's Supplies, an abacus, and a small coin-counting mechanism filled with 10 gp.
While acting in your patron's interests, you have some access to their influence. In areas where your patron is recognized, you can generally secure services like lodging, transportation, and possibly gaining supplies, especially from lower-ranking members in your patron's employ. Where your patron is favored, you can expect favorable treatment, and your promissory notes are almost as good as hard coin. You will be, of course, expected to account for any expenses, and needlessly abusing this authority will quickly incur your patron's displeasure.
Suggested Characteristics
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I'm far too professional to tell people what I really think. Dry sarcasm has to suffice. |
| 2 | Bureaucracy is my life's work. I love complexity. |
| 3 | Dealing with an endless cavalcade of fools has made me dour and humorless. |
| 4 | I'm a perfectionist in my field of expertise. |
| 5 | I've mastered the ability to nod along and offer noncommittal agreement without listening. |
| 6 | Fighting for my life is a welcome change from the brain-numbing drudgery of deskwork. |
| 7 | Do not try obstructions and loopholes on me, person of indeterminate gender - I was there when they were invented! |
| 8 | I have a tendency of charging bravely into danger, complaining all the way. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cooperation - The world's a better place if we all do out part, big or small. (Good) |
| 2 | Perfection - Anything worth doing is worth doing to the best of one's ability. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Flexibility - Know when to play by the rules. Know when to bend them. Know how to. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Ambition - Everything is just a stepping stone to something greater. Everything. (Evil) |
| 5 | Stability - One task after another, one day after the next. There is comfort in routine. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Family - I just want the best for me and mine. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I owe my patron everything. My loyalty is absolute. |
| 2 | Insults to my work ethic are unforgivable. |
| 3 | I'm romantically entangled with a colleague. |
| 4 | I wouldn't be in this job if I had another way of supporting my family. |
| 5 | I'm actually no longer employed - the bureaucracy hasn't caught up yet. |
| 6 | My real loyalty lies with one of my patron's rivals. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I retain my sanity by harboring horrible thoughts and violent fantasies. Sometimes, something slips out. |
| 2 | I committed a crime. Only my patron knows this. |
| 3 | I am frequently just one small setback away from my breaking point. |
| 4 | I rely on intoxicants to cope with stress. |
| 5 | I'm embezzling from my patron, and need to divert some attention before it's discovered. |
| 6 | In the end, I'll throw anybody under the proverbial cart if it'll save my own skin. |
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