You are considered too unskilled to be admitted into a guild, even if you can pay the fees. Nevertheless your work is much sought after by people on the margins of society, by overseers looking to recruit as many warm bodies as possible, and in the small outposts that punctuate lengthy trade routes. Perhaps you were born into this life, or perhaps you were given up by a family too impoverished to feed another mouth but loved you too much to leave you to the cruelty of the wilderness.
However you came to be an itinerant worker, your life has been one of unobtrusively filling a niche and then moving on. While you may have one primary skill, you may also pick up odd jobs here and there to make ends meet. You can't afford to be fussy.
Do you work alone, or do you travel with other itinerant workers, perhaps even a family? How do you view artisan guilds, and what is your relationship with them? Are you especially hardworking, or do you do just enough to get by? How good are your skills? Do you travel mainly by foot, or by hitching rides, or do you have a mount of your own?
Discuss with your DM how a character with this background would fit into the larger world. What kind of difficulties would you face on the road? Are there countries or cities that might put up barriers to your entry?
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from Animal Handling, Insight, and Survival.
- Tool Proficiencies: One type of artisan’s tools and one type of vehicles.
- Languages: Two of your choice.
- Equipment: A set of artisan’s tools (one of your choice), a set of traveler’s clothes, and a pouch containing 5 gp.
You have a good sense of where you might find sources of information, particularly among people and places perceived as disreputable by the richer classes. Perhaps you know where the charity houses and soup kitchens are, or have an eye for the kind of drinking establishments frequented by a city's underclass who welcome your skills and cheap prices. You might know a kitchen door or two where servants of well-off (but not aristocratic) families are happy to bring you items to mend.
You might have to trade coin or labour for gossip of varying degrees of accuracy, but you'll always find sympathetic informants. Just don't let the other members of your party spook them.
Suggested Characteristics
An itinerant worker knows the bitter deprivations of poverty but also the allure of the open road. A rough life where nothing is certain and the law is never on their side has shaped them into resourceful, usually quick-thinking people used to depending only on themselves to get out trouble. But this habitual independence may also lead them into unnecessary dangers alone, even when surrounded by trusted companions.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I am relentlessly optimistic even in the face of terrible adversity. |
| 2 | I don't have a thing that I need? No worries, I'll make do with something else and get this problem sorted. |
| 3 | My experiences on the road have made me cautious of danger and distrusting of people. |
| 4 | I almost never tell the truth about myself. |
| 5 | I endure hardships and heartbreak in silence. What's the use of talking about it? |
| 6 | I am intensely pious and believe that my deity sends signs and portents to their worshippers. |
| 7 | I give alms generously, keeping only enough of my earnings for survival. |
| 8 | The only skill I've ever paid anyone to teach me is how to read and write. Worth every coin I spent. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Discretion. Keep your head down and obey the law of the land, unless you want trouble coming your way. (Lawful) |
| 2 | Fairness. Exploitation and injustice can never be tolerated. (Good) |
| 3 | Freedom. I cherish the ability to go where I please, work when I want, and answer to no one but myself. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Greed. If people are so gullible, being liberated from their money is what they deserve. (Evil) |
| 5 | Camaraderie. Good companions make even the roughest road bearable. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Pride. Even if I'll never be recognised for it, I take pride in my work. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I feel a deep connection to my mentor. Everything I have, I owe to them. |
| 2 | I've gotten in trouble with some very bad people. With any luck, I'll continue to evade them. |
| 3 | I have a secret place that I go to for respite from the pain and terror of this world. I must protect it. |
| 4 | An incident in my past haunts me despite everything I've done to try to forget. |
| 5 | I feel a strong desire to find my birthplace and any surviving family I might still have. |
| 6 | I've never made a promise that I didn't mean. I'm finally making good on my word. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I oversell my skills to the point of shamelessness. |
| 2 | Every time my life is going well, I can't help but worry that I'll lose everything. |
| 3 | I find it difficult to form deep emotional attachments. |
| 4 | I can't seem to keep any of the money I make for very long. |
| 5 | I am extremely envious of people who have what I lack. |
| 6 | I'll do whatever it takes to save my skin, even if it means betraying a friend. |
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