You are a free artisan, a member of no guild, skilled in a particular field. You are a fringe member of the mercantile world, working on side jobs and bids barely able to keep away from the constraints of a feudal social order. You learned your skills through observation and the careful study of other works, not byhaving a master. While not considered a master you are sufficiently talented and have enough natural ability to do beautiful and enduring low bid work.
You may have a distinctive flourish or style, a signature perhaps, that sets you apart from the regular guild work commissions.
- Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Persuasion
- Tool Proficiencies: One type of artisan’s tools
- Languages: One of your choice
- Equipment: A set of artisan’s tools (one of your choice), a [Tooltip Not Found] of ideas and commissioned work, a set of traveler’s clothes, and a pouch containing 15 gp.
Depending on your relationship with the major guilds your Portfolio sketchbook may have significant value, consider discussing your guild relationship and your portfolio value with your DM when creating your character.
You are known by word of mouth and reputation having no guild to rely on. You travel broad and wide looking for small pieces of work in villages and towns. Work with your DM to determine the nature of your reputation.
You can select your particular business from the Business table or roll randomly.
Consider introducing aspects of your individual artistic flourish or style, say a previous commission of an important or historic character, which can be introduced during game play to add color or flavour.
| d20 | Freelance Business |
|---|---|
| 1 | Alchemists and apothecaries |
| 2 | Armorers, locksmiths, and finesmiths |
| 3 | Brewers, distillers, and vintners |
| 4 | Calligraphers, scribes, and scriveners |
| 5 | Carpenters, roofers, and plasterers |
| 6 | Cartographers, surveyors, and chart-makers |
| 7 | Cobblers and shoemakers |
| 8 | Cooks and bakers |
| 9 | Glassblowers and glaziers |
| 10 | Jewelers and gem cutters |
| 11 | Leatherworkers, skinners, and tanners |
| 12 | Masons and stonecutters |
| 13 | Painters, limners, and sign-makers |
| 14 | Potters and tile-makers |
| 15 | Shipwrights and sailmakers |
| 16 | Smiths and metal-forgers |
| 17 | Tinkers, pewterers, and casters |
| 18 | Wagon-makers and wheelwrights |
| 19 | Weavers and dyers |
| 20 | Woodcarvers, coopers, and bowyers |
As a freelance craftperson you live and die by your reputation and are only as good as your last commission. You are generally shunned or ignored by guildpersons in your trade, in some cases this relationship can become hostile if you compete for the same work.
Life as a freelance tradesperson can be unfair, Guilds often wield tremendous political power. Guilds may employ underhanded tactics, including false accusations, to discredit you or vandalise your hard work to create repair work for the guild
Suggested Characteristics
Freelance artisans are among the most ordinary people in the world—until they set down their tools and take up an adventuring career. They understand the value of hard work and the importance of community, but they’re vulnerable to sins of greed and covetousness.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing right. I can’t help it—I’m a perfectionist. |
| 2 | I’m a snob who looks down on those who can’t appreciate fine art. |
| 3 | I always want to know how things work and what makes people tick. |
| 4 | I’m full of witty aphorisms and have a proverb for every occasion. |
| 5 | I’m rude to people who lack my commitment to hard work and fair play. |
| 6 | I like to talk at length about my profession. |
| 7 | I don’t part with my money easily and will haggle tirelessly to get the best deal possible. |
| 8 | I’m well known for my work, and I want to make sure everyone appreciates it. I’m always taken aback when people haven’t heard of me. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Community. It is the duty of all people to strengthen the bonds and security of communities. (Lawful) |
| 2 | Generosity. My talents were given to me so that I could use them to benefit the world. (Good) |
| 3 | Freedom. Everyone should be free to pursue his or her own livelihood. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Greed. I’m only in it for the money. (Evil) |
| 5 | People. I’m committed to the people I care about, not to ideals. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Aspiration. I work hard to be the best there is at my craft. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | The workshop where I learned my trade is the most important place in the world to me. |
| 2 | I created a great work for someone, and then found them unworthy to receive it. I’m still looking for someone worthy. |
| 3 | I owe my guild a great debt for forging me into the person I am today. |
| 4 | I pursue wealth to secure someone’s love. |
| 5 | One day I will return to my guild and prove that I am the greatest artisan of them all. |
| 6 | I will get revenge on the evil forces that destroyed my place of business and ruined my livelihood. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I’ll do anything to get my hands on something rare or priceless. |
| 2 | I’m quick to assume that someone is trying to cheat me. |
| 3 | No one must ever learn that I once stole money from guild coffers. |
| 4 | I’m never satisfied with what I have—I always want more. |
| 5 | I would kill to acquire a noble title. |
| 6 | I’m horribly jealous of anyone who can outshine my handiwork. Everywhere I go, I’m surrounded by rivals. |
Contacts
Depending on your setting, there may be an underground contacts network for freelance artisans. Discuss the specifics with your DM as part of your background.
You were once part of a guild but have been banished for a number of potential reasons and are somewhere on the spectrum of polite indifference to hostile vengeance. Consider working with your DM to document some reasons for banishment and post-guild relationship flavor.
As an outcast you often have encounters with guild members when bidding for work.
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