Add  your profession Die to skill or ability checks according to any selected Talents.

In addition, you add your Profession Die when rolling for Profession Abilities. Your Profession Die is determined by your rank, as shown in the table below:

When you spend an hour retelling famous legends and stories and succeed on a DC 10 Intelligence (History) check, the people who listened to your tales are willing to share any local information that might conceivably help you craft a new story about their community. Examples of such information might be long-held family secrets, the name of the settlement’s biggest crime boss, or the specific location a local hero was buried after her untimely death.

Rank 1 – Lorekeeper

You are an apprentice to a more experienced storyteller. Your role as an apprentice is to dedicate yourself to memorizing historical facts as taught by your master. Occasionally, when your master performs, you are asked to tell a short interlude story, or a small segment of a larger overall story being told by your master.

Holdings:

• A donkey, old reindeer, or some other affordable mount
• A room at an inn you’re welcome to stay in free of charge, provided you tell a story each night you stay

Progression: Impress your master or a wealthy sponsor with the accuracy of your knowledge of legends.

Rank 2 – Storyteller

You have begun to find your own voice as a storyteller and effortlessly weave in details that draw listeners’ attention. You can be found most nights at a tavern or other public
venue spinning tales for all who would listen. Many skalds never make it past this point, content to share their deep knowledge of Grarjord’s history for food, drink, and lodging as they travel the land.

Holdings:

• An apprentice
• A horse, reindeer, or other mount of good quality
• A small trunk of props to use when telling stories

Progression: Discover a previously unknown fact of a known legend or research and fashion a new story based in real historical events.

Rank 3 – Legend Seeker

You are no longer content with telling familiar stories and now seek out new legends or new facts of well-known sagas. Though you still spend much of your time telling stories to captive audiences, you also spend time exploring ancient ruins and the sites of major events, hoping to glean new information about the happenings there. An especially talented skald can turn a minor piece of local folklore into the next must-hear story.

Holdings:

• Your own copy of the Lord Edda
• A rare historical artifact you discovered on your journeys
• Free lodging in any settlement provided you perform a story or two every week

Progression: Spend years traveling Valika learning about regional histories, visiting historical sites, and regaling audiences with your tales.

Rank 4 – Grand Skald

You are a living encyclopedia of Valika’s history. As such, the various political factions of the region consider you a person of honor and show you deference, provided you don’t explicitly take a side in their conflicts. The common folk see you as a conduit between the grim present and the legendary past, a symbol of hope that the heroes that once saved the world may one day return or that new ones inspired by your tales might take their place.

Holdings:

• Dozens of less experienced skalds vying to learn from you
• A standing invitation to tutor the children of the wealthy at a rate that would afford you a luxurious lifestyle
• A book of your own writing that serves as an addendum and expansion of the Lord Edda