Gong Farmers- or Night Soil Farmers- are an unsung laborer among the peasant class. With their handcart, strong stomach, sturdy back and a shovel, you enter the houses of rich and poor alike to clear out their latrines and dig new cesspits. You shovel and cart away poo for profit- and the pay is surprisingly good. You get paid for removal and you can get paid by the farmers for the fertilizer. You may smell terrible. You may be the bottom rung on society's ladder. But you also have to rub shoulders with some surprising figures- or at least their servants.
The life of a gong farmer is full of peril. Few live long lives. But in their time they gain surprising nest eggs, can call in favors, and you have access to buildings and places that many do not have- or don't really want. An experienced Gong Farmer knows their hometown sewers as well as the streets above. And they can gain a surprising amount of gratitude from the people... even if that gratitude is usually given from a distance.
- Skill Proficiencies: Proficient in Athletics and a choice of Nature, Animal Handling OR Survival
- Tool Proficiencies: Proficient in Vehicles (Land) and a choice of Carpenter's Tools, Cartographer's Tools, Mason's Tools OR Herbalism Kit
- Equipment: Sturdy clothes with reinforced boots, thick gloves and a conical face mask, a pick and shovel, a hand cart, a bullseye lantern and a pouch with 10gp.
Having spent years knee-deep in cesspits and latrines shoveling nightsoil for fertilizer, you have developed a strong stomach and some unusual levels of access to the city and homes therein. As a Gong Farmer you do not need to make a saving throw against Poison from foul odors of a mundane nature. You succeed automatically.
You also have potentially unusual levels of access in buildings within a city or castle that another commoner might not. As a Gong Farmer, you can find easy employ to clean the sewers, latrines and cesspits of homes, buildings and even the castle. Workers or residents in those buildings are likely to give you a wide berth in your need to access these areas. But they may get suspicious if you are found in an area where you have no business being.
Suggested Characteristics
| d6 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have an earthy outlook to life, I speak as if I'm with my peers, and I love latrine humor. |
| 2 | I am chipper and always optimistic. Bad day? I let that sh*t slide right off me! |
| 3 | My life is literally sh*t, pal. So shut up and leave me to my drinking. |
| 4 | I can't help but try to mentally map where I'm going, be it in a house, castle or sewer. Know your avenues of escape or else you might find yourself neck-deep! |
| 5 | I am laconic and determined. I'm all about the job. I move the mountain. The mountain don't move me! |
| 6 | I'd like to see His Majesty do what I have to do. You want me to believe that this job is somehow "ordained by the Gods" as my lot in life?! |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Greed. I use my job to access places for easy reconaissance or the occasional pilfering of trinkets that no one will miss. (Evil) |
| 2 | Community. Mine is a noble profession. Farmers cannot farm and cities cannot function without my labors. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Dependable. I work hard for my community and I party hard for it! (Good) |
| 4 | Freedom. This is just a job to me. I'm in it to make business connections. (Neutral) |
| 5 | Opportunity. You can make a crazy amount of money on other peoples' nightsoil! (Chaotic) |
| 6 | Resilience. Same sh*t. Different day. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | This spade was my grandfather's spade. I am the current scion in a proud line of people who have served the people. |
| 2 | I care about my fellow people. I see my services as a trade as often for profit. I can sometimes get a room or a meal for my labors. |
| 3 | I do this job so that future generations of my family will not have to. I am the first rung on their ladder of success. |
| 4 | I chose to do this job rather than face the noose or the executioner's axe. Soon, I hope, my debt is paid. |
| 5 | Doing what I do, I hear a surprisingly large amount from my patrons and their conversations. |
| 6 | Its interesting how often you can find trinkets and things that fall into the latrines. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | People can smell me before they might see me. I smell terrible and hygiene has never been big on my list of to-do's. |
| 2 | I am fastidious to the point of hypochondria on personal hygiene. I must be able to wash or bathe at least once a day. |
| 3 | Courtly manners and well-to-do language is of no importance to me. I say what I mean and mean what I say. |
| 4 | I grow irate toward those that disparage my profession or people of the peasant classes. |
| 5 | Doing what I do, I need a few stiff drinks to get through the day. At least one per meal. |
| 6 | I can do my job because I have no sense of smell. I don't taste the complexities of food well either. |
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