Sources of knowledge have always been sought out, and gathering them to a safe keeping place a long time practice. The people who not only protect these tombs of treasure, but curate them, organize them, and maintain them are truly important people. Seen as avatars of knowledge, Librarians have surrounded themselves with a plethora of information that they can partake in to better assist others in finding what they are needing to know, or protecting specific knowledge from the prying hands of those who should not know. Keen eyes, sharp memory, a penchant for systematic organization, and even accounting depending on the library they reside within. There are many different seas of knowledge, all of them vast and seemingly never-ending. There are many out there sailing those seas and recording their endeavors. Librarians often work together, either in adventuring parties, or when they come across each other. Generally trading information either for more information or other goods. There is often known trade routes Librarians will follow in the world to find other librarians, but it is also well known that you can find one just about anywhere. They come in all kinds of abilities, from Rangers to Wizards, Bards to Barbarians, the love of information, the dedicated preservation of knowledge, and distributing it safely is the tenant they hold true.
A player will choose the Librarian background when they wish to play a character that stems from a heavy curiosity of knowledge and a stern desire to protect knowledge from destructive hands, be it to hurt others or to destroy knowledge. They do not necessarily have had to worked in a library, but must have surrounded themselves with a wealth of knowledge constantly. This could mean:
- They spent many days in their town's college library or records tomb in a church/temple/etc.
- Collected a wide variety of tombs, books, scrolls, and more in their own personal collection (enough to fill at least a 10' tall x 20' long bookshelf)
- Has worked with someone of a particular expertise and constantly recorded their every word in numerous books/scrolls/etc. and is the keeper of that particular knowledge.
Generally, librarians seek to obtain, seek to protect, and/or seek to record knowledge. It can run in family histories, be assigned to monks of a particular monastery, the devotion of an arcane user, or simply be the heaviest of curiosities that drives a person to adventure in the name of knowledge. The reasoning behind the desire can vary, but the constant remains: Seek out, gather, and protect information deemed pertinent by the person seeking it.
- Skill Proficiencies: Librarians are detail-oriented and thorough, generally spotting when something is out-of-place in their collection or gathering. This developed a keen eye that allows them to perceive people around them trying to take things without asking or permission and to notice when important items are missing. When protecting valuable information, there will always be those who wish to obtain it or prevent anyone from ever seeing it. Thus, they are proficient in perception and investigation, as when they suspect something is a miss or are looking for a particular thing, they are very capable.
- Tool Proficiencies: When involved with many sources of knowledge, you will need to know how to maintain the delivery method it is contained within. Repairing books, scrolls, bindings, and more becomes second nature. Even having to transfer the information to another medium can be involved. So, with this in mind, Librarians get two proficiencies with these tools: Forgery Kit [Librarians see as a repair kit for damaged mediums they obtain/given], Painter's Supplies [Some Librarians opt to document in imagery, vouching for depiction through art and speech written in to be as capable as plain text], Calligrapher's tools [Utilizing their skills to fancify their records to make it more presumptuous or visibly appealing and catch a higher value], or Cartographer's tools [To depict the vast areas they had visited and document the secret areas and entrance-ways].
- Languages: Librarians can come from all walks of life, be in varying locals from remote to commonplace, and work with every language available. Many are adept in learning other languages to transcribe articles to other languages so the flow of information can be perpetuated, unless needed to remain hidden. Every Librarian can choose up to three additional languages they can speak/read/write in. Many have a magical means to understand other languages, it is still important to them that they can on their own.
- Equipment: Librarians generally don't need exotic means to do what they adventure for, but are clever enough to make their means efficient in accomplishing their goal. They start with: a Forgery Kit[in which they would have in a nice casing that would always be referred to as a 'Information Medium Repair Kit'], Calligrapher's Supplies, Cartographer's Tools, Painter's Supplies, a pouch of 20 gold, and also a Book of their current fixation.
For Librarians, they know that there is a vast amount of information that the world holds and that it is too much for one specific person. Therefore it is most commonplace that Librarians choose one Sea of Knowledge rather than try to do multiple. Dividing your attention results in less-in-depth information and missing out on other opportunities. They know there are many others out there seeking knowledge they do not and respect their endeavor and leave that mastery to them while they explore their own.
"A Librarian of a Trade is a master of one, but oftentimes better than a master of none."
| d10 | The Seas of Knowledge |
|---|---|
| 1 | Arcane Knowledge - The inner-workings of spell composition, usage, and development |
| 2 | Divine Knowledge - The understanding of our connection to the divine and how that influences and affects us |
| 3 | Historical Knowledge - Important things that have occurred that shaped how the world is today |
| 4 | Anthropological Knowledge - How sentient existence on this plane has shaped and continues to move throughout time |
| 5 | Mythological Knowledge - Understanding and exploring the mythos of existence, the origin of life, deities, planes, and more |
| 6 | Biological Knowledge - How organisms of all kinds function and why and how to manipulate, destroy, and/or preserve it |
| 7 | Ecological Knowledge - How the organisms on this planet interact and survive with each other and with sentient beings |
| 8 | Meteorological Knowledge - How weather and atmospheric conditions effect the world |
| 9 | Technological Knowledge - The ins-and-outs of tinkering and constructs and how it has and continues to advance |
| 10 | Scientific Knowledge - How to study things that we encounter and perceive, record definitive answers, and what it means |
When on the hunt to find particular information, a Librarian is known to find information on the topic at hand as if it were common knowledge. They are able to find the approximation of a library no matter the town, city, metropolis, village, etc. they are in as if they are magically drawn to them. Generally able to relate with others who stockpile these things, gaining access is another story. But once able to search, they are known to find specific information in a very short amount of time. The character gets advantage on perception or investigation to: find these places, when attempting to find the information at hand, and in the reading material itself.
Spell List
Librarians all have an innate desire to comprehend information, no matter the source. Through this, they will often seek out arcane users to teach them magical ways to decipher information when studious and typical means are incapable. Sometimes this can also come inherently if they have a sorcerous nature, granted by the deity they hold close, given to them by nature itself, or through keen insight and usage of ki to peer beyond and connect the dots between languages they know and ones they do not. It does not matter who they are or where they came from, this spell becomes known to them before their travels as if a gift to them from destiny so they can fulfill it.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | comprehend languages |
Suggested Characteristics
There are some commonplace archetypes of a Librarian, though they can vary intensely. These are but a common few stereotypes that many associate with them when hearing the term 'Librarian."
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | Aloof - Distracted by other interesting things unless directly spoken to |
| 2 | Attentive - They seem to hang on every word and commit it to memory in conversation |
| 3 | Um, Actually - When they know more about a particular topic they will correct people to a fault |
| 4 | Over-sharing - On topics they know a lot on, they will ramble on non-stop on that topic |
| 5 | Hyper-focused - When on a particular task, they will not stop until either tired or forced to |
| 6 | Opinionated - After seeing many different sides of a topic, you've developed many opinions and aren't afraid to share them |
| 7 | Determined - No body will stand in their way while on their crusade for knowledge |
| 8 | Goal-Oriented - Their goal means the world to them and their adventure is solely for that alone |
| d8 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Betterment - You seek to find the knowledge that will help existence lead better lives (Good) |
| 2 | Selfishness - You seek out knowledge so you can horde it to yourself only (Evil) |
| 3 | Info Broker - You obtain knowledge so it can be sold to the highest bidder (Lawful) |
| 4 | Curiosity - Your gathering of knowledge only consists of things you personally found interesting (Neutral) |
| 5 | Specified - The realm of your knowledge gathering is focused on what your mentor focused on (Any) |
| 6 | Freedom - Knowledge is meant for the people and should be given freely to all (Chaotic) |
| 7 | Guarded - Knowledge is power and no one should have knowledge in everything (Lawful) |
| 8 | Infiltration - All knowledge MUST be obtained no matter the means (Evil) |
| d8 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I come from a small town that desperately needs updated texts to continue to flourish |
| 2 | I'm searching for difficult-to-come-by information that could change society radically |
| 3 | My mentor imbued their ideals upon me and I'm trying to continue them in my travels |
| 4 | Too many powerful people control the flow of knowledge - I'm here to change that |
| 5 | Secrets are powerful information and I want to use that to my advantage |
| 6 | My goal is to have a living record of everything on a particular topic that I am an expert on |
| 7 | I have a fascination with a couple topics and they drive me to travel to find out more |
| 8 | I'm searching for particularly important information for an important individual's needs |
| d8 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | My head is never not in a reading selection when outside of battle - sometimes during battle |
| 2 | People who find reading material uninteresting are incredibly uninteresting to me |
| 3 | I speak in terms that only people knowledgeable in the topic would understand far too often |
| 4 | I can't not record my adventures to the point people have though I was a Bard if I'm not |
| 5 | If there is knowledge about a particular topic I've not heard of before, I MUST find out more as soon as possible |
| 6 | If there is an option to visit a library, bookstore, or large gathering of books I simply MUST investigate it! |
| 7 | Destruction of permanent reading material infuriates me and must be addressed upon witnessing the transgression |
| 8 | If it did not involve reading material at the time, my memory is foggy at best over what had occurred around me |
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