Talents (4E)

4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons

Professions are the non-combat equivalence of skills, and most rules that apply to skills apply to professions as well. Professions are considered skills for abilities that affect the use of skills. Unlike skills, a character does not start with any professions; they must all be learned using talents.

Background

Professions are useful in defining and fleshing out character backgrounds. Many vocations lack a corresponding profession skill. People who make their living that way are unskilled, use abilities like Strength for manual labor. Others use regular skills such as Nature for farming, hunting and fishing, or Dungeoneering for mining.

For such vocations, new profession skills can be created if desired by the player. At the very least, this will give access to the contact and knowledge elements of the skill, and the DM may allow other uses.

Professions

A character can use a Talents (4E) to learn a profession.

Actor Alchemist Architect Barber Composer Dancer Governor Jeweler

Leatherworker Lover Mechanic Merchant Musician Overseer Sailor Soldier

Speaker Singer Smith Stargazer Stoneworker Tailor

This list of professions is by no means complete. Possible new professions include Cook, Glassworker, Farmer, and many others.

Rules

Professions generally have no application in combat or action scenes. Using them takes time; from several minutes to several months. Their usefulness is in downtime and in skill challenges that take longer than rounds.

Income

You can use profession skills to make a living between adventures.

Contacts

Trained profession skills have a knowledge element. This can be used to find professionals within your chosen field.

Knowledge

Trained profession skills have a knowledge element. This works much like monster lore for your professional field.

Fame

You can be famous within your chosen field. Your fame score is equal to your profession score. This requires the Fame talent and training in a profession.

See also: Fame

Craft

Some professions (crafts) can be used to mundane items. Trained craftsmen can create magic items. This works like the Enchant Magic Item or Brew Potion rituals, but only for items relevant to the craft. It can take additional time to manufacture the item to be enchanted.

See also: Craft

Support

Additionally, many professions can be used for the aid other action, both to help skills and ritual casters. Where a profession is relevant for rituals, this is noted in the description of the profession.

See also: Perform

Skill descriptions

Actor (Cha)

You can bring stories to life and portray a wide array of emotions by use of voice or gesture.

Examples: comedy, drama, mime

Rituals: Acting can aid summoning rituals.

Architect (Int)

An architect understands geometry and design, making drawings used to build houses, gardens, bridges, fortifications and other large-scale projects. It is generally impossible to make a large building (more than 30 ft. tall or 150 ft. long) without the help of an architect.

Alchemist (Int)

You refine small quantities of precious substances, like an apothecary’s medicines, potions, or the creation of ritual components. You can brew potions in batches of five, as well as recognize and identify a great variety of substances and know how they react. In some settings, you can make gunpowder.

Craft: You can make potions and poisons.

Rituals: Alchemy can aid all healing rituals.

Barber (Wis)

A barber does all kinds of body care, from styling hair, nails and skin to massage and minor surgical work such as removing blemishes or making tattoos. Many barbers are also skilled in Healing.

Captain (Wis)

A captain commands a ship, directing the work of sailors to sail fast and safely, and can navigate coastal waters. Any ship over 30 ft. in length requires a captain. You still need Profession (Stargazer) to navigate at sea.

Composer (Int)

A composer writes music and leads other in musical performances. Any performer can create new music for his own performance; a composer coordinates several instruments and singers into one grand design.

Dancer (Cha)

Dance is the art of bodily expression, to convey meaning through stance, posture, and movement. A dancer can accompany himself using the shuffling of feet or with instruments such as tambourines and castanets, but a dance performance is often supported by a musician. You do not need this profession in order to take part in public dancing, but stage dancing or leading a public dance requires a profession roll.

Rituals: Dancing be used to aid all divination and scrying rituals.

Examples: ballet, waltz, jig

Governor (Int)

A governor understands the nuisances of civilian administration and can balance a budget, keep a bureaucracy running, resolve conflicts, act as a judge, and serve as an administrator.

Jeweler (Wis)

You can work with precious stones and materials such as gold, ivory and mother of pearl to create jewelry, sculptures and other art objects.

Craft: You can create rings, amulets and some wondrous items.

Mechanic (Int)

You can build mechanical devices, such as crossbows, clocks, traps, and locks. Compared to other crafts, the mechanic is not self-sufficient, needing parts made by a smith, founder and lapidary to practice the craft. In some settings, you can make firearms.

Craft: You can create mechanical objects, weapons and traps.

Leatherworker (Wis)

You can work with leather and hide, making clothes, leather and hide armor, and slings. Leather is also used as raw material in many other crafts.

Craft: You can create leather and hide armor, boots, gloves and some wondrous items.

Lover (Cha)

Anyone who puts their mind to it can have a satisfying love-life with a familiar partner; this is making a profession of it and being able to sexually stimulate strangers.

Merchant (Int)

A merchant understands the laws of supply and demand and is able to move and market large quantities of goods while maintaining a steady profit. Scrupulous traders insure goods come to the right buyers in a timely and efficient manner, to the benefit of everyone. This skill deals with bulk goods; it doesn’t help much when purchasing singular expensive items, such as magic items.

Musician (Cha)

You can play instruments of all sorts, from flutes and drums to harpsichords and organs.

Rituals: Use of the appropriate instrument can aid any ritual.

Examples: keyboard, percussion, string, wind

Overseer (Wis)

You know how to lead a small team of willing or unwilling workers. This hands-on approach to leadership works with small groups (about ten to fifty people). You know when to encourage or punish, when to give instructions, and how to keep up morale. This is useful both to lead a civilian work crew, an office or a gang.

Sailor (Wis)

You are comfortable on ships and boats and know how to handle small craft or serve as crew on larger ones. You can navigate costal waters in reasonable safety as long as you only sail by day. You cannot navigate at sea using this profession alone. See (Captain) for rules on ships and (Stargazer) for navigation.

Singer (Cha)

You can use your voice as an instrument. Your voice can enthrall an audience and be audible in a wide area. A professional singer has a wide repertoire and can vary volume and timbre, and can also act as a chanter, leading other less skilled singers.

Rituals: Singing be used to aid exploration rituals.

Examples: ballad, chant, melody

Soldier (Wis)

You know how to work as part of a disciplined military unit. All soldiers know how to maintaining equipment, make camp properly and perform guard duties. If you are a private, you can march and fight in formations. You can act as a guard in any situation, stand at attention and salute smartly. If you are an officer, you can command troops, from a squad to an entire army.

Smith (Str)

You can shape all kinds of metal and make armor and weapons, tools, useful objects such as horseshoes and nails.

Craft: You can create metal items such as weapons and armor, shields, helmets, bracers, greaves and some wondrous items.

Speaker (Cha)

A speaker is a performer using words, presenting a story or script in a clear, audible, and enjoyable way. It is used in public speaking, storytelling, playacting and other verbal presentation. A speaker is not inherently skilled in social skills; the profession concerns the presentation of a script, not choosing the right words for an occasion. Still, this profession can be highly useful if you wish to use social skills against many people at once or in a noisy setting.

Rituals: Oratory can be used to aid binding rituals.

Examples: epic, ode, storytelling

Stargazer (Int)

You know the position of celestial bodies in the sky, and can use them to tell the time and to orient yourself. This is the main profession for navigating at sea, tough Nature is also important for that.

Rituals: This profession can be used to aid scrying and travel rituals.

Stoneworker (Int)

You can work stone, building smaller buildings, walls and the like or realize the plans of an architect. A trained stoneworker can also do sculpting and decorative work in stone.

Craft: You can make items from stone.

Tailor (Int)

You can makes clothes and cloth armor, along with tents, and tarpaulins. A good tailor can make and repair these things quickly and efficiently; an excellent tailor can make them beautiful and attractive, often using expensive imported materials. Tailored objects make excellent gifts.

Craft: You can make cloth armor, capes, shoes, gloves and some magic wondrous items.

Valet (Wis)

You are good at caring for the creature comforts of others. This includes maintaining clothes and personal hygiene, providing basics such as light, food, and warmth, handling personal expenses efficiently, and knowing when you are needed or not. A novice valet is a servant or maid, as you progress in skill you might move on to become an innkeeper or major-domo.

Writer (Wis)

A writer creates literary works of art; prose, poetry, and drama. These can then be published or performed by speakers and spread ideas, educate, praise, or condemn. A good writer can have an enormous effect on the people of an area, which is why rulers often try to control what is written, both by reward and persecution. This works much like the Diplomacy skill, only it uses the written word.

Rituals: Writing can be used to aid binding rituals.

External links

• List of medieval professions