Low-Tech Occupations

[shawnhcorey]

Here is a list I made of low-tech occupation that could be used for adventurers. I selected each because they have something, IMO, worthwhile to contribute to the party. This is not an exhausted list of low-tech jobs. Jobs that would need a workshop, like blacksmith or potter, are not listed. A party could easily hire one to do custom work for them.

Adventurers
Fighter

• bandit, brigand, highwayman, outlaw
• enforcer
• guard
• mercenary
• paladin (fights for a cause)
• soldier; scout; skirmisher; army officer; military engineer
• warrior

Seeker

• assassin
• bounty hunter
• burglar
• detective, private eye
• explorer
• investigator
• spy

Talker

• conman, fraudster, racketeer
• diplomat
• lecturer
• politician, shyster
• speaker
• preacher

Arcanist

• priest
• wizard
• psionicist
• super

Secondary Occupations

Low-tech occupations involving travel, outdoorsmanship, streetwise, or influence, or some skill or trait useful to adventuring.

Farm Related

• field hand; migrant worker
• herder, shepherd, swineherd
• junk man, knacker
• tinker; basket weaver; wattle maker

Governance

• attaché; consular; diplomat; ambassador
• bureaucrat; minister
• councillor; mayor; reeve; county clerk
• courtier; tail (lord's entourage); courtesan; aide; advisor
• judge; magistrate; bailiff; jailer; lawyer
• kingsguard
• lord/lady; noble; royal; knight; lady-in-waiting; squire; page

Maker

• artist
• charcoal burner
• journeyman
• mason
• public-works crewman; civil engineer (roads, bridges, canals, dams, aqueducts)

Outdoorsman

• falconer
• ferreter
• fisherman
• herbalist
• hunter, beater (battue), hunt master
• lumberjack
• poacher
• prospector
• surveyor
• trapper
• truffler
• woodman

Performer

• actor
• barker
• busker
• musician
• professional fighter (e.g. boxer, wrestler)
• singer, bard, troubadour
• stagehand
• storyteller

Professional

• courier, messenger
• doctor
• judge (circuit court); magistrate; bailiff; jailer; lawyer
• lawman, ranger, forester, warden, marshal
• taxman
• veterinarian

Shipper

• boatman
• coachman
• drover, mule skinner
• farrier
• caravan guard
• merchant
• porter
• sailor; naval officer; naval engineer
• wagoner

Transient

• camp follower (barbering, cooking, laundering, liquor, nursing, sexual services, sutlery)
• gypsy
• nomad
• peddler
• pilgrim
• vagabond

Urban Occupations

• deliveryman
• lamplighter
• merchant
• pickpocket
• public-works crewman; civil engineer (wells, fountains, sewers, drains)
• rat catcher, pest control
• street sweeper