Regional Professions He - Or

Hextonian Black Caps

As Aorlis goes, this a unique type of soldier developed in Hexton, in the Rhonce. Like most Hextonian men, they prefer to wear skullcaps, but in black, giving them their name. Hexton hires the black caps out as mercenaries all over the Known World and uses them for national defense as well. They are considered the ultimate shock troops and used on battlefields at land or sea to harry enemy troops. The black caps primary weapon is a short spear with a long, slashing blade—in other circumstances, it might be called a sword-spear. They also use throwing arrows launched with atlati, plumbatas, and daggers. The black caps figure every hand-to-hand fight boils down to a dagger fight, so they eschew swords and axes and go straight for the dagger. Black caps are masters at close fighting, jumping into the midst of enemies to slash and disembowel with their spears or daggers, invalidating their opponents’ weapons that probably require more room to wield effectively. If the black cap can take his victim to ground for wrestling and/or dagger fighting, he will, for here he is supreme. These specialist soldiers particularly enjoy leaping into the midst of cavalry and disabling horses from the ground up. Black caps themselves have little use for horses, and live off the land, so they can travel great distances on foot rapidly and without supply lines to slow them down. Part of their training includes mercilessly torturing each other to build superhuman pain resistance, and competing in deadly endurance races to weed out the weak and focus their mobility. They wear no armor, helmets, or shields, preferring the extended endurance and mobility offered by being unarmored. As a general rule, they do not take prisoners or collect ransoms. The black caps units assemble in multiples of 15, from the base unit on up to entire armies.

by Scott A. Story

Hextonian Ghost Smith

These craftsmen are not only top-level blacksmiths and weaponers, but they practice a form of necromancy where they capture and attach spirits to the armaments they manufacture. The spirit has no choice in matter, and is programmed for certain actions/events, even if those actions are not in accordance with the spirit’s wishes or nature. Effectively, the attached ghost or spirit becomes weaponized, a sort of engine, fulfilling its task as required. The range of effects is very wide. The spirit may be attached to guard the weapon’s bearer, or to target specific classes of foes, whatever. The spirit may be a ghost, an elemental, demon, phantasmata, but human ghosts are the most common subjects. The cultural norm is that only women become ghost smiths.

Kaldurian Fightmaster

Fencing schools and Fightmasters are common throughout Aorlis, but Kaldurian fightmasters are on a level of their own. They operate the Academy of Steel, and have been granted guild status as well. Like other fightmasters, they wear all black clothing, and rank themselves within their school as follows: novice, scholar, free scholar, provost, master of arms, and ancient master. Any fightmaster can teach you: dagger, lange messer, longsword, single dagger, single sword, spear, sword and dagger, sword and shield, and wrestling/grappling. Kaldurian fightmasters are special because they can teach these additional weapons: cloak and dagger, cloak and sword, greatsword, long shield, marshal’s baton, pole arm, poleax, sword and buckler, and two swords. Some of these even know some of the bizarre specialty weapons available, and weapons used in foreign lands. Masters and ancient masters with twelve or more years of experience are automatically inducted into the knightly order called the Masters in Black.

by Scott A. Story

Parse Singing Sailor

These are both professional sailors, used to sailing the Fern Maer (an immense inland sea), and entertainers too. They learn all the sailor’s songs, shanties, ballads, etc., as well as all the sailor’s dances. They possess vast quantities of the written and unwritten lore associated with the Fern Maer and its surroundings. This puts them in great demand. They also master extensive acrobatic and tightrope walking skills and sometimes perform as aerialists. Some singing sailors have well-developed weather-kinning skills, allowing them to predict Fern Maer weather with astounding accuracy.