Professions

The world of Helerin is teeming with individuals of diverse talents and occupations, each contributing to the intricate fabric of society.
From skilled craftsmen shaping tools and treasures to mages wielding incredible power, every role holds its own significance. Whether thriving in bustling cities, traversing the wilds, or sailing the seas, these professions reflect the unique challenges and opportunities of life in Helerin.

Crafts and Industry

The lifeblood of Helerin’s towns and cities, craftspeople and industrial workers supply essential goods and services. Their expertise spans a wide array of trades, from creating everyday necessities to crafting fine works of art.
Artisans and craftspeople must often be members of local guilds to ply their trade.

• Alchemist: Combines elements to create potions, poisons, or transformative substances.
• Apothecary: Prepares remedies, tinctures, and medicines using plants and minerals.
• Armourer: Crafts and repairs protective armour for soldiers and knights.
• Blacksmith: Forges tools, weapons, and general metalworks.
• Bookbinder: Assembles and binds written works into books.
• Bowyer: Constructs bows for archers, requiring precision and skill.
• Carpenter: Builds and repairs wooden structures and furniture.
• Cartwright: Crafts carts and wagons for transportation and trade.
• Chandler: Produces candles, soaps, and other wax goods.
• Cobbler: Makes and mends shoes and boots.
• Engineer: Designs and builds advanced structures, machines, or siege devices.
• Fletcher: Produces arrows for hunters and warriors.
• Glassmaker: Forms glass for windows, vessels, and alchemical equipment.
• Goldsmith: Works with gold to create jewellery, ornaments, or coins.
• Illuminator: Decorates manuscripts with intricate designs and illustrations.
• Jeweller: Creates fine jewellery using precious metals and gems.
• Leatherworker: Produces leather goods such as belts, bags, and armour.
• Mason: Builds with stone, crafting walls, bridges, and fortifications.
• Mapmaker: Charts unexplored lands and draws detailed maps.
• Metalworker: Works with metals for general construction or crafting needs.
• Miner: Extracts metals and ores from the earth.
• Ore Smelter: Refines raw ores into usable metals.
• Painter: Produces artworks or decorative murals.
• Potter: Creates ceramic goods, including pots, plates, and storage vessels.
• Ropemaker: Twists fibres into strong, durable ropes for various uses.
• Sculptor: Carves stone or wood into statues, art, or functional designs.
• Tailor: Crafts and repairs garments, often tailored to individual needs.
• Tanner: Processes raw hides into workable leather.
• Weaver: Creates textiles, weaving fabric for clothing and trade.
• Wheelwright: Specialises in making and repairing wheels.

Service and Commerce

From bustling markets to humble inns, service and commerce sustain the social and economic life of Helerin. Those in these roles provide goods, labour, or hospitality, meeting the needs of their communities and travellers alike.
Labour associations exist to represent workers' interests, pressing for better pay and conditions, while merchant guilds give wealthy traders even more power and influence.

• Animal Trainer: Trains creatures for work, war, or companionship.
• Baker: Bakes bread, pastries, and other goods, supplying households, markets, or inns.
• Butcher: Prepares and sells meat, often slaughtering animals and cutting them into portions for trade or consumption.
• Cook: Prepares meals in homes, inns, or for larger groups such as armies.
• Fishmonger: Prepares and sells fish and other seafood for trade or consumption.
• Groom: Cares for animals, particularly horses or beasts of burden.
• Healer: Tends to the sick and injured, using herbs, remedies, or skill.
• Innkeeper: Hosts travellers, providing food, drink, and lodgings.
• Labourer: Performs unskilled or physically demanding work in fields, construction, or docks.
• Merchant: Operates larger-scale trade or owns shops in cities.
• Messenger: Delivers messages quickly over long distances.
• Midwife: Assists with childbirth and maternal care.
• Scribe: Writes, copies, and preserves documents, often in administrative, religious, or scholarly settings.
• Servant: Performs domestic duties in homes of nobles or wealthy individuals.
• Slave: Provides unpaid labour or domestic work.
• Tutor: Provides private education, teaching subjects such as languages, mathematics, or the arts.
• Trader: Buys and sells goods, often traveling between towns.

Maritime Professions

With the seas and rivers playing a vital role in trade and travel, maritime professions are essential. These individuals navigate waterways, harvest the ocean’s bounty, and build the vessels that connect the islands of the archipelago.

• Boatman: Transports people or goods on rivers, lakes, or coastal waters, typically in smaller vessels.
• Dockhand: Loads, unloads, and maintains ships in harbour.
• Fisherman: Harvests fish and other seafood from rivers, lakes, and seas.
• Navigator: Charts courses at sea, ensuring safe and efficient travel.
• Netmaker: Crafts fishing nets for maritime and inland use.
• Sailor/Seaman: Works aboard ships, handling navigation and daily tasks.
• Salt Harvester: Extracts salt from coastal or arid regions for trade.
• Ship’s Captain: Commands a vessel and its crew.
• Shipwright: Builds and repairs ships, from fishing boats to large galleys.

Wilderness and Rural Professions

The untamed lands of Helerin demand resilience and resourcefulness. Those who work in the wilds and rural areas provide food and raw materials for the town and city dwellers.

• Beekeeper: Tends hives for honey and beeswax.
• Farmer: Grows crops and raises livestock for food and trade.
• Forager: Gathers wild plants, fungi, and other resources.
• Hunter: Tracks and kills game for food, pelts, horn or trade.
• Lumberjack: Harvests timber from forests for construction and trade.
• Nomad: Lives a mobile lifestyle, often herding or trading.
• Shepherd: Tends flocks of sheep or other grazing animals, guiding them to pastures and protecting them from predators.
• Trapper: Sets traps to capture animals for fur or control.

Performers and entertainers

Bringing joy, inspiration, and wonder, entertainers thrive in both courts and streets. Their performances captivate audiences, celebrating the stories and spirit of Helerin through art, music, and feats of skill.

• Acrobat: Displays feats of agility and skill, often in travelling troupes.
• Actor: Performs roles in plays or dramatic storytelling.
• Bard: Sings tales and performs music to entertain or preserve history.
• Dancer: Entertains through rhythmic movement and performance.
• Juggler: Provides entertainment through juggling and dexterity.

Military and martial roles

Conflict is an ever-present reality in Helerin. Warriors, guards, and scouts protect their lands and people, while gladiators and mercenaries forge their paths through combat for coin or glory.

• Gladiator: Fights in arenas for the entertainment of spectators, often skilled in armed or unarmed combat.
• Guard: Protects individuals, settlements, or treasures.
• Mercenary: A hired fighter offering services to the highest bidder.
• Scout: Explores and reports on enemy movements or new territories.
• Soldier: Fights in armies, defending lands and waging wars.

Rulers and Officials

Governance and administration ensure the order and prosperity of kingdoms and cities. These roles encompass rulers, their trusted advisors, and officials who manage day-to-day affairs or represent their domains in far-off lands.

• Accountant: Keeps detailed records of financial transactions.
• Administrator: Manages estates, finances, or governmental affairs.
• Advisor: Provides counsel to rulers or nobles, often specialising in strategy, diplomacy, or governance.
• Councillor: A member of a ruling council or advisory body, shaping decisions for the realm.
• Envoy: Represents rulers or governments in diplomatic missions or negotiations.
• Noble: A person of high rank, often owning lands and wielding significant influence or authority.
• Seneschal: Oversees the operations of a noble’s estate or court, managing day-to-day affairs.
• Tax Collector: Gathers levies on behalf of rulers or lords.

Criminals and Outcasts

In the shadows of society, some turn to illicit means for survival or gain. These roles reflect the darker aspects of life in Helerin, where ambition, desperation, and opportunity often intertwine. Many are members of criminal organisations.
See also: Criminal activity

• Assassin: A hired killer skilled in stealth and precision.
• Beggar: Lives by asking for charity, often in towns and cities.
• Brigand: Raids farms, villages, or travellers in rural settings, often working in groups.
• Charlatan: deceives others for personal gain, posing as skilled professionals.
• Fence: Trades in stolen goods, avoiding legal scrutiny.
• Footpad: Preys on urban travellers, stealing valuables through stealth or force.
• Grave Robber: Plunders tombs for riches, often risking curses or danger.
• Pirate: Engages in raiding and plundering ships or coastal settlements.
• Prostitute: Offers companionship or sexual services, often working in urban centres or brothels.
• Smuggler: Moves goods illegally across borders or seas.
• Thief: Steals valuables, often in urban settings.

Religious roles

Faith in the Gods holds a central place in the lives of many in Helerin. Religious roles range from novices learning their calling to priests guiding their communities with wisdom and devotion.
See also: Religious groups and orders

• Novice/Initiate: A trainee in a religious or magical discipline.
• Priest: Serves as a religious leader, guiding spiritual practices.
• Templar: A warrior dedicated to the service of a deity's temples or shrine.

Mages

Mages represent the pinnacle of magical knowledge and power, each specialising in a unique aspect of the arcane. Their Talents shape the world around them, whether for creation, destruction, or deception. Some practitioners pursue their craft as a profession.
See also: Magic in society

• Caller: Specialists in summoning, binding, and banishing creatures from the magical realm.
• Channeler: Wielders of destructive and kinetic magic, manipulating elements and force.
• Enchanter: Users of controlling magic, influencing thoughts and emotions, or fortifying focus.
• Guardian: Healers and protectors, using magic to nurture life or restore balance.
• Shaper: Builders and transformers, altering the physical world through magical energy.
• Weaver: Masters of illusion, creating visions and sounds to confound perception or entertain.

Specialist Roles

Specialist roles are diverse and often highly specific, requiring unique skills and expertise. From uncovering hidden relics to hunting fugitives, these individuals pursue their paths with precision and determination.

• Adventurer: Ventures into unknown or dangerous places for profit or glory.
• Bounty hunter: Tracks and captures criminals or other targets for a reward. Bounty hunters are skilled in combat, tracking, and negotiation.
• Relic Hunter: Searches for ancient artefacts or magical treasures, often amidst ruins or tombs.
• Scholar: Pursues knowledge and study in specific fields such as history or botany.
• Spy: Gathers intelligence covertly, often at great personal risk.