Adventurer's Badge Item in Ropla | World Anvil
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Adventurer's Badge

A badge proving that an Adventurer has graduated from Adventure Academy in Ventura. The badge automatically upgrades as the adventurer gains skills and recognition, and thus proves the level of an adventurer to potential employers.  

Recieving a badge

The badge is awarded during the graduation ceremony at Adventure Academy. A part (such as hair) of the adventurer and a signature in the guild registry is obtained beforehand, and the part is embeded in the badge. During the graduation ceremony, the badge is awarded to each student by the current Guild Master.   *different badge designs and materials*
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Different Types and Designs

Badges vary in design and type which indicate specific traits of the Adventurer.  

Type

The material will begin at copper but proceed towards Chrystalline as the adventurer gains skills and renown. The material provides quest givers with a direct indication of the general level of the adventurer. Some might additionally require the adventurers to be well-known, sometimes for specific traits or skills.  

Design

The design of the badge varies based on the species and class of the adventurer. It always has the guild name and symbol on the top front of the badge, but otherwise can vary greatly. Symbols on the center of the badge and surrounding text reflect the adventurers class and specialty. The edge around the badge reflects their species, with every species having their own design. The font of the letters is said to reflect the personality of the adventurer, as such some merchants might reject an adventurer due to a nontrustworthy font. It has not been proven which fonts indicate which personalities, but similar people often have similar fonts.  

In Case of...

... a Lost Badge

If a badge is lost, the adventurer loses all proof of graduation and skill, and must start all over in the adventurer's education. They must also start over gaining renown. It will be a lot faster the second time though. There are no exceptions to this, and on average this happens to adventurers 2.3 times during a lifetime. Only 10 percent of badge holders never lose their badge, whereas 70 percent lose their badge once or twice. This means 20 percent lose their badge three times or more.   The nature of the profession makes losing small objects such as a badge very easy. Something as simple as falling into a river might result in a lost badge. A badge removed from its owner for an extended amount of time will turn to stone, to keep it from being misused. The badge will turn back to normal when/if returned to the owner, unless another badge is created for the individual first. The guild does not offer tracking services to adventurers who lose their badges, as the time of the tracking specialists is too valuable for non-critical issues. Adventurers are encouraged to store their badges sensibly. Issues with badgenapping are well known, such as in the Badges for Ransom story.  

... Serious Injury

The badge will turn the name of the adventurer bright red in the guild registry in case of serious injury. The guild might then send out a party to rescue the guild member. This is paid for by membership fees.  

... Death

In case of death, the guild will send out a search party to recover and bury the body if it is in relatively safe territory. The guild will not risk the lives of its members on a body recovery mission.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

The badge directly connects the Adventurer to the Adventurer's Guild's registry and will report serious injury or death to the guild. The guild might then use magic to track the adventurer when in trouble, if they are accessible to mages or clerics with tracking skills. The magic does not work if the adventurer is in places such as on Spawn, buried deep in a cave, or lying at the very bottom of Brunden.

Manufacturing process

Copper is melted over a fire in a foundry ladle. It is then poured into a mold containing a magical token and cooled. The magical token contains a part of the adventurer such as hair or scales. This connects the Adventurer and the badge.   *drawing of the manufacturing process*
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Significance

An Adventurer's Badge might make the difference between getting a quest or not, as such they are significant to adventurers and quest givers alike. Badges can have different levels and some quest givers require a specific level for their more important quests. The king won't sent out a beginner to save his daughter and the merchant probably eyes the badge before choosing which trade wagon they'll assign you as an escort to.
*Image of badge*
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Item type
Jewelry / Valuable
Manufacturer
Owning Organization
Rarity
Owned by 90 % of adventures. Those who do not own it either failed school, didn't attend it yet ot lost their badge. Only 0.1 % of Adventurers holds a top level chrystalline badge.
Weight
50 g
Dimensions
10cmX7cm
Base Price
Not purchasable
Raw materials & Components
The basic badge is made of copper. Higher grades of adventuring badges are available through achievements or additional schooling. When a new level is obtained, the enchanted badge automatically upgrades its material. Those are:  
  1. Copper (held by 45 percent of adventurers)
  2. Magnite (held by 28 percent of adventurers)
  3. Silver (held by 15 percent of adventurers)
  4. Gold (held by 1.9 percent of adventurers)
  5. Chrystalline (held by 0.1 percent of adventurers)
Tools
Fire, Mold, Foundry ladle

Related Reading:

Those who need it:
Adventurer
Profession | Jan 28, 2019

Travellers doing odd jobs wherever they go, usually in an attempt to obtain fame and fortune.

Those who provide it:
Adventurer's Guild
Organization | Feb 26, 2020

The guild to which all adventurers belong

Those who steal it:
Badges for Ransom
Plot | Jan 28, 2019

Story of the Skygst Gang who demanded ransom from adventurers in exchange for their stolen badges.


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Comments

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Dec 29, 2018 12:57

An interesting system to help people know what kind of adventurer they're dealing with! I do like the almost RPG-like nature of the badge with it levelling up and changing materials. Though you say that it can be tracked down, don't people actually use this if they lose their badge instead of starting back at level 1? also do the specific species-only borders cause any specific racist problems amongst the guild or not?

Dec 29, 2018 14:06 by Evi

The guild must use their valued tracking mages to track badges down, this service is not wasted on clumsy adventurers who lose their badges but only for emergencies in which an adventurers life is in dangeror cases of death. I should put that in somewhere though. Some people are biased against specific races such as the skaga, but races are easily distinguishable so it's not usually revealed by the badge. Also, RPG nature is exactly what i'm going for with this world as a whole ^.^ so thanks

Dec 29, 2018 19:13 by Dejers Garth

The placeholder furballs are great. :D   I remember reading this article before and can't quite tell if much has changed since I commented last, so apologies if I rehash things!   I like the idea, it's a solid way to structure adventurers in a world where they have prominence and are used to any sort of major degree. Having the various ranks makes it look like there is a solid way to advance in "adventuring" as a career, which makes it more realistic imo, even while putting an influx of rpg elements with it.   I do question, are the badges coded explicitly to a person, and what happens if someone steals a badge? Could they get by on the riders of the badge or would they be found out rather quickly?

Dec 29, 2018 21:30 by Seth Dietrich

That was a fun read! I like the leveling up aspect, with a clear indicator of the prowess an adventurer has. I wonder, what's the process of upgrading the badges? Is it automatic?