Post by mao on Jun 24, 2017 13:54:18 GMT -5
THE CONFEDERACY
The huge multiplaner Confederacy has been stable for thousands of years. Adventuring has been brought to a high art.With a population in the trillions, as rare as true adventures are, there are still hundreds of thousands of them. Some unusual sub-types of adventurer have emerged. This is one of the more unusual ones.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
About 500 years ago , there was an elf that made a tough living as a torch bearer, working for just starting out adventuring parties. Evnan,as he was called, Was a little on the smart side and very very hardy. He also was astoundingly lucky. He survived on his luck and his toughness for over 10 years as a general adventuring lackey. Then one day he struck it rich, the party he was with had eked out a Pyrrhic victory over a liche, with Evnan the only survivor. The treasure of the dark undead wizard was vast and he could only bear away a fraction of it, still enough to be very rich.
Evnan became bored with his sedentary life style after about living 50 years in luxury. He would haunt bars, inns , gambling den and brothels where he could buy a few rounds for adventures and live vicariously through them. Starting to notice the blight of others forced into a similar life as a "bottle washer" for adventurers, he came up with an idea. What if torch bearers and other on the road servants of adventurers could be better trained to survive the rigors of adventuring life. Thus was born "Evnan's School for Adventuring Butlers"
TRUE ABZS
This discussion is about true Adventuring Butlers, or ABZ for short. They come from an accredited school with papers and possess a certain skill set. The discerning adventurer will subject a potential ABZ with a truth spell to ensure they are of the proper quality and training.
CORE TRAINING
A well trained ABZ will have all of the following skills to one degree or another, the prime requisite for an ABZ is constitution to ensure they can survive the rigors of the path they have chosen. They have frequently failed out of the more standard schools of adventuring but still have the overall mildly above average characteristics that will make them successful. ABZ' schools spend a lot of their time and effort "talent scouting"
Secondary Combat Role
The vast majority of ABZ will have a moderate skill in missile or melee combat, far more often both. They should not be expected to do more than provide a little defense for the parties spellcasters and themselves. A few will have stronger skills in this area. The few arcane spellcasters who take up this profession usually specialize in information gathering or party buffing spells, they are not expected to participate in combat.Fewer still manifest priestly healing abilities, often these are failed paladins and are highly sought after.
Chief Cook And Bottle Washer
All ABZ are trained in cooking , sewing and general maintenance of armor weapons and equipment. Cooking is especially emphasized. They will come equipped with spices and a small number of tools for these duties.
Entertainment
The vast majority of ABZ are capable of some form of fun on the road. Singing, dancing,playing a musical device, telling jokes are all among the entertainments available, however story telling is by far the most common. A ABZ lacking in any other of these skills will be at least able to play many dice and card games.
Lab Rat
"No I will not pull that lever, drink the mysterious potion or talk to that dragon" (see below)
SOME GENERALIZED TYPES OF ABZ
The Alfred
This individual has all the common skills in abundance and is an above average combatant He knows his place and does everything very well
The Wannabe
This individual wants to be a true adventurer but lacks the skills, he will be overly interested in melee combat and should have a rather short life span
The Gilligan
Possessing poor skills across the board, he will make up for it by being the perfect lab rat. He will pull the lever, drink the potion or talk to the hstle dragon. It's not that he is particularly brace, he just knows he has to make up for his lack of skills.
The "It's My Day Job"
Has adequate skills across the board but noting fantastic, he is probably on the look out for a quick get rich sceem, by far the most common of ABZ
The Thrill Seeker
Similar to the wannabe, the trill seeker is looking to get "high" of adventuring, not quite as short of a lifespan as the wannabe, most Alfred start out this way
The Backstabber
First chance he gets to strike it rich , he will rob the party blind, appears as one of the other types on the surface
AUTHOR"S NOTE
I actually plan on running an Alfred in the near future, but the potential for comic relief is vast. Designed for NPCs, I have seen player's play stranger things.......
