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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6544047" data-attributes="member: 4937">I've always objected to the term &quot;adventurer&quot;.&nbsp; In my world, the term is rare and is almost never used to refer to the sort of person implied by the generic use of the term in RPGs.&nbsp; An &quot;adventurer&quot; is a person who journeys to distant parts of the world for amusement.&nbsp; It has much the same sense as the word &quot;tourist&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; When people in my game world think of an &quot;adventurer&quot;, they think of somebody like Rick Steves (of the PBS program &quot;'Rick Steves' Europe&quot;).&nbsp;&nbsp; Either it is a person who is too rich for their own good and lacks the common sense to enjoy it, or else they think of a sort of entertainer, who makes a living by publishing travelogues of strange and remote regions.&nbsp;&nbsp; Neither is a particularly honorable way to live, and only the fact that most people of this sort are high born allows them to get away with - aristocrats, what are you going to do?&nbsp; Nobs will be nobs.&nbsp; Adventurers are figures of comedy.&nbsp; They are explorers, not fighters.&nbsp; Often they end up dying horrible deaths by going places that they aren't supposed to, but usually the more notable ones have a reputation for being rather good at running away.&nbsp;&nbsp; The current PC party has a copy of a quite famous travelogue by an &quot;adventurer&quot; slash pirate, but nobody thinks of them as being adventurers themselves.What the PC's are is mercenaries.&nbsp; Mercenaries are quiet common.&nbsp; Mercenary is not a particularly honorable profession either.&nbsp;&nbsp; You get a lot of snearing about &quot;sellswords&quot; and &quot;cutthroats&quot; and if someone wanted to be really insulting &quot;blood merchants&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; But on the other hand, sometimes a lord needs some extra fighting men in a hurry, and you do what you have to do.&nbsp; Mercenaries come in all sorts.&nbsp; The sort of mercenary that the PC's are is really unusual.&nbsp; They are small, diverse, multi-racial company, with significant knowledge of the arcane and uncanny specializing in neutralizing threats that regular force of arms may not be wholly effective against.&nbsp; Mercenaries like that are so rare, there isn't even really a special name for them.&nbsp;&nbsp; Actually, they've largely transcended at this point the stigma of being mercenaries.&nbsp; Instead, they are largely thought of with titles like 'heroes' or 'crusaders' or 'knights errant'.&nbsp; This is because they are generally operating under the auspices of recognized temples who are sanctioning their actions, and one of their member now has noble rank and another is now a full priestess by rites and rights and could reasonably serve as the equivalent of a Bishop in a large city.&nbsp; Because of this, the other members of the party are thought of not as mere hirelings, but as &quot;the Lord's retainers&quot; or companions.&nbsp; Indeed, the Knight-Templar Sir Gorinthar is rumored to be a Saint - a person in face to face communion with a deity.&nbsp; (Ironically, he's one of the few members of the party that unequivocably isn't a Saint, although he's certainly the most moral of the bunch.)At 7th level, the PC's are now significant persons.&nbsp; Regionally, they are very few things like them, and collectively they are a force to be reckoned with even by &quot;the great&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; They aren't yet to the point that they are the highest leveled characters where ever they go, but they are certainly among the youngest high leveled characters wherever they go, the best equipped, and the most fit.&nbsp; They are at the point now that any character that is higher level than them is a VIP.It would be very rare to find a commoner as a ruler, because rulers have the sort of focused and intense training that commoners generally don't receive.&nbsp;&nbsp; His Most Benevolent Despot, Falster Dikelgard, Prince of Amalteen is a 7th level expert.&nbsp; His Majesty the Hinga, Alberic Saabhac II, King over Talergna is a Ftr2/Exp5, while his younger and more reckless counter-part His High Majesty the Hurin, Farmanus Karahal IV, King over Talernga and is a Ftr6/Exp2.&nbsp;&nbsp; The latter two are among the most politically powerful persons on the planet.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 6544047, member: 4937"] I've always objected to the term "adventurer". In my world, the term is rare and is almost never used to refer to the sort of person implied by the generic use of the term in RPGs. An "adventurer" is a person who journeys to distant parts of the world for amusement. It has much the same sense as the word "tourist". When people in my game world think of an "adventurer", they think of somebody like Rick Steves (of the PBS program "'Rick Steves' Europe"). Either it is a person who is too rich for their own good and lacks the common sense to enjoy it, or else they think of a sort of entertainer, who makes a living by publishing travelogues of strange and remote regions. Neither is a particularly honorable way to live, and only the fact that most people of this sort are high born allows them to get away with - aristocrats, what are you going to do? Nobs will be nobs. Adventurers are figures of comedy. They are explorers, not fighters. Often they end up dying horrible deaths by going places that they aren't supposed to, but usually the more notable ones have a reputation for being rather good at running away. The current PC party has a copy of a quite famous travelogue by an "adventurer" slash pirate, but nobody thinks of them as being adventurers themselves. What the PC's are is mercenaries. Mercenaries are quiet common. Mercenary is not a particularly honorable profession either. You get a lot of snearing about "sellswords" and "cutthroats" and if someone wanted to be really insulting "blood merchants". But on the other hand, sometimes a lord needs some extra fighting men in a hurry, and you do what you have to do. Mercenaries come in all sorts. The sort of mercenary that the PC's are is really unusual. They are small, diverse, multi-racial company, with significant knowledge of the arcane and uncanny specializing in neutralizing threats that regular force of arms may not be wholly effective against. Mercenaries like that are so rare, there isn't even really a special name for them. Actually, they've largely transcended at this point the stigma of being mercenaries. Instead, they are largely thought of with titles like 'heroes' or 'crusaders' or 'knights errant'. This is because they are generally operating under the auspices of recognized temples who are sanctioning their actions, and one of their member now has noble rank and another is now a full priestess by rites and rights and could reasonably serve as the equivalent of a Bishop in a large city. Because of this, the other members of the party are thought of not as mere hirelings, but as "the Lord's retainers" or companions. Indeed, the Knight-Templar Sir Gorinthar is rumored to be a Saint - a person in face to face communion with a deity. (Ironically, he's one of the few members of the party that unequivocably isn't a Saint, although he's certainly the most moral of the bunch.) At 7th level, the PC's are now significant persons. Regionally, they are very few things like them, and collectively they are a force to be reckoned with even by "the great". They aren't yet to the point that they are the highest leveled characters where ever they go, but they are certainly among the youngest high leveled characters wherever they go, the best equipped, and the most fit. They are at the point now that any character that is higher level than them is a VIP. It would be very rare to find a commoner as a ruler, because rulers have the sort of focused and intense training that commoners generally don't receive. His Most Benevolent Despot, Falster Dikelgard, Prince of Amalteen is a 7th level expert. His Majesty the Hinga, Alberic Saabhac II, King over Talergna is a Ftr2/Exp5, while his younger and more reckless counter-part His High Majesty the Hurin, Farmanus Karahal IV, King over Talernga and is a Ftr6/Exp2. The latter two are among the most politically powerful persons on the planet. [/QUOTE]

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