Unglamorous medieval professions (and a free playtest)

[Vraille Darkfang]

Cod Piece Tester?

The one where the armorer makes you put on the armor & swings his hammer for a double-handed full power attack to the codpiece to make sure it 'strong enough'.

Slave also sucked.

Castrato, Harem Guard or any other job where 'Castration' was a primary requirement had to be tough. (Though the actual lifestyle could be pretty easy, leaving parts of you behind on ye old chopping block was pretty rough).

Prostitute. Not good.

Miner. Not a long life expetancy.

Beater. You know the guys that went out with the lords when they went hunting dangerous animals. The guys whose job was to beat the brush & scare up some nasty critters for the lords to kill. AKA: Bait.

 

[Quickleaf]

Cod Piece Tester? That's so great. *yoink*

I've just finished writing a True20-based adventure which stars the PCs as commoners who get to choose from lots of the fun backgrounds discussed in this thread. The adventure deals with rumors of a fearsome dragon, an activist group of witches, and a bunch of crooked dragon-slayers. It is aptly named "Dragon-Slayers: Part One of the Commoner's Tale" and totals about 36 pages; this includes bare-bones setting information, the adventure itself, commoner backgrounds, and a bunch of new feats.
I'd like to get someone to playtest it for me! That would be really nice! I have it on pdf right now, but it's too big to post. If you're interested I could e-mail it to you, or cut out the pictures and see if it'll fit as an attachment to this post. Here's an excerpt from one of the player handouts. Cheers!

From Apology of a Dragon by Pliny the Younger
Having spent three years in the court of Cappadocia, where I recorded the testimony a dragon which had been tamed by Saint Buckby and hidden in a convent where it studied Latin and philosophy and thought not but of union with the Lord. Through my dictations, I became intimately knowledgeable of the way of dragons, and am compelled to correct common misconceptions that are believed as truth:
On the sacking of villages, this is a lie spread by commoners who, in paying tribute to a greedy dragon, grew wicked in heart and conspired to kill the dragon, thus spreading this awful rumor. Thus were born the dragon-slayers.
On the eating of virgin maids, no dragon would ever commit such an act. The convent dragon (it asked to remain anonymous) informed me of one tragic story that may have been the source for this myth: A dragon was fed a woman hung for witchcraft, but upon finding the nature of the flesh it had eaten, hurled itself over a cliff in despair.
On allegiance with the devil, I am informed that all dragons until now have followed pagan ways, and did not even believe in the devil’s existence. By the grace of Saint Buckby, dragons now are repenting of their ways and choosing to follow the Lord.
On the slaughter of knights and their horses, it is revealed that while a dragon enjoys horseflesh, it can consist entirely on berries and roots. The few cases where a dragon slew a knight were when it was attacked unjustly in its home or the knight was a known evil-doer.