Eremit in Flottbeck, Johann Baptist Theobald Schmitt |
You are, or were, a professional Garden Hermit.
What that means is that you dedicated a large portion of your life to being a living, breathing curiosity. You would seek out, or be sought out by, a wealthy and eccentric patron interested in writing up a contract to have you live as their novelty guest in a cottage, cave, or other secluded area of their property for a set number of years. During this period you would try to live up to their (at times extremely exacting) stipulations.
What these stipulations are vary from patron to patron. Sometimes they wanted you to be seen but not heard, acting as a distant piece of ornamentation for their estate, to be studied and appreciated from afar. Others actively engaged you, bringing guests to seek your earthy and introspective brand of wisdom. Still others wanted you to live like a ghost, hiding from the outside world and leaving only mere hints that your garden or grotto were inhabited- a pair of reading glasses left out on a table here, a half-eaten apple there.
It is a slow, isolated, oftentimes tedious way of life, and recently it has come under existential threat with the invention of lawn gnomes. But you make it work. The job pays surprisingly well. It offers a unique perspective on many aspects of life. It is a window into the natural world, albeit one made tame and a little less deadly. It also offers a window into the lives of the aristocrats who employ you. Much juicy gossip can be learned while legally lurking around the gardens of an affluent and well-connected noble family.
Garden Hermit
A: Part of the Scenery
B: Dispense Wisdom
B: Land Lore
C: Used to Boredom
D: Mistaken for Magic
1d6 |
Garden Hermit Skills |
1 |
You picked up woodcarving to pass the time, and have gotten good at it. Gain a small knife, quarterstaff, and 1d6 scars on your hands. |
2 |
You use the isolation to further your studies. Gain 1d3 extra philosophical texts and 1 treatise penned by you. |
3 |
Your last contract was terminated after you were found drinking at a tavern. Gain 2 bottles of beer. |
4 |
You used garden hermeticism as a cover to steal from your employers. Gain a pair of nice boots and 1d6 pieces of cutlery. |
5 |
You were also the groundskeeper for your stingy former employer. Gain a box of really rich dirt. |
6 |
You are more proactive about your job security than other Garden Hermits. Gain a carpenter's hammer and 3d6 trophies from defeated lawn gnomes. |
Interesting concept, it is as if an anti-adventuring class.
ReplyDeleteMight work well for places such as Gardens of Ynn.
Thanks for the comment! I forgot my disclaimer promising zero balance or gameplay functionality, as with most of my class concepts. But you raise an interesting point. I got a copy of Ynn some months ago and really need to read through it sometime.
Delete