Peasant

*"But my lord, the harvest was terrible; if I pay you that much in taxes I’ll have naught to eat for the winter!"*

## Basic

(Core) The peasantry makes up the preponderance of the Empire’s population. While the Nobles rule and the Burghers trade, the Peasants toil. They are farmers, labourers, and herdsman. In times of war, they fight and die for the Empire. Many Peasants seek a better life in the city, only to join the legion of beggars on the verge of starvation. The majority spends their whole lives in the village they were born in, surrounded by hostile country and only occasionally getting news of the outside world. While they are provincial and superstitious, the Peasants are the heart of the Empire.

### Secondary Profile

**Skills:** Animal Care or Charm, Animal Training or Swim, Charm Animal or Trade (Cook), Concealment, Drive or Trade (Bowyer), Gamble or Performer (Dancer or Singer), Outdoor Survival or Trade (Farmer), Row or Set Trap, Scale Sheer Surface or Silent Move

**Talents:** Hardy or Rover, Flee! or Specialist Weapon Group (Sling)

**Trappings:** Sling or Quarter Staff, Leather Flask

### **Career Exits**

Bone Picker, Charcoal-Burner, Farmer, Fisherman, Militiaman, Outlaw, Politician, Servant, Tradesman, Zealot

## A Day In The Life

Peasants labour from dawn to dusk, seven days a week. They must pay their taxes, plus their rent and any other expenses, out of the foodstuffs or goods produced by their labour. It is difficult to imagine a more dreary, more bleak existence than the sort of life scratched out by a hard working peasant.

If the harvest is good, there is a surplus and the peasants thrive and can forget their woes – at least for a short while. In years when the harvest is bad, they face a long, cold winter with not enough to eat, and the threat of starvation or freezing to death are constant companions.

It is a sad fact that the vast majority of peasants never wander far from the place where they were born; their world ends at the boundary of the village and fields they work. However, despite the arduous work and life of toil, even peasants can find joy, for many celebrate the little victories and blessings of life with a zeal and passion that only one who has laboured so much to reap so little can appreciate.

## Notable Figures

There are few examples of peasants who have moved beyond their meagre station in life, but history has turned out a few exceptions. There are examples of great military strategists and religious leaders who rose from a humble background to earn renown and fame. However, an individual must be truly driven to achieve such heights when life is stacked against them from birth onward.

Ortho the Mighty is a classic example of one who rose to fame through dedication and skill at arms. As a young man, he rallied his fellow peasants to fend of a band of goblins from decimating their fields and burning the crops. His efforts caught the attention of a travelling merchant, who in turn relayed Ortho’s cool-headedness, tenacity and grit to his friend, the captain of the watch in a nearby city. The captain was so impressed he travelled to the farming community to meet with young Ortho, and recruited him to join the watch.

And so Ortho’s rise began. He excelled within the watch, and soon took over as captain once his former recruiter and friend retired. Now in his mid thirties, Ortho is happy to recount his personal life story, and show how dedication and determination in the name of the Empire never truly goes unrewarded. And he should know – as this former peasant, former watchman, and former mercenary is now the personal bodyguard for the Elector of Ostland,