Vocations
Using this hack every player character (and significant non-player characters with full write ups) may have a kind of attribute referred to collectively as Vocations, which describe specific professions, backgrounds, fields of study, or specialized training that a character has learned, developed, or been trained in.
Vocations provide justification for doing things based upon their subject matter and a character's Rank within that Vocation. Under normal circumstances it usually isn't necessary to form a dice pool and make a roll when doing routine things; an expert blacksmith making horseshoes is generally not something that requires a dice roll for instance.
However, in heightened circumstances when a character is attempting something to which one of their Vocations is relevant they can add the relevant Vocation at the step associated with the Vocation's Rank to their dice pool just like any other trait die.
A character has no Vocations by default and does not have to choose any, but can have up to a maximum of five (5) Vocations. Every Vocation has four Ranks, from Rank 1 (novice) to Rank 4 (grand master). Each Rank indicates a higher level of capability within a Vocation, and each Rank beyond Rank 1 also grants a character a once per session Exploit invocation for that Vocation.
Vocation Costs
Rank
Die
Title
Benefit
Invocations
Advances
1
d4
Novice
Indicates that a character is able to exercise a Vocation at a basic level, as would be appropriate to an apprentice or a recent graduate of an academic or trade school. This entry-level expertise primarily provides justification to know general information relevant to the Vocation, and the ability to attempt fundamental or routine tasks appropriate to the Vocation (though with a greater chance of an unintended outcome than a more senior practitioner). More advanced knowledge and tasks require a higher rank to justify.
0
1
2
d6
Expert
Indicates greater ability with a Vocation, as would be appropriate to a pro, a journeyman, someone with some experience or some time on the job, an expert. In addition, a character at this Rank can invoke their Vocation once per session to give themselves or their allies an advantage if a player can explain how their Vocation applies to the situation.
1
2
3
d8
Master
Indicates mastery of a Vocation, appropriate to a person with long experience, or to a gifted prodigy. Additionally, a second free invoke of the Vocation per session is gained.
2
4
4
d10
Grand Master
Indicates grand mastery of a Vocation, appropriate to the very best practitioners of that Vocation in the world. Additionally, a third and final per session invoke of the Vocation is gained. This is the highest Vocation Rank available; further depths of competence with a Vocation can be represented through Signature Exploits, Distinctions, and / or within Ability Sets if desired.
3
6
Life Experience
Vocations that are not actively practiced might fade away as a character's lived experience and focus shift over the course of their life. Thus, it is allowed for players and the GM to occasionally step down a Vocation to regain the Advances spent to attain that Rank, and then spend those Advances elsewhere. This should only be done occasionally and when it makes sense to the narrative; GM's discretion applies.
Exploits
Being skilled in something can sometimes provide significant benefits in certain situations. That's where Exploits come in. Exploits are special one-off effects that are "invoked" to grant characters powerful advantages.
At Rank 1 a Vocation grants zero (0) Exploit invocations, but each higher Vocation Rank grants one (1) additional Exploit invocation. In other words, Rank 2 grants one (1) Exploit invocation per session, Rank 3 grants two (2) Exploit invocations per session, and Rank 4 grants three (3) Exploit invocations per session. Exploits can be triggered whenever they are relevant; a player simply declares they are invoking one of their character's remaining Exploit invocations, checks an invocation of the Vocation off on their character sheet, and the Exploit's effect resolves.
There is a basic set of Exploits that all Vocations offer, as follows:
Standard Exploits
All Vocations have the following standard exploits available to them.
Additionally, each Vocation description details special Exploits that the Vocation grants. Refer to individual Vocation write ups for specific options.
Regaining Exploits
Normally, a character's Exploit invocations only reset at the beginning of each session. However, Milestone Rewards offer an option to gain more Exploit invocations during a session.
When defining their character's Milestones a player can select the "gain an Exploit invocation" reward option for one or more of their Milestone Goals. When an Exploit is awarded for meeting a Milestone Goal, a player has the option of either immediately triggering an Exploit from one of their character's Vocations, or saving the invocation for later use during the session.
If they opt to save the invocation for later, the player must pick one of their character's Vocations to assign the additional invocation to and cannot later change their mind. Note that even a Rank 1 Vocation (which normally has zero (0) Exploit invocations) can be selected by the player to gain an invocation in this way.
Signature Exploits
A character can also have one or more Signature Exploits, which are special tricks or techniques that they have
developed within a Vocation. For instance, perhaps a character with the Archer Vocation has developed a trick shot
Exploit that allows them to sever a rope, or ricochet a shot around a corner.
Like every other Exploit, using a Signature Exploit expends an invocation of the applicable Vocation.
Each Signature Exploit costs one Advance to add to a character's capabilities. There is no maximum limit
on the number of Signature Exploits a character may have; the very limited number of invocations per session
acts as a throttle on the impact of Exploits in general. GM's discretion applies to the definition of all
Signature Exploits.
Vocations
Agent
You have received specialized training as part of an organization (government, corporate, esoteric, etc) intended to enable you to serve the interests of your patron. The exact nature of your training depends upon your origin, but the end result is you are a capable problem solver.
The Agent Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Alchemist
Alchemy is a magical artificing discipline that concerns itself with various practical and esoteric disciplines.
Most notably Alchemists make concoctions such as potions and a bewildering array of dusts, oils, traps, and bombs. Doing serious alchemy
generally requires specialized equipment and materials but not always.
The Alchemist Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Athlete
You engage in athletic activites either competitively, for money, or just for fun. Your coordination, fitness, and techniques can help you succeed where others might fail.
The Athlete Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Businessman
Regional differences and labels abound, but at the most basic level businessmen are those who buy and sell commodities or provide some service for pay. Businessmen have been known for as long as people have engaged in trade and commerce, and depending upon time and place businessmen may occupy a wide range of social statuses.
The Businessman Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Criminal
It's said that crime doesn't pay and while that is true for the inept and unlucky, there are exceptions for whom it is quite lucrative. While different specialities of criminal exist focusing on particular types of crime, this vocation is concerned with the fundamentals of life on the wrong side of the law, as well as practical considerations for finding success among the criminal elements of society
The Criminal Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Connected
Some people have a knack for establishing and maintaining useful relationships, curating a network of favors, leveraging an extend family, or similar.
The Connected Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Driver
A lot of people have vehicles and are basically proficient in their use, but some take vehicle operation to a whole different level.
The Driver Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Eldritch
Practitioners of a hereditary form of magic, those who have the so-called Old Blood manifest strange Gifts spontaneously...often even as children. Unlike Sorcerers, Wizards, and other 'spellcasters', the magic of Eldritch Gifts is intuitive, instinctive, or simply willed into being. However, an Eldritch may improve their usage and understanding of their abilities with practice and introspection.
The Eldritch Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Entertainer
Actors, dancers, standup comics, street performers, musicians...many specialties one intent...to entertain.
The Entertainer Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Journalist
You seek out news, usually with the intent to publish it via some form of media.
The Journalist Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Law Enforcement
Police, sheriff, deputy, or something similar...people with a law enforcement background vary greatly in scope of training and personal experience, but share some fundamentals.
The Law Enforcement Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Metropolitan
Cities are large labyrinthine places, full of dangerous turfs, social minefields, bureaucratic bailiwicks, hidden places, and the occasional unknown gems. Knowing how to navigate the urban jungle, where to find things, where not to go, etc...can be quite useful.
The Metropolitan Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Monster Hunter
Monsters are real. Some prey on humans. Some humans hunt them back.
The Monster Hunter Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Mysterian
Mysterians master a small number of specific rote spell effects, giving up flexibility for reliability and safety. As such, they are particularly good at working their magic in heightened situations such as combat. Though limited in scope compared to Wizards or Spellbinders in ideal circumstances, they often have the advantage when it comes to violent interactions.
The Mysterian Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Necromancer
Practitioners of magic focused on manipulating the forces of life and death.
The Necromancer Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Occultist
Some people study occult lore, counter narratives of cryptohistory, the existence and activities of various esoteric and secret societies, and adjacent concepts as assiduously and seriously as mainstream scholars study traditional subjects. You are one of those people.
The Occultist Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Paramedic
Whether you are a doctor, nurse, EMT tech, military medic, or something else you are trained on how to provide immediate medical care in the field or in an emergency situation.
The Paramedic Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Priest
Priests and priestesses preside over a congregation, and promulgate the doctrine of a particular religion. Priests also often officiate over significant events, ranging from the familial such as marriage and burial, to the societal such as holidays and observations of dogma-mandated special days.
The Priest Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Professional
You are a practitioner of some kind of profession, with the skill set, specialized knowledge, and proficiency with the relevant tools or equipment necessary to be successful at your trade.
The Professional Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Scholar
Some people dedicate themselves to the gaining and sharing of knowledge as a life long pursuit.
The Scholar Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Skulker
You are skilled at operating in shadows or behind the scenes, sneaking around, or otherwise avoiding notice while going about your business...whatever that may be. And you know how to conceal your intent, whether it be malevolent or benign.
The Skulker Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Sniper
Many people can shoot a rifle but very few have the patience and skill to crawl into position, then lay in wait unseen indefinitely until the opportunity to take one perfect head shot from up to half a mile away presents itself. You do.
The Sniper Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Socialite
Almost every 'civilized' city or nation has a strata of idle rich, artistes, celebrities, social climbers, hangers-ons, and wannabes who comprise a social scene. This includes things such as a so-called 'high' society, as well as art or music scenes, and the like.
Those who gravitate to this sort of social scene tend to amuse themselves by attending cultural events related to their interests, elaborate parties, and exclusive by invitation only gatherings. As various members of a particular scene often have considerable influence in the world which they are willing to bring to bear for fellow travelers in their scene as patronage, alliance building, deal making, perceived relevance, or in exchange for favors, inclusion in such a scene can have significant benefits.
Knowing what to wear, what to say, assess who is and is not important at society gatherings, how to gain access to exclusive events and enclaves of the influential, and so on...as well as any secondary practical matters such as rumor management and maintaining appearances...are the concerns of this vocation.
The Socialite Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Spellbinder
Spellbinders practice a rawer art than Wizards, tapping directly into mystical energies, but to mitigate the great risk intrinsic to such an undertaking Spellbinders usually filter these raw energies into specific rote spell effects that they have mastered and mystically bound to themselves. However under duress, they can simply channel pure extradimensional energies on the fly in an attempt to do theoretically anything mystically possible.
The Spellbinder Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Survivor
Some people, from all walks of life, seem to just have the knack of avoiding danger and staying alive even in extreme situations.
The Survivor Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Techie
Some people learn the ins and outs of the technology of their era, and leverage it to their advantage.
At lower Ranks you know how to leverage the technology of your era in ways that augment day to day undertakings. At higher Ranks you are able to contribute to the state of the art in at least one technical field, and are capable of doing things with technology that seem incomprehensibly complex to the less knowledgeable.
The Techie Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Thief
While anyone might take something that isn't technically theirs, to be a professional thief requires specialized skills.
Different specialities exist, from pickpockets to burglars to con artists, but the ability to size up a mark, the technique to acquire the goods and get away clean, and the connections to swap the loot for coin are difficult to come by.
The Thief Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Warrior
Warriors abound the world over, wherever people take up arms and train in their use.
The Warrior Vocation allows the following special Exploits:
Wizard
Practitioners of a pragmatically broad tradition of Hermetic magic.
Wizards are first and foremost academics and proceduralists with elaborate rituals and precisely defined rote spells, backed by comprehensively thorough magical theory and lore.
The pursuit of wizardry is a lifelong affair of deepening study and mastery of the nuances of the symbology and formal theories the art is founded upon. An old Wizard is usually a force to be reckoned with, but also a sage of the esoteric to be learned from.
The Wizard Vocation allows the following special Exploits: