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Does crafting magic items count?
beer, wenches, stalking the streets in full black garb ready to pounce on muggers and rapists with the full fury of the butterfly's sting.
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My character churns out gaming articles, then creates discussion threads tangentially related to my articles to generate traffic. ;P
My oracle, though, is a con artist that only adventures because his haunting entity harasses him and ruins his cons unless he is making progress on saving the world.
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My (retired) halfling necromancer enjoys six meals a day in between creating new undead from the bones on his plate. Skeleton fish, flaming zombie chickens, abominable asparagus assault angels, the list goes on and on...
My bard does mostly the same thing when adventuring and not adventuring. Get drunk, have fun, stay alive.
In all seriousness though he actually runs a caravan that ships iron golems from Varisia to Qadira. He didn't start out that way though, he started out as a poor drunk who got through life with his good looks and charming wit. During his career he keeps getting drunk and agreeing to just about anything, and it somehow seems to work out.
It often throws other players for a loop when he treats adventuring as his day job and his day job as his real profession.
I'm smoothing out a dragon-blooded human slayer who loves to hunt, and is trying to build an airship so he can drop in on his prey (or studied targets) and to get away from the world in which he lives for... various reasons.
He's also looking for a way to return to the world of his birth.(something that'll require God-magic to do, although he doesn't know that yet). so that's something he'll try to find out when he gets opportunities.
My dwarf fighter, Axim, accidently killed his brother in a fit of rage. He adventures to try and atone for his actions, and refuses to drink alcohol because it fuels his anger. While others are drinking, he likes to play practical jokes on them. It reminds him of the fun he used to have, but also keeps his mind focused on how inattentive one becomes when drinking.
He's also pre-occupied with contacting his dead brother, to apologize and find out if he's forgiven. So whenever a medium gains some renown, he'll seek them out to try a saiance. He has yet to succeed. But will spend his gold on such services even if it means having inferior weapons.
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Same thing we do every night Pinky
Current character in a modern campaign runs a "real" magical components and knick knacks shop. Has the real components for real mages, as well as mundane fare for those who practice voodoo, wicken and such.
Game before I was the spy master in a kingmaker game... So... I spied (with my little eye, etc...)
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Freddy the Fighter: ......and that's the last of the loot, all split up. So... what now?
Erik the Cleric: I'm going back to the Church of Bahamut. Gotta tithe some of this to the Dragon, you understand; plus, somebody's gotta sew that idiot bard back together.
Barto the Bard: (missing both arms and one and a half legs, and has a hole torn out of his throat) it only hurts when i pee ;_;
Freddy: Shut up, Bart. I think I can actually use this to pay the rent on the bar this month.
Rita the Rogue: And my share's going in our retirement fund, Fred! XD
Erik: You know, if the two of you are a couple, shouldn't you just get one share instead of two?
Rita: Not important.
Barto: someone find my other lung, i don't think the vampire sucked all the blood out of it ;_;
Amy the Alchemist: Shush, Bart. You guys know how many alchemy ingredients this'll buy? All of them. I'm looking sooooo forward to that Elemental Plane of Fire-produced alchemist's fire I found the recipe for. ^_^
Barto: i think some of my head's down to bare skull ;_;
Edvard Eddard, Evoker Extraordinaire: All right, fine, Bart's share goes to a Greater Restoration and a couple Regeneration spells. That'll leave him with... .......minus 750 gold.
Rita: Damn. Looks like we'll have to sell his rapier again.
Grandmaster Han is a retired veteran artiforged, a person augmented with magical devices grafted to his body. He used to be a family man until he lost his daughter to illness. When not experimenting with his augmentations and prosthetic limbs, he enjoys reading or going to the local tavern, sharing his war stories. Due to the ranger's animal companion, Han now wants to adopt a cat. Cats aren't native to his homeland, so he finds them rather adorable and fascinating.
Kitsune witch Luos has a hobby of crafting plushies from hide, beans, and cotton. She has created one in likeness for each party member. She recently learned how to animate them for fun, which she uses to play with her cat familiar, Elle. After learning how to use her shapeshifting to assume an aquatic form, she also taken up recreational swimming.
My current character used to run an inn and tavern along one of the new roads in the stolen land. Since he hit 15th level, that has taken a back seat to his new project, which is creating a stronghold in a demiplane and researching a Staff of the Magi.
So, usual things.
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One character was a cartographer, and made a living creating and selling maps of various territory.
Another was an artist that would sketch portraits for pay - and came in handy when he could just sketch a portrait of people the group was looking for (have you seen this person?).
Most of my PCs have a "real" profession or hobby of some sort, and sometimes gets to use it at some point during adventuring.
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I lift items off one person and drop on another. It's a form of amusement.
Other times I spend an afternoon in the Rum tasting room of my bar in Absolom.
Or a splendid day at my country estate watching the trees grow.
Nights, as a patron of the arts I enjoy the theater. Flashing coins and hoping for an attempted robbery.
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In my Kingmaker game, the party has a number of side businesses they run when they're not ruling or adventuring.
The (now deceased) human Rogue built and ran a bar called "The Lord's Den". The manager he hired - a Tiefling woman - is now a PC in her own right, having taken over as Spymaster.
The half-elf Oracle of Life, who is also the Kingdom's ruler, runs a charitable hospital dedicated to Sarenrae, where she spends time treating people with illnesses and injuries.
The human Storm Druid runs... an engineering firm... building public works and buildings in an environmentally sustainable way. While many people have commented "worst druid ever", his real goal - to build an airship and travel the center of the Eye of Abendigo - is well served by this business.
The half-elf Sorcerer runs a magic shop, along with her two "apprentices" (who mainly use her library, rather than learning directly from her), complete with an alchemy lab, an observatory, and a greenhouse. She uses it to help fund her research into both the ancient Cyclops Empire of Casmaron and into dragons - one of which she has a very personal grudge against.
A couple of the former party members were members of the Restov City Watch; one retired to accept the post of Night Watch Commander, allowing him to be nearer to his 9-year-old son, the other now works as the party's Ambassador to Varnhold.
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My bard proclaims to his adoring public all of the glories that he's earned! (and may just claim most of the glories of his compatriots as well)
"Oh - yes - my companion Bart the Barbarian was there when stood my ground against the ravaging horde of demons... I don't remember him doing anything of note though. I was too busy killing all of the demons myself to pay attention!" *smiles* - and all of the ladies sigh
Ale and whores!
Currently the character I'm playing is the head of a family of assassins, and has been reluctantly drafted (By dint of being the only surviving heir) into running the 'family business'. He's busy right now trying to change their focus and possibly even what they do, but there's six hundred years of tradition, and darkness and evil literally in their blood and genetics to go against.
(No, seriously, his blood is pitch black, and even though he's Good, he always shows up on Detect Evil, and yes, HAS been smote by a Paladin.)
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Being Queen is my day job.
It is so stressful, that I require 3 weeks of Adventure Therapy each month to decompress and relax.
Otherwise, I would be having people burned at the stake every hour.
you're that guy that did the power tier thread.
anyway, s/he weeps softly in a corner.
Being Queen is my day job.
It is so stressful, that I require 3 weeks of Adventure Therapy each month to decompress and relax.
Otherwise, I would be having people burned at the stake every hour.
they don't have a clock in your kindgom do they? they just watch for the smoke.
Sits in a drawer waiting for the next time adventure calls.
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My dead wyrwood monk/druid character was a painter that adventured for inspiration as they felt they had hit a dead end with their work, and wanted to try new styles. Many of my characters are researchers and engineers attempting to meld and invent new alchemical and mechanical items(I'm studying to go into R&D so that is where it comes from). I had one that was a sailor, one that was a businessman attempting to invent copyright law to conquer the world(the evil one), and one that was a political advisor that would try social experiments on small towns.
Queen Moragan wrote:
Being Queen is my day job.
It is so stressful, that I require 3 weeks of Adventure Therapy each month to decompress and relax.
Otherwise, I would be having people burned at the stake every hour.they don't have a clock in your kindgom do they? they just watch for the smoke.
The fairies treat clocks anywhere from free toys to amusement parks, depending on the clock's size.
So we generally use cold iron sundials/moondials and sand timers, some try to use candles, but they are easy to mess with too.Our kingdom has a major fairy infestation.
Being burnt at the stake is standard punishment for what you would call a felony.
Queen Moragan wrote:
Being Queen is my day job.
It is so stressful, that I require 3 weeks of Adventure Therapy each month to decompress and relax.
Otherwise, I would be having people burned at the stake every hour.they don't have a clock in your kindgom do they? they just watch for the smoke.
The fairies treat clocks anywhere from free toys to amusement parks, depending on the clock's size.
So we generally use cold iron sundials/moondials and sand timers, some try to use candles, but they are easy to mess with too.Our kingdom has a major fairy infestation.
Being burnt at the stake is standard punishment for what you would call a felony.
wow i can see why you need 3 weeks of adventuring.
I am the throne, so I am never off if it.
Minor crimes, i.e. non-major crimes, get various corporal punishments.
Only un-civilized barbarian heathens cut off people's heads.
We would burn such criminals at the stake.
Pretty much all of my characters ever have the same goal: A magically constructed, floating bar/inn/tavern.
All adventuring and all down-time is working towards this goal.
Found some fancy mugs as part of the treasure? I'll take them as my share!
Save up for magically enchanted, everfull casks of ale/rum/wine etc.
It's pretty boring by some peoples standards, but for some reason gives me limitless joy, especially when I complete the damn thing and am able to bring it with me on adventures!
Park it a mile up while we dungeon delve, go home after a hard days work for a beer and some roast boar! Yes!
Adventuring doesn't have to involve sleeping in the mud.
I am the throne, so I am never off if it.
Minor crimes, i.e. non-major crimes, get various corporal punishments.
Only un-civilized barbarian heathens cut off people's heads.
We would burn such criminals at the stake.
Queen Moragan, U.S. President 2016.
*party blower sound*
In-game, my party rarely does anything that doesn't involve adventuring or stocking up for an adventure, but I like to consider things like hobbies and such. :)
My character, Lyra, is a weapons enthusiast, and basically picks up whatever weapons she finds/loots. She also plays the lyre and enjoys reading, and is carrying a puzzle box our party found, so that's another thing she likes to busy herself with.
Our barbarian, Bob, crafts things, our bard collects gems...hmmm...other than that, I haven't heard much about our indivulidual characters' hobbies. I do remember an NPC who sewed vests for his sheep though.
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Pip and Fluffy: "Helping" VCs and Masters around the Grand Lodge. They mostly get sent on missions because they've finally annoyed someone enough that they get tasked just to get them out of the lodge for a few days. They were not exactly traditional recruits; the situation is more like a kid bringing home a puppy and promising (then failing) to take care of it, except instead of a kid and a puppy you had Drendle Drang and an intelligent talking wolf :)
Tiger Lily: High class hedonism (including frequent partying with the Paracountess and faithful attendance at Calistria's temple), negotiating trade contracts and managing her caravan business to fund said hedonism, and research into the Star Stone in preparation for an attempt at divinity. Also, avoiding Ambrus Valsin, since she doesn't want to get chewed out yet again about her complete lack of physical prowess.
(Paladin Archer of Erastil from Thornkeep I forget the name of): I'd generally assume that he's harassing female Pathfinders about why they aren't doing their womanly duty and staying home churning out babies, but this is my lowest play time character, so I have the least feel for him. That said, during his one mission, he did spend some time chiding Kyra about why she wasn't home churning out babies, much to her chagrin :)
Sir Vincent Thosan: After getting kicked out of paladin school, Sir Vincent spends most of his spare time drinking, then punching other people that are also drinking. Incidentally, this is also what he did far too often when he was still in paladin school, hence that whole experiment not working out.
Six: Doesn't take much spare time for himself - he mostly stays around the Grand Lodge doing the drill sergeant routine with new recruits. However, he won't help out anybody with Chelish loyalties, and he favors training halflings when possible, after being rescued from slavery in Cheliax by the Bellflower. The rare times he takes off from the lodge he usually spends quietly fishing by himself.
the last rogue i played was a rather successful loan shark/investor, of course i had to hire the parties barbarian to act as my collection agent(leg breaker) when people where behind on payments
We all want to make characters with depth and story. Sometimes, though, we get so caught up by our characters' day jobs that we forget they have lives beyond tomb raiding and dungeon delving. This week's piece is about showing how your characters' hobbies and passions can round them out, and make them more three-dimensional, as well as more entertaining to have at the table.
What Does Your Character Do When Not Adventuring?
I share a story in the entry of a barbarian I had whose hobbies totally shifted how I played him. How about you all? Any good stories to tell about how what your character did when not chasing plot hooks affected who they were?
My rogue sits in a dark room....waiting...
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Xallis and Navia: the Chellish summoner has partial ownership of a trade caravan, and often lends his honeyed words to help boost profits. Even though the Society's high risk, high reward shenanigans are his biggest source of income by far, he enjoys taking up his mother's profession of choice to see the world and keep his people skills sharp. Aside from that, he enjoys going to plays, especially those from his homeland. Ever since evolving Navia from a second story specialist into a combat monstrosity, he's been spending less time with her outside of Society work. It bothers her, but she does relish the opportunities to show off her mutations.
Captain Riamora Spiritsong: spends a lot of time preparing a ship recently passed down from her sister, the Lady's Misgivings. Learning how to best be a fearsome captain while working to master her arcane magic. Often volunteers at temples of Pharasma, lending her moderate skills at healing and midwifery. She greatly enjoys the faith affirming work and appreciates a break from her trial-and-error training at sea.
I have a mostly retired priest of Kelemvor (Forgotten Realms god of death) who was knighted in his homeland who loves horses, so he has a horse farm where he raises and breeds equids. He also, of course, spends part of each week at the local temple tending to the dead, performing services and counseling the loved ones of the recently deceased.
His immediate family is dead but he spends a lot of time with the family of his paternal cousin, who treat him as a brother, and helps them with their children. His cousins are all much older than him as his father was the youngest in their generation of family so he is roughly of a similar age as the oldest of his cousins children.
Finally he has recently decided to open a distillery to make high quality whiskey since he never seems to find a brand that is quite right to his palate.
Otherwise he spends time visiting old party members, seeing plays or concerts in theaters, writing his memoirs or catching up on reading that he never had time for while adventuring every day.
Andrea: Now mayor of Westcrown, which is quite the coup since she is a follower of Calistria. Helps ease restrictions on other religions and helps halflings escape to Andorian and increase rights for other slaves. Married to Fiosa and they are raising a human girl named Emily.