Beggar

Many who fall on hard times have no other option than begging for coppers. Considered the lowest rung of society, beggars are looked down upon in either pity or contempt by other members of society, when they deign to notice them at all. For their part, beggars see people at their best and at their worst, a more honest representation than they show their peers or superiors.

• Skill Proficiency: Persuasion
• Additional Equipment: A begging bowl or tin cup for collecting coins (alms box*), a crutch (club), spare scraps of cloth*, and a small stick of grease paint*.

*Negligible item of no value.

Ability: Friends in Low Places

Upon spending an hour speaking to other beggars and making a DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check, you can manipulate the underground currents of information that flow throughout the city. This allows you to manipulate the mood of the lower classes for or against a specific individual, group, or decision. The unrest caused may manifest itself in a number of ways, at the GM’s discretion.

Ranks

Rank 1 – Street Beggar

Driven by desperation, you are forced to the streets to earn what you need to survive. Poor decisions or bad luck drained away whatever funds you managed to scrape together, and you have no real home to return to. As an adventurer you have certain alternatives not available to most, but between forays into the wilds the fact remains that you have no steady occupation and no place to call home.

Holdings

• A spot in an alley that you have managed to stake out and must defend against newcomers.
• The name of a sympathetic merchant with space in a high-traffic area of the city allowing you to perform /pc-profession to advance your career.

Progression

• Gain the friendship of a local business owner by performing odd jobs or doing some other service.
  • Spend a total of 1,200 hours performing odd jobs or service.

Rank 2 – Mendicant

A common sight to locals, you have moved up to a better location in a busy street or plaza. You no longer have to fight for your place and have gained the tolerance of the guards and the friendship of other local beggars. By this time you have established a begging “pitch” designed to attract attention without inconveniencing those passing by. This could be a persona or some sort of script that you devise in order to amuse or elicit sympathy from the general populace.

Holdings

• A safe place to sleep near a merchant stall or building.
• Friendship with local beggars and a few local traders, who may offer you some spare coin, food, or odd jobs from time to time.
  • Grants a +1 bonus to your Charisma proficiency bonus when performing your profession.

Progression

• Split a significant windfall with other beggars, earning their loyalty.
  • Spend a total of 2,400 hours performing odd jobs or service.

Rank 3 – Gutter Baron

You have risen to a position of prominence, such as it is, among the beggars in your city. You are able to direct the actions of a number of other paupers and split the rewards in a far more efficient manner than they could do alone, and they respect and defer to you in important decisions.

Holdings

• Squatter’s rights in an abandoned building.
• A handful of other beggars who defer to your authority and aid you in gathering money and information.
  • Grants a +1 bonus to your Charisma proficiency bonus when performing your profession. Stacks with prior rank (+2 total).
• Knowledge of an illicit deal that took place in an alley in the dead of night, which implicates a minor noble.

Progression

• Perform a great service for the poor of the city either by thwarting the plans of a ranking noble or leveraging your influence to gain a powerful aristocrat patron.
  • Spend a total of 4,800 hours performing odd jobs or service.

Rank 4 – Beggar King

You have become the undisputed master of the city’s destitute population, and none of them act without your knowledge. Having control of such a wide-ranging network of informants and agents puts you at the center of the city’s political power struggles. Even leaders of criminal organizations know that you are not someone to be trifled with.

Holdings

• A comfortable hideout hidden in the slums or sewers.
• A network of beggars, informants, and criminals that keep you informed of all illicit activity within the city.
• Influence with at least one major player in local crime or politics.

Source: Adapted from Grim Hollow Campaign