Vagabond

Those paupers who choose to leave their past behind and take to the open road are known as vagabonds. Some do so in an attempt to flee whatever painful memories caused their descent into poverty, while others hold out hope of starting a new life in another city. Most don’t survive outside the protective walls of a guarded settlement, but those that do often find little welcome in the cities they visit. Vagabonds must therefore work hard to gain trust and forge what connections they may have in each place they visit, and invariably they must move on before they wear out their welcome.

• Skill Proficiency: Insight
• Additional Equipment: A walking stick (quarterstaff), an old wool cloak (blanket), and an iron pot.

Ability: Friendly Face

Upon spending an hour in a town or other settlement and making a DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check, you can track down an ally that you made on a previous visit during your wandering. This ally begins as friendly to you and will answer questions you have regarding the town, its services, and its inhabitants.

Ranks

Rank 1 – Outcast

For whatever reason, you can’t go home again. Bereft of family, property, and support, you are now cut loose to wander and survive as best you can. You stand out more as a stranger in smaller settlements, where people shun you as if you have the plague, but even in larger cities you are viewed with suspicion by the local authorities.

Holdings:

• A posting from a town seeking able-bodied workers to deal with a recent disaster allowing you to perform /pc-profession to advance your career.

Progression: Survive a major storm on the road or participate meaningfully in a town’s internal disputes.

• Spend a total of 1,200 dreaming of what you will do with your life.

Rank 2 – Drifter

You have gotten used to life on the road and now travel aimlessly from town to town. At each stop you take on odd jobs, greet familiar faces, and then move on. Outside your small group of friends spread across Faerun, others are beginning to recognize you as a frequent visitor.

Holdings:

• News from far parts of your current region that are not public knowledge.
• A letter or package that one of your contacts asked you to deliver to another town
  • Grants a +1 bonus to your Wisdom proficiency bonus when performing your profession

Progression: Save the life of one of your contacts.

• Spend a total of 2,400 dreaming of what you will do with your life.

Rank 3 – Seeker

Your aimless wanderings have taken on a new purpose. Competent in the rigors of the road and dealing with suspicious villagers, you travel from place to place in search of a new life or new direction. For good or ill, you are recognized as you travel, much as a caravan leader or traveling merchant.

Holdings:

• The ability to send messages across long distances through your network of contacts.
  • Grants a +1 bonus to your Wisdom proficiency bonus when performing your profession. Stacks with prior rank (+2 total).

Progression: Play a major role in the downfall of a prominent member of society.

• Spend a total of 4,800 dreaming of what you will do with your life.

Rank 4 – Wanderer

You now travel the world not out of necessity, but choice. Your deeds have garnered you an almost mythical reputation, and whispers follow you whenever you enter a new city or settlement. As a champion of righteousness or a walking plague, everyone knows that even the best laid plans are uncertain when you arrive.

Holdings:

• A respected or feared reputation in any settlement you visit.
• Information about major events across Faerun that has not yet made its way to your current location.

Source: Adapted from Grim Hollow Campaign