City Worker (5e Background)
City Worker[edit]
Every city has tedious, dirty jobs that need to be done. You do those jobs for little pay, and are often ignored or looked down upon by others.
Skill Proficiencies: You are proficient in Perception and Athletics.
Tool Proficiencies: One gaming set.
Languages: You know Thieves' Cant.
Equipment: A broom, a shovel, a hooded lantern, common clothes, and a pouch containing 5 gp.
Job[edit]
The city pays you to perform menial labour. Choose your job or roll on the table below.
| d6 | Job |
|---|---|
| 1 | Lamp lighter |
| 2 | Street cleaner |
| 3 | Postal worker |
| 4 | Gong fermer |
| 5 | Knocker-upper |
| 6 | Gravedigger |
Feature: In the Background[edit]
People have a tendency to ignore you. You can utilise this to slip into crowds or hide in plain sight. Also, people are less likely to suspect you or question your movements.
Suggested Characteristics[edit]
Ignored and shunned because of your job, the excitement of adventure or the notoriety of a life of crime has always appealed to you. People don't often choose to be gong fermers or street cleaners, so you probably have very little choice when it comes to your employment. Still, you get by somehow.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I tend to look on the bright side. |
| 2 | I get lost in my daydreams often. |
| 3 | I believe it's better not to do something than to do it badly. |
| 4 | I'm full of stories about random people I've seen. |
| 5 | I'm zealously proud of my town. |
| 6 | I resent those with more money than me. |
| 7 | I'm a misanthrope—if people treated you the way they treated me, you would be too. |
| 8 | I keep my personal life separate from my work life. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ambition. I'm going to work my way up until I'm living the life I want. (Any) |
| 2 | Opportunity. My job gives me many criminal opportunities. (Evil) |
| 3 | Duty. Someone's got to do what I do. (Lawful) |
| 4 | Justice. When I see someone getting hurt, I have to help. (Good) |
| 5 | Personal Freedom. If I hurry, I have more time to myself. Who cares how badly I did my job? (Chaotic) |
| 6 | Money. I do my job because I need the money. I would jump ship if a better offer came along. (Neutral) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | My boss has been taking money out of my pay. One day, I'll get him back. |
| 2 | I have a workmate who disappeared. |
| 3 | I have a criminal contact who pays me for any information I pick up. |
| 4 | The local noble never passes up the chance to sneer at me. |
| 5 | I'm friends with a clerk who's trying to get me a better job. |
| 6 | There's a person who stops to pity me every time they see me. They are so condescending. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I try to inconvenience those I dislike. |
| 2 | I'm too passive. I do whatever people tell me. |
| 3 | I have trouble keeping my anger in check—it's cost me more than one job. |
| 4 | I would kill for a better job. |
| 5 | I perform my duties poorly, if at all. |
| 6 | I was the one who vandalised the noble's manor—if they find out, I'm dead. |
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