In my world (Alendyias), just about everyone has Classes (explained here) but some people are different: they're adventurers, people who basically defy Tiers. My question is simple; What Role Will Adventurers Have In A Modified Medieval Society?
Specifications For Best Answer:
- The best answer will take the information below to determine what roles adventurers would have in a “modified medieval” society (described below), or in other words, how adventurers will fit into society, career-wise and otherwise
The society is medieval European, with three distinct differences; Tiers and Classes (covered above), increased equality (due to Bewitchment, which prompted-or rather forced-medieval men to become equal partners with their wives), and monsters (the effect of which is summed up pretty well by Trioxidane's answer in this link).
The Best Answer should cover:
Recruitment-Governments are going to want adventurers on their side, from village leaders to kings. What method will they use to recruit them? Wealth and material pleasures, or collection at childhood and subsequent brainwashing?
Ranking-How will adventurers fit into the class system? I’m sure adventuring will become something of a prestigious position, given what they do for the people, and that famous adventurers will become celebrities, but I can’t figure out whether they will be given positions among the nobility or given any special titles or “perks” as reward for their work. Will both occur, or….
Employment-Adventurers will likely be employed similarly to Hunters in RWBY, given the many dangerous monsters in Alendyias (like a Glutton, mentioned in the monster-related link, which is essentially a tank capable of spitting acid, climbing walls, and eating people whole). What I’m missing is the final details; will they be free agents hired when needed (sort of like plumbers), or will they be government contracted (ie. working for kings and/or nobles)? What other jobs will they have besides hunting and defending against monsters?
This can all be summed up
Information on how one can become an Adventurer, what an adventurer is, and the Code of Adventurers is below if desired.
How does one become an adventurer?
You see, anyone with a Class can become an adventurer, as long as they are "chosen." It's hard to describe, but sometimes the mysterious forces behind Alendyias' functions resonate within someone with the 'spark' at a critical point of their life. When this happens, the individual experiences a surge of resolve and a sudden clarity of thought, and at this time, they can make a choice, a Commitment.
This choice is simple: choose to go adventuring or make another unique, personal commitment. There is no third choice; either adventuring is their best path forward or their path lies elsewhere. Either way, this Commitment is binding; one does not simply go back on this choice. One can change one's mind, but only as a last resort.
If someone with the Spark chooses to become an adventurer, their Spark becomes an Adventurer's Flame, and they must then live by the Code of Adventurers.
What Is An Adventurer?
An adventurer is not just someone who committed to adventuring or someone who's sworn to live a certain way. An adventurer is, at best, a hero who helps and protects the various peoples of Alendyias in their journey and at worst, a villain who searches for wealth and power. The very act of choosing to become an adventurer makes it impossible to sit on the fence of good and evil.
A lot of things set adventurers apart from regular people, but these differences can be summed in list form:
1. Extra Lives: An adventurer doesn't just die; their spirit is anchored to Alendyias in such a way that when an adventurer dies (ie. their spirit leaves the body, leaving them clinically dead) their spirit enters the Abyss and draws upon its power to reform a new body. Once a dead adventurer has regained a body, they teleport back to Alendyias, specifically a safe spot within a six-to-nine foot radius of their 'grave spot', AKA the spot where they died.
The more damage an adventurer took before their spirit entered the Abyss, the longer it takes them to respawn; it takes five minutes to respawn after dying of a sword to the chest or a arrow to the head, and it can take up to thirty minutes to respawn after being mauled, eaten, crushed, or otherwise obliterated.
However, please not that adventurers do NOT respawn indefinitely! Instead, adventurers by default have two extra lives, and can gain 3-4 extra lives by Ranking up.
2. Greater Potential Levels: Tiers just don't matter for adventurers, because each and every adventurer has the potential to reach Level 500.
You see, instead of Tiers, adventurers have Ranks, which determines their maximum Level.
Adventurers 'Rank up' (get promoted) when they show they are worthy, and worthiness for a higher rank is determined by an adventurer's performance, just like promotions work in a normal business setting. In other words, the more thorough and efficient an adventurer is for dealing with monsters and other 'adventurer stuff', the higher their Rank. The most incompetent adventurers are Rank 1-0 (beginner to novice), and the most competent adventurers are Rank 12.
Thus, Ranks give adventurers an incentive to do their job well, and also tell someone how capable and trustworthy an adventurer is; a Rank 12 adventurer can handle threats to an entire kingdom, something like Smaug or Godzilla, while a Rank 1 adventurer can only handle threats to one village, like the occasional band of marauding goblins.
As a further check, when an adventurer does something unacceptable by the Codes (like killing someone for their 'loot' or stealing a powerful magical artifact from its rightful owners) they can be 'Ranked down' or in other words, demoted. Demotion and promotion is handled by Rorjon (who is described in the link about Classes above), and when an adventurer is demoted, they are reduced to the lowest level possible for someone of their new Rank.
3. Hero Factor: In media, heroes are almost always attractive and superhumanly capable, with examples ranging from James Bond to Ash Ketchum (with the latter being a hero-in-training).
The power of humanity's collective belief in attractive, capable heroes (caused and reinforced by humanity's tendency to idealize heroes) causes adventurers to become tougher, hotter, stronger, and more capable as they Rank up.
4. Auras: Adventurers have an aura, which act to give people an impression of who they are and also serve as the force behind Recruitment and Synergis.
If an adventurer is the villainous type, their aura will make them seem dark and foreboding, dangerous and not to be crossed. If an adventurer is the virtuous, good-hearted type, their aura will make them seem nice and trustworthy.
An adventurer's aura also elevates the connections that normally form between people for them, creating powerful Bonds. These Bonds allow an adventurer to telepathically communicate with their teammates, sense kindred spirits, and even allow ordinary people who choose to fight alongside them to become fellow adventurers.
5. Bags and Companions: Adventurer's Bags are explained in this link and here you can learn about my world's take on Companions. Both are exclusive to adventurers.
6. Inheritance Principle: The children of adventurers inherit their own Spark, and upon Committing to either become an adventurer or follow their own personal path gain: a Level Cap of 500, two extra lives, an aura, and the capability to gain Companions. However, such people are also dependent upon Ranks for advancement, and thus have to perform well in their given career (Class) to reach their full potential and they have to behave well to avoid demotion.
What Is The Code of Adventurers?
Combat-One shall not kill a sapient creature except when defending oneself or when defending another (ie. in the cause of defense). In other words, you can defend yourself or your loved ones. You can also shed blood when fighting for your home or your country.
Crime-Adventurers are not to commit acts of misproper conduct, including but not limited to: theft, assault, vandalism, murder, rape, and subjugation (enslaving a sapient being). Those things that are unacceptable to most modern societies (excepting subjugation, which was all too common throughout history) are banned by the Kanyeri and are punishable A) by the law through Enforcers and B) by demotion through Rorjon.
Camaraderie-For adventurers working together, in a team of two to fifteen (or more, potentially), each member of the team must do their part to the best of their abilities or face a punishment determined by the rest of their team. The team members must also elect a leader and are magically bound to obey that leader, within reasonable limits (so a leader cannot order someone to do whatever they want). If a team feels their leader fails to do their part (or in other words, to lead properly), they can oust them as leader (even from the team) with a vote of 2/3rds or more. A team of adventurers can do the same for any teammate who they feel doesn’t contribute to the team as they should.
Betraying one's teammates falls under the Crime category, as does withholding their proper share of any treasure earned by the team. Basic common-sense stuff, right?
Honor-An adventurer shall keep their promises to the best of their abilities, and failure to do so may result in demotion and (depending on the promise) legal action. This also means that if an adventurer accepts a quest or mission that they cannot just drop it and walk away, they must fulfill it if it is at all possible to do so. Failure to do so will result in demotion.
Cause-The last of the Codes. "Adventurers are to fight for the people of Alendyias, to defend them from monsters, villains, and other malevolent forces. You are the special few, the heroes standing against darkness and chaos, and failure to fulfill your role will result in your falling under the power of the aforementioned forces." In other words, an adventurer's job is to defend people from the forces of darkness and chaos or to fall to those forces themselves.
If it still doesn't make sense, think Dnd-style, Good-aligned adventurers, or the aforementioned Hunters from RWBY.
