What Role Would Adventurers Have In A Modified Medieval Society?

Question

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:

1. 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. Edit 5: Not to be pedantic, but I must clarify; choosing to become an adventurer is simply embracing one's adventurous side and choosing a lifestyle that matches. It does not mean giving up any and all potential commitments! One can be an adventurer and be married, join the army, or even go on a quest to become king, and this is because becoming an adventurer is embracing the journey.

In other words, there is, technically, a third choice; one can become an adventurer (it being their best path forward) in order to get closer to a personal goal (like becoming king).

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?

1. 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.

Edit 1: Yes, preemptive defense is permissible. If you know that someone is going to attack you, or attempt to cause you injury, you are perfectly entitled to attack them. For example, if someone pulls out a knife after saying something threatening, chances are they intend to attack you and thus you are legally entitled to attack in your own defense.

2. 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.

Edit 2: Who determines what is crime? Well, given that adventurers are international agents, and that Rorjon created a set of international laws for such agents, that would be him.

Rorjon's definitions of the above crimes is simple; theft is taking what isn't yours, assault is unwarranted or unjustified violence, vandalism is damaging someone else's property, murder is unjustified killing (which may or may not be done with malicious intent. It's unjustified if it is not allowed under Combat above), and rape is a sexual act done without express consent. As for taxation, subjugation and homosexuality, taxation is not theft, as long as those doing it are legally entitled to tax whoever is being taxed; incarceration or bonded service of an indepted person is not subjugation so much as holding someone to the bonds of honor, and is perfectly legal; and homosexuality, while not approved by Rorjon, is also not illegal under his international laws. That said, homosexuality may be (and likely is) illegal in the various nations and governments of Alendyias.

3. 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?

Edit 3: Yes, adventurers have "one vote, one voice" elections. Rank and station does not give one additional votes. However, in a team election (that is not to depose a leader) the leader can veto a 2/3rds vote, as long as they can back up their veto with a logical argument. Furthermore, any legal action made between adventurers can be brought to the courts of the Adventurer's Guild if necessary.

4. 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.

5. 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.

Edit 4: The definitions of "human" and "villain" in Alendyias are hard to capture, but I'll do my best. As far as the Kanyeri are concerned, all men and women have equal rights, regardless of religion or ethnicity. However, just like in the US, prejudice still exists and is acted upon, it's just not legal. (Real-life examples would include the pay difference between men and women, or the racism and bias inherent in how capital punishment is executed.)

A "villain" is someone who commits illegal or unethical acts routinely, like a crime boss, highwayman, serial killer, or the stereotypical would-be usurper who will use any means necessary to take the throne. Others examples also exist, such as a mage who seeks the power of compulsion (ie. mind-control) or an alchemist whose twisted experiments have turned countless unfortunate individuals into monstrosities.

Answer 1

Your definition :

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.

Your question :

What Role Would Adventurers Have In A Modified Medieval Society?

The Answer

In medieval Europa people didn't have TV, internet, news. The only way the average citizen had to know anything about what happens in the rest of the world was propaganda from their emperors and kings or bishops.

Adventures, as you said, they are travelers, in ancient time hospitality to strangers was a sacred thing, often many religions, including Christianity had etiquette on how to be hospital to travelers. Because they were a precious source of the most important and valuable thing there can be ''information''

Families would often let travelers sleep in their own home, in their own bed (beds were not cheap and they were hard to manufacture) all of this in exchange of stories.

Knowing the value of money in another country is precious information if you want to get rich, many Anglic traders got filthy rich by simply exchanging english money for french money over and over, basically creating money out of thin air.

Knowing the religion in another country is precious information if you want truth, in ancient times religious travelers and traders where the first Atheists because they realized that every country believed their religion was the true and only religion and all of the others were wrong.... which meant that probably they were all just brainwashing themselves.

Knowing the health of another country is precious information, for example in ancient times there used to be traveling medics who's purpose in life was to help the weak and needy, they would travel to contries with ''hostality centers'' also known as hospitals, those were building where the diseased where piled up like cattle...so knowing which countries and cities have built hospitality centers was useful for medics.

Also if your city or village learns to attract travelers, it means there will eventually be less and less people forced to marry their sisters and cousins...otherwise if you isolate yourself you end up like Japan.

Answer 2

Adventurers, as described, are a perpetual threat to existing systems of governing: The adventurers are strong, have additional lives, and their max level is comparable to that of kings. Therefore, governments can take one of the three approaches to avoid being disrupted:

1. Eliminate all adventurers;
2. Employ adventurers and turn them into loyal officials, generals, etc.;
3. Make a deal with adventurers that they stay away from the general public.

These approaches can be combined, but it would be necessary to pay attention to details and how different measures balance each other. Ideally, a government will create a situation where adventurers work for the greater good while not being capable of threatening existing power structures. It is not an easy feat to accomplish.

Approach 1. Eliminate all adventurers

The adventurers will be stigmatised and hunted down (similar to witch hunts). The majority of adventurers will be killed in their early stages of adventuring. Those who manage to survive will have to hide and do everything they can to gain the power to protect themselves. At the same time, most of them will hold grudges against the government that made their lives miserable.

The government will have to have special organisations and institution akin to the Inquisition to hunt down the adventurers. There will also be a need for a big, well-trained, and well-equipped standing army that is capable of taking down stronger adventurers.

If a government is good at adventurer hunts, most of the adventurers may be eliminated and be incapable of mustering an organised resistance. A less competent government will have to deal with bands of adventurers that live in hard to access areas and slowly level.

The two most obvious drawbacks (for the government) of this approach are 1) rampaging monsters that are now the government's responsibility (and associated peasant riots when the government fails to protect villages and towns), 2) military inferiority compared to countries of comparable size and wealth that employ adventurers in their armies, and 3) a very real threat of one grudge-holding adventurer overthrowing the government once they reach level 500. There is also a possibility that adventurers of the world unite and start a revolution :)

This approach will only work if the government is very effective and the number of adventurers is globally low.

Approach 2. Employ adventurers and turn them into loyal officials, generals, etc.

A competent government will recruit adventurers directly and will not allow them to work for local lords unless ordered so. The adventurers will serve the crown (or whatever represents the highest authority of the land) and be loyal to the crown only. Depending on the shrewdness and moral standing of the said authority, loyalty can be cultivated (especially if adventurers can be recruited at an early age), bought (the government bestows fame and riches), or forced (the options range from taking adventurers' families hostages to poisoning adventurers and feeding them monthly doses of antidotes).

A less competent government will allow local lords to hire adventurers. This will turn those lords into a potential threat depending on the strength of their personal armies. You can expect power struggle, wars of inheritance, and rebellions against the central government (sometimes successful).

The benefits of this approach are: 1) the adventurers are heroes of the land that can be called upon at any moment (no more monster-related headaches for the government), 2) higher military strength compared to the countries that do not employ adventurers.

However, the government will never be 100% secure. A country like this will attract adventurers and give them opportunities to amass power. If the government ever loses their loyalty it will be replaced. So, the government will always be in a state of political struggle, trying to balance various factions. Chinese palace dramas can be a good reference for this kind of political situation.

Approach 3. Remove adventurers from the worldly affairs

Adventurers create their own parallel society with their own institutions, laws, and enforcement procedures. They refuse to participate in worldly affairs and world governments are not capable of influencing this position. Of course, there always be a few rogue adventurers that decide to serve some small government, but they will rarely be strong or will not dare to expose their true power in order to avoid the sanctions from the 'proper' adventurers.

In this parallel society, everyone will be an adventurer. So, they will take on all occupations necessary to support their lifestyle. There will be crafters, merchants, administrators, warriors, etc.

The governments will be safe from the adventurers' interference. And the peasants will be safe from monsters (because the adventurers will take care of this).

This is the approach that many xianxia and wuxia novels take: They create a separate society (cultivation or martial arts respectively) that is governed by its own rules and does not allow government interference.

Please note that any government worth their position will eventually try to seize control over adventurers. It will lead to political struggles and wars. The only way to avoid this development is to make adventurers much, much stronger than non-adventurers, so it is obvious to anyone that taking over is impossible.

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Previous approaches outline how governments may approach adventurers. However, adventurers also can take over governments and become rulers themselves.

How a society governed by adventurers will look depends on the philosophy dominating adventurers mindsets. Is it a world where power reigns supreme (aka every man for himself)? Or is it a world built on the values of humanism? Or maybe it is a world where every life is seen as important? What is the role of the Code? Is it just for show or people truly believe in it?

There is also a question of Rorjon. How flexible he is? How gullible? How easy it is to trick him? Can his good intentions be subverted easily? And can be 'bad' deeds hidden from him? What happens if adventurers decide to defy Rorjon en mass?

Answer 3

Assuming that there is such a thing as an nobility class, adventures would be something between Japanese Ronin and Ottoman Jainssaries. In the absence of such a class, the adventures would become the nobility. If they don't want to rule, but can overthrow any ruler, you would end up with a weird stateless society. If you've read Malazan Book of the Fallen, imagine what a few dozen Karsa Orlongs will do to you society. If you don't want to read that, this quote should give you some insight.

In my village no one is a stranger - and this is what civilization has turned it's back on. One day, Munug, I will make a world of villages, adn the age of cities will be over. And slavery will be dead, and there shall be no chains - tell your god. Tonight, I am his knight.' - Karsa Orlong.

Given that there is an nobility class, adventures would form their retenues. They would be trained and bankrolled. In peacetime they police and secure the land, in wartime they follow their Lords into battle.

From here on things depend on which level of the fudal society most adventures serve. You might get something like Jainssaries if they serve a powerful central government, something like a Lords retenue, men at arms or cataphracti. Do they serve a baron, a Duke, a King or an Emperor?

Additionally they might also decide to serve theocratic governments or republics. Both of these cases would be very interesting, as religious states could easily enforce an exclusive access to adventurers via faith and mercent republics might be able to provide better living conditions to than most nobles.

Answer 4

Adventurers Are Completely Separate From Society

This choice is simple: choose to go adventuring or make another unique, personal commitment. There is no third choice

While adventurers seem like they would be the natural best candidates for positions of nobility and power, their spark makes them completely incapable of pursuing this path no matter how well qualified for it they are. A person who feels the spark and decides "One day, I will use this power to become king!" will actually be making a commitment outside of becoming an adventurer; so, they will lose the spark and be degraded to a life of normal abilities ... but in which they may one day become a King.

To this end, the Code of Adventurers is not just some set of laws designed to keep adventurers on the straight and narrow, but a code intended to keep adventures true to the calling of being an adventurer so that they do not stray and lose their power. Your Code of Adventurers is designed to keep adventurers from getting caught up in commitments that would break their spark: Don't accept positions of power, don't get married, don't sign contracts, don't join armies, etc. Basically anything that commits you to someone else endangers your spark; so, adventurers live completely as free agents, and are quick to leave places where they are no longer needed always traveling in pursuit of whatever the greatest threat is to the land.

If an adventurer were to ever stop hunting monsters and try to become a parent, lord, employee, soldier, etc. then his power would quickly wain. Not only does this keep your adventures doing their job of protecting civilization from monsters, but it also keeps them from replacing the monsters as the greatest threat to civilization.

A good archetype for how this kind of person would fit into your society would be Stryder the Ranger (Aragorn) from Lord of the Rings. The Movies did not go into it in much detail, but the books clearly described him as a man who protected society, but abohored being a part of it. He wandered from place to place slaying monsters and doing good, but he was not really a part of society at all. By in large, he lived off of the land and he never stayed anywhere long. Geralt of Rivia (from the Witcher) is another good example of this.

Otherwise they will inevitably become your nobility

If you do not make people chose between a life outside of society and a life that is part of it, the long term consequences for society are grave:

The origins of nobility in Medieval Europe was the Lord/Serf agreement. The fall of Rome lead to a huge power vacuum leaving many commoners vulnerable to the raids of vikings. This lead many Europeans to give up their freedom in exchange for protection from local champions in exchange for their loyalty and taxes. Those heroes became knights and formed alliances that would elevate some of them to lords or even kings. In this setting, no normal person would be able to offer the same sort of protection as "Adventurers" so, non-adventurers would inevitably become their serfs for the exact same reason normal people become the serfs of champions.

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.

Because the spark is hereditary, those who become lords would have a vested interest in breeding the next generation in a way that maintains the status quo: thus, the nobility would be very strict about not breeding outside of their station to ensure appropriately powerful offspring. No one wants a level 12 hero being born to a peasant family because such a person could make a bid for the throne which would mean civil war which is bad for everyone. In this way, level 12 heros would not be born, they are breed, and they would be kings. And those kings would eventually spend more time slaying dangerously powerful people of lesser nobility to maintain his position than they would actually defending the kingdom from monsters.

In the end, it will be the lesser level adventures fighting and dying to maintain the kingdom while the most powerful will be to preoccupied with matters of state to be concerned with monsters.

The biggest problem here though is that there would not actually be "adventures" by the time you reach the Late Medieval period. By this point there will be so many family rivalries among the nobility that a lord could not just leave his homeland for any period of time because his rivals would be an imminent threat to his estate while he is gone. This sort of thing happened a lot in Medieval Europe when knights and lords would go off to war, but would be significantly worse in this setting because he servants would be completely at the mercy of any super-powered rival that might try to move in. So instead of a setting full of adventurers traveling the countryside saving the world from unspeakable horrors, you end up with a dystopian version of the Medieval Period where all of the inequality and abuses of power are made much worse by super powers.