Small Jobs in Haven

My players were lamenting their lack of funds in the most recent game - they are adventurers, members of the Guild of Defenestration, and their "job" is to get into the dungeons that bloom under Haven. Their "payment" comes from loot they recover (a small percentage skimmed from the top by the Guild for operating expenses, of course).

One of my players was asking "can't we do something to earn a few groats?" My immediate response was "no - you are adventurers! go adventure!" I should have said "sure, but it takes time and has consequences.  After all, if you saw your local mayor working at the local fast food chain, you'd have a thought or two on the subject.

So, some rules for "other jobs" for adventurers. Incidentally, they all suck.

Odd Jobs Rules
A character may stop adventuring for a week and do some fairly boring jobs. This has two consequences.

The First Consequence
If there are any "live" dungeons, roll 1d6.

• 1-3: The dungeon grows - it repopulates itself, more monsters, possibly more dangerous, new areas, not good.
• 4-5: Another local Guild chapter takes over the contract. The character's chapter loses some status and trust.
• 6: The dungeon erupts from the Underworld - monsters in the streets, a plague of Gloom, general mayhem.

The Second Consequence
Adventurers have a special place in society. While they are often looked down upon they have a strange respect from the population. Doing non-adventuring things lessens their standing. Reduce the character's lifestyle by 1 level automatically (even if the character spent loot in advance to boost their standing).  A destitute character doesn't get any lower.

The Jobs

Based on current lifestyle (after the drop in status), roll 1d4. If you don't know what the job is based on the title, imagine the worst thing you can based on the character's new lifestyle. Humiliation is the key. These jobs suck. If a character had a real job they wouldn't be an adventurer.

Lifestyle 1 2 3 4  Destitute  dung picker  scuz mopper  silk snatcher  sweat milker  Shabby  corpse cart driver   bird feeder  fence mender  rat catcher  Working  pet walker  catchpoke  fruit stomper  scab tender  Craftsman  shop assistant  guild herald  shit strainer  tooth snapper   Guilder  personal servant  house herald  slop grinder  fish gutter  Wealthy  guild attendant  tavern server  lip painter  chug dealer  Extravagant   house balif  Incense bearer   house pratwhore   payed friend

How Many Groats?

Not as many as you would like. Any groats earned from boring jobs cannot be used by a character to gain experience through banking or carousing. Only loot earned through adventuring can get a character XP. If the player complain about the paltry number of groats (and those numbers are pretty paltry), remind them that this is not a game about being an accountant or avoiding adventure. If they don't have enough loot to maintain their gear or lifestyle then perhaps they should be a bit more aggressive in looting the Underworld or choose to sell relic they found to a noble house or the Guild of Defenestration instead of hanging on to it. Sure it might come to bite them in the ass later, but at least they could repair their armor and buy a shield.

Lifestyle  Loot   Destitute 1d4  Shabby 2d4  Working 3d4  Craftsman 4d4  Guilder 4d6  Wealthy 4d8  Extravagant  5d8

Sorrow in Haven, and most fantasy adventure games for that matter are not about doing mundane things, they are about taking chances and high adventure; about encountering the weird and overcoming overwhelming odds; and most of all about having fun!