Primordial Class/Background: the Executioner

Continuing my work on project Social, here is another background/class thingy. I find these really help me to build the Valley from a player's perspective, while also being a really fun exercise.

Recently I read a pretty interesting article about executioners, which made me double down on putting an executioner family in the Town. Meet the Verderfs:

 

Verderf Family

Our job tasks us with those tasks others don't dare to perfom, both high and low.

Goals:

Inclusion: We sullied ourselves so you didn’t have to and as a reward we were shunned, cast out of society. We implore you to reconsider.
Immortality: The work is harsh, vile and reviled. If we could shoulder this burden indefinitely, we would never have to pass it on to our children.

Secrets:

Enforcer of Judgement

• Cruel Interrogator: Provided you have access to some rare herbs, you are able to create a mixture that will keep a person conscious even while enduring horrible pain, or suffering extreme blood loss.
• Merciful Executioner: There is a place in the nape of the neck where an accurate blow with the sword will immediately kill a person. You can consistently hit it on a constrained target, given some time to line up the swing.
• Master of Death: You learned to let no one die before they are meant to. Given a day and some common chemicals you can make vapours that will keep the heart beating and the lungs breathing, though this temporary solution destroys these organs over time.
  

Caretaker of the Vile

• Smell no Evil: Chewing lavender overpowers the nose, making you unable to smell anything else for hours afterwards. Ruins your meals, but allows you to be completely unfazed by strong smells.
• Repurposing the Undeserving: The Earth God demands that any creature dying an early death has to be either buried or used as food or material. Most people have forgotten that this last part includes humans as well, but you haven’t.
• Disease Ridden: In your line of work there is no way to prevent disease. To survive your family learned to balance various diseases in such a way that they cancel each other’s effects.  As you are already suffering from most known diseases, you are only affected by incredibly rare and potent illnesses.

Sovereign of Social Pariahs

It has been your family’s duty to take care of the outcasts of society.
You have leverage over Mama Yvonne, who owns a brothel; Fat John, who runs a gabling house; and Lady Marjorie, administrator of the Lazar house. Choose for each of them how you relate to them:

• One of them loves you but shouldn’t; determine what they love about you and why it would be better if they didn’t.
• One of them loathes you but they owe you big time; determine why they loathe you and what they owe you.
• One of them fears and respects you; determine what you did to cause them to regard you this way.

Infamous Entertainer

• At home in the Spotlight: There are ways to make sure everyone notices you. It isn’t so much about what you do, as it is about how you do it: Take your time, act with purpose, exaggerate your gestures ever so slightly and most everyone will take notice of your actions.
• Renowned and Reviled: By virtue of the profession of your family, you are deemed too vile to even touch. While wearing the clothing that marks your occupation, people instinctively move out of your way, often without even realising they’re doing so.
• Omnipresent Voice: Sentencing needs to be heard by all, no matter the weather or the size of the crowd. You know how to project your voice beyond yourself, making the sound come from everywhere at once. 

Thoughts

What I thought was interesting about above mentioned article was to see how the executioner was a family business due to social pressure moreso than anything else. Also, the classic portrail of the executioner with the hood to prevent social stigma has historically often been the opposite: even when not doing your job, you have to wear clothes that mark you as the executioner so people won't accidentally touch you and get cooties. 

I think this contributed to this one feeling a little bit more 'grounded'. The secrets are more about potions and social norms than we saw with the miners and their magical songs and bone pickaxes. 

There was also the problem of trying to hint at all the things the executioner does for a living, without making secrets or abilities so niche they would only be useable for that one thing. I think I managed it pretty well, but would love any and all feedback.

Next up I think I'll try something a bit more bold. These have both been families and occupations. To flesh out the world outside of the Town a bit more, I think I'll look into something like changelings or people raised by fae or something.