When I write characters in a fantasy world, I have a hard time coming up with occupations. Seems like mostly everyone in the ancient world was a solder, farmer, fishermen, carpenter, hunter, etc. So I have all these characters, and I need them to have jobs. It's hard to come up with interesting stuff. Also, even harder to create quirks and vices for such characters. The only things they had back then were sex and booze. Is there an exercise (like free association) or something I can do to come up with ideas? I want these characters to stand out and not be cookie cutter. The closest world I can think of to mine is the one in Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind.
From memory there are loads more who were varying degree of servant: travelling salesman blacksmith valet/personal servant yeoman tailor/clothier carter weaver bedmaker (beds were very expensive) cordwainer (cobbler) wheelwright ship/boat builder candlemaker apothecary/herbalist gardner potter reeve/overseer artist/minstrel accountant/book keeper/chancellor/clerk/scribe bow maker/fletcher moat digger/ditcher spinster/spinner painter/decorator for castles money lender (usually Jewish) physician chaplain/priest Go to youtube and type in Walls Could Talk Lucy Worsley. It is a BBC programme by the head curator of the royal palaces about the evolution of the rooms in the house and it gives lots of information about medieval past times and daily life. Is it steampunk like Nausicca ? (I've only seen the film)
I don't know anything about Nausicaa, but if your world resembles our ancient world, you're pretty much stuck. There weren't many different occupations back then. People led similar lives. They didn't have airline pilots and professors of computer engineering and advertising executives. There were lots of slaves, though, serfs and peasants and barbers who doubled as highly-skilled surgeons and Archimedes. Mothers, prophets, shamans, and, of course, sex-industry professionals. Your characters will probably have to be differentiated more by their personalities than by their occupations.
The list provided by Elgaisma demonstrates that in fact there were an awful lot of jobs in the mediaeval ages - see Terry Jones' documentary 'Medieaval lives' for more ideas.
Hiya. This here's called being narrow. Yup. Okay, so you want a simple exercise? Here you go. Think of your individual needs. You need clothes, so where do those come from? Farmers, weavers, textilers, ranchers, tanners and seamstresses. And salespeople. Therefore your society requires all of those things. You need shelter, yes? So you're going to need carpenters, masons, brickmakers, laborers, miners, quarry-keepers, stone cutters, and possibly artists depending on how fancy the home is. And so, you need entertainment. Let's assume you're a king and can get whatever form of entertainment you want. Singers, storytellers, dancers, artists, musicians, mimes, clowns, acrobats, flame eaters, sword swallowers, jugglers, actors, writers (for the plays and songs), seamstresses (for costumes), mask makers, shoemakers, painters, sword makers, yo-yo makers (yo-yos have existed for centuries), horses (for exploring or horse acrobatics), and a whole ton of other stuff. You also require intellectual stimulation. You therefore need philosophers, travelers, religious texts, different languages, riddlers, chessboard makers, writers, teachers, book printers, printing-press makers, and paint makers. It's like that. Just pick a need and figure out what it takes to fulfill it. And do some research on what people had in the past. Or, conversely, make up your own hobby for them. Like maybe they collect different kinds of animals and make music from animal songs, or go and tell lies to foreign countries just for the fun of it. Ireland back in the day had an entire system of cattle stealing between the clanns, including unspoken rules like "don't take so many cows that they starve in winter". People are interesting, even in the past. It makes me really sad that you would say a thing like that about them.
Elgaisma's list is extremely short. Mine, of course, is much shorter, but was intended as a bit tongue-in-cheek. Also, you have to take into account just how "ancient" we're talking about, and what specific culture we're discussing. As I said, I don't know anything about Nausicaa.
"Jobs" exist to fulfill mundane needs, and thus tend to be mundane by their very nature. A farmer, granary worker or chef don't seem very interesting, but society couldn't function without them. A soldier, policeman/woman, judge, etc. don't seem very compelling, yet are indispensable to civil order. Shaman, apothecaries and blood-leters don't seem all that exciting, but were (at least perceived as) invaluable to the health of the people. Very few jobs possess both the "awesomeness" and plausibility factor. There's nothing wrong with erring on the side of realism, even in fantasy. It can be only the more compelling. Good luck.
Yeah, I'm sorry. You are thinking of a very different time and culture than I am. My only real fantasy work (as opposed to alternate-history or science fiction) involves some characters from a primitive hunting culture, so I tend to think in those terms. The culture is sort of similar to the old Inuit culture, except it's warmer - nearly everyone is a hunter and they're all responsible for making their own weapons and tools. There's no metal where they are, so there are no blacksmiths. So in my world, there are very few actual jobs.
I'm just basing it on a medieval earth however Nausicca at least the film is futuristic/dystopian, and contains flying ships, wind raiders, fire arms etc A hunter/gather society is different, but even with those communities there was artistry and jewellery, religion, heirarchy, there appears to be evidence for trade etc There was the skinning of animals, making of pottery. It was just contained within the family group. It has to be very remote for there not to be interaction with other tribes. Sex and booze weren't the only things to do round a camp fire
If your fantasy contains mythical creatures, you could have jobs based around their care needs. Same with controlling the consequences of magic gone wrong.
There are really infinite possibilities for creating interesting characters, even if they have mundane jobs. Look at what Discworld, particularly the nightwatch stories. Most books give no regard to the lowly men of the watch. However, Pratchett digs around and lets the reader get to know them. What exists in your world? Enchanted weapons, exotic perfumes, exquisite jewelry? Someone had to make that stuff. What's the state of perfume making in your world? Is there a lot of competition between perfumers? Is there a guild? Spying? Intrigue around the seasons newest scents? Who is on top of the industry? What is it like to be their apprentice? And there are more vices than sex and booze. People have used drugs for thousands of years. What kind of drugs exist? Is there gambling? Are there prohibitions on certain behaviors, like eating certain foods or in certain places? Certain types of sexual behaviors? Anything that is prohibited or frowned upon can easily become someone's vice. Smoking, drinking, poker, sniffing lady's shoes, snorting jello, chocolate, marijuana, eating raspberries after sunset, they could all be someone's vice. And there you have possibilities for more jobs. Who caters to vice?
Real history will help you here. If the city was Civilized enough, you should read about Daily routine of Rome citizens. Or you can use the existing research that has been done by real Anthropologists and such. They LOVE to study things like the daily social lives of ancient civilizations.
Here is a listing of "professions" for a Medieval/Fantasy setting: Alchemist Animal Trainer Armourer Arrowsmith Baker Banker Bard Barkeeper Bawd Beggar Blacksmith Bladesmith Body Guard Bouncer Bounty Hunter Bowyer Brewer Bricklayer Butcher Cabinetmaker Carpenter Cartographer Cartwright Charlatan City Guard Coachman Cobbler Coppersmith Cook Cordwinder Druid Dyer Entertainer Explorer Farmer Farrier Fence Fisherman Fletcher Forger Furrier Gambler Gamekeeper Gardener Gladiator Glassblower Glover Grave Robber Groom Hatter Herbalist Herdsman Huntsman Initiate Priest Innkeeper Inquisitor Interpreter Jailer Jeweler Labourer Locksmith Marine Mason Mercenary Merchant Miller Miner Minstrel Navigator Noble Outlaw Painter Peddler Pirate Pit Fighter Porter Potter Prospector Roadwarden Runner Rustler Saddler Sailor Scout Scribe Servant Sheather Sheriff Shipwright Silversmith Skinner Slave Smuggler Soldier Spy Squire - Knight Squire - Freelance Storyteller Street Tough Student Tailor Tanner Tax Collector Teacher Teamster Thief Thug Tinsmith Torturer Tracker Trapper Undertaker Watchman Weaver Wheelwright Wizard - Guild Wizard - Freelance Wizard - Rogue Woodsman This is a listing I compiled to help me with my book. Hope this helps you out! ~Mordred
Sex. Booze. Drugs. (You don't need modern pharmaceuticals to have drugs.) Gambling. Boxing. Horse racing. All kinds of thing-racing. Fights to the death by everything from chickens to dogs to humans. Gluttony. I'm sure there are whole categories I'm forgetting.
Welcome to the site! Hey, here's something I didn't learn for a long time: check out the date of the last post in a thread before replying
In every age and every culture, there are three jobs: peasant, priest, and king. To unpack that a little, there are three broad categories of jobs, and every society needs all three: Production This is "peasant" above. It's the people who work for a living--the people who buy, sell, trade, sweat, steal, and bleed to make the food, the clothes, the furniture, etc. Without these people, life grinds to a halt because the things required to support life are used up. Information This is the "priest" category above. These people safeguard the knowledge required to make society work. You might say that some of this knowledge belongs in the peasant category, but the line between the two is basically application. A scientist (a member of the priesthood) studies electricity; an electrical engineer (a peasant) builds power stations. This category of person decides what each person in society is expected to believe about the world. In some cases, the beliefs are grounded in fact, and in others they are simply a part of the moral fabric that defines a people. Without these people (or if they suck at their job, which is not uncommon in human history), society loses cohesion. Examples of this include Greece and Rome. Governance This is "king." This category encompasses people who are members of the governing apparatus (which has not always been the state) of a people group. Today, this includes cops, military service members, and politicians--and probably other stranger things that I just don't usually think of. Without these people, a people group loses the ability to act as a group. Obviously, the middle category is the most complex to define. This is because humans are innately religious creatures, but we are religious for reasons that most people don't understand, and as such most people are not capable of recognizing science as a form of religion. I hope I've been able to outline it in a useful manner, but maybe not. Everyone falls into one of these categories. Most of us are peasants, but it's not uncommon for one person to be members of two or even three categories. For instance, the nobility often engaged in trade, which is a peasant activity, but they were clearly a part of the governmental apparatus of their nations. As another example, Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert) held down a day job while also working as a cartoonist for many years, which made him (during that time) both peasant and priest. (Artists help guide the thoughts of a people, which puts them in the priest category.) This is my own work, derived from the trifunctional hypothesis put forth to describe Proto-Indo-European cultures. If nothing else, it provides a convenient framework for testing the utility of a character. If a character cannot be categorized, it's likely that I have made up a name and a face but don't have a convincing person to apply them to yet.
