Every NPC who mattershas a profession that drives them.

Extract raw materials from world resource nodes. The bottom of every production chain.

Gathering professions run the longest economic distance — they touch raw geography, which sets the supply ceiling for everything downstream. A region without lumberers has no carpenters; a region without miners has no smiths. Gatherers also discover new nodes the rest of the economy then exploits.

Professions in this category

• Farmer#4001

  Resource: CROP Quests: COLLECT

• Miner#4002

  Resource: ORE Quests: COLLECT

• Lumberer#4003

  Resource: WOOD Quests: COLLECT

• Hunter#4004

  Resource: HIDE Quests: COLLECT

• Harvester#4005

  Resource: FIBER Quests: COLLECT

Party fit. Every party benefits from one gatherer. Without one, your downstream crafters depend entirely on markets.

Transform raw materials into finished goods. The middle of every chain.

Crafters double the value of gathered resources at minimum, and triple-to-quintuple it for premium tiers. Tier of input metal/wood/fiber maps directly to tier of output item, and skill grade reduces the quality-loss percentage at each smelting step (see the metal chain in the economy page).

Professions in this category

• Blacksmith#4101

  Resource: ORE → METAL Quests: CRAFT

• Tailor#4102

  Resource: FIBER → CLOTH Quests: CRAFT

• Chef#4103

  Resource: CROP → MEAL Quests: CRAFT

• Mason#4104

  Resource: STONE → BRICK Quests: CRAFT

• Jeweler#4105

  Resource: GEM → JEWEL Quests: CRAFT

Party fit. A blacksmith / tailor pair handles most party gear needs. Chefs are deceptively valuable — meals reduce stamina drain on long expeditions.

Move goods between markets. Exploit price differences. Establish routes.

The Merchant profession is the only one in the game that operates on all resources at once. Trading is also the hardest profession to make work — the 4% sales tax, 60 gp base travel cost, and 120 gp minimum-profit threshold combine to kill petty arbitrage. The big wins come from crisis routes (high regional scarcity) and luxury long-hauls (mithril, dragon scale, enchanted dust).

Professions in this category

• Merchant#4201

  Resource: All goods Quests: TRADE

Party fit. One Merchant changes the party's relationship with every city you visit. Solo merchant runs are viable but slow.

Provide protection for cities, caravans, and traveling parties. Combat specialists.

Guards and Escorts are the bedrock combat professions — they exist to enable other professions to function safely. Cities post defend / escort quests when raid pressure increases or when convoys need protection through hostile terrain. The Iron Covenant and Storm Riders both heavily recruit from this category.

Professions in this category

• Guard#4301

  Resource: — Quests: DEFEND, ESCORT

• Escort#4302

  Resource: — Quests: DEFEND, ESCORT

Party fit. Mandatory in any party operating in monster-spawning territory or near contested faction borders.

Hunt monsters, clear dangerous areas, explore unknown regions. High-risk, high-reward.

Adventurers and Dauntless are the high-variance combat professions — they take monster-fight and explore quests that pay above standard combat work. The Dauntless are a hardcore subtype: same quest pool but with a reputation for taking the contracts no one else will. Their dropped loot drives the monster-component side of the alchemy and enchantment chains.

Professions in this category

• Adventurer#4401

  Resource: MONSTER_DROP Quests: FIGHT_MONSTERS, EXPLORE

• Dauntless#4402

  Resource: MONSTER_DROP Quests: FIGHT_MONSTERS, EXPLORE

Party fit. The 'player profession' — most player characters effectively work as Adventurers regardless of nominal role.

Enhance party capabilities. Reduce downtime. Enable longer expeditions.

Healers, Bards, and Cooks change the economics of every long-form quest. A healer shortens recovery between fights; a bard improves morale and diplomatic outcomes; a cook converts food into stamina-restoring meals that reduce daily food consumption. Without support, parties bleed time and gold even when they're winning fights.

Professions in this category

• Healer#4501

  Resource: PLANT_HERB Quests: COLLECT, CRAFT, FIGHT, ESCORT

• Bard#4502

  Resource: — Quests: COLLECT, CRAFT, FIGHT, ESCORT

• Cook#4503

  Resource: ANIMAL_DROP Quests: COLLECT, CRAFT, FIGHT, ESCORT

Party fit. Healer + Cook is the highest-impact pair for any sustained expedition. Bard pays for itself any time you need to talk a faction down.

Gather intelligence. Map territories. Discover resources and dangers.

Scouts reveal unknown resource nodes and approaching dangers. Spies provide faction intelligence and strategic warnings about what's coming. Cartographers optimise trade routes and travel paths, reducing the base travel cost on routes they have mapped. The Shadow Conclave consists almost entirely of professions in this category.

Professions in this category

• Scout#4601

  Resource: — Quests: EXPLORE, RESEARCH

• Spy#4602

  Resource: — Quests: EXPLORE, RESEARCH

• Cartographer#4603

  Resource: — Quests: EXPLORE, RESEARCH

Party fit. A Scout pays for itself the first time it spots a Remnant ambush a quarter-mile out. Spies and Cartographers tilt the strategic game.

Design and construct buildings, fortifications, siege weapons.

Engineers create advanced structures and military equipment; Architects accelerate city development and expansion. Together they enable territorial control — the difference between a clearing and a defensible position. The Empire's Engineering Guild is built around this category, and most cross-faction technology transfer happens here.

Professions in this category

• Engineer#4701

  Resource: METAL Quests: BUILD, CRAFT

• Architect#4702

  Resource: BRICK Quests: BUILD, CRAFT

Party fit. Optional for adventurers, essential for any party that intends to hold territory or run a settlement.

Potions, elixirs, salves. A parallel medical and combat-consumable economy.

Alchemists, Herbalists, and Apothecaries run the herb → potion-base → finished-potion chain. The whole chain is newer than metal and wood and is still expanding — combat enhancement consumables, healing potions, and corruption-resistance salves are all alchemy outputs. Different regions yield different herbal aspects, so an alchemy party benefits more than most from travel.

Professions in this category

• Alchemist#4801

  Resource: PLANT_HERB Quests: CRAFT, COLLECT

• Herbalist#4802

  Resource: PLANT_HERB Quests: CRAFT, COLLECT

• Apothecary#4803

  Resource: INGREDIENT Quests: CRAFT, COLLECT

Party fit. High value for any party that takes hard fights. Herbalist + Alchemist runs the whole chain in-party.

Enhance equipment with magical properties. Create unique items.

Enchanters channel essence through gems to produce enchanted dust and focus stones; Runecasters inscribe runes onto gear (this is where dark elf paired-link glyphs go); Artificers bind runes into finished items, producing set bonuses and legendary-tier modifiers. The Arcane Assembly is the dominant employer for Enchanters; dark elf enclaves run their own training programs for Runecasters.

Professions in this category

• Enchanter#4901

  Resource: GEM Quests: CRAFT

• Runecaster#4902

  Resource: SPECIAL_ITEM Quests: CRAFT

• Artificer#4903

  Resource: METAL Quests: CRAFT

Party fit. Premium gear differentiator. Most parties pay for enchantment services rather than carry the profession themselves.