Other Races and their Occupational Duties

[BJ Swabb]

Hey everyone! So I am having a hard time with positions and duties for some of my races that live with in my main capital. You see Torman is a place where many kinds of races live in harmony with one another. Humans, Taurans, Satyrs, Minotaur, Nymphs, Fairies, and more. But I am having a hard time for certain races on finding their place amongst the people. What roles and titles to give them.

Here's the list of races I need help exploring please would love your feed back:

Female Minotaurs
Satyrs and Fauns
Talking Animals
Taurans (Centraurs, Alcetaurs, Remitaurs, Cervitaurs)
Tortles
Apeons (Monkey humanoid people)
Gnomes

Would really appreciate your advice on this one. Thanks!

 

[pmmg]

I dont understand the question. Wouldn't they fill many roles? Would one Female Minotaur necessarily take the same job and have the same role as another?

If you just want a list.

Female Minotaurs: Bouncers, sanitation workers,

Satyrs and Fauns: Entertainers, Wine Makers, laborers.

Talking Animals: Look outs and spies

Taurans (Centraurs, Alcetaurs, Remitaurs, Cervitaurs): Transportation workers.

Tortles: No idea what this one is. Is it turtle people?

Apeons (Monkey humanoid people): Guardsmen

Gnomes: Jewelers

 

[BJ Swabb]

I dont understand the question. Wouldn't they fill many roles? Would one Female Minotaur necessarily take the same job and have the same role as another?

If you just want a list.

Female Minotaurs: Bouncers, sanitation workers,

Satyrs and Fauns: Entertainers, Wine Makers, laborers.

Talking Animals: Look outs and spies

Taurans (Centraurs, Alcetaurs, Remitaurs, Cervitaurs): Transportation workers.

Tortles: No idea what this one is. Is it turtle people?

Apeons (Monkey humanoid people): Guardsmen

Gnomes: Jewelers

You actually answered perfectly really. Just ideas to browse with. Tortles are turtle people.

 

[pmmg]

Tortles: Accountants and book keepeers.

 

[JBCrowson]

Maybe look at their physical and mental characteristics - that's how a lot of real world people chose their jobs. As the wise dragon says there will likely be multiple roles each race could fill successfully. A character being in a job ill suited to their race could be a motivator to get out and change their life.

 

[skip.knox]

I would come at it from a different direction. Does the story need a jeweler? Fine. What sort of creature would I want to have in that role? Am I going for comedy? Maybe something unwieldy and big like a minotaur. Just a tertiary character with a walk-on part? Don't even specify, just let the reader infer.

But trying to assign roles ... well, I guess under the heading of idle fun, I can see that. In which case, I'd just sort of do random die rolls until I got combinations that seemed interesting or fun or fitting. There's no logic to any of it, save the logic you invent.

 

[ThinkerX]

I don't have most of the races listed, and the ones I do have do not make enough of an overall impact to warrant such development.

What I did do was to make each of the races that do appear to be distinctive - not just in appearance, but in ways that are internally consistent and set them apart from humans.

Consider rachasa - 'cat-people.' These are short, muscular humanoids, covered with fur that ranges from tan to black. Their faces are dominated by cat-like snouts and large pointed ears. Their hands and feet end in three digits, each featuring retractable claws. The typical rachasa can jump straight up almost a dozen feet or manage a standing horizontal leap thrice that distance. With a running start, they could clear a hundred feet. In terms of combat, one rachasa is counted a match for as many as three or four human warriors - or one exceptionally skilled knight.

That is the appearance.

Most - but not all rachasa are savages, living in roving bands ranging from a couple dozen to several hundred members. Collectively, they view themselves as hunters/warriors first and everything else second. As such, their own crafting skills tend towards the rudimentary side of things - but they still crave manufactured goods and the occasional non-meat dish. They compensate for this either by raiding or trading. Trading requires negotiation, hence 'Speakers' - rachasa who know multiple languages and a bit of magic useful in negotiation. Success in hunting requires knowledge of the prey and the weather and other conditions, hence 'Rite Masters,' tribal magicians capable of these feats. (Both dabble in the healing arts as well.) Despite their boasts, rachasa are deeply suspicious of fire, so much so that they created a class - 'Fire Tender' - just to manipulate the fires used in cooking and crafting. Often, they will go so far as to abduct members of other species for this chore. Being covered in fur, grooming is likewise important, warranting a special class of its own in their society. Again, rachasa will occasionally kidnap others to fill this role. While not noted for sophisticated technology, rachasa do place a premium on personal ornaments - and crafting these trinkets is also a class, along with simple tinker work.