Darrell J. Pursiful

[Edit: Tables are now expanded to include 30 more occupations!]

In the Caretaker Trilogy, the protagonist is a defector from an evil overlord in a magical world. I have described Rune’s backstory as escaping from a bad D&D game. In that light, I thought I’d share a little bit of my worldbuilding for the world of Saynim. And because I cut my worldbuilding teeth as a forever DM back in my middle school/high school days, I’ve decided to gamify it. Maybe you’ll find something here that is useful at your table. Feel free to tweak things as necessary to suit your needs.

I have sought to include only occupations that meet at least one of these three criteria:

• They require some degree of magical talent to pursue.
• They support a magical economy, even if they don’t specifically call for magical talent. (In other words, the job would not exist if magic did not exist.)
• They exist in the mundane world, but in Saynim the presence of magic alters their nature or application.

You can use the tables below to generate NPCs with magical jobs. Everything is system-agnostic and ought to fit well with any TTRPG with a fantasy setting. Keep in mind, however, that they are the product of a specific fantasy setting in which magic and culture developed in specific ways that may not mesh with the world you are playing in.

How to determine if a random NPC has a magical occupation: Determine the NPC’s social rank, which is assigned a numerical value in the tables below. Roll a d20 (for a high-magic setting) or a d100 (for a low-magic setting). If the result is equal to or less than the NPC’s social rank, they have a magical occupation.

At lower social classes, these occupations are more likely to be “side hustles,” ways of supplementing the income they gain from tenant farming, carpentry, or some other non-magical pursuit. The magical occupations of the higher classes are more likely to be full-time careers. 

If an NPC has a magical occupation, consult the tables below to determine which one.

Rank 1: The Country People

These are tenant farmers, laborers and servants, and others of lesser station.

Roll a d20:

1. Barn Warden. Uses limited magical abilities to caring for livestock, milk, protect harvested foodstuffs, etc. Most barn wardens are small folk or goblins.

2. Bone Digger. Robs graves and harvest body parts—bones, teeth, organs, bodily fluids, etc.—for use in magical items and potions. Bone digging is usually illegal. In some cultures, it is permissible for people to sell their bodies to a bone digger, who comes to collect them when they die. 

3. Ferryman. Negotiates with whatever supernatural or fantastical entities have a claim on the waters they cross or at least knows how to appease or evade them.

4. Field Warden. Uses limited magical abilities to perform farm-related duties related to planting and harvesting.

5. Forester. Guards the forests, serving as the equivalent of forest rangers and game wardens. Recognizes and manages the magical flora and fauna found there, apprehends poachers, and generally preserves the mystic ecosystem. 

6. Hayward. Maintains magically warded hedges. They may not be able to lay fresh wards, but they can repair wards that have deteriorated or been damaged as well as responding to potential threats when wards are crossed or broken.

7. Herder. Care for livestock of a magical or fantastical nature: “faery” cattle, gittoes, goat deer, etc.

8. House Warden. Possesses some degree of chaos magic which they use in the fulfillment of their duties. Fire-weavers tend the family hearth, earth-weavers use uncanny strength, water-weavers ensure that the well brings forth pure water, etc. The most accomplished house wardens might also serve as mage’s attendants to a more magically accomplished master.

9. Kindler. Uses fire magic to serve as a lamplighter for the town’s street lights or for the many lamps and ovens found in a market district. 

10. Knucker. Works at the bottoms of lakes, rivers, or the sea. They mostly harvest clams, mussels, crayfish, octopus, and underwater plants. Crews of knuckers might collect lake sediments useful for clay, silt, and fertilizer or retrieve sunken timber from old-growth trees. Engineers might hire a crew of knuckers to help build a bridge or a dam.

11. Light Scrunge. Traps wanderlights, search for lampstones, or even collect pit slime, all of which they sell to others as sources of light. A common occupation for older children.

12. Link Man. Produces magical light to guide people through the streets at night.

13. Mage’s Attendant. Gathers spell ingredients, maintains alchemical equipment, and similar duties. If their skills permit, they add their own magical potentialities to their master’s to increase the power of the master’s workings (“overlay”). Sometimes called a famulus.

14. Ostler. Takes care of magical horses: horses that can gallop over water or at impossible speed, that move in complete silence, that are carnivorous, that can understand spoken language, etc.

15. Queaser. Size-shifters who shrink their bodies to navigate easily in tight spaces. They clean the insides of chimneys, work in crawl spaces under buildings, etc. 

16. Quigger. Forage quigs (magic beans). They either sell the quigs they find to rootmongers or deal directly with larger distributors. Quigging often involves poaching on another’s land, and quiggers are notoriously protective of knowledge about where they harvest their goods. 

17. Rootmonger. Harvests plants for use in magical spells, potions, etc. They occasionally also work with animal parts, minerals, and other ingredients.

18. Scrunge. Collects discarded or overlooked magical objects and ingredients. Sometimes they sell these directly to hedge mages and the like. More often, they re-purpose them into new magical items.

19. Warrow Catcher. Deal with fantastical vermin such as warrows, scrunges (the ferret-like animal, not the occupation), shadelings, giant rats, and the like.

20. Wrangler. Care for fantastical animals used in hunting or guarding such as albatwitches, deerlets, and shuck hounds.

Rank 2: The Working Trades

The working trades comprise shopkeepers, trades folk, artisans, and handicraft workers of every sort. They often have a single magical talent in which they excel but lack versatility.

Roll a d20:

1. Apothecary. Concocts compounds used mainly in healing magic and offers advice on their proper use. The difference between an apothecary and a hedge mage or healer is that the apothecary is likely not as accomplished in the actual performance of magical rituals. 

2. Arcane Clothier. Fashions enchanted cloaks, boots, shirts, and other items of clothing.

3. Arcane Outfitter. Sells magical gear desirable for camping, exploring, and overland travel: rations, tools, weapons, light sources, protective clothing, etc.

4. Banisher. Dispels unwelcome spirits.

5. Bone Conjurer. Hedge mages who use magical ingredients harvested from corpses, usually supplied by bone diggers. Many consider their use of body parts distasteful or even offensive. 

6. Charm Maker. Fashions magical talismans, amulets, and periapts. A large city might have many charm makers and none of them create the same sorts of objects. Higher-rank charm makers specialize in particular products (gearsmiths, runescriveners, wand makers, etc.). 

7. Clouter. Restores magical objects by re-applying charms or incantations that have lost their potency or been damaged through use or misuse.

8. Curse Breaker. Identifies and counteracts malicious magic, including finding the one who inflicted the hex or curse. A curse breaker might also be a banisher.

9. Dowser. Locates sources of water, metals, gemstones, gravesites, or other items of interest.

10. Dwimmerman. Creates simple illusions (“dwimmers”) for the amusement of others. They often supplement their actual magic with stage-magic sleight of hand and misdirection.

11. Gearsmith. Creates magical clockworks of every sort. They often work as well on mundane clocks, mechanical automata, and other gadgets.

12. Herbalist. Treats people’s ailments and injuries. Some specialize in herbal remedies, charms, and incantations; others treat their patients through rudimentary alchemical principles.

13. Hedge Mage. A generalist mage of the poorer classes, sought out for charms, curses, healing, finding lost objects, and other advantages.

14. Horse-leech. Treats disease and injuries in domestic animals: a veterinarian who uses a variety of magical and mundane techniques.

15. Ice Maker. Provides ice to preserve perishable foodstuffs. They mostly work alongside butchers and grocers, but in large cities they might assume the role of icemen in the 19th–20th century Fallow, delivering ice to customers via wagon or cart.

16. Messager. Soulcasters who send an ectoplasmic double to distant locations to deliver a message. 

17. Potioner. Produces potions, unguents, and other substances that are either consumed or applied to the body to imbue magical effects. 

18. Runescrivener. Applies runes, sigils, and other mystic designs to objects of stone, wood, or metal. They also often apply mundane designs to objects purely for aesthetic reasons.

19. Thrift Dealer. Trades in second-hand magical items, buying sub-par items from others, restoring them to good working order, and then selling them at a profit.

20. Wand Maker. Fashions wands, rods, and staffs that some arcane practitioners use to channel and focus magical energies.

Rank 3: The Middle Sort

This social rank is filled by lesser military officers, lesser lawyers, teachers, freeholders, and the like. It is also the class of artisans and professionals of the highest rank.

Roll a d20:

1. Arcane Armorer. Imbues weapons and armor with magic to make them more effective or to grant them special properties such as generating light, detecting enemies, emitting heat or cold, etc. 

2. Arcane Gunsmith. Fashions firearms with magical properties as well as enchanted shot that can deliver a hex or curse to the target, enchanted powder that is virtually silent when fired, etc. 

3. Arcane Librarian. Keeps, studies, and archives arcane texts. They are versed in protective wards intended to guard the contents of an enchanted book or scroll and know how to keep such texts safe from unauthorized use and harmless to readers. 

4. Arcane Swordsmith. Combines this skill with skill in imbuing magical properties upon the weapons they create.

5. Astrologer. Determines the correct time and place in which to perform some kind of arcane ritual working. They also have encyclopedic knowledge of the astrological associations of plants, minerals, parts of the body, etc.

6. Attester. Audits interrogations and legal testimony as an aid to assessing the truthfulness or state of mind of witnesses or defendants. They are also called upon to witness the swearing of oaths or the signing of legal contracts, a kind of magical “notary public.” The highest ranking auditors are of the upper classes, though most are of the middle sort.

7. Conner. Tests and evaluates magical artifacts, discerning their properties, detecting curses, and generally determining their value and usefulness. They are often attached to banks and mercantile houses.

8. Diviner. Provides personal insight and plot a beneficial course for their clients’ lives. Comparable to a therapist or counselor. 

9. Earth and Stone Shaper. Creates and enhance constructions of earth and stone. They are effectively civil engineers, charged with overseeing the construction of roads, bridges, levees, and every other kind of earthwork.

10. Ley Liner. Maps and studies ley lines. They often work alongside arcane architects, geometers, ward layers, and the like providing specialist information to assist them in their pursuits.

11. Mage of the Watch. Uses magical talents to keep the peace, address immediate threats, and assist the populace in an emergency.

12. Magery Officer. Leads a military unit of specialist mages. A magery unit can take many forms, from shapeshifting reconnaissance troops to intelligence-gathering scryers to long-range units that rain down elemental destruction on the enemy.

13. Magical Scholar. Investigates the philosophical underpinnings of magic. They might teach at a prestigious university or conduct independent research for their own purposes or at the behest of a liege or patron.

14. Magical Tutor. Takes young children under their wing to draw out their magical potential.

15. Physick. In contrast to the working-class herbalist, physicks are “respectable,” university-educated healers who employ a combination of mundane and magical techniques to bring healing to the body.

16. Sooner. Weaves magic through music, chant, and even dance. They are especially known for teaching their methods to others, especially the young, to enhance their magical talents. They are almost always well versed in both magical and mundane lore. 

17. Timeseer. Highly sensitive to the way time flows in Saynim. At the most basic level, they function somewhat like meterologists who predict when the timeflow is going to shift, how severely, and for how long. They might be hired to generate timescape charts to assist a wizard with a powerful ritual working that relies on precise timekeeping. 

18. Tree Shaper. Causes trees and bushes to grow into desired forms to serve a particular purpose, creating structures out of still-living plants. 

19. Ward Layer. Fashions magical environments by working charms and incantations into the structure of buildings. Their work mostly involves installing powerful wards (against scrying, offensive magic, etc.), but other effects can also be created. 

20. Waymaker. Finds and exploits “impossible” shortcuts connecting one location to another based on the mystic connections between them.

Rank 4: The Rich

The rich are military officers, greater freeholders, successful lawyers, lesser merchants, and the like. People at this rank employ other magical practitioners to further their pursuits. For example, merchants might benefit from the services of diviners, messagers, ward layers, etc.

Roll a d12:

1. Alchemist. Specializes in the magic of transmutation. They are called on to purify food and water, change the physical or chemical properties of substances, and, at the highest level of expertise, to prolong and even create life.

2. Arcane Master Builder. Leverages angles, proportions, materials, and the placement of sigils and other charms to build structures that direct magical forces in desired directions. This might mean a wizard’s tower designed to focus and enhance the user’s abilities, a prison cell designed to contain magically potent prisoners, etc. 

3. Ight Agent. Maintains relations with “ights,” non-humanoid intelligent beings, on behalf of a noble or a wealthy merchant: dogheads, pukwudgies, deer folk, etc. Sometimes called an ight mooter.

4. Magery Staff Officer. Coordinates the activities of several magery units from a position well rear of the front.

5. Magic Lawyer. Posses expertise in matters of law related to the practice of magic. They defend clients or prosecute offenders in matters such as the acquisition and transport of magical ingredients, magical assaults, admissibility of evidence obtained by magical means, restricted or forbidden uses of magic, the use of iron, etc.

6. Magic Merchant’s Agent. The agent of a wealthy importer of magical goods, domiciled in a foreign country at some distance from the importer’s base of operations.

7. Errander. Undertakes specialized duties on behalf of their liege. Such persons are usually known by their specific job title: Nightwalker, Knight of the Hand, etc. Such agents always display great magical prowess, which is supplemented by special equipment or endowments provided by their liege.

8. Geometer. Applies the principles of waymaking to design and implement impossible feats of construction. They can create structures that violate the principles of geometry by being larger on the inside than on the outside, that connect two distant points without crossing the intervening distance, or that are phased out of the ordinary world into a limited pocket dimension. 

9. Guild Master. Oversees the operation of guilds of magical trades folk such as gearsmiths, banishers, wand makers, etc. in dwarven societies.

10. Sexton. See to the protection, upkeep, and acquisition of magical implements, artifacts, and other paraphernalia of a magical nature for a mercantile house or guild hall.

11. Scryer. Sees people, events, and locations at a distance. For the most part, they are employed by rulers to keep tabs on both their subordinates and their enemies.

12. Tilth Reeve. Increases the output of fields, gardens, and orchards. Though nearly every farmer in Saynim can hire a hedge mage to bless their crops, tilth reeves are more effective and reliable. Sometimes, these agricultural specialists are freelancers called “growers” who travel from community to community offering their services at exorbitant prices. 

Rank 5: The Very Rich

The very rich are well-born, esquires, greater merchants, and the like. 

Roll a d12:

1. Advisor on Magical Affairs. Provides counsel with respect to magic use within a liege’s domain. They might suggest policies or procedures for magical practitioners, taxation of magical goods and services, etc.

2. Arcane Shipwright. Oversees the design and construction of ships with magical properties. 

3. Chief Alchemist. Oversees alchemical pursuits in the service of a Gentry person. This includes overseeing a staff of charm makers, potioners, and other specialists.

4. Chief High Crafter. Oversees the work of arcane architects and geometers under a liege. 

5. Chief Scryer. Oversees scrying, divination, and other forms of magical intelligence-gathering under a liege.

6. Court Wizard. Master of an elemental chaos and possessing a wide knowledge of magical techniques, both elemental and arcane. They are the ranking members of a court’s magical retainers: the chief alchemist, chief high crafter, etc..

7. Importer of Magical Goods. Deals in rare magical ingredients and artifacts. Provides necessary supplies to everyone from hedge mages to court wizards.

8. Keeper of the Trove. The chief sexton in a liege’s court, the guardian of the court’s magical artifacts and equipment.

9. Magical Textile Merchant. Deals in the production of textiles such as umbersay that possess inherent magical properties. These textiles might be made of rare fibers that must be imported from some distance or require involved (and proprietary) magical rituals to imbue them with power.

10. Overbringer. Supplies human changelings to the courts of Saynim, sending their agents into the Fallow to acquire candidates the match the specifications of their clients.

11. Provisioner. Performs the role of a keeper of the trove but for a large mercantile enterprise, wealthy free person, or some other person or enterprise not affiliated with the liege and their court.

12. Truth Speaker. A ranking bard, poet, or lore master at a liege’s court. While a court wizard is essentially a specialist technician, truth speakers possess a more well-rounded skill set  that makes them esteemed advisors at the courts of powerful Gentry folk.

Rank 6: The Lesser Nobility

The occupation of most nobles is simply to be a noble: to tend to their landholdings, care for those under their patronage, and support their liege. Pretty much every occupation at this level (and above) requires a degree of magical potency, if for no other reason to avoid being replaced by a candidate for the job who is more magically proficient.

Roll a d6:

1. Castellan. The governor of a castle. Under their liege, they maintain a garrison, administer justice within their assigned territory, and collect taxes.

2. Chancellor. A truth speaker who serves as chief advisor in a Gentry person’s domain. Their function is comparable to a prime minister to a Fallow king or perhaps the consigliere of a powerful mafia don. Their role is to provide strategic information and sound, unbiased advice. 

3. Deemer. A jurist who specializes in the administration of laws pertaining to the practice of magic. 

4. General Staff Mage. In a large kingdom, the liege’s marshal is assisted by a general staff of magical and non-magical advisors. Staff mages have operational authority over the various magery units. 

5. Marshal. The highest military leader under the liege themself. They organize military matters and oversee their liege’s armies. Without exception, they are drawn from the ranks of the most skilled and respected magery staff officers of the liege’s household. 

6. Sideline Wizard. Pursues magical knowledge as an avocation and not strictly as an occupation.

What do you think? Is there anything I missed?