Trail of Cthulhu Occupations Part One

ALIENIST

"But I did place upon his head and mine the two ends of my cosmic “radio”; hoping against hope for a first and last message from the dream-world in the brief time remaining."
-Beyond the Wall of Sleep

ANTIQUARIAN

(Lux and Ivy and their wizard-beast-horde of obscure recordings culled from the deepest recesses of the human psyche. Their home was said to also contain artifacts of the ancient cult of Goo Goo Muck)
"Our museum was a blasphemous, unthinkable place, where with the satanic taste of neurotic virtuosi we had assembled an universe of terror and decay to excite our jaded sensibilities."
-The Hound

ARTIST

“It is new, indeed, for I made it last night in a dream of strange cities; and dreams are older than brooding Tyre, or the contemplative Sphinx, or garden-girdled Babylon.”
- The Call of Cthulhu

CLERGY

“I hope you won’t stay till after dark. And I beg of you to let that thing on the table—the thing that looks like a match box—alone. We don’t know what it is, but we suspect it has something to do with what he did. We even avoid looking at it very steadily.”
-The Evil Clergyman

CRIMINAL

"Messrs. Ricci and Silva were experienced in the art of making unwilling persons voluble, and the screams of a weak and exceptionally venerable man can be easily muffled..."
-The Terrible Old Man

DILETTANTE

"It’s you who are cheaply sentimental now! You know well that the old things had better be let alone. All of you had better look out if ever I chant the old rites or try to call up what lies hidden in Yuggoth, Zimbabwe, and R’lyeh!"
- Medusa's Coil

Dungeon Punks

THE DUNGEON PUNK

It's a phase that most young people grow out of. You know, hanging around in the local dungeon, painting graffiti, smoking clove cigarettes, maybe making out with a cute half-elf girl or boy. Usually, the young dungeon punks leave it behind and go off to school, or become smith apprentices, or brewmasters, or whatever.

However, sometimes the lure of the dungeon is so great that they cast their practical aspirations aside and become adventurers or explorers or sometimes even a sorcerer, or to the true dismay of their family and peers, a bard.
Most will take up the sword - 

And some will take up the eyeliner

It is my estimation that this is what a badass first level character looks like. (Well not the dude in eyeliner necessarily) They've spent their lives up to that point dreaming of adventuring, battling foul creatures, and uncovering untold treasure in the deep and dark.

Sure, some characters have been apprentice mages, did odd jobs for the local thieves guild, was an acolyte at the local church, but others, the fighter, those who learned to defend themselves, those who dreamed of getting the fuck out of the sticks and out into the wilderlands of high adventure.

The "Dungeon Punk" is a hybrid of various class skills. They've been trained, not formally but by a friend or by reading a book or by taking a class at the local Y. They've perhaps stolen their gear. They're naive, but eager. Maybe to a fault.

Here are a few skill/bonus ideas for the "Dungeon Punk"

Can perform one thief skill at the first level. Two at the third level and three at the ninth. 

Has magic artifact or enchanted weapon. How they came to possess it could have repercussions later in the game. 

Has a magical amulet or family heirloom that will allow them to cast one MU spell per day (a non-lethal spell) 

Grew up in a religious school for troubled youths. Knows one first level cleric spell but only has a 50% chance of success.

Is an expert at gathering information, gossip and rumors. 

Can write and speak an additional localized "street" dialect. Knows local slang and expressions. 

Very good at evaluating monetary value of items. Knows the "street value".

Listens to only the most underground of bards. 

Very good at DIY projects. Can repair leather armor, mend clothing. Can make simple leather goods with right materials. 

Can improvise weapons. Gets a bonus to hit when using a broken bottle or pool cue, etc. 

Eyes adjust to darkness quickly. 

Bonus for running and evading pursuers. Good at climbing chain link fences. 

Always "knows a guy". Has a friend of a friend nearly everywhere they go. 

Expert in local squatting laws. 

The Gentle Tragedy of Lord Sparrowgrass

There once was a time when you would have heard Algen Sparrowgrass' name in common rooms and around campfires. He was one of King Careth IV's most celebrated and storied knights. He had served in the decades-long campaign in Mord-Stavian against The Necropolitan and his armies of the dead.

Algen led his company through searing hot deserts, nameless cities and ancient tombs filled with horrors he would not recall.

When he returned to Ulverland, he implored King Careth to denounce and outlaw all sorcerous practice within his kingdom. Furthermore, he unsuccessfully lead a rebellion against the King's own Council of High Wizardry.

Sparrowgrass' fervent hatred for any magics, no matter how benign or beneficial, made him quite unpopular and King Careth sent him to the fishing community of Daesarna with the title of Master of Fisheries.

Lord Sparrowgrass demanded that his community shun any magical practices and to destroy any magical artifacts that may find their way into his harbor. Although he imposed strict penalties, a black market for such things flourished in the marketplace. "Folk remedies" of enchanted teas were popular, as well as elixirs and potions, all sold with in the marketplace with a series of codewords and signals.

But for all of his fear of magic items, it is said that the old boy has a secret vault filled with many trophies of war, including three magical swords plucked from the hands of ancient mummified wizard-kings.

Lord Sparrowgrass shocked and surprised the people of Daesarna when he wed the young Lady Sparrowgrass. An orphaned girl who worked in the marketplace. Many said she had a secret lover who she would meet in the gardens of Sparrowgrass' keep or among the rocky shoreline.

But of course, such an arrangement rarely ends well.

Lord Algen Sparrowgrass
AC 1
Move 30'
HD 9 (120 hp)
Attacks: variable
save as 15th level fighter