Backgrounds and Careers

Every character in Ix has a history and a livelihood. Your Background is where you came from: the social world you were raised in, the early experiences that shaped your instincts, and the assumptions you carry about how people and institutions work. Your Career is what you do for money now: the trade, profession, or occupation that defines your economic identity and your daily competence.

Together, these two choices determine your profession skills: any skill that appears on your Background list or your Career list is a profession skill, and profession skills are cheaper to advance. Most characters end up with six to ten profession skills depending on overlap.

Neither your Background nor your Career grants free skill ranks. They tell you which skills are cheaper to buy, not how good you already are. Skills are purchased separately with XP during character creation and advancement.

All skills referenced in the tables below are defined in full in Chapter Six. If you encounter a skill name you don't recognize (Planar Lore, Rifts, Adventuring Lore, Primal, etc.), that chapter contains the complete definition and linked characteristic.

Choosing your Background: Pick the origin that fits your character's early life, not the one with the best skill list. A soldier's child who became a merchant is more interesting than a min-maxed combination. Backgrounds are social context. They explain who your family was, how you learned to move through the world, and what you instinctively know about status, danger, and trust. Choosing your Career: Pick what your character does now, or what they did immediately before becoming an adventurer. A former blacksmith who has taken up the sword is still a Blacksmith by career. Those skills are still sharp. Career skills reflect practiced daily competence, not theoretical knowledge.

Profession Skill XP Costs

Profession skills cost less XP to advance than non-profession skills at every rank.

Skill Rank	Profession Skill Cost	Non-Profession Skill Cost
1	5 XP	10 XP
2	10 XP	15 XP
3	15 XP	20 XP
4	20 XP	25 XP
5	25 XP	30 XP

Backgrounds

Backgrounds represent early life and social origin. Each background lists four to six skills that reflect what a person raised in that world would pick up naturally.

Background	Profession Skills	Description
Aristocratic	Lore, Negotiation, Leadership, Charm, Riding	Born into a noble house, landed or otherwise. You learned court manners before you learned to fight, and you understand how power moves through families and titles.
Military Family	Light Melee, Fortitude, Readiness, Athletics, Leadership, Discipline	Raised in a soldier's household: barracks life, campaign camps, or garrison towns. Discipline and hierarchy are second nature.
Laborer	Athletics, Fortitude, Craft, Survival	You worked with your hands from an early age, in fields, on building sites, in workshops, or on docks. Your body is your tool.
Rural	Survival, Fortitude, Athletics, Perception, Craft	Raised on a farm, in a fishing village, or in a small rural settlement. You know weather, soil, animals, and the slow rhythms of land-dependent life.
Maritime	Operate, Athletics, Perception, Survival, Streetwise	Raised on or near the water: fishing villages, port towns, river settlements, or a family that sailed. The sea or the river is home ground.

Backgrounds continued

Background	Profession Skills	Description
Mercantile	Negotiation, Lore, Streetwise, Deception, Charm	Born into a trading family: merchants, factors, money-changers, or shop-keepers. You learned the ledger before you learned the sword.
Criminal	Streetwise, Subterfuge, Deception, Stealth, Readiness	Raised in a criminal household, gang-adjacent neighborhood, or simply in circumstances where the law was never on your side. You learned to read danger early.
Academic	Arcana, Lore, Natural Philosophy, Medicine, Negotiation, Secret Lore	Raised in scholarly surroundings: a university town, a sage's household, a temple library. Books and argument were your early education.
Religious	Divine, Lore, Medicine, Charm, Leadership, Planar Lore	Raised in or around a temple, monastery, or religious institution. The gods are real and present in Dort; growing up in their service leaves a mark.
Wandering	Survival, Streetwise, Perception, Operate, Lore	Raised on the road: travelling family, itinerant traders, displaced people, pilgrims. No home ground, but good instincts everywhere.
Artisan	Craft, Negotiation, Lore, Perception, Natural Philosophy	Born into a skilled trade family: craftspeople, artists, specialists. You grew up watching mastery at close range and learned to recognize quality work.
Underclass	Streetwise, Fortitude, Athletics, Deception, Stealth	Raised poor, in a city's worst quarters. You learned fast, watched carefully, and trusted almost no one. You know how invisible people move.
Wilderness	Primal, Survival, Perception, Light Ranged, Athletics, Adventuring Lore	Raised in the deep country, the frontier, or the outskirts of settled land. You are comfortable where most people are not.
Planar-Adjacent	Planar Lore, Rifts, Readiness, Secret Lore, Perception	Raised near a known rift, in a settlement on a contested planar border, or by a family with planar connections. The planes are not abstract to you; they are a fact of life.
Servant Class	Charm, Perception, Stealth, Deception, Lore	Raised in domestic service, in a great household, or in the servant economy of a noble estate. You know how power operates from the inside, unseen.
Guild-Born	Craft, Negotiation, Lore, Leadership, Streetwise	Raised inside a guild family, where craft, hierarchy, and brotherhood were the organizing facts of life. You understand institutional loyalty.

Careers

Careers represent your current or most recent occupation; the work that defines your daily competence. Each career lists five or six profession skills. The career tables below are organized by domain. Pick freely across domains; your Background and Career do not need to match.

Dort is a feudal world with active guilds, religious institutions, a meaningful noble class, a thriving criminal underground, and a growing aerial trade economy built on flying ships. The career list tries to cover every realistic economic role in that world.

Casting skills. The three casting skills (Arcana, Divine, Primal) appear as profession skills only on the careers and backgrounds whose daily work is casting or whose upbringing was steeped in it. A Cleric, a Mage Apprentice, or a Wandering Shaman buys their casting skill at profession cost. Any other character can still learn to cast; they pay the out-of-profession rate for the casting skill, which is the intended price of a mage who came to magic late. Discipline, the skill that holds a ritual or a long working together, sits on the careers that train mental endurance for a living.

Religious and Temple Careers

Career	Profession Skills	Description
Cleric	Divine, Lore, Medicine, Charm, Leadership, Planar Lore	Ordained clergy serving an active temple; combines spiritual guidance with practical administration.
Temple Guard	Divine, Light Melee, Fortitude, Readiness, Perception, Lore	Protects temple grounds, sacred objects, and clergy; walks the line between soldier and devoted servant.
Healer	Divine, Medicine, Charm, Natural Philosophy, Lore, Fortitude	Works within a temple's healing wing or as an independent practitioner; combines medical skill with pastoral care.

Religious and Temple Careers Continued

Career	Profession Skills	Description
Inquisitor	Divine, Discipline, Intimidation, Lore, Perception, Secret Lore	Investigates heresy, apostasy, and violation of religious law on behalf of an institution; authorized to compel answers.
Mortician	Divine, Medicine, Lore, Craft, Planar Lore, Secret Lore	Prepares the dead for burial or rite; in a world where Nyxollox governs the dead and souls have literal weight, this profession carries significant religious dimension.
Pilgrim Guide	Divine, Survival, Lore, Planar Lore, Charm, Operate	Leads pilgrimage groups to sacred sites, including sites that require rift transit or planar travel.
Itinerant Preacher	Divine, Charm, Leadership, Lore, Streetwise, Fortitude	Carries a divine message on the road without a permanent temple base; depends on audience goodwill and the open road.

Military and Martial Careers

Career	Profession Skills	Description
Foot Soldier	Light Melee, Heavy Melee, Fortitude, Athletics, Readiness	Serves in a standing army or military force as line infantry; trained to fight in formation and sustain campaigns.
Cavalry	Riding, Light Melee, Heavy Melee, Athletics, Readiness	Fights mounted; trained in both horsemanship under fire and the specific demands of mounted combat.
Archer	Light Ranged, Perception, Stealth, Athletics, Readiness	Specializes in ranged combat with bow or light crossbow; often serves as a skirmisher or defensive specialist.
Crossbowman	Heavy Ranged, Fortitude, Perception, Craft, Readiness	Operates heavy crossbows and similar braced ranged arms; slower rate of fire but significant stopping power.
City Watch	Light Melee, Perception, Streetwise, Intimidation, Lore	Polices an urban area; more investigator and deterrent than soldier, though the line blurs.
Mercenary	Light Melee, Heavy Melee, Fortitude, Streetwise, Readiness	Fights for pay, not loyalty; has seen enough different employers to know how all of them think.
Scout	Stealth, Survival, Perception, Light Ranged, Adventuring Lore	Operates ahead of or apart from main forces to gather information, track, and report; a specialist in not being seen.
Officer	Leadership, Lore, Light Melee, Perception, Negotiation	Commands military units at a level requiring strategic judgment, not just personal combat skill.
Naval Sailor	Operate, Athletics, Light Melee, Fortitude, Perception	Serves aboard a water-going military vessel; fights at sea and works the ship.
Marine	Light Melee, Heavy Melee, Athletics, Operate, Readiness	Fights from and aboard ships; specializes in the particular violence of boarding actions and coastal operations.
Duelist	Light Melee, Reflexes, Charm, Intimidation, Perception	Practices formal single combat as a profession: settling disputes, acting as a champion, or competing for purse.
Gladiator	Heavy Melee, Unarmed, Fortitude, Charm, Readiness	Fights in public spectacle for an audience; trained for theatrical violence that is also genuinely lethal.
Bodyguard	Light Melee, Perception, Readiness, Fortitude, Intimidation	Provides personal protection; the job is to not let it come to a fight, and to end it fast when it does.
Monster Hunter	Adventuring Lore, Light Ranged, Heavy Ranged, Survival, Perception	Takes contracts to find and eliminate dangerous creatures; knows monster behavior, weaknesses, and how to survive things most people run from.
Bounty Hunter	Streetwise, Perception, Light Melee, Deception, Intimidation	Tracks and apprehends people for legal or extralegal reward; works the gray space between law enforcement and hired muscle.

Commerce and Service Careers

Career	Profession Skills	Description
Merchant	Negotiation, Lore, Streetwise, Operate, Leadership	Buys and sells goods at scale; manages relationships, routes, suppliers, and the timing of markets.
Factor	Negotiation, Lore, Deception, Streetwise, Craft	Acts as an agent for a principal (a merchant house, a noble, or an institution), managing transactions and relationships on their behalf.
Innkeeper	Charm, Leadership, Streetwise, Medicine, Negotiation	Operates a lodging establishment; manages staff, guests, supplies, and the flow of traveler information.
Tavern Keep	Charm, Streetwise, Intimidation, Negotiation, Perception	Runs a drinking establishment; knows everyone's business because everyone passes through.
Courier	Operate, Riding, Stealth, Streetwise, Perception	Carries messages, packages, and sensitive items across distances; discretion and speed are the job.
Teamster	Operate, Athletics, Fortitude, Craft, Survival	Drives wagons and manages freight transport by road; keeps goods moving and vehicles functioning.
Dockworker	Athletics, Fortitude, Operate, Perception, Streetwise	Loads and unloads ships, manages cargo, and works the physical infrastructure of port commerce.
Banker	Negotiation, Lore, Deception, Streetwise, Intimidation	Manages money-lending, currency exchange, letters of credit, and the financial infrastructure of trade.
Tax Collector	Intimidation, Lore, Negotiation, Streetwise, Deception	Assesses and collects revenue on behalf of a lord, city, or institution; universally unpopular, frequently corrupt.
Customs Inspector	Perception, Lore, Streetwise, Intimidation, Negotiation	Monitors the movement of goods across borders, ports, or checkpoints; looking for contraband and tariff evasion.
Fence	Streetwise, Deception, Negotiation, Lore, Subterfuge	Buys and resells stolen or illegally obtained goods; knows value, knows silence, and knows who to call.
Auctioneer	Charm, Negotiation, Lore, Perception, Leadership	Conducts public and private sales; knows how to read a room, build urgency, and move goods quickly.
Travelling Peddler	Streetwise, Charm, Operate, Survival, Negotiation	Sells goods on the road from a cart or pack; knows every village's wants and can acquire almost anything given time.

Arcane and Scholarly Careers

Career	Profession Skills	Description
Mage Apprentice	Arcana, Secret Lore, Lore, Craft, Perception, Natural Philosophy	Studies under a trained practitioner of mortal magic; at this stage more scholar than mage, but the casting drills have begun.
Battle Mage	Arcana, Discipline, Secret Lore, Light Melee, Readiness, Fortitude	Applies magical training to military contexts; trained to function in combat conditions alongside soldiers.
Hedge Witch	Primal, Secret Lore, Medicine, Survival, Charm, Craft	Practices folk magic outside formal academy training; often the only magical resource available in rural areas.
Enchanter	Arcana, Craft, Secret Lore, Natural Philosophy, Perception, Negotiation	Applies magical properties to objects through a defined process of inscription, binding, or infusion.
Diviner	Arcana, Planar Lore, Secret Lore, Perception, Lore, Readiness	Specializes in the branch of magical practice concerned with obtaining information: scrying, augury, reading signs.

Arcane and Scholarly Careers Continued

Career	Profession Skills	Description
Runesmith	Arcana, Craft, Secret Lore, Natural Philosophy, Lore, Perception	Inscribes magical runes into surfaces for protective, destructive, or communicative purposes.
Spell Scribe	Arcana, Craft, Secret Lore, Lore, Perception, Deception	Copies, transcribes, and produces spell documents and magical texts; knows the difference between a copy and an original.
Academy Researcher	Arcana, Lore, Secret Lore, Natural Philosophy, Planar Lore, Medicine	Works within a formal academic institution on theoretical or applied magical research.
Magical Theorist	Secret Lore, Natural Philosophy, Lore, Planar Lore, Negotiation	Studies the principles underlying magical systems without necessarily practicing them; the theoretician side of the arcane world. A theorist who also casts buys Arcana at the out-of-profession rate.

Maritime and Aerial Careers

Career	Profession Skills	Description
Sailor	Operate, Athletics, Fortitude, Light Melee, Perception	Serves aboard a water-going vessel; works the rigging, keeps the ship moving, and fights when it comes to it.
Navigator	Operate, Lore, Planar Lore, Perception, Natural Philosophy	Charts courses and manages navigation for water or aerial vessels; in Dort, navigating toward planar boundaries requires Planar Lore.
Dockmaster	Leadership, Operate, Negotiation, Lore, Intimidation	Manages a port or dock facility: berths, schedules, tariffs, and the constant friction of maritime commerce.
Ship's Surgeon	Medicine, Natural Philosophy, Fortitude, Perception, Operate	Provides medical care aboard a vessel; works in cramped conditions with limited supplies and no backup.
Sky Sailor	Piloting, Athletics, Perception, Fortitude, Light Melee	Serves aboard a flying ship as working crew; operates rigging, manages cargo in the air, and fights from altitude.
Ship's Pilot	Piloting, Operate, Perception, Planar Lore, Natural Philosophy	Navigates and steers a flying ship; manages moment-to-moment flight rather than long-range course planning.
Privateer	Piloting, Light Melee, Light Ranged, Intimidation, Streetwise	Holds letters of marque to raid enemy shipping; operates in the gray space between legitimate military action and piracy.
Fisherman	Operate, Survival, Perception, Fortitude, Craft	Fishes commercially from a boat; knows water, weather, fish behavior, and the economics of market day.

Underworld and Gray Careers

Career	Profession Skills	Description
Thief	Subterfuge, Stealth, Streetwise, Perception, Athletics	Takes things that belong to other people; a specialist in entry, exit, and the fence that comes after.
Cutpurse	Subterfuge, Stealth, Streetwise, Reflexes, Charm	Works crowds and markets, removing purses and valuables without contact being noticed.
Smuggler	Operate, Deception, Streetwise, Stealth, Perception	Moves prohibited or untaxed goods across borders, through checkpoints, and past inspectors.

Underworld and Gray Careers Continued

Career	Profession Skills	Description
Assassin	Stealth, Light Melee, Subterfuge, Deception, Perception	Takes contracts to kill; a professional at every phase of the work, from approach to departure.
Spy	Deception, Stealth, Lore, Perception, Streetwise	Gathers intelligence on behalf of a principal using false identity and careful observation.
Charlatan	Deception, Charm, Lore, Streetwise, Craft	Sells false remedies, fake identities, fraudulent services, and elaborate cons; requires a good story and a fast exit.
Gambler	Streetwise, Deception, Perception, Charm, Subterfuge	Makes a living at games of chance and skill; knows odds, reads tells, and understands when the game is rigged.
Forger	Craft, Deception, Lore, Perception, Subterfuge	Produces false documents, fake seals, counterfeit currency, and fraudulent credentials.
Kidnapper-for-hire	Stealth, Streetwise, Light Melee, Fortitude, Deception	Takes people for ransom or delivery on contract; morally complex work in a world where ransom is a common legal mechanism. The line between this career and Bounty Hunter is the law, and the law is not always on the right side.

Entertainment and Performance Careers

Career	Profession Skills	Description
Bard	Charm, Lore, Streetwise, Deception, Leadership	Performs music, song, and story for audiences at every social level; also the most mobile information network in the world.
Acrobat	Reflexes, Athletics, Charm, Perception, Stealth	Performs physical feats for entertainment; the skills that look spectacular in a circus are also useful in places you are not supposed to be.
Actor	Charm, Deception, Lore, Leadership, Perception	Performs scripted roles for theatrical audiences; practices the craft of becoming someone else convincingly.
Storyteller	Charm, Lore, Deception, Streetwise, Perception	Tells stories for entertainment, for hire, for memory, or for propaganda; the oral tradition is a real economic role.
Street Performer	Charm, Subterfuge, Streetwise, Athletics, Perception	Performs for coins in public spaces; survives on audience goodwill and quick situational reading.
Pit Fighter	Unarmed, Heavy Melee, Fortitude, Readiness, Intimidation	Fights in informal or semi-legal fighting venues for purse and wager; trained for winning, not spectacle.
Animal Trainer	Survival, Leadership, Perception, Craft, Riding	Trains animals for labor, performance, military, or companion purposes; also the skill set needed to handle exotic creatures.
Circus Worker	Athletics, Craft, Survival, Fortitude, Charm	The logistical and physical labor of a travelling show; sets up, breaks down, and does a dozen jobs.

Administrative and Noble Careers

Career	Profession Skills	Description
Steward	Leadership, Lore, Negotiation, Craft, Streetwise	Manages the practical operations of an estate, institution, or noble household; the person who makes things actually function.
Herald	Lore, Charm, Leadership, Negotiation, Riding	Delivers official communications, announces persons of rank, and manages protocol at formal events.
Diplomat	Negotiation, Lore, Charm, Deception, Leadership	Represents a political entity in formal dealings with other powers; manages relationships between institutions.
Magistrate	Lore, Intimidation, Perception, Leadership, Negotiation	Adjudicates legal disputes and administers justice within a jurisdiction; knows the law and the people who argue it.
Tax Assessor	Lore, Perception, Negotiation, Intimidation, Natural Philosophy	Evaluates property and income for taxation purposes; hated by everyone and essential to functioning government.
Constable	Perception, Light Melee, Intimidation, Streetwise, Lore	Enforces order in a defined area; operates on local knowledge rather than military force.
Court Functionary	Lore, Charm, Deception, Negotiation, Perception	Serves a noble court in an administrative capacity; keeps the apparatus of aristocratic government running.
Record Keeper	Lore, Craft, Perception, Natural Philosophy, Deception	Maintains official records: births, deaths, taxes, deeds, and court proceedings; also knows where the records might have gaps.
Minor Noble's Aide	Lore, Charm, Riding, Leadership, Negotiation	Serves a minor noble in a general-purpose capacity: secretary, advisor, occasional representative, and household manager.

Exploration and Adventuring Careers

Career	Profession Skills	Description
Explorer	Survival, Lore, Perception, Athletics, Operate	Maps and documents unknown territory for patrons, academies, or commerce; operates at the edge of the known world.
Dungeon Delver	Adventuring Lore, Subterfuge, Light Melee, Perception, Fortitude	Enters ruins, tombs, and dangerous underground locations to recover objects, clear threats, or retrieve information.
Wilderness Guide	Survival, Perception, Riding, Operate, Lore	Leads parties through difficult terrain for pay; knows routes, dangers, weather, and how to keep clients alive.
Pathfinder	Survival, Perception, Athletics, Lore, Craft	Finds and establishes routes through new or unmapped territory; precedes the explorer to determine whether travel is even possible.
Relic Hunter	Adventuring Lore, Lore, Perception, Subterfuge, Negotiation	Locates, identifies, and acquires historical objects and artifacts for collectors, institutions, or personal profit.
Expedition Member	Athletics, Fortitude, Survival, Readiness, Craft	The generalist working member of a formal exploration or research expedition; covers logistics, camp, defense, and whatever else comes up.
Planar Scout	Rifts, Planar Lore, Survival, Perception, Readiness	Makes a living navigating rifts and providing route information, escort, or survey services across planar boundaries; a rare, dangerous, and well-compensated career.
Herbalist	Survival, Medicine, Natural Philosophy, Craft, Lore	Gathers, cultivates, and prepares medicinal and alchemical plants; serves rural communities, traveling parties, and apothecary shops with remedies, poultices, and component materials. Often the only healer available outside major settlements.
Wandering Shaman	Primal, Divine, Survival, Medicine, Charm, Lore	Practices elemental and spirit-adjacent magic while traveling between communities; serves as healer, omen-reader, and spiritual advisor without fixed temple or institution.