So, you’re running a sandbox fantasy RPG. What can we put the players up to? I was thinking about a generic list of jobs; tasks that go beyond “a farmer wants someone to find his missing chickens”, but aren’t necessarily straight-up faction play.
Image: Time for a Little Chat by James Nathaniel
- Archeology: Retrieve relics, find/explore/map ruins, discover ancient lore. Work for institutions, historians, private collectors, magic-users.
- Cartography: Discover optimal travel routes, explore distant landmarks, map points of interest. Work for nobles, landowners, exploration societies.
- Couriers: Transport mail and packages, escort valuable payloads. Work for trade caravans, merchants, nobles.
- Mercenaries: Patrol regions, fight bandits/insurgents/enemy armies, guard outposts. Work for nobles, merchants, religious organizations.
- Bandits: Rob travelers, raid villages, patrol territory. Work for bandit chiefs or (secretly) nobles.
- Bounty hunting: Track down dangerous individuals, raid bandit camps, find thieves and murderers. Work for nobles, city guard, merchants.
- Hunting: Track down dangerous predators, hunt deer and such for food. Work for taverns and restaurants, hunter guilds, butchers.
- Arcane supplies: Collect ancient knowledge, gather alchemical ingredients, track down relics. Work for magic-users, court wizards, lone hermits.
- Foraging: Gather alchemical ingredients, herbs and spices, poisons and antidotes. Work for shady figures (assassins), town healers, taverns.
- Religion: Spread faith, convert the non-believer, humanitarian work.