Far in the pillared dark

A repost from my Patreon page today. This is from the Jewelspider RPG but could apply to any quasi-European medieval setting. Jewelspider has no character classes as such; forester is just a job description. The illustration is from Gaston III's Livre de Chasse (14th century, strictly speaking a couple of hundred years late for the world of Legend) 

A forester is usually of yeoman class and at various times might serve as lawman, hunter, gamekeeper, soldier and bodyguard. Some foresters may hold a royal warrant, in which case he or she is more or less an independent agent who will be treated as a social equal by the lords of manors adjoining the forest. Others, engaged by the lords themselves, are usually freemen who might be assigned escort duty, told to bring a rare herb, expected to supply the manor with meat and furs, sent to deal with outlaws, drive off poachers, and so on – still entitled to respect like all expert craftsmen, but without the special privilege that direct servants of the crown enjoy.

At one extreme are those foresters who are primarily administrative officials, rarely venturing into the woods, and at the other there are solitary hermits with one foot in the faerie realm. But most conform to the popular image of the tough, taciturn, self-sufficient, competent woodsman:

‘He was clad in coat and hood of green.
A sheaf of peacock arrows bright and keen
Under his belt he bore most carefully.
(Well could he dress his tackle yeomanly:
His arrows drooped not with feathers low; )
And in his hand he bore a mighty bow.
A shaven pate had he, and a sun- brown face:
Of woodcraft he knew well all the ways:
Upon his arm shone a fine shield,
By his side a sword and buckler did he wield,
And on the other side a dagger bright,
Well sheathed, sharp as a spear’s point in sunlight:
St Christopher on his breast of silver sheen.
A horn he bore, the baldric was of green:
A forester he was indeed.’

The forester’s duties include providing winter feed for the deer, apprehending poachers and robbers, driving off wolves, organizing pollarding and the maintenance of paths, preventing illegal logging and grazing that would damage the vert, and ensuring that commoners’ cattle are driven out of the forest during fence month (fourteen days either side of Midsummer Night) when no man, beast or stray dog is permitted there – this to ensure the deer are not disturbed while calving.

Not every forester fits into manorial society. Other options include:

Outlaw – forced to hide away deep in the wildwood, you will have experience in hiding, survival, hunting and ambushes.

Forsaken – your local manor was depopulated by plague or warfare, leaving you increasingly isolated from contact with your fellow man. This option might suit a mystic or woodland priest.

Loner – in childhood you found any excuse to take yourself off to the forest. Your knowledge of woodcraft is self-taught.

Charcoal burner – the lowest of the low in feudal society, often working in the heart of the forest and emerging only occasionally to sell your wares.

Wodewose – the semi-mythical wild man, shunned and dreaded by civilized folk who believe you to be dangerous, depraved, pagan in your beliefs, and possibly cannibalistic.