Changing occupation

[Kloster]

Does a character always use the same occupation (the one chosen/rolled during creation), and so yearly income, or can he change?

It seems to me that somebody that is, let's say, a philosopher, can be hired as a scribe (if the skills are adequate). or that any competent fighter can be hired as a warrior (again, if the skills are right). In addition, I feel that somebody that becomes a priest of his cult, he should use the Priest occupation because it is using 90% of his time, and he is not practicing his own occupation anymore.

Thanks for your illuminations.

Kloster

[womble]

As a GM, I'd look at what the character has been doing and assign any profession-based income off of that assessment. Certainly, the acquisition of land would give the opportunity for the character to run their Hything* using their Manage Household, as a Noble, and that will produce income, but if they engage a steward to do it for them, they're free to do what they like for the year, and still collect their income (less the salary, if any, of the steward), so (assuming they don't spend too long off adventuring), they could attempt to make more money as a different profession. It would be easy to come up with reasons why a character couldn't use some skills: they probably would struggle to make an income if they set themselves up as a crafter with no tools or shop, or try and break into a field that already has competition (though that could be 'plot hooks'...), or which requires a grant of rights that they don't have by some Authority.

* Hything: a term I thought I had seen used, specifically in terms of Saxon land organisation, to mean "A grouping of five hides", 5 being the number of families expected to be needed to support a properly equipped and prepared fighter in the field. I did have a squint at Google, but it didn't seem to have much recognition of the term, so it might be a product of some twist of memory, but if it is, I claim the neologism, and am going to use it in my own personal Gloranthan lexicon...

[jajagappa]

41 minutes ago, Kloster said:

Does a character always use the same occupation (the one chosen/rolled during creation), and so yearly income, or can he change?

If there's a reasonable case for changing occupation, then yes.  Advancement to priest is an obvious one.  Being hired into a mercenary company and becoming a warrior is another.  Being hired as a scribe, etc. certainly fits with a change.

[soltakss]

My Number One Rule is "If you can do it in Real Life, then you can do in in RuneQuest".

Can I change occupation in Real Life? Yes.

Can I change occupation in RuneQuest? Yes.

You could be an Adventurer, then a Weaponthane, then a member of the King's Guard, then a member of the Pavis Watch, then a member of the Tribal Ring, then the King.

2 hours ago, Kloster said:

It seems to me that somebody that is, let's say, a philosopher, can be hired as a scribe (if the skills are adequate). or that any competent fighter can be hired as a warrior (again, if the skills are right). In addition, I feel that somebody that becomes a priest of his cult, he should use the Priest occupation because it is using 90% of his time, and he is not practicing his own occupation anymore.

Exactly, so you have really answered your own question.

[PhilHibbs]

I think once character creation ends, previous occupation can become irrelevant. What matters from then on is what the character does, they might continue their previous occupation during downtime, do something different, or live the high life on their enormous adventuring loot haul.

[Kloster]

4 hours ago, soltakss said:

Exactly, so you have really answered your own question.

Thanks all for your insights. Soltakss, yes, I know I've partly answered, but this opinion was not the one of my GM, so we decided to ask the opinion of others.

Kloster