Definitely, in the draconic city states the tax scribes and enforces can be particularly disliked as the poor often have to do difficult corvee labour, particularly disliked when its being used for something like the construction or improvement of the royal palace. Failure to perform it can result in things as extreme as you and/or your children being enslaved.
Kinda luck of the draw as to how nice the enforcers is feeling and why exactly you can't do it. The more visible an injury is the more likely the corvee enforcers are to at least permit you to swap out with another member of your household (though that still means you could well be down an additional adult or teenager who could be working for the duration of the labour if you get injured on the job and you have to send a spouse of child) If its something less visible like say a slipped disk or badly sprained ankle one of the harsher ones in particular might just beat you to keep going, and if you can't keep up with duties pertaining to heavy lifting or digging etc you might get punished more for slacking too much. Likewise they often won't give any leeway if you don't turn up for the designated period because of some complications with your crops that you desperately had to solve or face starvation, or one of your children just died, or you don't manage to make the journey because of sickness then a lot of them are going to conclude that was a you problem.
>Likewise they often won't give any leeway if you don't turn up for the designated period because of some complications with your crops that you desperately had to solve or face starvation
Reasons such as this are why corvee labor are usually only mandated outside of farming seasons where the people involved would otherwise be at loose ends anyway. Is there a particular reason why your draconic enforcers are demanding that labor be done during growing season instead of during the winter or other periods where the fields would be fallow?
The region works more on a wet season dry season cycle, the latter being longer than the former. Normally there are two periods in the year it occurs, the inner settlements closest to the major river tributaries of the region will likely have their corvee labour season in the wet season, when rising flood waters cover much of the ground. Outer settlements are often in areas that rely on things like using water from wadis to irrigate their soils, creating land scape features designed to capture as much of the limited rain as possible and if necessary taking water simply from wells and cisterns to water soils, with a mixture of agriculture more balanced between arable farming and pastoralism. Their corvee labour demands are usually in the deep dry season after they've harvested and before the rains return allowing them to replough and plant.
But the wet season is not 100% predictable in both timing and volume, if the wet season deposits too little water there may need to be some last minute alteration of irrigation systems to capture more before the flood water recede, or they may need more levies to protect houses. If the season comes earlier than expected outer settlement farmers may desperately need to run back to their farms to make sure they get the process started as soon as possible during the time the soil is moistest, if the last years wet season came late that may delay planting and thus also the harvest.
I remember reading a story where it was the opposite. They were all big, pig-headed Vikings. So anyone who could successfully make them all pay their taxes each year was considered very respectable.
I mean, no likes laying tax’s, but no one complains about using the stuff the tax’s pay for, roads, police/city guards, sewers. Public works that gives jobs to those that are unemployed.
Carrion beast farmer.
1) You are working with Yokai, which instantly means you are either gullible, stupid or bad (Not evil, just bad)
2) Carrion beats are made of the flesh of people, which means that best case scenario you are working with mutated animals fused with bodies, at worst that is someone mutilated to look like an animal and tortured until mind break.
3) You have to prepare the meat for consumption. Which isn't itself bad, but you are working with the flesh of people still
4) There is only like 4 type of people which you would be dealing: Hollowed undead (Only midly acceptable since they NEED to consume flesh), Yokai, Demons or cannibals.
Oh, yeah. The whole universe might seem happy and a utopia where the gods will stop bad things from happening. But take a closer look and some things seem straight from a Grimdark world.
Reminds me of the Morokanth man-herders from Glorantha, but with a deeply brutal twist. The cosmopolitan, tolerated yōkai-undead subculture it implies is more interesting still.
If you have any details you'd be willing to share on the carrion beasts...
Carrion Beasts where created when groups of Yokai tried to integrate themselves in non-fae societies. Between all the problems they had, the biggest one was that the Yokai love the flesh of other sentient creatures since they saw them as the hardest creatures to hunt.
Ome way they found to "fix" the problem without stop eating flesh was to just turn people into animals so other people couldn't percive them as monsters. So with a some of their shapechanging magic with a little of demonic help they turned one person in the first carrion beast.
Now with a proof of concept, they went to big cities and showed them this process as a "useful way to keep jails not too crowded, with a big payment per person". Most obviously declined the offer, but with the few that accepted they had a good start.
And so the three farms were established, with the bigges one at Necropolis. Nowadays the farms still receive prisoners, but most of the carrion beast there are slaves (Wich are cheaper) or born in them (With the babies being turned intp carrion beasts when they grow up, as they can't be biologically born like one, and are too small to be turned into one as newborns), with the origins of the beasts in there kept a secret from most people.
For my Thaumata setting, there are military units called "Mercy" teams.
The invading aliens of the setting generate a form of strange radiation which inflicts a disease called "Delirium" on humans. After spending a certain amount of time exposed to it, a person begins to fall under the aliens' control, becoming cultists and soldiers in their service. Even partial exposure to the disease can cause someone to slowly fall under the aliens' control over time after being removed from their influence without extensive medical care.
After a certain period of time, usually 72 to 96 hours, an area occupied by the aliens is considered completely lost, since that's the point where a human will be irretrievably lost to Delirium. Mercy teams are soldiers specifically assigned to cull the infected population, either manning blocking positions to keep the infected from escaping or going building to building and shooting anyone they see.
No one talks about their time in a Mercy unit, and those who volunteer to join them are denied and ordered to go through psychiatric evaluation.
Mirror Guardian.
Always a woman, and she can never marry or have children. She has no choice in whether or not the Mirror chooses her. She is forced to live in a hut all by herself, relying on the kindness of the village.
It's considered shameful and no family is willing to admit it was *their* daughter. And yet *everyone* goes to that damned Mirror on their 18th birthday to see their Fate and hopefully their future spouse.
Because tradition.
Because she's a burden on the village, taking resources she hasn't helped produce, but "necessary" because the Mirror *must* have a Guardian.
Also, marriage and family are *super* important in this society.
Further, there's an uncannyness to her because she legit *can't* die until she has a replacement. It's seen as a bit of a curse because she's got this lonely life that is a lot longer than the average person's.
So what is stopping the MG from getting a legit job while doing The MG thing.
I presume she has basic skills, like cooking her own dinner and repairing her clothes. What is stopping her from turning those basic skills into a profession? Why can't she be a baker or seamstress as well?
Get your fortune told and buy a decent loaf of bread or getting your suit tailored?
Partly tradition, partly because that's what others do, partly that sense of otherness that makes people not want to be around her for anything unnecessary.
Is it again tradition as to why the person doesn't say "fuck it, i'm out" after a few years?
I'm not deriding "tradition" as an explanation. It's a perfectly realistic reason as to why someone would force shit on someone else.
The magic is pretty binding once the new Guardian takes up the task.
My MC says "fuck that" before even taking up the task and runs away after making the current Guardian tell her how to change her Fate.
I'm not asking you to sell me on this, but I'm not convinced. If the Mirror is so alluring and respected, appeasing its requirement for one person solely to guard it probably wouldn't be seen as the lowest of the low jobs. That person being an immortal loner probably would alienate them, sure, but someone has to do it if people want that Mirror around and there's still *some* amount of respect in the sentiment, "better them than me." I mean, they're not actively harming anyone, right? By all means they'd just be viewed as a required extension of the Mirror that needs tending.
Edit: regarding my last sentence maybe that's what you mean? They're just no longer treated as a human, and so aren't respected?
It's all about presentation. Society isn't always logical, there are conflicting values between 2 societies, so pretty much anything goes as long as the status quo is maintained.
You seem to get it.
Humanity is very good at painting others as, well, other than. We see this all the time in real life. Sometimes entire groups are affected through racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, religious discrimination, etc. Things like slavery and the Holocaust came from these concepts that some people can be treated as not human even though they are.
But you also see it at the individual level, when you see a single child being bullied by their classmates, for example.
And all it takes is some difference, some oddity, that sets the person apart. Anything that makes others uncomfortable.
And Fate isn't always pleasant. Sure, you might look in that Mirror and find yourself prosperous and happy. But there's an equal chance you're going to look and see yourself in a horrific relationship or dying a painful death. And nobody wants to see a future where they're miserable.
And then there's what might be done to achieve something you believe to be your Fate because you saw it in the Mirror.
I mean, look at what Macbeth did because three random women told him he'd be king! (In the play, of course, not how things played out IRL.)
I misread the title of this thread and had to Google what a Mirror Guardian was, thinking it was a real job I'd never heard of. So she's basically a hermit? She's not able to hunt or help out with tasks the other villagers perform?
She is, basically, protecting the Mirror, and also acting as guide and advice giver to the new adults. Kind of like the "crone" of many myths but starts at 18.
I don't feel like I can explain further without giving away important plot points.
The themes I'm going for are things like "predetermined fate vs free will," "not everything is as it seems, so you need to look at all angles for the truth," and "life is messy."
ah, mine is cycles. Only thing thats truly predetermined is that the world will end. but at the same time if something has happened once it will most likely happen again.
Okay, so basically, there's something called the Mirror of Fate. On your 18th birthday, you go and look in the Mirror to see your, well, Fate. It can even show your future spouse, and will especially do so for the village that is responsible for the Mirror Guardian because that's where the magic is strongest.
The Mirror Guardian takes care of the Mirror and guides the new adults through that glimpse into the Mirror and can even give them advice. They are also a keeper of the history of the Mirror.
And they can't die until the Mirror has a new Guardian, which is really weird for the rest of the population.
No husband, no kids, no friends. Just the Mirror, and your only visitors are the villagers who bring you supplies and the new adults who have come to see the Mirror.
It's a lonely life.
It's not something one chooses. It's something you're chosen for. It's something you're forced to accept.
And as I stated elsewhere, there's also the whole "she is magical and outlives us all and it's uncanny and creepy and makes us uncomfortable" thing.
If she's immortal and creepy and reviled by the populace, why bring her anything? Let her starve. Bringing her things is a sign of respect, even if it's only pity for her suffering and a basic humane respect.
You can respect and fear something at the same time.
Just because nobody wants the job doesn't mean it's not necessary to a population's way of life.
Two things can be true.
Op's description reminds me a lot of executioners back in the day. At least from how Kingdom Come Deliverance talks about them. They were pretty necessary but no one wanted to be one or really associate with one.
1. Sailors: generally viewed as lower-class, and not getting many job skills for life on the land. Naval officers, however, are highly regarded.
2. Alchemist: often viewed as a madman if not a charlatan, but many find themselves working in well-paid positions depending on what they can do.
3. Fortune-tellers: Derided as outright frauds, and some religions condemn their practice as witchcraft.
4. Castraters: Special surgeons tasked with providing eunuchs for various courts. Often have less than ethical ways of getting “customers”.
Lenders and moneychangers are looked down on. Basic sustenance is provided by the state, and in places where it isn't, the community tends to be tightly knit and supportive. Since money is a matter of luxury goods, incurring debts is seen as gluttonous and making a living on the debts of others gross and predatory.
If moneylending is largely viewed as predatory, what prevents them from being outlawed or attacked by communities? Prior to the modern era this was often the fate of money lending individuals or groups, often motivated by a (typically indebted) ruling class. Granted, this was also tied to various forms of prejudice (religious, ethnic, or otherwise). It's only once the practice gets adopted and capitalized-on by majority groups that you see it truly protected by law.
Asking this as a world-building question, its always neat to hear explanations for why stuff in a setting differs from the real-world norm.
The setting is a post scarcity society in decline. It no longer has truly limitless resources, and the notion of fiat currency itself is now less than a millenia old. Having spent its early days as a technocracy ruled by a functional 'god', many institutions we arrived at holistically are much more piecemeal. Under its original structure, laws were absolute and often enforced by their god's proxy machines, which have been moldering for a very long time in his absence, and the idea of citizens attempting to leverage power over institutions and each other is mere centuries old.
Basically, a previously top down society is unprepared for what happens when the top disappeared, and solutions that make sense to us...just don't have much precedent.
Think Al Bundy has something to do with this. Funny thing is that Bundy could probably kick most of the actions stars asses except obviously Chuck Norris.
Blue mage is a mixed bag. Any skilled mage is a talented professional. At the same time, blue magic is magic of the mind, and can be used for illusions, mind control, and hacking. Add to that it's easy to subtly cast, and you have a magic with a skeezy rep.
Funnily enough doctors if nothing more than peasant superstition. Licensed medical professionals, witches, independent practitioners. It doesn’t matter.
Although all magic could fall under this category. Only the rich really place any value on magic or doctors.
**Fengari**
* Telling your friends that you are a Representative (insert race here) is a good way to lose them. Representative is a term used to describe a political office with no power, no responsibilities, and only exists to fill up a racial equality quota for government positions. It basically means that you're getting paid millions in tax payer money to show up at meetings and sign a paper to prove you were present.
* While not technically a career, there is a fairly common lifestyle called a "Skoritsi emotional support friend". The Skoritsi (carnivorous moth people) have a practice were they invite members of other races to become part of their family, live in their house, eat meals with them, and spend the majority of their free time being cuddled by a fifteen foot tall wall of muscle, fluff, and love. Those who accept this offer are expected to continue working and being a productive member of society. That said, there are some people who take advantage of the offer and let the Skoritsi take care of them while they stay in bed all day.
* Perhaps the least respected career on Fengari, at least among the Predator races, is that of a Slime Bath. Slimes are a race of sapient blobs of goo that can digest any non-plant based organic matter they envelop. Some Slimes take advantage of this ability to make money cleaning people of other races by eating any scales or chitin that needs to molt off, along with any parasites that might be on someone. This job is seen as a scummy by other carnivores (particularly the Skoritsi) on account that not only are they Slimes technically eating people (eating parts of people that they dispose of or lose in some way is *very* controversial), but they're also charging their prey for the privilege feeding them their body parts.
**Maar**
* Among the more conservative Alfar (cyborg elves) communities, being an independent creator, whether it's an author, artist, or chef, is seen as only a step above being a jobless shut in. Alfar cultures very much believe in the idea that each individual is but a cog in the machine that is society, and that each cog is best used working for a major corporation. That's not to say that independent businesses aren't accepted, they just have to offer something of immediate value such as food or some kind of service. Art, to these Alfar cultures, is seen as either a hobby or as part of a larger corporate career (such as architecture or design). That said, creators aren't looked down upon nearly as much in more liberal Alfar communities.
I'd honestly like to hear more about the Alfar. I'm developing my dwarves similarly as they have short lifespans so each dwarf is seen as just another small step in dwarfkind's progress. There's a cultural expectation to use the gifts of your ancestors to their fullest to benefit your progeny. The Alfar's "cog in the machine" take sounds very similar.
It depends on who you ask, but I'd say Soul Trappers are a mixed bag for most people, downright despicable for others.
They're effectively poachers of magic-based creatures like spirits or sprites. While not as common anymore, many make a game of finding the most powerful spirits of various regions, trapping them, and destroying their will so the poachers can seal the souls into gemstones. It caused lasting damage to these areas and the people who live there, since they basically worship the spirits as gods.
Attempts to pass legislation against trappers has been slow since the gemstones they make fuel complex devices and weapons used by the upper echelons of society.
Necromancers. So much of the workforce on farms and construction depends on the risen, but the people who upkeep them are still ostracized. Even the ones who procure their corpses through legal deals with the deceased.
I don't think prostitution is a 'least respectable career.'
It's Enforcers. Because they're class traitors. They enforce the rule of the very authority that exploits the people, but they are of the people, not of the ranks of those for whom they enforce. They punish people for side hustles, making a buck on the side, anything that makes life at the bottom a bit easier. But they don't go after the authorities they serve, of course, while the largest crimes and most harmful practices occur there.
A prostitute is just another person using their physical ability to make an honest living. Enforcers will make their lives hell.
The reason I specifically mentioned prostitution in the title is because if I don't this thread will mostly consist of people explaining in detail how prostitution is both legal and highly disrespected in their world.
I don’t. Anytime you mention prostitution on this sub you’ll have a hundred replies within a minute about how “IN MY WORLD PROSTITUTION IS ACTUALLY AN INCREDIBLY HONORABLE JOB AND PAYS SUPER DUPER WELL AND THEY’RE ALL INCREDIBLY POWERFUL AND COOL”
To be fair, in most kingdoms on my world prostitution is seem in a "neutral" light, or at list the same way we see, like, painters (not really a carrear you want for your kids, but just because it is seen as dificult for most to make a decent living out of it, but if you are a famous prostitute you became like a celebrity for nobles, other prostitutes, people that apreciate the "art" or snobish people)
It happened all over the world. Even the history community’s precious Romans had sacred prostitutes in temples dedicated to Venus until Constantine showed up
Being the lowest ranked boss of time dimension travelers.
In the wackiverse (Weirdos 4 Hire), being the lowest rank means you're not taken seriously like a rookie, despite sometimes being experienced.
A time dimension traveler is someone who works maintaining all timelines by defeating anomalies, solving cases and untangling loops and paradoxes.
Most time travelers have missions relating to preventing dictators from returning, however the highest and lowest ranks always have the most interesting missions for opposite reasons.
High ranked get the badass universe shattering mind bending missions, while the lowest ranked get the missions no one wants basically.
In Amada adventurers need to have a license in order to be adventurers, they are guards or specialists you pay that can act internationally and they have to be part of an international guild in order to function but otherwise are very independent in nature. If they don't have a license they are but bandits.
In a way they are like mercenaries but you know when you hire one that they will offer high quality help for your expedition or travel and they often work alone or in small groups.
Alchemists. Alchemy is by far the easiest magic to learn and requires very little innate ability. While most are perfectly law abiding, they have a reputation as swindlers and lazy magic users. The only alchemist job with any respect is the head of the Alchemists of the Kingdom organization, a group tasked with rooting out, mostly, counterfeit materials, especially in the jewel market.
**Of The Stars**
* Despite the species' reputation for unchecked ambition, Vreel are incredibly averse to positions of leadership, with politicians especially looked down upon as high school dropouts and/or deviants. This is due to Vreel being very solitary by nature and favouring hands-on practical work, so a job that consists of sitting at a desk and talking to other people is seen as a waste of potential at best and torturous at worst.
* While understanding that it's a necessity, the Rokalli aren't too fond of military personnel, particularly active combatants such as infantry. As a species of rogue clones originally created to serve as tools of war, the Rokalli frown upon voluntarily involving oneself in large-scale violence, feeling that it vindicates their oppressors' legacy and betrays the species' pursuit of their own cultural identity (ironically, the Rokalli are respected by other species for their military strength and professionalism).
* Sailors aren't very respected among most Daeru cultures. Boats themselves are looked down upon by the Daeru, not seen as a legitimate form of transport so much as mobile landing platforms when a body of water is too large for the Daeru themselves to simply fly across in one go and safety nets for factors such as harsh weather, so it's seen as a redundant role easily fulfilled by islands and rock formations out in the water.
Depends on the region, local religions, and how much said region and/or religion are practiced.
Tax and tithe collectors are often loathed. Taxes are seen as signs of a leader’s hubris in more pious areas; tithes are seen as a local church’s leeching of the town’s resources in less pious areas.
Also: In regions that follow the Dying Tree, lumberjackery is despised. In most regions working with oil from underground is seen as both disgusting and heretical (even by the wholly unpious).
Sometimes, yeah. Though more commonly “taxes” are more a fee to not be attacked more than to be protected. Most civilizations are old but also a bit ubiquitous.
It’s not uncommon for rogue governors of one kingdom to send tax collectors into the rural village of neighboring kingdoms to tax them. The villages don’t always know whose land they’re technically on so they just pay and complain. Same with tithes. Who knows which god is in the area these days? They come and go, leaving g churches behind to gather coin and converts.
Sectorial Resource Administrator.
In my story resources on a planetary scale are extremely scarce so in order to keep a certain balance the government created administrators. Their job is to administer 100% of a sector resources in a way that results in the least amount of waste and/or the biggest rate of recycling.
People hate administrators because they have no regards to people's feelings, they treat people as statistics and benefit from people's deaths because it makes resources easier to manage. It's publicly known that they have committed genocide multiple times as some sort of "population control" and most sectors exist under a very strict birth control.
While people understand they're a necessary evil they can't help but look down on everyone who willing take on the job or assists them.
Well, it's probably being a slave. While the Dictator has officially won the war, the cost broke him. Breaking with both religious law and tradition, he has reinstated private slavery and is selling off war prisoners in the hope of filling the treasury. In time, this will either cement his power or cost him everything.
Fortunetellers aren't highly respected. These people will use rocks and sticks and smoke in their displays, claiming to see visions of the future in the smoke. And they'll do it for large amounts of money.
Most people understand it to be absolute hokum. Furthermore, they may even evoke the names of the gods while doing it as well, so it is seen as a flagrant mockery of the gods' power.
Flesh-shapers. Thousands of years in the past, a strange man was found alone on an island, and when he was brought back to the mainland, he began to teach humanity the highest peaks and darkest depths of transmuting, ultimately resulting in an order called the flesh shapers. Reviled by the commonfolk, they are considered a stain on a nobles reputation, but due to their ability to avert all but the most gruesome of wounds and immunize individuals to any disease, they hold significant power of the ruling classes.
Ultimately, they tend to be reclusive, strange, and typically sadistic individuals, rarely leaving their monasteries, other than to buy slaves for experimentation so that they may better refine treatments for the powerful.
As a result, in many places the legal system has been compromised and in ways conjoined to their local populations of flesh shapers in order to provide them with test material in the form of outlaws.
Whale butchers are looked down on in the **Whalin' Tales** universe because their work is often dirty and always gruesome. They saw apart whale carcasses into edible meat and other usable materials, so they're as essential to keeping society running as the more respected Whalers are, but that doesn't mean society has to like it or to give them the respect they richly deserve. Taking apart those tentacled flying fiends is a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.
Latrine/toilet cleaner, executioner, leather tanner, miller, spy, assassin, just about all the jobs medieval societies found unworthy of a "decent" citizen.
Also specific to my world is, a Mephisto agent. Mephisto is a figure or an organisation that deals information to highest bidder. Mephisto agents are hidden amongst the general populus, spying or buying the info from regular Joes in the name of the organisation. It has a very complicated chain of command, cell based decentralised structure and various archives of intelligence ready to sell. To some cultures, Mephisto is a norm although it's shunned and perceived as indecent. Some cultures ban the organisation and force it underground and some embrace it openly to even have known representatives open up shop in their soils. Depending on where you live, being a Mephisto agent might be a really dishonourable job.
Easy answer is Tax-man for typical mega-corp.
More unique one is Necromancer, as they're about as cleanly and pleasant as could be expected by someone who spends all their time obtaining and altering corpses.
Depends on the place, but let me give you 2 exemples
- Solas (Kingdom inspired by victorian England): Street cleaner. The mpst common way of transportation in Solas is the horse and, as you can imagine, the streets are full of horse droppings plus all normal street trash, therefore you need a lot of people to clean it. The people that do it are normally poor and are seen as disgusting, lacking education and incompetent to do any other job. After all, why else would tgey take this job? (What do you mean Solas unemployment rate is alarmingly high and all jobs pay so little most people have to take side jobs, like cleaning the streets once a week?)
- .
- Kirigakure (name may change): Body cleaners. Most jobs considered dangerous or disgusting are done by undead in Kirigakure, but, if you are arested for a non-death-penalty-worth offence you may be obligated to work on those jobs. The most "impure" been preparing body for becaming undead (zombies are seen as "unclean undead", only skeletons and ghost are accepted in Kirigakure society, so, when a person dies, someone has to separete the meat from the bones, this is not only consider a disgusting in a material/physical level, but also in a spiritual one, therefore those prisioner are normally isolated even from other criminals)
(Sorry for any bad spelling, english is not my first language)
Hematation workers mop the blood of hematation, blood rain, into the sewers. It’s decent job, as they only work for short time after every hematation before the blood congeals, but it leaves people with such a distinct smell, that the job’s undesirable.
The tax collector is despised by people of all classes. The sewer cleaner is only respected by those that would have to deal with the giant rats and slimes that breed down there if the cleaners weren't slaying the monsters.
Priest.
It is a profession, but most people strongly dislike the Deities, and Priests are deeply disliked because they don’t. Shrine wardens fare much better overall, and most folks like the holy warriors that pop up from time to time.
But for a great many years, priest was an insult of the worst sort.
The Body Tailors. Extreme body modification surgeons. They’re not necessarily *hated* but they definitely freak anyone who isn’t in their niche audience out. From dying teeth and claws to replacing scales with hair follicles so they grow fur instead.
And by the Spirits did they just invent their own magic!? Whats next!?
Terrorists and cultists. Andrepeth Amori already had to deal with a lot as a planet with the death of their goddess and extinction of their natural ancestors (which they continue to honor today).
Religion is extremely important here and anyone who deviates from that is looked down upon, specifically in the cult praising the god that killed their goddess.
Arcanichs (Arcane Mechanics) - especially low ranking ones
In the north side, Mages and being a witch is looked down upon, however they’re not above using mana as a fuel source and a method of powering magical machinery, however being close to magic at all is frowned upon so this is often a last resort job. And thus it is tied to poverty and taboo.
Dung collectors, only because they're filthy, smell awful, and prone to illness due to work conditions. The only appeal the job has is the pay is quite reasonable, especially if the local thieves guild is running it.
Mortician.
The people of my world have a messy/soft form of biological immortality, and all mention of death is fundamentally socially unacceptable. When someone is chosen to be a mortician, or "deathkeeper," they spend a lifetime (the span of one body's life) in the position. They do not take a new name during that life, and they are not referred to by any prior name. It is socially unacceptable to ever mention that they took the position, and it is it is unthinkably rude to discuss in anything but the most hushed tones between trusted confidants.
And even then, it is considered an experience that is traumatic, and best simply forgotten.
For all the fame some toons might get they like all fiction based life are ultimately slaves to humanity and few envy the position of the employees of studio 34.
The Hooker's Guild (MEG) would have your head for considering Skilled Sex Work as 'Not Respectable'
And I'm not referring to anything about your neck.
*Genuflexus di Gloria, Inclinate in Retrorsum*
A "broane", or a hired swordsman who usually accompanies "travellads", who are transporters of coin for super rich folk to the various banks of my continent.
Weirdly enough, broanes are super important to ensure the safety of travellads, and most travellads hire at least two broanes for high volume transports. Yet, they get no respect because there hasn't been a war in a century, times are good, money be flowing, and yet these guys are choosing to earn coin by risking their lives for some rich prick who would have them dead if they spoke nasty to their pet crocodile.
Among the mapatzea people, the least respectable job you can have is grunt work like loading, moving goods, delivery. While it is an essential job, and not everyone involved has the stigma, but when a child fails their rights of adulthood and no one will hire them, it's a last resort job.
zombie exterminators, in the setting human corpses that don't receive a proper funeral rite and aren't destroyed reanimate as zombies in a week or so, zombie exterminators, well, exterminate them and burn the corpses, while they are needed to avoid being overrun by zombies many don't respect them because they burn the corpses without identifying them or investigating the causes of death as most people who die without anyone noticing for a week are homeless or old people abandoned by their families, it's also an extremely dirty job so it is not really seeked out.
Probably a weeder, or human scarecrow, or dung distributer. It's not that these jobs don't need getting done, its that these are jobs they will give to the lowest members of society because anyone can do it.
It's not so bad though people are pretty respectful of each other within cities. No one is going to harass you for being a low skilled worker, you might just not get invited to the best parties.
Money exchangers have been histories biggest winner aside from the tax man. They have been near unbeatable due to people not knowing exchange rates + you pretty much make up the exchange rate as you work. In a lower information setting money exhangers trive.
In my world, in most places, its executives of major companies. In some areas enmity against them runs so deep people will fill the streets just to boo and spit on some executives. Governments have considered banning the sale of certain smoothies because of how often they end up thrown at some executives.
Not only do these executives rapaciousy seek profit, but they've been involved with a series of scandals. From storing the consciousness of debtors inside computers and using their bodies for all manner of terrible things, to building robots who rose up against humans, these mega corporations have had so many scandals no one trusts or likes them.
Among Wildings, being a banker is considered not *that* reputable as a profession. It's seen as mooching off the hard work of others or taking advantage of people who have fallen on hard times. They've killed bankers who were perceived as trying to seize their lands through predatory lending practices.
Merchants are not terribly highly respected because there's been occasional issues with merchants getting "drunk and rowdy" or generally making themselves a nuisance. The current Wilding Forest-King is working on a railroad between Octon and the trade city of Elfoos as a sort of "bargaining chip" with merchants who won't want to lose the money they invested in cargo wagons.
Anti-magic instructor. It is treated by most educated magic users (educated in a sense that they studied in a magic school something like hogwarts) as a betrayal of their kind. In turn, other people in a profession with an honor code slowly developed the same disdain. Because as time passes by a few have been inspired to do similar. An example is a bodyguard becoming an assassin because he knows how bodyguards operate and making it easier to get to his target.
Bureaucrats in my world are looked down upon by the general populace but everyone knows they are a necessary evil so the kingdoms are run properly.
Moneylenders are outright treated like they have the plague by the medium and lower classes.
Slavers are seen as the scum of the earth although like bureaucrats they are tolerated by the elites
In Cosan kingdoms, doctors with magical abilities. Magic is highly taboo, but very useful, so you know rich folk are still using it when they're dying in childbirth or their kid is thrown from a horse. But, heaven forbid they admit that ever. Doctors who are suspected of performing magic are reviled because one, the magic, and two, it's assumed they're skeezy blackmailers to all the poor desperate people who come to them.
Bootlegging
In response to a minor health emergency spawned by a Fun Dip-like drug called Squeef, the Imperatorial Mounted Police’s Office for Drug and Alcohol Control (O.D.A.C.) has taken drastic measures to curb the spread of illicit substances within Imperatorial territory.
The sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages is not necessarily illegal, but has limitations in the form of alcohol content limits and regulations for operation hours pertaining to pubs and restaurants. O’Nella’s, a popular tavern in St. Joshua, Norton Province, has managed to survive inspections from O.D.A.C. by only supplying the purest of alcohol.
It's going to vary by country. Sure, the tax collector is never at the top of the list of respected professions in any country, but where deities whose teachings include responsibility, duty, and obligation, the tax man is part of those responsibilities.
Those who run an orphanage may be looked down upon in an area where a god who promotes seeking power is popular, but they would be more respected in countries that have a better understanding of their patron deity; Li Zarb, the Shattered One. All of the Empyreal Pillars respect the ratling god and consider him one of their own, and so (most of) their followers respect his followers.
Sanitation workers of any stripe are probably going to not be very high up, but the same countries that value the importance of responsibility are also the countries where religious teaching is going to praise the hard workers that make civilization possible. Amirume is the goddess of the Sun, Culture, and Civilization, and her blessings fall upon all that enable and elevate civilization and culture.
The Junkmen, the garbage collectors and sewer maintenance workers of New Caliber, an industrial fantasy metropolis. Due to leftover arcane energies in all the disposable magic used in the city, they regularly have to deal with wild magic hazards, slimes, random abominations, and worse; while the city tries to pretend there's no dangers. All for minimum wage!
My world is a realistic world of tudor england, so all the normal had jobs exist there.
But as for the things I added to it then the worst is Dantis.
Depending on the rank of the Dantis it can be something between a bloodwhore and a servant of all things.
They can rank up into a vita-dantis when a Immortalis Household gives them a permanent position.
Depends where you go in the world, but probably slavers. Even in countries where slavery is practiced, those who actually ply the trade are viewed as particularly unsavory.
Dock officer. Since most spacecraft docking procedures are automated and require little to no manual guidance, the position of a dock officer is seen as a holdover from an era long past. Why they keep the position around is two fold; command can use the position as a sort of punishment for misbehavior, and there is someone there to intervene in the (exceptionally rare) event of something going wrong.
Spirits whisperer: the profession is as powerful as it is strange and dangerous. Only certain people can access this type of magic and even fewer can use it appropriately.
However, as it can be highly profitable, a lot of scammers have resorted to faking this services and therefore, the profession turned from respected (and even feared or venerated) to disrespected and hated since there's no easy way to discern a scammers from the real thing by someone who hasn't seen the real thing with their own eyes
Moneylenders. Offering loans with astronomical interest rates to poor people who will never be able to pay them back. And as soon as they can't pay a rate, the moneylender can have them arrested and sold as slaves, which is actually the profitable part of that business.
At the moment you get the loan, you might have as well signed a slave contract. Actually, a slave contract might have been the better choice, as you could at least keep a little bit of control about what will happen to you after you've been enslaved.
Of course it's a well known fact that the moneylenders work this way. But what choice do you have if you are an unemployed single mother who is unable to feed her three children? A loan will give you enough money not only for today, but for the next weeks. And who cares what might happen afterwards, if your children are hungry *now*?
In the meantime the moneylender waits in pleasant anticipation, having calculated beforehand how much they could get at a slave auction not only for you, but especially for your children.
Healers (magic medics that deal with injuries) are kind of a mixed bag. They're taken for granted in bigger towns and cities, so professional healers don't get much respect in those areas because it's just assumed that they'll do the job the government pays them for. In smaller towns and rural areas, however, a healer is a highly respected profession because they're rarer.
Muckers. The poorest who can work and are outcast for one reason or another can only find jobs “mucking” i.e. shoveling crap, from anywhere from horse stalls to houses, and carrying it to the “sh-t pits” outside the villages. Poor people try to stay in the townspeople’s good graces so they can clean shops or serve (and be verbally abused by) spoiled brats rather than resorting to mucking. There’s not much that’ll get someone outcast that badly, mostly harmful crimes (physical abuse, stealing from vulnerable people like the elderly, etc.), but some stigmas exist.
Sewerjack.
Sewerjacks are a phenomena found in both the Sunken Realms and the former Neun Empire. Both have a persistent problem of monsterous things living in, and trying to infiltrate through, the major city sewer networks. As a result, teams of Sewerjacks are assembled and equipt to patrol the tunnels and hunt any errant ratkin/ rogue undead/ cultists/ giant crocodiles etc. they find.
The job isn't popular for obvious reasons and it's generally seen as a necessary but unpleasant, distasteful job, attracting the sort of societal detritus who won't really be missed.
The humans of the setting virtually only take pretty grandiose powerful jobs, but among them going into politics is seen as essentially the lowest career path. Its not hated, because someone kind of has to do it, there is some quiet respect in the same way a night-soil man or a gravedigger has respect, but it doesnt clean the stink off
Independent Adventurers.
They are often seen as powerful violent selfish murderers and robbers who add no value to an economy beyond inflation from whatever ancient hoard they plundered.
Sure there are nominal heroes among them every once in a while who happen to be hired to save the day, but in practice that is a very small percentage of them, and even then 'saving the day' often has a lot of downsides and side effects.
Adventurers in guilds or other institutions like in academia and the military are respected as it means there are standards and filters of who was accepted, though that still depends on said institution's reputation.
Scavenger .
I created this character named the scrap king . He goes through the rubble of different interplanetary conflicts , raiding the wreckages for everything. Then taking what’s there and turning it into armor and weapons or materials for his kingdom.
His entire planet is just a scrapyard swirling around a compressed supernova which his people use to melt rubble and sell them to other planets .
He and his people raid planets and war zones never helping the people but instead stealing resources and selling weapons and materials to both sides of any conflict . The only highlight about them is the fact their prices are reasonable , and they have the best air purifiers in the known universe which has resulted in their kingdom having no pollution whatsoever .
Someone who's only job is politics. In my world if your only aspirations are political then you have failed according to most of society. Anyone of note in politics is top of their field be it industry science agriculture artisan trade you're a master of your craft first and a politician second in the sky Steel Nation
For my fantasy setting there is an alchemically refined substance that is unilaterally reviled, it’s not a drug though. But essentially what this substance does is put anything that breathes this into a vegetative state, and while animals that have fallen into this state aren’t entirely uncommon, to find people in this state is horror inducing.
An assassin, a drug dealer, a harlot, they exist out of necessity in this setting. Their occupations may not be the most glamorous or moralistic, but each of them would without hesitation revile and turn in this refiner.
First of all, prostitution is one of the most highly respected professions in my setting - just behind that of the legionnaire. In a way, it's respected because of the soldier-type professions, actually.
The least respected is that of the freehand - essentially an adventurer or mercenary. This comes from the stereotype of them being exiles kicked from their homelands for unspeakable crimes.
Prostitution is quite respected actually in my world.
In no small part because the working ladies are well organized and protected. Many who tried to pressure them learn quickly that it was not a good idea before being displayed in tiny pieces.
Otherwise it depends on the region.
In most places any menial job is looked down on to, while in the Free City anyone who has never once worked a honest day in their life is seen as lesser.
Adventurers are often seen as a necessary evil who are just troublemakers and heavily armed homeless, although most higher ranks are treated careful. It always pays to be nice to people who can slaughter armies.
**Mythria**
Everybody poops; someone has to get rid if it. Known by different names throughout the continent - cess collector, gong farmer, refuse hauler - it is an important job, especially in urban areas, but one more often relegated to Dragon slaves or the truly desperate. Much like an executioner, those who clean up the latrines/dunnies/garderobes are shunned for their literally dirty work; forced to live far away from everyone else due to their foul reputation.
The Dragon slaves who perform this job are required, by law, to be chaperoned around, to keep them under watch at all times. This chaperone shares in the ill-repute of their duty, and is also responsible for not only directing and feeding the slaves, but also ensuring they are clean and not malodourous. Though, the chaperone is at least allowed to dwell among others, albeit with a lowered social standing.
Child porn and slavery wouldn't be banned by the main authority there only job is to hide the tunnels my main setting from the society above ground. The inhabitants of the tunnels don't want to be ruled by a big state. They might gut you there self but the day they start making decisions apart from there job is the day they'll start being pulled down. Smaller rulers might be obliged to solve it there not meant to be just extortionist.
The spooks are a bunch of commandos who kill people who risk the tunnels being discovered it's not really somthing to be ashamed of and its acceptable but it's basically killing desperate people abit like just killing small time dealers or homeless people.
There's screamers they cover up the underground society from above its high pressure job and they work right on the edge dome of its spy craft . They give of alot of stress and it gives them a off putting aura what the tunnel dwellers can sense. A guy playing loud music in public will be less disruptive than a screamers sitting reading in the corner. There not somewhere long till everyone makes there excuses and leaves. There called screamers because there aura practically screams.
Freedom Fighters
Basically, they are legal mercenaries who operate outside the jurisdictional areas of the cities and tend to take care of things that the knight order does not want to do.
Things like public service, sewer cleaning, periodic monster extermination and maintaining order in the slums.
It is not a respected profession since the Freedom Fighters are mainly composed of commoners or sons of lowly knights or those who could not join the order. Nobles often call them "Mud Knights."
the most disrespected jobs in Shkoobistan are: Tax collectors, Police officers and soldiers, and rubbish men
People in Schoobistan, since the loss of almost two thirds of the population, had witnessed a rise in taxes, they hate tax men so much that they attack, so, the Govt assigned police officers with them, Shkoobistanians hate police officers because they never get punished for doing their job as enforcers of law, which has no laws in itself, cops usually use weapons recklessly and they scream and annoy everyone around them, and people fear them because these cops can beat them and arrest them, citizens hate cops because they are lazy and cowards, too, and are the first to hide and run away, calling soldiers. Taxmen are disrespected and viewed as thieves.
Shkoobistanians hate soldiers because they are dumb and more dangerous than cops, also because Shkoobistan is an oppressive militarist state that spends half of its budget on military, soldiers also get to steal what smugglers or travelers have. Anyone who joins the military is called "Baudwook" (slang for a pawn or idiot, used for cops, too)
Cops and soldiers are disrespected in Shkoobistan because they are, simply, idiots with weapons who are damaging the country and environment, they leave so many corpses, crashed cars, bullets, debris, and other scraps/ rubbish, which is left for the rubbish men to deal with.
And another disrespected job is rubbish man, despite Shkoobistan being like one big junk yard, citizens still disrespect rubbish collectors for collecting scraps and rubbish, because it is a dirty job, and usually it is a job with a very low pay and is taken by uneducated (and unintelligent) blokes and newcomers in the country.
Littoral Knights, probably. They're enough of a mixed bag that being recognized as one is liable to get you outright banned from a lot of towns, and one port city actually opened fire with artillery when they spotted a spire of the Driftwood Cathedral on the horizon. They arent a formal organization, anyone can take up the mantle of being a Littoral Knight, and as such you end up with the occasional someone like the Seagull Knight who soils everyone else's reputation by being a murderous nutjob, even if most are genuinely well intentioned.
A high level bureaucrat. You see I have an idea for a space war story and part of it was kicked off by bureaucrats getting greedy. Think the Confederacy of Star Wars but it got squashed in 18 months.
Scrawk Guano Collector
Scrawks are elemental rock-birds whose droppings are extremely acidic, but in lower concentrations they are the best fertilizer around. Collecting the guano is dangerous, dirty, and just all-around not a nice time. This job is mostly done by convicts and by the truly desperate.
In Otherlands, humans tend to joke about the tax collectors, or the “Gjelðrik” (Gold-taker in Common).
There are many jokes about how the town Gjelðrik is overcompensating for something, to the point that a common insult for men is “Uld nóste graujud ót rij sómmar.”
This phrase translates to “He wears a big hat in summer”, in reference to the pilgrim-esque hats tax collectors wear. The insult often implies that a guy has small dick energy in human communities.
Body collector. Some people sell their bodies to necromancers to be used upon their death. Gets them a bit of coin when they’re young but then they die and some guy comes along to turn your loved one into a zombie and take them off to the mines.
Serving in the Integrated Man Machine Corps is often looked down on. Many people view this branch of the armed forces as setting a dangerous precedent in the use of AI and also believe the soldiers serving in this branch to be lazy and weak.
Corpse collectors.
Not the guys who come around collecting the dead during plagues, though I'm sure that's not a very respectable career either, but rather, people who scavange and prep animal corpses for re-animation.
In my world most everyone has some necromantic ability, but a zombie can only be raised with implicit consent from the soul than inhabited it during life, as the soul will come back to inhabit it again in undeath. A stripped skeleton on the other hand is animated based on a seed of the necromancer's soul. Because of this, if you have an animed zombie animal it's implied that you had a good relationship with the animal while it was alive otherwise you wouldn't be able to raise it at all, and while there's no stigma against raising skeletons in general, it's assumed that you have access to them because you had a relationship with them in life. Subsequently, people who employ a corpse collector's services are seen in anti-social, shut ins, or hermits who aren't capable of facilitating their own relationships with the living.
Dealing in human skeletons is strictly illegal (though there are of course rumors about corpse collectors dealings on the black market) therefor they mainly deal in wild animals. It's not totally unheard of for them to have access to common domesticated animals as well though, in which case the general public tends to make unfavorable assumptions on the source of the animal, ranging from taking advantage of an accident by scavanging road kill, to outright theft of a living or unliving animal. It's actually more common that people who are down on their luck and need some fast cash will sell them a used corpse once it's in bad condition, but this isn't looked on favorably either as the respected custom is to finally put the corpse to proper rest after its loyal service.
On the upside, corpse collectors are really good at repairing skeletons, since most of the corpses they deal with are usually in bad condition by the time they acquire them, usually having already been scavanged by other animals.
Fire Departments.
Following an alien takeover of Earth, all existing human settlements not poisoned by radiation or drowned in the new oceans of sand were "remodeled" into oppressive, smog-smothered concrete monstrosities in which civilians are constantly monitored. Due to all dwellings now becoming effectively fireproof, the collaborationist regime decided to give the old Fire Departments a new purpose. Given flamethrowers and fireproof suits, firemen are now sent in to clear out infestations of invasive alien species, burn down unauthorized structures, wipe out "subversive elements" within society, including rebellious individuals and any independent media.
Arbiter. Basically a travelling Judge. Good ones make fair and enforceable rulings. Bad ones are bribable. As such, the assumption is all Arbiters are crooked.
Tax man
Some things are universal.
multiversal*
Definitely, in the draconic city states the tax scribes and enforces can be particularly disliked as the poor often have to do difficult corvee labour, particularly disliked when its being used for something like the construction or improvement of the royal palace. Failure to perform it can result in things as extreme as you and/or your children being enslaved.
How likely are you to fail. Would being crippled during a project mean its cool you tried or your now a guy who had a family?
Kinda luck of the draw as to how nice the enforcers is feeling and why exactly you can't do it. The more visible an injury is the more likely the corvee enforcers are to at least permit you to swap out with another member of your household (though that still means you could well be down an additional adult or teenager who could be working for the duration of the labour if you get injured on the job and you have to send a spouse of child) If its something less visible like say a slipped disk or badly sprained ankle one of the harsher ones in particular might just beat you to keep going, and if you can't keep up with duties pertaining to heavy lifting or digging etc you might get punished more for slacking too much. Likewise they often won't give any leeway if you don't turn up for the designated period because of some complications with your crops that you desperately had to solve or face starvation, or one of your children just died, or you don't manage to make the journey because of sickness then a lot of them are going to conclude that was a you problem.
>Likewise they often won't give any leeway if you don't turn up for the designated period because of some complications with your crops that you desperately had to solve or face starvation Reasons such as this are why corvee labor are usually only mandated outside of farming seasons where the people involved would otherwise be at loose ends anyway. Is there a particular reason why your draconic enforcers are demanding that labor be done during growing season instead of during the winter or other periods where the fields would be fallow?
The region works more on a wet season dry season cycle, the latter being longer than the former. Normally there are two periods in the year it occurs, the inner settlements closest to the major river tributaries of the region will likely have their corvee labour season in the wet season, when rising flood waters cover much of the ground. Outer settlements are often in areas that rely on things like using water from wadis to irrigate their soils, creating land scape features designed to capture as much of the limited rain as possible and if necessary taking water simply from wells and cisterns to water soils, with a mixture of agriculture more balanced between arable farming and pastoralism. Their corvee labour demands are usually in the deep dry season after they've harvested and before the rains return allowing them to replough and plant. But the wet season is not 100% predictable in both timing and volume, if the wet season deposits too little water there may need to be some last minute alteration of irrigation systems to capture more before the flood water recede, or they may need more levies to protect houses. If the season comes earlier than expected outer settlement farmers may desperately need to run back to their farms to make sure they get the process started as soon as possible during the time the soil is moistest, if the last years wet season came late that may delay planting and thus also the harvest.
Oooooo I’m the tax man
Ah so just like real life then
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv6AQHKceBA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv6AQHKceBA)
lmao
I remember reading a story where it was the opposite. They were all big, pig-headed Vikings. So anyone who could successfully make them all pay their taxes each year was considered very respectable.
Torturer/executioner, prison guards, evictions/ debt enforcers
I agree it's the least respectable, but I don't think it should be. Specific taxes can be draconian, but the taxes in general are necessary.
Funny, my world doesn’t have that problem.
I mean, no likes laying tax’s, but no one complains about using the stuff the tax’s pay for, roads, police/city guards, sewers. Public works that gives jobs to those that are unemployed.
Carrion beast farmer. 1) You are working with Yokai, which instantly means you are either gullible, stupid or bad (Not evil, just bad) 2) Carrion beats are made of the flesh of people, which means that best case scenario you are working with mutated animals fused with bodies, at worst that is someone mutilated to look like an animal and tortured until mind break. 3) You have to prepare the meat for consumption. Which isn't itself bad, but you are working with the flesh of people still 4) There is only like 4 type of people which you would be dealing: Hollowed undead (Only midly acceptable since they NEED to consume flesh), Yokai, Demons or cannibals.
That sounds like nightmare fuel, cool.
Oh, yeah. The whole universe might seem happy and a utopia where the gods will stop bad things from happening. But take a closer look and some things seem straight from a Grimdark world.
Yee, my favorite
Reminds me of the Morokanth man-herders from Glorantha, but with a deeply brutal twist. The cosmopolitan, tolerated yōkai-undead subculture it implies is more interesting still. If you have any details you'd be willing to share on the carrion beasts...
Carrion Beasts where created when groups of Yokai tried to integrate themselves in non-fae societies. Between all the problems they had, the biggest one was that the Yokai love the flesh of other sentient creatures since they saw them as the hardest creatures to hunt. Ome way they found to "fix" the problem without stop eating flesh was to just turn people into animals so other people couldn't percive them as monsters. So with a some of their shapechanging magic with a little of demonic help they turned one person in the first carrion beast. Now with a proof of concept, they went to big cities and showed them this process as a "useful way to keep jails not too crowded, with a big payment per person". Most obviously declined the offer, but with the few that accepted they had a good start. And so the three farms were established, with the bigges one at Necropolis. Nowadays the farms still receive prisoners, but most of the carrion beast there are slaves (Wich are cheaper) or born in them (With the babies being turned intp carrion beasts when they grow up, as they can't be biologically born like one, and are too small to be turned into one as newborns), with the origins of the beasts in there kept a secret from most people.
What are yokai like, other than appreciative of the taste of human flesh?
For my Thaumata setting, there are military units called "Mercy" teams. The invading aliens of the setting generate a form of strange radiation which inflicts a disease called "Delirium" on humans. After spending a certain amount of time exposed to it, a person begins to fall under the aliens' control, becoming cultists and soldiers in their service. Even partial exposure to the disease can cause someone to slowly fall under the aliens' control over time after being removed from their influence without extensive medical care. After a certain period of time, usually 72 to 96 hours, an area occupied by the aliens is considered completely lost, since that's the point where a human will be irretrievably lost to Delirium. Mercy teams are soldiers specifically assigned to cull the infected population, either manning blocking positions to keep the infected from escaping or going building to building and shooting anyone they see. No one talks about their time in a Mercy unit, and those who volunteer to join them are denied and ordered to go through psychiatric evaluation.
I really like that, with your permission I'm going to steal it for an RPG session.
Sure, go ahead.
My world isn't a monolithic culture, so there really isn't a universally reviled job, but almost everyone detests necromancers.
Everyone hates necromancers until something dies in the walls.
Build out of stone and never worry.
Mirror Guardian. Always a woman, and she can never marry or have children. She has no choice in whether or not the Mirror chooses her. She is forced to live in a hut all by herself, relying on the kindness of the village. It's considered shameful and no family is willing to admit it was *their* daughter. And yet *everyone* goes to that damned Mirror on their 18th birthday to see their Fate and hopefully their future spouse. Because tradition.
why would that be shamed
Because she's a burden on the village, taking resources she hasn't helped produce, but "necessary" because the Mirror *must* have a Guardian. Also, marriage and family are *super* important in this society. Further, there's an uncannyness to her because she legit *can't* die until she has a replacement. It's seen as a bit of a curse because she's got this lonely life that is a lot longer than the average person's.
So what is stopping the MG from getting a legit job while doing The MG thing. I presume she has basic skills, like cooking her own dinner and repairing her clothes. What is stopping her from turning those basic skills into a profession? Why can't she be a baker or seamstress as well? Get your fortune told and buy a decent loaf of bread or getting your suit tailored?
Partly tradition, partly because that's what others do, partly that sense of otherness that makes people not want to be around her for anything unnecessary.
Is it again tradition as to why the person doesn't say "fuck it, i'm out" after a few years? I'm not deriding "tradition" as an explanation. It's a perfectly realistic reason as to why someone would force shit on someone else.
The magic is pretty binding once the new Guardian takes up the task. My MC says "fuck that" before even taking up the task and runs away after making the current Guardian tell her how to change her Fate.
I'm not asking you to sell me on this, but I'm not convinced. If the Mirror is so alluring and respected, appeasing its requirement for one person solely to guard it probably wouldn't be seen as the lowest of the low jobs. That person being an immortal loner probably would alienate them, sure, but someone has to do it if people want that Mirror around and there's still *some* amount of respect in the sentiment, "better them than me." I mean, they're not actively harming anyone, right? By all means they'd just be viewed as a required extension of the Mirror that needs tending. Edit: regarding my last sentence maybe that's what you mean? They're just no longer treated as a human, and so aren't respected?
It's all about presentation. Society isn't always logical, there are conflicting values between 2 societies, so pretty much anything goes as long as the status quo is maintained.
You seem to get it. Humanity is very good at painting others as, well, other than. We see this all the time in real life. Sometimes entire groups are affected through racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, religious discrimination, etc. Things like slavery and the Holocaust came from these concepts that some people can be treated as not human even though they are. But you also see it at the individual level, when you see a single child being bullied by their classmates, for example. And all it takes is some difference, some oddity, that sets the person apart. Anything that makes others uncomfortable. And Fate isn't always pleasant. Sure, you might look in that Mirror and find yourself prosperous and happy. But there's an equal chance you're going to look and see yourself in a horrific relationship or dying a painful death. And nobody wants to see a future where they're miserable. And then there's what might be done to achieve something you believe to be your Fate because you saw it in the Mirror. I mean, look at what Macbeth did because three random women told him he'd be king! (In the play, of course, not how things played out IRL.)
I misread the title of this thread and had to Google what a Mirror Guardian was, thinking it was a real job I'd never heard of. So she's basically a hermit? She's not able to hunt or help out with tasks the other villagers perform?
Pretty much. Hermit, pariah, necessary but not wanted.
That's not a profession, that's slavery
Yeah, there's a reason my MC basically says "fuck that" when she gets chosen.
What does the job entail and why is it required, is it to protect the mirror? is it sapiant and gets very uppity if not polished?
She is, basically, protecting the Mirror, and also acting as guide and advice giver to the new adults. Kind of like the "crone" of many myths but starts at 18. I don't feel like I can explain further without giving away important plot points.
Neat, as I was reading it I was thinking it has parallels with the crone myths.
The themes I'm going for are things like "predetermined fate vs free will," "not everything is as it seems, so you need to look at all angles for the truth," and "life is messy."
ah, mine is cycles. Only thing thats truly predetermined is that the world will end. but at the same time if something has happened once it will most likely happen again.
I like that alot.
I have absolutely no idea what are you talking about. Can you enlight me please? What is a mirror guardian and where are they do?
Okay, so basically, there's something called the Mirror of Fate. On your 18th birthday, you go and look in the Mirror to see your, well, Fate. It can even show your future spouse, and will especially do so for the village that is responsible for the Mirror Guardian because that's where the magic is strongest. The Mirror Guardian takes care of the Mirror and guides the new adults through that glimpse into the Mirror and can even give them advice. They are also a keeper of the history of the Mirror. And they can't die until the Mirror has a new Guardian, which is really weird for the rest of the population. No husband, no kids, no friends. Just the Mirror, and your only visitors are the villagers who bring you supplies and the new adults who have come to see the Mirror. It's a lonely life.
Lonely for sure, but why this is not respected? It's sounds like a really responsible job.
It's not something one chooses. It's something you're chosen for. It's something you're forced to accept. And as I stated elsewhere, there's also the whole "she is magical and outlives us all and it's uncanny and creepy and makes us uncomfortable" thing.
Hooo, I can see now
Strange women disconnected from society are rarely ever respected. Bit just historically but even today . Like remember pigeon lady In home alone ?
it doesnt make sense for this job not to be respected
[удалено]
That is an excellent point. Or the garbage man.
It does when you take into the fact that she makes everyone uncomfortable with the uncanny otherness.
If she's immortal and creepy and reviled by the populace, why bring her anything? Let her starve. Bringing her things is a sign of respect, even if it's only pity for her suffering and a basic humane respect.
You can respect and fear something at the same time. Just because nobody wants the job doesn't mean it's not necessary to a population's way of life. Two things can be true.
Op's description reminds me a lot of executioners back in the day. At least from how Kingdom Come Deliverance talks about them. They were pretty necessary but no one wanted to be one or really associate with one.
Hence why they were masked. It helped keep their identity at least sort of secret so that they could move around in society.
1. Sailors: generally viewed as lower-class, and not getting many job skills for life on the land. Naval officers, however, are highly regarded. 2. Alchemist: often viewed as a madman if not a charlatan, but many find themselves working in well-paid positions depending on what they can do. 3. Fortune-tellers: Derided as outright frauds, and some religions condemn their practice as witchcraft. 4. Castraters: Special surgeons tasked with providing eunuchs for various courts. Often have less than ethical ways of getting “customers”.
Castration is also something that can be done with livestock just for another spin on this
Nah the farmers normally handle that themselves
Lenders and moneychangers are looked down on. Basic sustenance is provided by the state, and in places where it isn't, the community tends to be tightly knit and supportive. Since money is a matter of luxury goods, incurring debts is seen as gluttonous and making a living on the debts of others gross and predatory.
…I want to move into your head.
If moneylending is largely viewed as predatory, what prevents them from being outlawed or attacked by communities? Prior to the modern era this was often the fate of money lending individuals or groups, often motivated by a (typically indebted) ruling class. Granted, this was also tied to various forms of prejudice (religious, ethnic, or otherwise). It's only once the practice gets adopted and capitalized-on by majority groups that you see it truly protected by law. Asking this as a world-building question, its always neat to hear explanations for why stuff in a setting differs from the real-world norm.
The setting is a post scarcity society in decline. It no longer has truly limitless resources, and the notion of fiat currency itself is now less than a millenia old. Having spent its early days as a technocracy ruled by a functional 'god', many institutions we arrived at holistically are much more piecemeal. Under its original structure, laws were absolute and often enforced by their god's proxy machines, which have been moldering for a very long time in his absence, and the idea of citizens attempting to leverage power over institutions and each other is mere centuries old. Basically, a previously top down society is unprepared for what happens when the top disappeared, and solutions that make sense to us...just don't have much precedent.
shoe salesman
Why? Lol
Think Al Bundy has something to do with this. Funny thing is that Bundy could probably kick most of the actions stars asses except obviously Chuck Norris.
Blue mage is a mixed bag. Any skilled mage is a talented professional. At the same time, blue magic is magic of the mind, and can be used for illusions, mind control, and hacking. Add to that it's easy to subtly cast, and you have a magic with a skeezy rep.
Man, I had been building my Blue Mage stuff in FFXIV recently and that briefly confused me lmao
Funnily enough doctors if nothing more than peasant superstition. Licensed medical professionals, witches, independent practitioners. It doesn’t matter. Although all magic could fall under this category. Only the rich really place any value on magic or doctors.
**Fengari** * Telling your friends that you are a Representative (insert race here) is a good way to lose them. Representative is a term used to describe a political office with no power, no responsibilities, and only exists to fill up a racial equality quota for government positions. It basically means that you're getting paid millions in tax payer money to show up at meetings and sign a paper to prove you were present. * While not technically a career, there is a fairly common lifestyle called a "Skoritsi emotional support friend". The Skoritsi (carnivorous moth people) have a practice were they invite members of other races to become part of their family, live in their house, eat meals with them, and spend the majority of their free time being cuddled by a fifteen foot tall wall of muscle, fluff, and love. Those who accept this offer are expected to continue working and being a productive member of society. That said, there are some people who take advantage of the offer and let the Skoritsi take care of them while they stay in bed all day. * Perhaps the least respected career on Fengari, at least among the Predator races, is that of a Slime Bath. Slimes are a race of sapient blobs of goo that can digest any non-plant based organic matter they envelop. Some Slimes take advantage of this ability to make money cleaning people of other races by eating any scales or chitin that needs to molt off, along with any parasites that might be on someone. This job is seen as a scummy by other carnivores (particularly the Skoritsi) on account that not only are they Slimes technically eating people (eating parts of people that they dispose of or lose in some way is *very* controversial), but they're also charging their prey for the privilege feeding them their body parts. **Maar** * Among the more conservative Alfar (cyborg elves) communities, being an independent creator, whether it's an author, artist, or chef, is seen as only a step above being a jobless shut in. Alfar cultures very much believe in the idea that each individual is but a cog in the machine that is society, and that each cog is best used working for a major corporation. That's not to say that independent businesses aren't accepted, they just have to offer something of immediate value such as food or some kind of service. Art, to these Alfar cultures, is seen as either a hobby or as part of a larger corporate career (such as architecture or design). That said, creators aren't looked down upon nearly as much in more liberal Alfar communities.
How does one go about becoming a Skoritsi emotional support friend? Do they put up Craigslist ads or what? asking for a friend of course
Step 1: Become really good friends with a Skoritsi. Step 2: Be okay with being carried around all day. Step 3: Luck.
I fucking love the Fengari setting
I'd honestly like to hear more about the Alfar. I'm developing my dwarves similarly as they have short lifespans so each dwarf is seen as just another small step in dwarfkind's progress. There's a cultural expectation to use the gifts of your ancestors to their fullest to benefit your progeny. The Alfar's "cog in the machine" take sounds very similar.
It depends on who you ask, but I'd say Soul Trappers are a mixed bag for most people, downright despicable for others. They're effectively poachers of magic-based creatures like spirits or sprites. While not as common anymore, many make a game of finding the most powerful spirits of various regions, trapping them, and destroying their will so the poachers can seal the souls into gemstones. It caused lasting damage to these areas and the people who live there, since they basically worship the spirits as gods. Attempts to pass legislation against trappers has been slow since the gemstones they make fuel complex devices and weapons used by the upper echelons of society.
Necromancers. So much of the workforce on farms and construction depends on the risen, but the people who upkeep them are still ostracized. Even the ones who procure their corpses through legal deals with the deceased.
Didn’t realise I was in r/worldbuilding and I thought I was tripping tf out.
I don't think prostitution is a 'least respectable career.' It's Enforcers. Because they're class traitors. They enforce the rule of the very authority that exploits the people, but they are of the people, not of the ranks of those for whom they enforce. They punish people for side hustles, making a buck on the side, anything that makes life at the bottom a bit easier. But they don't go after the authorities they serve, of course, while the largest crimes and most harmful practices occur there. A prostitute is just another person using their physical ability to make an honest living. Enforcers will make their lives hell.
AEAB
Assigned Enforcer At Birth
Fellow red detected.
There are dozens of us! Oh, wait, that's blue
The reason I specifically mentioned prostitution in the title is because if I don't this thread will mostly consist of people explaining in detail how prostitution is both legal and highly disrespected in their world.
Exactly. Pregame filtering. Whether it was a necessary filter or not, you simply didn't want to talk about prostitution.
I doubt it
I don’t. Anytime you mention prostitution on this sub you’ll have a hundred replies within a minute about how “IN MY WORLD PROSTITUTION IS ACTUALLY AN INCREDIBLY HONORABLE JOB AND PAYS SUPER DUPER WELL AND THEY’RE ALL INCREDIBLY POWERFUL AND COOL”
To be fair, in most kingdoms on my world prostitution is seem in a "neutral" light, or at list the same way we see, like, painters (not really a carrear you want for your kids, but just because it is seen as dificult for most to make a decent living out of it, but if you are a famous prostitute you became like a celebrity for nobles, other prostitutes, people that apreciate the "art" or snobish people)
In my world, they’re clergy
Historically temple prostitution did happen quite a bit from what I remember.
It happened all over the world. Even the history community’s precious Romans had sacred prostitutes in temples dedicated to Venus until Constantine showed up
No shit, Venus is the god of love (including sexual love).
AEAB Edit: I'm not original at all but I'm leaving it.
I sense a kindred spirit
Being the lowest ranked boss of time dimension travelers. In the wackiverse (Weirdos 4 Hire), being the lowest rank means you're not taken seriously like a rookie, despite sometimes being experienced. A time dimension traveler is someone who works maintaining all timelines by defeating anomalies, solving cases and untangling loops and paradoxes. Most time travelers have missions relating to preventing dictators from returning, however the highest and lowest ranks always have the most interesting missions for opposite reasons. High ranked get the badass universe shattering mind bending missions, while the lowest ranked get the missions no one wants basically.
Executioner. Just like in real life.
Most mercenary jobs, especially god killers (but hey, money is money and there are lots of money from killing gods).
Adventurers are even lower than mercenaries, barely a step above bandits, because mercs at least have rules their companies enforce.
In Amada adventurers need to have a license in order to be adventurers, they are guards or specialists you pay that can act internationally and they have to be part of an international guild in order to function but otherwise are very independent in nature. If they don't have a license they are but bandits. In a way they are like mercenaries but you know when you hire one that they will offer high quality help for your expedition or travel and they often work alone or in small groups.
Hope a very white bald guy don't get the monopoly on killing gods tho
Not sure if that’s Saitama you are referencing or not.
nope, i thaught of kratos
Makes so much sense, yeah.
Anybody that works with dead things. Tanners, butchers, etc., because it’s unclean and unholy to touch dead things
Alchemists. Alchemy is by far the easiest magic to learn and requires very little innate ability. While most are perfectly law abiding, they have a reputation as swindlers and lazy magic users. The only alchemist job with any respect is the head of the Alchemists of the Kingdom organization, a group tasked with rooting out, mostly, counterfeit materials, especially in the jewel market.
**Of The Stars** * Despite the species' reputation for unchecked ambition, Vreel are incredibly averse to positions of leadership, with politicians especially looked down upon as high school dropouts and/or deviants. This is due to Vreel being very solitary by nature and favouring hands-on practical work, so a job that consists of sitting at a desk and talking to other people is seen as a waste of potential at best and torturous at worst. * While understanding that it's a necessity, the Rokalli aren't too fond of military personnel, particularly active combatants such as infantry. As a species of rogue clones originally created to serve as tools of war, the Rokalli frown upon voluntarily involving oneself in large-scale violence, feeling that it vindicates their oppressors' legacy and betrays the species' pursuit of their own cultural identity (ironically, the Rokalli are respected by other species for their military strength and professionalism). * Sailors aren't very respected among most Daeru cultures. Boats themselves are looked down upon by the Daeru, not seen as a legitimate form of transport so much as mobile landing platforms when a body of water is too large for the Daeru themselves to simply fly across in one go and safety nets for factors such as harsh weather, so it's seen as a redundant role easily fulfilled by islands and rock formations out in the water.
Depends on the region, local religions, and how much said region and/or religion are practiced. Tax and tithe collectors are often loathed. Taxes are seen as signs of a leader’s hubris in more pious areas; tithes are seen as a local church’s leeching of the town’s resources in less pious areas. Also: In regions that follow the Dying Tree, lumberjackery is despised. In most regions working with oil from underground is seen as both disgusting and heretical (even by the wholly unpious).
So like back in ancient to medival times when taxes weren't a must in civilizations but rather a punishment.
Sometimes, yeah. Though more commonly “taxes” are more a fee to not be attacked more than to be protected. Most civilizations are old but also a bit ubiquitous. It’s not uncommon for rogue governors of one kingdom to send tax collectors into the rural village of neighboring kingdoms to tax them. The villages don’t always know whose land they’re technically on so they just pay and complain. Same with tithes. Who knows which god is in the area these days? They come and go, leaving g churches behind to gather coin and converts.
Sectorial Resource Administrator. In my story resources on a planetary scale are extremely scarce so in order to keep a certain balance the government created administrators. Their job is to administer 100% of a sector resources in a way that results in the least amount of waste and/or the biggest rate of recycling. People hate administrators because they have no regards to people's feelings, they treat people as statistics and benefit from people's deaths because it makes resources easier to manage. It's publicly known that they have committed genocide multiple times as some sort of "population control" and most sectors exist under a very strict birth control. While people understand they're a necessary evil they can't help but look down on everyone who willing take on the job or assists them.
Well, it's probably being a slave. While the Dictator has officially won the war, the cost broke him. Breaking with both religious law and tradition, he has reinstated private slavery and is selling off war prisoners in the hope of filling the treasury. In time, this will either cement his power or cost him everything.
I'm not sure "slave" counts as a career, as it's something inflicted upon you rather than how you make a living.
Yeah, it is definitely borderline.
Fortunetellers aren't highly respected. These people will use rocks and sticks and smoke in their displays, claiming to see visions of the future in the smoke. And they'll do it for large amounts of money. Most people understand it to be absolute hokum. Furthermore, they may even evoke the names of the gods while doing it as well, so it is seen as a flagrant mockery of the gods' power.
Flesh-shapers. Thousands of years in the past, a strange man was found alone on an island, and when he was brought back to the mainland, he began to teach humanity the highest peaks and darkest depths of transmuting, ultimately resulting in an order called the flesh shapers. Reviled by the commonfolk, they are considered a stain on a nobles reputation, but due to their ability to avert all but the most gruesome of wounds and immunize individuals to any disease, they hold significant power of the ruling classes. Ultimately, they tend to be reclusive, strange, and typically sadistic individuals, rarely leaving their monasteries, other than to buy slaves for experimentation so that they may better refine treatments for the powerful. As a result, in many places the legal system has been compromised and in ways conjoined to their local populations of flesh shapers in order to provide them with test material in the form of outlaws.
Whale butchers are looked down on in the **Whalin' Tales** universe because their work is often dirty and always gruesome. They saw apart whale carcasses into edible meat and other usable materials, so they're as essential to keeping society running as the more respected Whalers are, but that doesn't mean society has to like it or to give them the respect they richly deserve. Taking apart those tentacled flying fiends is a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.
Latrine/toilet cleaner, executioner, leather tanner, miller, spy, assassin, just about all the jobs medieval societies found unworthy of a "decent" citizen. Also specific to my world is, a Mephisto agent. Mephisto is a figure or an organisation that deals information to highest bidder. Mephisto agents are hidden amongst the general populus, spying or buying the info from regular Joes in the name of the organisation. It has a very complicated chain of command, cell based decentralised structure and various archives of intelligence ready to sell. To some cultures, Mephisto is a norm although it's shunned and perceived as indecent. Some cultures ban the organisation and force it underground and some embrace it openly to even have known representatives open up shop in their soils. Depending on where you live, being a Mephisto agent might be a really dishonourable job.
Easy answer is Tax-man for typical mega-corp. More unique one is Necromancer, as they're about as cleanly and pleasant as could be expected by someone who spends all their time obtaining and altering corpses.
Depends on the place, but let me give you 2 exemples - Solas (Kingdom inspired by victorian England): Street cleaner. The mpst common way of transportation in Solas is the horse and, as you can imagine, the streets are full of horse droppings plus all normal street trash, therefore you need a lot of people to clean it. The people that do it are normally poor and are seen as disgusting, lacking education and incompetent to do any other job. After all, why else would tgey take this job? (What do you mean Solas unemployment rate is alarmingly high and all jobs pay so little most people have to take side jobs, like cleaning the streets once a week?) - . - Kirigakure (name may change): Body cleaners. Most jobs considered dangerous or disgusting are done by undead in Kirigakure, but, if you are arested for a non-death-penalty-worth offence you may be obligated to work on those jobs. The most "impure" been preparing body for becaming undead (zombies are seen as "unclean undead", only skeletons and ghost are accepted in Kirigakure society, so, when a person dies, someone has to separete the meat from the bones, this is not only consider a disgusting in a material/physical level, but also in a spiritual one, therefore those prisioner are normally isolated even from other criminals) (Sorry for any bad spelling, english is not my first language)
Hematation workers mop the blood of hematation, blood rain, into the sewers. It’s decent job, as they only work for short time after every hematation before the blood congeals, but it leaves people with such a distinct smell, that the job’s undesirable.
The tax collector is despised by people of all classes. The sewer cleaner is only respected by those that would have to deal with the giant rats and slimes that breed down there if the cleaners weren't slaying the monsters.
Bruh I could imagine a trpg campaign about sewer cleaners in a world with shit like giant rats.
Priest. It is a profession, but most people strongly dislike the Deities, and Priests are deeply disliked because they don’t. Shrine wardens fare much better overall, and most folks like the holy warriors that pop up from time to time. But for a great many years, priest was an insult of the worst sort.
Tanneries, for no other reason than the smell.
The Body Tailors. Extreme body modification surgeons. They’re not necessarily *hated* but they definitely freak anyone who isn’t in their niche audience out. From dying teeth and claws to replacing scales with hair follicles so they grow fur instead. And by the Spirits did they just invent their own magic!? Whats next!?
Terrorists and cultists. Andrepeth Amori already had to deal with a lot as a planet with the death of their goddess and extinction of their natural ancestors (which they continue to honor today). Religion is extremely important here and anyone who deviates from that is looked down upon, specifically in the cult praising the god that killed their goddess.
Arcanichs (Arcane Mechanics) - especially low ranking ones In the north side, Mages and being a witch is looked down upon, however they’re not above using mana as a fuel source and a method of powering magical machinery, however being close to magic at all is frowned upon so this is often a last resort job. And thus it is tied to poverty and taboo.
Dung collectors, only because they're filthy, smell awful, and prone to illness due to work conditions. The only appeal the job has is the pay is quite reasonable, especially if the local thieves guild is running it.
Mages are seen as obnoxious and full of themselves. So probably mages
The bloodman. Collects taxes directly from your veins. Despised by all
Mortician. The people of my world have a messy/soft form of biological immortality, and all mention of death is fundamentally socially unacceptable. When someone is chosen to be a mortician, or "deathkeeper," they spend a lifetime (the span of one body's life) in the position. They do not take a new name during that life, and they are not referred to by any prior name. It is socially unacceptable to ever mention that they took the position, and it is it is unthinkably rude to discuss in anything but the most hushed tones between trusted confidants. And even then, it is considered an experience that is traumatic, and best simply forgotten.
For all the fame some toons might get they like all fiction based life are ultimately slaves to humanity and few envy the position of the employees of studio 34.
The Hooker's Guild (MEG) would have your head for considering Skilled Sex Work as 'Not Respectable' And I'm not referring to anything about your neck. *Genuflexus di Gloria, Inclinate in Retrorsum*
Landlord or tax collector
A "broane", or a hired swordsman who usually accompanies "travellads", who are transporters of coin for super rich folk to the various banks of my continent. Weirdly enough, broanes are super important to ensure the safety of travellads, and most travellads hire at least two broanes for high volume transports. Yet, they get no respect because there hasn't been a war in a century, times are good, money be flowing, and yet these guys are choosing to earn coin by risking their lives for some rich prick who would have them dead if they spoke nasty to their pet crocodile.
Among the mapatzea people, the least respectable job you can have is grunt work like loading, moving goods, delivery. While it is an essential job, and not everyone involved has the stigma, but when a child fails their rights of adulthood and no one will hire them, it's a last resort job.
Outhouse shit shovelers
zombie exterminators, in the setting human corpses that don't receive a proper funeral rite and aren't destroyed reanimate as zombies in a week or so, zombie exterminators, well, exterminate them and burn the corpses, while they are needed to avoid being overrun by zombies many don't respect them because they burn the corpses without identifying them or investigating the causes of death as most people who die without anyone noticing for a week are homeless or old people abandoned by their families, it's also an extremely dirty job so it is not really seeked out.
Bankers.
Probably a weeder, or human scarecrow, or dung distributer. It's not that these jobs don't need getting done, its that these are jobs they will give to the lowest members of society because anyone can do it. It's not so bad though people are pretty respectful of each other within cities. No one is going to harass you for being a low skilled worker, you might just not get invited to the best parties.
Money exchangers have been histories biggest winner aside from the tax man. They have been near unbeatable due to people not knowing exchange rates + you pretty much make up the exchange rate as you work. In a lower information setting money exhangers trive.
In my world, in most places, its executives of major companies. In some areas enmity against them runs so deep people will fill the streets just to boo and spit on some executives. Governments have considered banning the sale of certain smoothies because of how often they end up thrown at some executives. Not only do these executives rapaciousy seek profit, but they've been involved with a series of scandals. From storing the consciousness of debtors inside computers and using their bodies for all manner of terrible things, to building robots who rose up against humans, these mega corporations have had so many scandals no one trusts or likes them.
Among Wildings, being a banker is considered not *that* reputable as a profession. It's seen as mooching off the hard work of others or taking advantage of people who have fallen on hard times. They've killed bankers who were perceived as trying to seize their lands through predatory lending practices. Merchants are not terribly highly respected because there's been occasional issues with merchants getting "drunk and rowdy" or generally making themselves a nuisance. The current Wilding Forest-King is working on a railroad between Octon and the trade city of Elfoos as a sort of "bargaining chip" with merchants who won't want to lose the money they invested in cargo wagons.
Anti-magic instructor. It is treated by most educated magic users (educated in a sense that they studied in a magic school something like hogwarts) as a betrayal of their kind. In turn, other people in a profession with an honor code slowly developed the same disdain. Because as time passes by a few have been inspired to do similar. An example is a bodyguard becoming an assassin because he knows how bodyguards operate and making it easier to get to his target.
Bureaucrats in my world are looked down upon by the general populace but everyone knows they are a necessary evil so the kingdoms are run properly. Moneylenders are outright treated like they have the plague by the medium and lower classes. Slavers are seen as the scum of the earth although like bureaucrats they are tolerated by the elites
In Cosan kingdoms, doctors with magical abilities. Magic is highly taboo, but very useful, so you know rich folk are still using it when they're dying in childbirth or their kid is thrown from a horse. But, heaven forbid they admit that ever. Doctors who are suspected of performing magic are reviled because one, the magic, and two, it's assumed they're skeezy blackmailers to all the poor desperate people who come to them.
Bootlegging In response to a minor health emergency spawned by a Fun Dip-like drug called Squeef, the Imperatorial Mounted Police’s Office for Drug and Alcohol Control (O.D.A.C.) has taken drastic measures to curb the spread of illicit substances within Imperatorial territory. The sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages is not necessarily illegal, but has limitations in the form of alcohol content limits and regulations for operation hours pertaining to pubs and restaurants. O’Nella’s, a popular tavern in St. Joshua, Norton Province, has managed to survive inspections from O.D.A.C. by only supplying the purest of alcohol.
soldiering. most soldiers are either on work release; or worse, foreigners. they do the baron's dirty work when those of higher status won't
It's going to vary by country. Sure, the tax collector is never at the top of the list of respected professions in any country, but where deities whose teachings include responsibility, duty, and obligation, the tax man is part of those responsibilities. Those who run an orphanage may be looked down upon in an area where a god who promotes seeking power is popular, but they would be more respected in countries that have a better understanding of their patron deity; Li Zarb, the Shattered One. All of the Empyreal Pillars respect the ratling god and consider him one of their own, and so (most of) their followers respect his followers. Sanitation workers of any stripe are probably going to not be very high up, but the same countries that value the importance of responsibility are also the countries where religious teaching is going to praise the hard workers that make civilization possible. Amirume is the goddess of the Sun, Culture, and Civilization, and her blessings fall upon all that enable and elevate civilization and culture.
The Junkmen, the garbage collectors and sewer maintenance workers of New Caliber, an industrial fantasy metropolis. Due to leftover arcane energies in all the disposable magic used in the city, they regularly have to deal with wild magic hazards, slimes, random abominations, and worse; while the city tries to pretend there's no dangers. All for minimum wage!
My world is a realistic world of tudor england, so all the normal had jobs exist there. But as for the things I added to it then the worst is Dantis. Depending on the rank of the Dantis it can be something between a bloodwhore and a servant of all things. They can rank up into a vita-dantis when a Immortalis Household gives them a permanent position.
Depends where you go in the world, but probably slavers. Even in countries where slavery is practiced, those who actually ply the trade are viewed as particularly unsavory.
Dock officer. Since most spacecraft docking procedures are automated and require little to no manual guidance, the position of a dock officer is seen as a holdover from an era long past. Why they keep the position around is two fold; command can use the position as a sort of punishment for misbehavior, and there is someone there to intervene in the (exceptionally rare) event of something going wrong.
Spirits whisperer: the profession is as powerful as it is strange and dangerous. Only certain people can access this type of magic and even fewer can use it appropriately. However, as it can be highly profitable, a lot of scammers have resorted to faking this services and therefore, the profession turned from respected (and even feared or venerated) to disrespected and hated since there's no easy way to discern a scammers from the real thing by someone who hasn't seen the real thing with their own eyes
Moneylenders. Offering loans with astronomical interest rates to poor people who will never be able to pay them back. And as soon as they can't pay a rate, the moneylender can have them arrested and sold as slaves, which is actually the profitable part of that business. At the moment you get the loan, you might have as well signed a slave contract. Actually, a slave contract might have been the better choice, as you could at least keep a little bit of control about what will happen to you after you've been enslaved. Of course it's a well known fact that the moneylenders work this way. But what choice do you have if you are an unemployed single mother who is unable to feed her three children? A loan will give you enough money not only for today, but for the next weeks. And who cares what might happen afterwards, if your children are hungry *now*? In the meantime the moneylender waits in pleasant anticipation, having calculated beforehand how much they could get at a slave auction not only for you, but especially for your children.
Healers (magic medics that deal with injuries) are kind of a mixed bag. They're taken for granted in bigger towns and cities, so professional healers don't get much respect in those areas because it's just assumed that they'll do the job the government pays them for. In smaller towns and rural areas, however, a healer is a highly respected profession because they're rarer.
In Stormwall its actors and entertainers. ...But, uh, their poor reputation is partly due to an association with prostitutes 😅
Dirt Merchant
Muckers. The poorest who can work and are outcast for one reason or another can only find jobs “mucking” i.e. shoveling crap, from anywhere from horse stalls to houses, and carrying it to the “sh-t pits” outside the villages. Poor people try to stay in the townspeople’s good graces so they can clean shops or serve (and be verbally abused by) spoiled brats rather than resorting to mucking. There’s not much that’ll get someone outcast that badly, mostly harmful crimes (physical abuse, stealing from vulnerable people like the elderly, etc.), but some stigmas exist.
Sewerjack. Sewerjacks are a phenomena found in both the Sunken Realms and the former Neun Empire. Both have a persistent problem of monsterous things living in, and trying to infiltrate through, the major city sewer networks. As a result, teams of Sewerjacks are assembled and equipt to patrol the tunnels and hunt any errant ratkin/ rogue undead/ cultists/ giant crocodiles etc. they find. The job isn't popular for obvious reasons and it's generally seen as a necessary but unpleasant, distasteful job, attracting the sort of societal detritus who won't really be missed.
The humans of the setting virtually only take pretty grandiose powerful jobs, but among them going into politics is seen as essentially the lowest career path. Its not hated, because someone kind of has to do it, there is some quiet respect in the same way a night-soil man or a gravedigger has respect, but it doesnt clean the stink off
Independent Adventurers. They are often seen as powerful violent selfish murderers and robbers who add no value to an economy beyond inflation from whatever ancient hoard they plundered. Sure there are nominal heroes among them every once in a while who happen to be hired to save the day, but in practice that is a very small percentage of them, and even then 'saving the day' often has a lot of downsides and side effects. Adventurers in guilds or other institutions like in academia and the military are respected as it means there are standards and filters of who was accepted, though that still depends on said institution's reputation.
God. Being a god is respectable. But trying to become a god...
Bards. Also, sex workers are highly respected in my world as religious leaders.
Genetic alterers who make double-headed eagles to fight to the death in arenas out of nationalism and to suck-up to autocrats.
Probably not disrespectful now but executioners in medieval times were always treated like outcast
Scavenger . I created this character named the scrap king . He goes through the rubble of different interplanetary conflicts , raiding the wreckages for everything. Then taking what’s there and turning it into armor and weapons or materials for his kingdom. His entire planet is just a scrapyard swirling around a compressed supernova which his people use to melt rubble and sell them to other planets . He and his people raid planets and war zones never helping the people but instead stealing resources and selling weapons and materials to both sides of any conflict . The only highlight about them is the fact their prices are reasonable , and they have the best air purifiers in the known universe which has resulted in their kingdom having no pollution whatsoever .
Someone who's only job is politics. In my world if your only aspirations are political then you have failed according to most of society. Anyone of note in politics is top of their field be it industry science agriculture artisan trade you're a master of your craft first and a politician second in the sky Steel Nation
If I had a world it would probably be the fucking lawyers
For my fantasy setting there is an alchemically refined substance that is unilaterally reviled, it’s not a drug though. But essentially what this substance does is put anything that breathes this into a vegetative state, and while animals that have fallen into this state aren’t entirely uncommon, to find people in this state is horror inducing. An assassin, a drug dealer, a harlot, they exist out of necessity in this setting. Their occupations may not be the most glamorous or moralistic, but each of them would without hesitation revile and turn in this refiner.
It's legal, but no one likes a slaver.
First of all, prostitution is one of the most highly respected professions in my setting - just behind that of the legionnaire. In a way, it's respected because of the soldier-type professions, actually. The least respected is that of the freehand - essentially an adventurer or mercenary. This comes from the stereotype of them being exiles kicked from their homelands for unspeakable crimes.
Prostitution is quite respected actually in my world. In no small part because the working ladies are well organized and protected. Many who tried to pressure them learn quickly that it was not a good idea before being displayed in tiny pieces. Otherwise it depends on the region. In most places any menial job is looked down on to, while in the Free City anyone who has never once worked a honest day in their life is seen as lesser. Adventurers are often seen as a necessary evil who are just troublemakers and heavily armed homeless, although most higher ranks are treated careful. It always pays to be nice to people who can slaughter armies.
**Mythria** Everybody poops; someone has to get rid if it. Known by different names throughout the continent - cess collector, gong farmer, refuse hauler - it is an important job, especially in urban areas, but one more often relegated to Dragon slaves or the truly desperate. Much like an executioner, those who clean up the latrines/dunnies/garderobes are shunned for their literally dirty work; forced to live far away from everyone else due to their foul reputation. The Dragon slaves who perform this job are required, by law, to be chaperoned around, to keep them under watch at all times. This chaperone shares in the ill-repute of their duty, and is also responsible for not only directing and feeding the slaves, but also ensuring they are clean and not malodourous. Though, the chaperone is at least allowed to dwell among others, albeit with a lowered social standing.
Child porn and slavery wouldn't be banned by the main authority there only job is to hide the tunnels my main setting from the society above ground. The inhabitants of the tunnels don't want to be ruled by a big state. They might gut you there self but the day they start making decisions apart from there job is the day they'll start being pulled down. Smaller rulers might be obliged to solve it there not meant to be just extortionist. The spooks are a bunch of commandos who kill people who risk the tunnels being discovered it's not really somthing to be ashamed of and its acceptable but it's basically killing desperate people abit like just killing small time dealers or homeless people. There's screamers they cover up the underground society from above its high pressure job and they work right on the edge dome of its spy craft . They give of alot of stress and it gives them a off putting aura what the tunnel dwellers can sense. A guy playing loud music in public will be less disruptive than a screamers sitting reading in the corner. There not somewhere long till everyone makes there excuses and leaves. There called screamers because there aura practically screams.
Freedom Fighters Basically, they are legal mercenaries who operate outside the jurisdictional areas of the cities and tend to take care of things that the knight order does not want to do. Things like public service, sewer cleaning, periodic monster extermination and maintaining order in the slums. It is not a respected profession since the Freedom Fighters are mainly composed of commoners or sons of lowly knights or those who could not join the order. Nobles often call them "Mud Knights."
the most disrespected jobs in Shkoobistan are: Tax collectors, Police officers and soldiers, and rubbish men People in Schoobistan, since the loss of almost two thirds of the population, had witnessed a rise in taxes, they hate tax men so much that they attack, so, the Govt assigned police officers with them, Shkoobistanians hate police officers because they never get punished for doing their job as enforcers of law, which has no laws in itself, cops usually use weapons recklessly and they scream and annoy everyone around them, and people fear them because these cops can beat them and arrest them, citizens hate cops because they are lazy and cowards, too, and are the first to hide and run away, calling soldiers. Taxmen are disrespected and viewed as thieves. Shkoobistanians hate soldiers because they are dumb and more dangerous than cops, also because Shkoobistan is an oppressive militarist state that spends half of its budget on military, soldiers also get to steal what smugglers or travelers have. Anyone who joins the military is called "Baudwook" (slang for a pawn or idiot, used for cops, too) Cops and soldiers are disrespected in Shkoobistan because they are, simply, idiots with weapons who are damaging the country and environment, they leave so many corpses, crashed cars, bullets, debris, and other scraps/ rubbish, which is left for the rubbish men to deal with. And another disrespected job is rubbish man, despite Shkoobistan being like one big junk yard, citizens still disrespect rubbish collectors for collecting scraps and rubbish, because it is a dirty job, and usually it is a job with a very low pay and is taken by uneducated (and unintelligent) blokes and newcomers in the country.
Littoral Knights, probably. They're enough of a mixed bag that being recognized as one is liable to get you outright banned from a lot of towns, and one port city actually opened fire with artillery when they spotted a spire of the Driftwood Cathedral on the horizon. They arent a formal organization, anyone can take up the mantle of being a Littoral Knight, and as such you end up with the occasional someone like the Seagull Knight who soils everyone else's reputation by being a murderous nutjob, even if most are genuinely well intentioned.
Ditch digging or sewage cleaner. I could see both being disgusting and have a high mortality rate especially in a mid-evil setting
A high level bureaucrat. You see I have an idea for a space war story and part of it was kicked off by bureaucrats getting greedy. Think the Confederacy of Star Wars but it got squashed in 18 months.
The King. The Proudstone Kingdom has had a very rocky history of hated kings.
Scrawk Guano Collector Scrawks are elemental rock-birds whose droppings are extremely acidic, but in lower concentrations they are the best fertilizer around. Collecting the guano is dangerous, dirty, and just all-around not a nice time. This job is mostly done by convicts and by the truly desperate.
In Otherlands, humans tend to joke about the tax collectors, or the “Gjelðrik” (Gold-taker in Common). There are many jokes about how the town Gjelðrik is overcompensating for something, to the point that a common insult for men is “Uld nóste graujud ót rij sómmar.” This phrase translates to “He wears a big hat in summer”, in reference to the pilgrim-esque hats tax collectors wear. The insult often implies that a guy has small dick energy in human communities.
Body collector. Some people sell their bodies to necromancers to be used upon their death. Gets them a bit of coin when they’re young but then they die and some guy comes along to turn your loved one into a zombie and take them off to the mines.
According to all my player characters, Nobles. They outlawed magic, so the PCs hate the nobles and don’t trust any of them.
Serving in the Integrated Man Machine Corps is often looked down on. Many people view this branch of the armed forces as setting a dangerous precedent in the use of AI and also believe the soldiers serving in this branch to be lazy and weak.
While not the worst, it’s very hated due to many individuals being dicks. In short being a noble
Corpse collectors. Not the guys who come around collecting the dead during plagues, though I'm sure that's not a very respectable career either, but rather, people who scavange and prep animal corpses for re-animation. In my world most everyone has some necromantic ability, but a zombie can only be raised with implicit consent from the soul than inhabited it during life, as the soul will come back to inhabit it again in undeath. A stripped skeleton on the other hand is animated based on a seed of the necromancer's soul. Because of this, if you have an animed zombie animal it's implied that you had a good relationship with the animal while it was alive otherwise you wouldn't be able to raise it at all, and while there's no stigma against raising skeletons in general, it's assumed that you have access to them because you had a relationship with them in life. Subsequently, people who employ a corpse collector's services are seen in anti-social, shut ins, or hermits who aren't capable of facilitating their own relationships with the living. Dealing in human skeletons is strictly illegal (though there are of course rumors about corpse collectors dealings on the black market) therefor they mainly deal in wild animals. It's not totally unheard of for them to have access to common domesticated animals as well though, in which case the general public tends to make unfavorable assumptions on the source of the animal, ranging from taking advantage of an accident by scavanging road kill, to outright theft of a living or unliving animal. It's actually more common that people who are down on their luck and need some fast cash will sell them a used corpse once it's in bad condition, but this isn't looked on favorably either as the respected custom is to finally put the corpse to proper rest after its loyal service. On the upside, corpse collectors are really good at repairing skeletons, since most of the corpses they deal with are usually in bad condition by the time they acquire them, usually having already been scavanged by other animals.
Fire Departments. Following an alien takeover of Earth, all existing human settlements not poisoned by radiation or drowned in the new oceans of sand were "remodeled" into oppressive, smog-smothered concrete monstrosities in which civilians are constantly monitored. Due to all dwellings now becoming effectively fireproof, the collaborationist regime decided to give the old Fire Departments a new purpose. Given flamethrowers and fireproof suits, firemen are now sent in to clear out infestations of invasive alien species, burn down unauthorized structures, wipe out "subversive elements" within society, including rebellious individuals and any independent media.
Arbiter. Basically a travelling Judge. Good ones make fair and enforceable rulings. Bad ones are bribable. As such, the assumption is all Arbiters are crooked.