Farming
A vital profession, farming is the keystone resource for any settled group of people. Sustaining a small village through the seasons can be challenging, and sustaining a town or city can be back breaking, but satisfying work.
In order to participate in farming, a horse must first have a full body, coloured training image with a background OR a 1,400 word story to show that the horse has been properly prepared for their tasks ahead.
All riders may participate in farming, but until initial training is completed there is a significant risk of failure.
Stat Bonuses
The days are long and hard on the farm, and the plow and cart horse must be fit and strong to work the dawn unto dusk.
Vitality: If the rider doesn't have Farming as their chosen specialty, the horse's natural abilities will increase the pair's chances of success. If Farming is one of the rider's chosen specialties, it increases the chances of returning with better crops.
Strength: The horse's natural strength gives the pair a chance to return with some extra crops.
FARMING PROMPTS
Riders who have Farming as a chosen specialty on their import may complete the prompts below to earn additional experience and stats.
These prompts cannot be used as a specialty entry. However, completing one of these prompts will get your rider and mount a +4 bonus to EP as well as 1 Vitality Token and 1 Strength Token.
Click HERE to read up on Prompt requirements.
Click HERE to submit a Farming Prompt entry.
PROMPTS LIST
Working with ones hands to bring bounty from the earth is a humbling career choice. Working with strong, sturdy horse's to plow the land and plant the seeds takes many hours of dedication. Show to moment your rider first decided that farming was their calling.
Often times farming is a family trade, with skills passed down from generation to generation. Maintaining equipment, fashioning new leather strapping, and keeping your horse in prime condition are all essential skills one can learn from an elder. Depict your rider with someone they respect, learning the ins and outs of farming.
Hitching a horse to a plow can be a tricky task for a beginner. Ropes, straps and buckles need to be harnessed in the right order, getting it wrong can end in a tangled mess. Your rider must figure out how to hitch a horse alone, does it go well, or does it end in frustration?
A dry winter and harsh summer has left the ground hard and difficult to till, but the work must be done! You've hitched your horse and readied yourself for the long day ahead. Draw your rider and horse persevering through the day's heat to get the job done.
With farming come pests. Rodents and deer alike, seeking the easy grazing of your crops. Fences, scarecrows and nighttime watches are just some of the ways these pests can be deterred. How does your rider keep the critters at bay?
Some diseases are known to wipe out whole fields of crops, fortunately only a section of your crops have been affected. Depict your rider and horse clearing the wilted crops away.
A storm has ripped through your fields and has caused one of the large fruit trees to fall over. Many of the fruit are ripe and need to be harvested. Depict your rider and horse salvaging what they can of the tree and fruit.
Day is dawning, the easy job of harvesting the hay is finished. Now it’s time to bale the hay for transporting. Show how your rider utilizes their horse to complete this task. Do they do it properly or do a half job?
Sometimes farming can be a struggle and certain crops don’t thrive, maybe it’s time to plant something new. Depict your rider and horse traveling to a nearby market and purchasing a new type of seed.
Harsh weather has caused serious damage to one of the storage sheds. It either needs to be repaired or have all of the content moved into another building. What option does your rider go with, Do they enlist the help of their people to help erect a new building, or quickly move it all?
It’s become one of those days, your strongest horse has fallen ill, your fields are untouched so you must preserver. Depict your rider attempting to farm on their own, using any tools they can get their hands on.
All tasks for the day have been completed, now all that is left is to clean up the used gear. Depict your rider washing down any equipment that was used during the day.
Farming isn’t always manual labor, there needs to be accounts of money or items used to obtain and sell crops. Depict your rider painstakingly counting their stock or managing their ledger.
Keeping your crops safe from thieves is another struggle for a farmer. How does your rider keep their fields safe from greedy hands?
It has been dry the entire season and the crops are withered. As a farmer you have to make the tough choice of when to give up on your crops and try a new means of survival for that season. Does your farmer continue to try to save their crops or pick up another trade (such as hunting) for that season? How does it go?
Depict what your farmer does with their crops. Do they sell them, use them, preserve them? Perhaps they like to cook? After all those years of farming they must be a pretty good chef... maybe.
The seasons are changing and the winter is setting in. Very few crops can grow in the winter so what does your rider to make sure there is enough food on the table? If they typically sell their food, what do they do for winter sales?