<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=241802.msg11987095#msg11987095">Quote from: Muse on 14-01-2016, 09:42:15</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">  Wow!  I haven't spoken up much at all in here, have I?  Sorry! <br/></blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div>Nope<br/><br/><br/><hr/>Edit:  Cassandra, I am really, REALLY digging the last post you made in the setting thread.  I am going to say that Apollonia's family falls somewhere between the "simple" and "master" professional family.  Her father Herrig has 4 ranks in Profession (farmer)  specializing in arboriculture (He's an orchard keeper)  And a single rank in  Craft:Alcoholic Beverages.     After arriving in Kirborg he married a local girl not much older than his daughter.  This young woman comes from a family savvy in brewing and distilling.<br/><br/>They save all their rotten apples and let them ferment.  Then they strain and barrel the cider and let it freeze over the winter, draining off the remaining higher-alcohol liquid during the coldest days of winter.  This produces applejack, which is the family's secondary cash-crop after fresh, dried, and/or preserved fruits.  Notice that apple, plum, and berry preserves are not "jarred" as we do things today,  because glass is way too expensive (unless there is a local glassblower making bottles and jars?).  Instead fruit preserves are stored in crockery which might not be air tight, which could result in more than the planned for quantity of fermented produce.<br/><br/>With the expertise of his new wife - 2 ranks of profession(brewer) and 2 ranks in craft(distillations), and  lets call her Catherine, or Kate - they are now trying to make berry-and-fruit-infused beers.  They'd like to try their hand at distillations, but have yet to build a successful still.  But there is not a lot of margin for experimentation, and most such brews end up consumed by the family during testing without making impression enough to warrant making a batch for sale.<br/><br/>Apollonia has 1 rank of Profession(farmer), and her two young siblings are old enough to toddle around and get in the way.  But, she has the cantrips<em>Mending</em>and<em>Prestidigitation</em>and with judicious use could not only considerably reduce the family's expenses (labor is freed from the tedium of laundry and other chores and tools last much longer than normal), but could actually earn a few silvers fixing folk's stuff.<br/><br/>Her dad acts a front on this, presenting himself as something of a tinker/handyman, and charging a pittance to fix things in need of minor repair.<br/><br/>All in all, as a family they make slightly more than a double master-craftsman household, but live at the level of simple tradesmen.  The excess funds are squirreled away with the goal of buying orchards, or land to build their own farmstead and orchards.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Plots</div><div class="spoiler_body">I'm thinking the family treasure is up around 200 gp, which make it a tempting target for any that might know or suspect its existence.<br/><br/>Their peers not being idiots might realize that the Grovers are living below their means, and the less than scrupulous might wonder where the extra money is hidden.  <br/> - or -  An honest neighbor might have noticed and decided it was none of his business, until one night he drank too much at the local tavern and mentioned the 'horde' they must have stashed away in front of the wrong people.  <br/> - or - John or Hugo Druel thinks it suspicious that Herrig Grover doesn't complain enough about his rent.  Seems unnatural to collect without enduring whining about extortion or whatnot.<br/><br/>Also - perhaps John Druel had plans to marry one of his sons to Kate Brewer (for lack of a better last name)  before the much-older Herrig stepped in and swept her away.  What presumption from a mere tenant! <br/><br/>Also also - either of both of the Druel boys might be sweet on Apollonia, possibly resulting in crude and unwanted advances or even worse  from Hugo, and a bit of a rivalry between the brothers.<br/><br/>and again - Herrig's latest attempt at a still has issues.  Maybe it needs a valve, or a rare material like a beaten copper sheet to form the boiler - or maybe it blows up!<br/></div></div>