Who Would Become A Coachman?

Those who become coachmen are fortunate - because of the guild structure of the coachmen many are simply born into the right family - a family of coachmen. The labor pool is comprised almost entirely of those who come from families where another member is a coachmen, thus the defining factor of a coachmen is that fortune smiled upon them on account of which family they were born in.

For those outsiders fortunate enough to find a way into the trade, there is little in common for they come from all parts of the lower and middle classes. Some who enter the trade are former mercenaries or muleskinners, others laborers or other travelers who were able to convince a guild to hire them.

Moving On…

Despite the benefits of the job, being a coachmen can be a taxing job. There are long journeys, time spent away from friends and family, tedious hours of sitting and driving, or waiting around for the weather to clear for travel, and of course the dangers of the trip, many coachmen have been stopped and robbed, some even killed. Others are subject to random acts of violence from the bloodthirsty inhabitants of the forest.

Some leaven the trade out of fear of these things. For others, the life of a coachmen doesn't offer enough adventure! Some want to see more of the world, hear more stories, maybe even one day have stories of themselves told in a tavern late at night.

As noted earlier, their travels along the road and stops at inns they often encounter
the seedier elements of highway travel, including bandits and highwaymen and sometimes the groups collude together. In fact the coachmen's knowledge of roads, schedules, and coach lines often tempts one to become a highwayman him or herself.

On the other hand, their knowledge of roads and routes often allows them to sell their services as a guide or scout, an option favored by those who like independence or more travel. As such many of the scouts who travel the fringes of society first got their start traveling the better known regions of the Old World as coachmen.

Adventure Seeds

Coach Wars

Coach routes are valuable and the most profitable are fought over. Many coaches compete along the same routes, while others own monopolies over certain routes. Thus the economics of the coach trade are also tied up in politics. Should a coach line fail to fulfill its charter and obligations to provide services due to robbery or other acts of violence. Thus coach lines have been known to battle politically and even criminally to destroy rivals.

When tensions or competition rises between coach lines and people's livelihoods are at risk, there is the danger of rival coach lines warring with each other. It can take subtle means, such as a war of gossip, rumor, or innuendo. It can result in sabotage of coaches or the laming of horse teams. It may even escalate into outright violence, barroom brawls, acts of intimidation, arson, and the hiring of mercenaries to rob rival coach lines.

For Coachmen PCs this can be extended into an entire campaign, but for most other PCs they are apt to encounter this while taking a coach and become embroiled in the intrigues of coach houses and guilds.

Highwayman

A Coach grinds to a halt, a fallen tree blocks the road and a masked figure sits mounted ahead, pistols aimed at the coachmen. Resistance to the robbery is non-existent. The coachmen throw aside the blunderbuss and the highwayman orders the occupants out. Is violence likely? Is there a story behind this highwayman? Does the highwaymen have colleagues awaiting in the woods? Are the coachmen secretly involved?

Missing Letter

A coachmen receives an important letter, places it within his jerkin and then the coach is off. At the next inn, he is found dead the next morning and the letter missing. Only the people riding the coach saw him receive the letter, and clearly what the letter contains is important and the murderer, one or the passengers on the coach must be responsible! What was in the letter, and why was a man murdered for it?

Smuggling

The imposition of a tax makes a product more expensive, and merchants hate to see their profits reduced. Thus a coach line has taken up smuggling on behalf of a merchant. The merchant's actions however have earned him the ire of those who feel they have a right to exclusively smuggle goods into the town or city: the local crime family of smugglers who have a violent reaction to the crime. Before the players know it, hooded figures seem to have taken an interest in the coach they are riding in…
Alternately an unsuspecting coachmen is convinced to carry a little pipe weed inside the player's baggage. The problem is that concealed in the pipe weed are illegal magical ingredients. Unfortunately in a crackdown on tax evasion the local authorities have decided to stiffen their searches of coaches and carriages.

A Very Important Passenger

A night racked by thunderstorms. A well-dressed lady, covered in a non-descript cloak. A surly bodyguard. A bag of gold, too much money to refuse. A midnight departure. All components of a mystery.

Perhaps the characters are coachmen: who is their mysterious passenger? Where is she going? Or from what is she fleeing? And what dangers will this ill-advised but potentially profitable journey bring?

Perhaps the players are witnesses to the departure. Hours later the coach is discovered tipped over, all the occupants except the lady dead, and the lady herself missing.

-Rev. Lepper