The Wobblies

"Wobbly" is a slang term for a class of hobos and itinerant or migrant workers, including drovers, pickers, and miners. They often 'ride the rails'—a jouncing and 'wobbly' experience—either as stowaways or working for their passage on the wondrous trains of the Railway Company. The company's hub is in the city-state of Zephania's Hollow, but the great locomotives run across most of the Alliance, carrying ore and freight.

Origin

• You lived a nomadic life, drifting from one job or station to the next, often aboard the thundering trains of the Kopav Alliance.
• You’ve weathered storm, steel, and steam, learning to survive off scraps and move unseen where others fear to tread.

Core Traits Overview

Languages

• Common
• Dwarvish (common among railworkers and miners)

Equipment

• Option A: Traveler’s Clothes, any one tool you are proficient with, a cold-weather blanket, a flask of cheap whiskey, a pouch containing 10 gp
• Option B: 50 gp

Background Feat

• Alert: You gain a +5 bonus to initiative. You can’t be surprised while you are conscious. Other creatures don’t gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of being unseen.

Feature: Railway Secrets

• You know the general routes, schedules, and hidden carriages of the locomotives that crisscross the Kopav Alliance.
• When not in combat, you and any companions you lead can travel between two locations in the Alliance twice as fast as normal and at half the cost of standard overland travel.
• You can identify sympathetic rail hands, and may receive favors or passage through unofficial channels.

Suggested Characteristics

• Wobblies are shaped by nomadic lives following the general principle of going where the work is. They tend to be driven either by a commitment to the people with whom they shared life on the move, or by a burning desire to find a better life at the next jobsite. Using the Locomotives of the Railway Company on the sly is just another part of the Wobbly calling, and good economy to boot.