The Miner

Most people think of Dwarves or maybe even Kobolds when it comes to mining, but as it turns out, humans and other "tall folk" have quite the knack for it, too. Though Dwarves are still the best miners in the world (At least the surface world).

Miners hold very dangerous jobs in precarious environments to mine lead, gold and silver. Mining dosn't require a specific skill but a lot of endurance. Miners will spend days beneath the ground, always at risk of collapses, cave-ins and deadly gasses.

A lot of miners are or were farmers, who work the mines before the harvest. They usually do all the work related to the activity, from mining the ore to separating the valuable metals from the waste and smelting. People use materials they can find close to the Earth's surface such as stone, ceramics, and metals. These are used to make tools and weapons.

The oldest mine on Otara is the Deepmouth, a Dwarven mine about 240,000 years old and was used to mine hematite for red pigment ochre. Flint mines have been found in chalk areas where there were shafts and galleries. For example, the Grotto of Graves and Dragonscale mines date back 140000-200000 years.

The Harakians developed large scale mining methods, in particular bringing water to the Minehead using aqueducts. These hydraulic mining methods weren't restricted to the surface; they also allowed workers to follow the ore veins underground. Miners make their living finding and excavating mineral deposits or cut stone here, there and everywhere. Standard compensation for freelance miners is 1% of the stake's total production. 2% for squad foremen, 3% for site foremen, and 4% for mine supervisor

Mining Technology

Mining is mainly focused on the extraction of iron and copper, although other metals are also used for gilding and coinage. Initially, the majority of the metals were extracted from shallow depths using open-pit mining. As output of metal started to steady decline. The methods used by early miners were much less efficient than those invented by the Harakians. Materials were also costly to transport. As increases in demand for iron (to be used in weapons, armour, stirrups, and horseshoes) rose, smelting sites were multiplied and new mine areas throughout the world. The main problem when facing an increased demand was the inefficient means for draining water our of shafts and tunnels in underground mining. Mines were frequently flooded, which limited the extraction of ore. There was also an issue with the separation of the metal-bearing minerals from the worthless materials, and of course competition from Dwarves and various under dark dwellers such as the Drow.

Several investments were made to develop solutions to these problems. This included for example the innovations of waterwheels for powering draining engines, hammers, bellows, and advanced furnaces. These technical techniques were developed over time and coexisted with older ones for long periods of time. Following this metallurgical enterprise, several alchemical innovations were also found, which allow for the separation of precious metals from the baser ones.

Ores

Copper	Copper is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal. It is one of the few metals that can occur in nature in a directly usable metallic form. The cultural role of copper has been important, particularly in currency.
Silver	Silver is a soft, white, lustrous transition metal that can be found in the Earth’s crust in pure, free elemental form. Most silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, gold, lead, and zinc refining.
Gold	Gold is a dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Gold often occurs in free elemental form, as nuggets or grains, in rocks, in veins, and in alluvial deposits. Gold has been used for coinage, jewellery, and other arts throughout history.
Iron	In its metallic state, iron is rare in the Earth’s crust, limited mainly to deposition by meteorites. Iron ores are among the most abundant in the Earth’s crust, but extracting usable metal from them requires kilns or furnaces capable of reaching 1,500 °C (2,730 °F) or higher.
Lead	Lead is soft and malleable and has a relatively low melting point. Galena is a principal ore of lead that often bears silver. Lead production has increased due to it's uses for roofing and piping.

Metallurgists throughout world generallly are allowed to move between different regions. As mining becomes more of a specialized craft, miners moved in large groups forming settlements close to the mines. Regional authorities frequently welcomed such groups and claime a part of the output in exchange for mills, forges, cottages, and pastures. Smelting sites often become separated from ore smelting. Metallurgists organize in guilds, usually concentrating their workshops in town peripheries.

The Miner O.C.C.

Attribute Requirements: P.E.: 12, P.S.: 12 or higher.
Alignment: Any
Gender: Male or Female (mostly Male)
Race: Any but tend to be Dwarven or Human
O.C.C. Skills:

• Language: Native tongue at 98% plus one of choice (+10%)
• Body Building and Weight Lifting
• Lighting and Assembly (+10%)
• Gemology (+10%)
• Carpentry (+5%)
• Underground Tunneling (special): This is identical to the Dwarven ability of the same name. Base Skill: 40% +5% per level of experience. Dwarven miners get a one-time bonus of +20%., Kobolds get a +10% bonus.
• Underground Architecture (special): This is identical to the Dwarven ability ofthe same name. Base Skill: 30% +5% per level of experience; detection and deactivation of traps is at half the normal skill ratio. Dwarven miners get a one-time bonus of +20%, Kobolds get a +10% bonus.
• Underground Sense of Direction (special!): This is identical to the Dwarven ability of the same name. Base Skill: 40% +5% per level of experience, 30% +5% per level of experience to judge the approximate location to surface structures (natural and artificial). Dwarven miners get a one-time bonus of +20%, Kobolds get a +10% bonus.
• W.P. Battle Axe/Pick
• Hand to Hand: Basic. This can be changed to Hand to Hand: Expert for the cost of one "O.C.C. Related" skill

O.C.C. Related Skills: Select five other skills of choice at level one, plus 1 per level starting at level 2. All new skills start at Lvl. one proficiency.

• Communications: Any, but only Sign Language gets a +10% bonus.
• Domestic: Any (+10%)
• Espionage: None
• Horsemanship: General or Exotic Only.
• Labour: Any
• Medical: Brewing, First Aid and Holistic Medicine only.
• Military: Heraldry, Camouflage (+5%) only
• Naval Skills: None
• Performing Arts: Any
• Physical: Any
• Rogue: Any (+2%)
• Science: Mathematics skills only.
• Scholar/Noble/Technical: Any (+5%)
• Weapon Proficiencies: Any
• Wilderness: Any

Secondary Skills: Choose 4 at level 1, plus 1 per level starting at level 2. All new skills start at Lvl. one proficiency. These are additional areas of knowledge that don't get the O.C.C. bonus.

Starting Equipment: Large pick/mattock (3D4 damage), a small hammer (1D6 damage), two sets of clothing, a pair of heavy work boots, belt, hat, blanket, backpack, one large sack, 1D4 small sacks, a water skin, dried meats and fruits equaling 1D4+1 weeks' worth of rations and a tinder box with a half dozen treated torches.

Armour: Soft leather (A.R. 10, S.D.C. 20) and a mining helmet (S.D.C. 25).

Weapons: Starts with an Oncin Pick (2D4 damage) and one weapon of choice. All are basic S.D.C. weapons of fair to good quality. Magic weapons and other equipment must be acquired later. Many miners will use their pick axe/mattock as their prime weapon, however. It is what they are most comfortable with

Money: The character starts with 190 in gold, which can be used immediately 10 purchase more equipment or it can be saved for later. Additional money will come from payment for jobs and/or booty