Dwarf Beard Tender

Our newest sub-campaign will involve a group totally composed of
dwarves. I've decided that my PC (as a side skill) will be very good
in tending to beards. But I'm having a bit of trouble deciding on the
proper name for his profession. Barber (while correct) sounds to me
like too much of a clipping/trimming approach. It doesn't really put
across the idea of intricate curls and braids. In our world we have
"hairdressers" and "hair stylists", so perhaps "beard-dresser" or
"beard stylist" would be appropriate for dwarves. I'm leaning towards
the latter, but I'm open to suggestions. Anyone have any ideas? I'm
looking for something that would imply a similarity to tending to a
bonsai - it's a living work of art, developed over decades with great
care, making tiny little adjustments in harmony with its own nature.
Or perhaps as Ents were "tree shepherds", for dwarves a "beard
shepherd" would tend to them and protect them and make them flourish.

And now, of course, he has moved from the cultivated world of a
fortified clanhold to the rough-and-tumble life of an adventurer.
Instead of beards that have been carefully cultivated for decades, he
sees beards that have been through FIREBALLS and buried in mudslides
and been down the gullets of huge monsters - and back out again. (And
whether it went all the way through, or back out the way it came in,
or through a hole cut in the side of the monster - the beards is NOT
going to come out looking pretty.) Sort of like a famous plastic
surgeon being moved to a M.A.S.H. unit for the "Meatball Surgery".

I'm putting him together (4th level Pathfinder campaign) as a
multiclass with three 1st level spellcasting classes. A level each in
Cleric, Bard and Sorcerer. So he'll have lots of Cantrips and Orisons
(Create Water, Prestidigitation and so on) to use in this profession.
I hadn't originally planned to have him know Unseen Servant (spells
known are QUITE limited), but the more I think about it an Unseen
Servant would be quite useful in the process of doing braid work (an
extra hand for "Hold this" and so on). I may have to punt one of the
other spells (Mage Hand can help, but it requires concentration).
Silent Image to show the customer possible variations, how different
braiding style might look. Masterwork Tools, of course. Dyes for
coloring, clips and ribbons, delicate scissors, styling gels, combs,
extensions.... Let's see - he only has a 12 WIS (+1), but Profession
is a Class Skill for him (+3), he has Breadth Of Knowledge (APG, +2),
Guidance (+1), MW Tools (+2), and a single skill rank (+1). That
gives him a total skill mod of +10. So by taking 10 he hits DC 20. If
he takes another dwarf under his wing as apprentice he could get +2
from Aid Another....

While some of the other threads may give people the idea that I try to
optimize all my characters for adventuring - no, I don't. Instead, I
generally take a THEME and run with it. It's just that "What various
classes can do" is a subject that gets a lot of interaction with
people here. "What my character background is" is generally not
nearly as popular. With my non-melee-oriented cleric the THEME was
"Supporting the other party members" (via buffing, crafting and
healing). She's been incredibly USEFUL while not personally POWERFUL
and I often find her a fine example of what a divine caster can DO -
so I mention her a lot. This beard-tender multi4class will NOT be a
particularly effective build, but I'll have fun playing him. And
that's the whole point, right?


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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Dwarf Beard Tender
    ... I've decided that my PC (as a side skill) will be very good ... in tending to beards. ... "beard stylist" would be appropriate for dwarves. ...
    (rec.games.frp.dnd)
  • Re: Dwarf Beard Tender
    ... dwarves. ... I've decided that my PC (as a side skill) will be very good ... in tending to beards. ...
    (rec.games.frp.dnd)
  • Re: Dwarf Beard Tender
    ... I've decided that my PC (as a side skill) will be very good ... in tending to beards. ... But I'm having a bit of trouble deciding on the ...
    (rec.games.frp.dnd)
  • Re: Dwarf Beard Tender
    ... I've decided that my PC (as a side skill) will be very good ... in tending to beards. ... Jim or Sarah Davies, but probably Jim ...
    (rec.games.frp.dnd)
  • Re: Dwarf Beard Tender
    ... decades of careful braiding, knotting, and plaiting that goes in to a prized ... there's gotta be special ways of plaiting beards from the ... With a bit of careful practice, though, it ... Dwarves of Golarion, page 30, in the section ...
    (rec.games.frp.dnd)