The following list provides some ideas, but can never be wholly complete, or even partially. Think about who this person is, what they have done, and what they are doing now. Don't let your profession blind you to the fact that just because you may be a nuclear engineer, that you're going to build a nuclear weapon. Professions provide a "reasonable" set of skills, not an unreasonable set. Your write up should present a trio of skills, related or unrelated that will help tell the story (in part) of who your character is. There are many categories of professions, far too many to list reasonably. We will overview several areas and give you an idea of how to build your character's "skill set". The list is endless. Your profession should reflect your character's goals. It helps to define how you approach things as well. Choose a combination of three skills, related or unrelated. Unrelated skills are not a "negative". The mean you have a varied area. Related skills simply show a direction for your character over the unrelated types. In some cases, unrelated skills make a lot of sense if you wish to know something about staying alive.

• Artistic: Writer, Singer, Photographer, Acting
• Physical: Acrobatics, Climbing, Diving, Sky Diving, Martial Arts, Personal Security, Driving, Piloting, Animal Handling, Guns, Survival
• Computers: Programming, Security, Networking, Cryptography, Electronics, Repair (hardware)
• Business: Administration, Accountant, Broker, Lawyer, Languages/Linguist, Sales/Marketing
• Public Servant (Police, Fire, Animal Control, paramedic/EMT, Social Worker, Teacher)
• Federal Officer / Agent (CIA, FBI, NSA, U.S. Marshall, etc.)
• Scientist (Archaeology, Astronomy, Bacteriology, Biochemistry, Biology, Biophysics, Botany, Chemistry, Ecology, Forensic Medicine, Genetics, Geology, Hydrology, Inorganic Chemistry, Marine Biology, Mathematics, Medicine, Metallurgy, Microbiology, Nuclear Physics, Organic Chemistry, Paleontology, Pharmacology, Physics, Physiology, Psychology, Sociology, Veterinary Medicine, Zoology
• Trades (Carpentry, Machinist, Plumber, Electrician)
• Food Service (General Labor, Catering)

From the list above, what could we come up with?

Some people are what they do, others are not... Your job does not totally define you as a person though, unless you let it, and if you do, well, you're missing out on so much more that is out there.

Professions allow people to perform groups of reasonable skills, but trying to list all possible skills and professions is a concept better left to large print role playing books that can afford to do so. Even then, they can only touch on groupings and allow the players to use vast skills listings to fully define what their character knows.

To simplify the process, we're going to reverse that thinking. What are the common groups of skills under a profession or a general skill listing? If you are an Accountant who Skydives on the Weekend, you definitely would have Accountant. Skydiving would be next, but what else? Mathematics? Yes, you could take that as a complimentary skill to Accountant, but a mathematician does more with numbers than even an accountant. What else does the characater like to do? What else makes sense? He could know how to pilot his own plane, or he could enjoy climbing too. It can vary greatly. So what does all that mean? It means your accountant is likely good enough with numbers to have been hired somewhere, maybe. Parachuting as an interest skill would mean he can probably pack his own chute, make gear safety checks, and be familiar at least with some minor aerial acrobatics or other tricks. If you took Acrobatics, this person would be extremely good in the air, and likely know some moves on the ground too. The accounting job is probably great as it pays the bills but this person might wish to be outside and in the open more.

Think about the professions that we have today - from the simple - to the complex. Think about the different competency levels that different positions may or may not require. You don't have to be an accountant. You may just be good with your hands (carpentry) and have other interests. It is up to you after all...

A small list is presented here to get the brain synapses firing and the blood boiling, however - one must remember, that not every person who works in a lab went to college (they learned and trained and moved ahead very slowly as technicians while their college graduate counterparts became Technologists and Scientists by company title). They may perform the same jobs, but - well, you should see the meaning screaming loud and clear by now.

A job or a profession is not you, and its not your character identity completely either, but of course; it does help define some things. Many had the odd or part time jobs growing up, but upon entry into Hellington, the profession we will concern ourselves with is the one you perform now. Its most likely the one you are best at and the one that probably pays the most too. Money may not be as important in Hellington - well, that is not entirely true, but there are other commodities in Hellington far more precious - The most precious - life force - "essence"

Let's provide some examples of selection and interpretation:

While we do not allow "fan characters" we will use examples of characters everyone probably knows of from Television and Movies.

• Dana Scully - From the X- Files - Scully most certain has Federal Officer, Forensic Medicine, and Psychology You could say "guns" but does her character really use her issued revolver that much? Do we see her practicing with it often? No.
• Rick O'Connel - "The Mummy" - Rick most definitely has Guns as one of his skills, in addition, you might choose survival, and personal security. Personal Security would mean that Rick can fight, but he knows no true martial art. Archaeology might fit, but its obvious even by the second movie that while he is adept at finding things out, he leaves more of that intrinsic "educated" work to his wife. Comparing Rick to the previous listing for Scully, Rick is a bit gun crazy. You always see that he is well armed and that he's extremely comfortable with using weapons.
• Sarah Conner - From Terminator 2 - Guns most definitely. Survival and Personal Security as well. The same three as Rick O'Connel? Yep. Its all in the story and how you see the person! In the first movie, she was just your average person working an average job and while she may have had interests, you had to watch her go through the introductions to what would be a learning process for her. By the second movie, she changed greatly. In T2 is skilled in ways that will help her teach and protect her son. Why not "teaching"? Well, Sarah is still growing and learning and while she's taught John a lot with exposure to a non standard way of growing up, she still isn't the "teacher" she should or wants to be for him.
• Lets use another X-files example - Any one of the "Lone Gunmen" - The geeky trio of computer nerds. Obviously Electronics, Computer Programming and Cryptography would be an easy trio to string together. A very tight group of related skills for any one of the three even though each one can do some different things.
  (Too bad the show sucked to high heaven. No offense Chris Carter, but it was bad. It wasn't as bad as some of Stephen Bochco's "Hall of Failures" though!)

All of those seem to relate well to each other. Related skills are far easier to come up with in many cases because they do make sense. However, if you want the accountant who is a weekend sky diving glory hound, then that is there to pursue as well. Go for it. Remember, your profession will provide you with skill sets and there are too many skills and skill sets, even for the same professions, in many cases, to list.

The site controllers/moderators have the final say in your skill sets and how they are interpreted, but just because the profession says accounting, doesn't mean you have to look for math, computer operation, (a general driving skill), a general etiquette skill, etc. Much is assumed. When we need specifics we will ask, and when we say "um, no, that's not quite something we think you could do." we mean it! - unless you can provide a very good explanation of course. Even then, if the answer is no, go with it. It's a game.

Enjoy.