Profession (Oldest) in Eberron?

[Cyclone231]

How legal and how socially acceptable is the use of the skill Profession (Oldest) in Eberron? It's not in the index of the ECS, so I have no idea.

[Nonah_Me]

Prof. (Oldest)?

*EDIT: Oh man, duh. It was late, and I was at work.

[DiscipleofBob]

There's definitely mention of it in Sharn: City of Towers. Specifically the Firelight district and some of the changeling "businesses." Seems there are legal and illegal versions to me.

[Iku Rex]

"Legal in Eberron" doesn't make much sense since there are a wide variety of nations and laws. But based on "Sharn: City of Towers", prostitution is legal in Breland.

Most illegal activities in Sharn occur under the supervision of one of four criminal guilds or gangs, which also have fingers in legal but shady activities such as gambling and prostitution.-- page 14

(Let's see if wizards.com allows hotlinking:)

You only get one guess as to which race tends to dominate the business.

[Ralfarius]

Prof. (Oldest)?

The skilled trade of courtesans, ladies of the night, women of easy virtue, paid company, umm... Anatomical sales associates?

[Cyclone231]

Prof. (Oldest)?

You know, the oldest profession?

It's a euphemism for prostitution.

There's definitely mention of it in Sharn: City of Towers. Specifically the Firelight district and some of the changeling "businesses." Seems there are legal and illegal versions to me.

Thanks for the tip. Is it only mentioned in the "red-light districts" (Sharn's Welcome, Dragonseyes and the Firelight district), or is there a section on the business in general?

[Starsinger]

The skilled trade of courtesans, ladies of the night, women of easy virtue, paid company, umm... Anatomical sales associates?

I prefer the term sexual engineer... it seems very PC.

[Chronos]

Heh. For the first three posts, I thought that this thread was about somehow earning a living through being really, really old. Or that "oldest" was maybe an honorific for some sort of church functionary.

[Skjaldbakka]

Maybe in some churches.

[Hzurr]

You only get one guess as to which race tends to dominate the business.

Hehe, that reminds me of a post by Randel a few days ago:

Human: Hey elf, you look like a girl.
Elf: To a human, everything must look like a girl.
Human: What?
Elf: Half-orcs, half-ogres...
Human: ... shut up.
Dwarf: Half-dragons, half-kobolds.
Human: I said shut up!
Elf: ...
Dwarf: ...
Human: ...
Elf: Centaurs.

[MrNexx]

Wow... that was rough.

[Townopolis]

You only get one guess as to which race tends to dominate the business.

Centaurs?

Did I win? Did I win? Huh, huh? Did I?

[boomwolf]

Actually I think tieflings and drow are dominating there...(kinky!)

[honkuimushi]

You only get one guess as to which race tends to dominate the business.

Gnomes?


(This is just for length)

[Frosty]

I figure changelings would probably dominate the more expensive end of the business, while whatever race is poorest probably would work in the lower ends more.

[DiscipleofBob]

Changelings dominate the prostitution business in Sharn.

I forget the name of the group, but the changeling-dominant criminal gang pretty much controls the trade.

For more information, look up the business section in Sharn. They cover typical prices for "escort" and "companion" services in a table towards the beginning.

[arkol]

For more information, look up the business section in Sharn. They cover typical prices for "escort" and "companion" services in a table towards the beginning.

In what book/site/whatever can I find that again?

[DiscipleofBob]

In what book/site/whatever can I find that again?

Sharn: City of Towers. I can give you page numbers later tonight.

[MrNexx]

Gnomes?


(This is just for length)

Hey, length is why gnomes dominate the business.

;-)

[MCerberus]

This thread is fast turning into another "house of horrors" thread. Also I'd avoid giving RP XP for them while they make their profession checks... kind of creepy.

[Dragonmuncher]

Hey, length is why gnomes dominate the business.

;-)

So there's a lot of people in Eberron who are attracted to long noses?

[Cyclone231]

Sharn: City of Towers. I can give you page numbers later tonight.

I've got it open.

Here they are:
p.14: Companionship, the business in a nutshell.
p.50: Sharn's Welcome, a red light district, located in Cliffside.
p.77: Firelight district, a red light district, located in Lower Menthis Plateau.
p.97: Dragoneyes, a red light district, located in Lower Tavick's Landing.
p.155: The Tyrants, shapeshifter guild that runs most of the bordellos.

I don't know of any additional information in there, though there might be.

[Frosty]

For a change of pace, one city in a campaign should have a red-light district where the workers are all male.

[Aquillion]

For a change of pace, one city in a campaign should have a red-light district where the workers are all male.

Hey, the business is run by changelings. Who knows? Maybe they're all like that.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Hm. Rekkenmark or Thaliost? They're on a very long bridge, albeit a white one and not a golden one.

But hey, Changelings can gender-swap. In districts where they dominate, they can serve pretty much any clientele. Although they're probably better at being their natural sexes.

Freaking ninja.

[Azerian Kelimon]

Y'know, I never understood WHY that job was called the oldest profession, at all. It seems to me that it would only come to be a profession once some kind of city had been established. Hunting would seem to be more fitting for oldest profession, since that was the thing that was most prioritary in the beginning of all races, wasn't it?

[SurlySeraph]

Y'know, I never understood WHY that job was called the oldest profession, at all. It seems to me that it would only come to be a profession once some kind of city had been established. Hunting would seem to be more fitting for oldest profession, since that was the thing that was most prioritary in the beginning of all races, wasn't it?

Well, hunting's less a profession than a way to survive. You didn't get paid for hunting, you got food by hunting. Prostitution is something you can get paid for.

Of course, this all depends on how we're defining "profession," and on what we consider a form of payment. You see, the ancient Mayans... *launches into highly academic rant*

[Azerian Kelimon]

Aye, but the mayans were already a civ. Hunting was there long before, and people traded things for food long before they felt lonely enough for "company".

[Nerd-o-rama]

Perhaps it's the oldest luxury service; a profession that is not necessary to society, and provides no concrete benefit to its practitioners other than the money they are paid for it. There were certainly prostitutes before there were, say, barbers.

[Enzario]

Y'know, I never understood WHY that job was called the oldest profession, at all. It seems to me that it would only come to be a profession once some kind of city had been established. Hunting would seem to be more fitting for oldest profession, since that was the thing that was most prioritary in the beginning of all races, wasn't it?

You know, there are documented cases of certain species of penguin trading sex for prime nesting sites/materials... but this is coming dangerously close to a derailing.

But I digress.
In eberron, where magic pervades absolutely everything, I would say that the oldest profession is no different, and it's probably viewed as no more strange than, say, that creepy gnome down the street that sells "magic juice" from his alchemy shop.