Character progression

Having played a few games one of the questions that vexes my players is how to progress their characters beyond just attribute progression and new lores. With the game focusing heavily on feudalism in the Old World a career can be quite limiting in terms of coin and trappings.

One of my players is a dwarf labourer and he was frustrated that he lost most of the silver coin he earned from an adventure. One of the comments I had on the Discord was “if he doesn’t like it he shouldn’t choose to play a Brass peasant”. But that doesn’t sit well with me in terms of progression.

The player asked if he could work towards changing career to Merchant. I liked this idea and the book does discuss changing career and acquiring the relevant lores etc first. I also had a comment on Discord that the game discourages changing career. But I just don’t see that in the rules. In fact it sets out how to do it.

I’m fine with the player changing career to Merchant (Silver) and building a whole story around it (including jealousy from his former labourer colleagues that he improved himself and got some wealth and difficulty in establishing himself among the other merchants).

But it made me wonder. Is that what the game intends for player progression? It surely can’t be that a player has to accept that he’s a peasant forever because he chose a Brass career at the start. Especially with the limitations around coin and trappings (and the fact that adventures should and do produce some loot).