Knocker-Up: The Forgotten Profession of Waking People
What if your alarm clock was a person with a 10 foot pole?
Shared by @Exile in Paradise on the RPT Discord server:
This could be an interesting world-building detail for towns to go along with town guards and town criers…
A knocker-up or knocker-upper was a member of a profession in the Netherlands, Britain, Ireland, and some other countries that started during, and lasted well into, the Industrial Revolution, when alarm clocks were neither cheap nor reliable.
A knocker-up’s job was to rouse sleeping people so they could get to work on time. By the 1940s and 1950s, this profession had more or less entirely died out, although it still continued in some pockets of industrial England until the early 1970s.
You’re right, Exile. It’s a great world detail we could add to bring a setting to life.
However, this is too much service for my players. Their village will get a stable boy who only rings a very loud church bell at 4 a.m. every morning. Haha!
d6 other weird ideas, riffing off this:
- The church bell is cursed so that it reverses benefits of a long rest no matter how much sleep was earned beforehand.
- The village or community are actually possessed. The church bell alerts them there’s fresh victims with a code telling the PCs’ location.
- It’s a magical dreamer instead who enters people’s dreams to wake them up, but they often leave behind cryptic messages or visions giving victims more to worry about during their days.
- A guild of nefarious time-keepers who use enchanted hourglasses to regulate the town’s activities, including when people work, eat, sleep, and wake up.
- Trained animals such as roosters, shriekers, and pet goblins make the wake-up calls, but the village has not yet figured out that the intermittent random beast attacks are being caused by creatures drawn to the daily ruckus.
- A network of underground pipes that can channel sound, or perhaps messages, to specific houses, powered perhaps by an air spirit or bellows that take a full turn to build enough pressure for delivery.
The knocker-up profession offers a fascinating glimpse into our past. Add a cool detail, some intrigue, and even sinister twists to your setting with a service like this. Whether it’s cursed bells, dream walkers, or magical time-keepers, surprise players next session!
What other obscure historical details can breathe life into our worlds? If you know of any, please hit reply and let me know!
Cheers,
Johnn
roleplayingtips.com
https://discord.gg/6MxTRAqQ76
Have more fun at every game!
P.S. When you are ready, here are +4 vorpal ways I can help you with your campaign:
+1 Use Campaign Logger to Make Prep & GMing Easier
For GMs of any system looking to run deep, detailed, and immersive games, Campaign Logger lets you take session notes at the speed of thought in your unique GMing style while improving your preparation experience so you can focus on the parts of the game you enjoy the most.
Get your free Campaign Logger account here.
+2 Take the Free GM Organization Challenge
Stop the confusion and frustration of not having what you need to prep and run games at your finger tips. Become an organized GM in just one week:
Enroll at no charge here and start getting organized.
+3 Get the Demonplague (with 62 5-Star Ratings so far)
A complete level 1-20 campaign D&D 5E adventure path that offers intense roleplay, sandbox and hexcrawl play, cunning combats, and fiendish monsters.
Click here to see more details and to order.
+4 Get More GM Loot
Visit the Roleplaying Tips DriveThruRPG store, or browse books and courses to level up your GMing at the RoleplayingTips.com store.
