Basic Information
A domestic servant is a person employed within a private household (or similar institution) to undertake domestic tasks for the residents.
Depending on length of service, relative status and the individuals involved, the servant can be virtually part of the family, or can be little more than living furniture.
Historically domestic service was a major employer in all societies up until the very recent present (when it is confined to the very highest echelons). It has traditionally involved long hours, hard work and poor pay (if any, given that in many eras unfree people of various kinds ended up in this role), albeit with roof and board provided. Also, whilst menial work in most cases, it was at least indoors and a servant tended to "borrow" a degree of status from their employer.
Status, of course, could be relative - the royal groom of the stool (the man who emptied the king's chamberpot) - might well be some kind of nobleman (although the luckless individual tasked with cleaning the used pot afterwards in the stillroom certainly would not be).
Sources
Game and Story Use
- statistically, PCs will need these as soon as they establish a household, and similar roles may well follow them around before then.
- Servants see and hear a lot of things, and tend to be more aware of what is going on in a household than their employers give them credit for. Sometimes more aware than their employers themselves are.
- Finding good staff is difficult - bad staff can cause all kinds of trouble.