You've spent most of your lives following something, but they may never know of your existance. You've tried to walk the other way but you always ended up right back on their trail. It might come to you as a place, a person, a feeling, a desire, or a memory. This burden has hurt you, making you question your sanity, making you question whether you want to follow them, or it wants you to follow them. You must find answers before it drives you mad.
- Skill Proficiencies: You gain Stealth, and Deception
- Tool Proficiencies: You've learned the best way to use a disguise kit.
- Languages: Choose one exotic language (Abyssal, Celestial, Deep Speech, Draconic, Infernal, Primordial, Sylvan, or Undercommon)
- Equipment: A burglar's pack, a set of common clothes, and one trinket of special significance (choose one or roll on the Gothic Trinkets table after this background).
Prior to becoming an adventurer, your path in life was defined by a choice which fealt like involuntarily signing a contract, cursing your life forever. Now you feel like you're forever stuck, wherever you are in this vast and endless world, you always end up back on trail of whatever you're stalking. You fear there may be no other way to go. Choose an involuntary contract, or roll on the Involuntary Contract table.
| d8 | Involuntary Contract |
|---|---|
| 1 | A monster that slaughtered dozens of innocent people spared your life, and you don’t know why. |
| 2 | You saw an apparition once, now you see it everywhere, and you want to follow it. |
| 3 | Your family has a history of practicing the dark arts. You dabbled once and felt something horrible clutch at your soul, you now seek to find it. |
| 4 | An oni took your sibling one cold, dark night, and you were unable to stop it. Now you're after it. |
| 5 | You were cursed with lycanthropy and later cured. You are now stalking those with the same curse. |
| 6 | You opened an eldritch tome and saw things unfit for a sane mind. You burned the book, but its words and images are burned into your psyche. |
| 7 | A fiend tricked you into making a deal, you are now stuck to uphold his will. |
| 8 | You killed someone to avenge a loved one's death, but you now constantly see those innocents the murderer left behind. |
When engaging in conversation your eyes will never search for eye-contact, no, they'll scan the scenery, over and over again, to see if they can find what they're after. Commoners think of you as rather peculiar. But despite your weird traits, you have shown to be very persuasive and trustworthy, so commoners will do their utmost to help you. Unless you have shown yourself to be a danger to them, they will often find comfort in speaking with you, and will sometimes even share their deepest secrets.
Spell List
Because of your nature you require the need to hide, or disguise yourself. After being in the shadows for so long you've taught yourself the perfect way to blend in and out of crowds.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | disguise self |
| 2nd | invisibility |
You gain disguise self and invisibility, to help you in your stalker life.
Suggested Characteristics
You have learned to live with the dreadful feeling that comes with forever following something, not being able to stop. Your mind is strong and you'll protect anyone that might accidentaly endanger themselves by making the wrong choice, the same choice you once made.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I don’t run from evil. Evil runs from me. |
| 2 | I like to read and memorize poetry. It keeps me calm and brings me fleeting moments of happiness. |
| 3 | I spend money freely and live life to the fullest, knowing that tomorrow I might die. |
| 4 | I live for the thrill of the hunt. |
| 5 | I don’t talk about the thing that torments me. I’d rather not burden others with my curse. |
| 6 | I expect danger around every corner. |
| 7 | I refuse to become a victim, and I will not allow others to be victimized. |
| 8 | I put no trust in divine beings. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | I try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good) |
| 2 | I’ll stop the spirits that haunt me or die trying. (Any) |
| 3 | I kill monsters to make the world a safer place, and to exorcise my own demons. (Good) |
| 4 | I have a dark calling that puts me above the law. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | I like to know my enemy’s capabilities and weaknesses before rushing into battle. (Lawful) |
| 6 | I’m a monster that destroys other monsters, and anything else that gets in my way. (Evil) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I keep my thoughts and discoveries in a journal. My journal is my legacy. |
| 2 | I would sacrifice my life and my soul to protect the innocent. |
| 3 | My torment drove away the person I love. I strive to win back the love I’ve lost. |
| 4 | A terrible guilt consumes me. I hope that I can find redemption through my actions. |
| 5 | There’s evil in me, I can feel it. It must never be set free. |
| 6 | I have a child to protect. I must make the world a safer place for him (or her). |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have certain rituals that I must follow every day. I can never break them. |
| 2 | I assume the worst in people. |
| 3 | I feel no compassion for the dead. They’re the lucky ones. |
| 4 | I have an addiction. |
| 5 | I am a purveyor of doom and gloom who lives in a world without hope. |
| 6 | I talk to spirits that no one else can see. |
In contradiction to others, you thrive off your will to stalk. You live off the feeling of watching someone, or something, without their knowledge. You want to learn everything about it to feed your never-ending thirst for knowledge.
You thrive of stalking, whatever this person, place, or whatever is. You NEED to watch it, you feed of watching it, and learning everything about it.
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