You have no clear recollection of your past, perhaps you only remember snippets of events, or maybe you have no memory at all. Regardless, you may choose to find your forgotten past or forge ahead into the unkown to write the story of your future! This background assumes both you and your DM are comfortable working together to decide on the narrative, it will likely result in you working with your DM throughout the campaign to discover your past. You may present the DM with a pre-written story to accompany this background that they can then decide how and when they wish to fit it into the campaign, alternatively you can work with your DM to weave your tale as their world is revealed to you.
This background is based on the (Amnesiac (5e Background)) from DandDwiki.
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose 2 from: Perception, Investigation and Insight.
- Tool Proficiencies: Choose one musical instrument or gaming set.
- Languages: One of your choice.
- Equipment: Two trinkets from your past, depending on your backstory you may know the purpose of one but not the other. This will be decided by your DM.
You suddenly remember a huge amount of detail about a person, place or thing that you are currently looking at or interacting with. Maybe a certain phrase or image sets you off, but you suddenly know all about this thing like you've been familiar with it for years. The frequency of this event should be decided with your DM as it impacts heavily on your backstory and the flow of the game. You may decide to let the DM have free reign with your backstory and submit to their ideas, alternatively you can work in conjuction with your DM to write your story and then discover it durign the course of the campaign.
Suggested Characteristics
You... don't even know who you were before becoming an Adventurer. You come up with so many different ideas of who you were, ideas that would keep you up at night. You adventure, dig through history, investigate on leads, hoping that they'd bring you one step closer to finding out who you truly are... That is if you even want to know who you are.. Maybe you lost your memory from an explosion that caused you to hit your head, maybe you overdosed on a dodgy potion that blanked your mind, maybe you were cursed to forget everything, maybe you did this to yourself to forget a horrible trauma. Whatever happened, you have no idea, but there must be evidence of the past somewhere...
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I like to do something to capture the current moment, be it writing down a poem or drawing a picture. |
| 2 | I keep a notebook of all the things I'm supposed to know so I won't forget it. |
| 3 | I have a strange mark or scar on my body... And I don't know why. |
| 4 | I get constant headaches when I want to think about my past. |
| 5 | I come up with a new story of who I was every time I am asked. |
| 6 | I worry that I'll forget the life I'm living right now. |
| 7 | I sometimes think about who my family was and where I fitted in. |
| 8 | I don't want to pay close attention to my past. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Beginning. "This is a new, fresh start for me!" |
| 2 | Placement. "I will become a helpful member of my community, both from my past and my new future." |
| 3 | Improvement. "In order for me to be better in the future, I must know about my past." |
| 4 | Neglect. "Why bother searching for my past? It's in the past, after all." |
| 5 | Freedom. "Having no memories means having no obligations." |
| 6 | Advantage. "Once I find out who I was, I'll use it to take back what I want." |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | Someone took me in when they found me. I owe them much. |
| 2 | I had a lover in my past who wants me to back. |
| 3 | I have a silver ring, it makes me feel content when I look upon it. |
| 4 | The home I live in right now is the only home that matters to me. |
| 5 | I want to make whoever is responsible for my memory loss pay for what they have done to me. |
| 6 | I remember only one person from my past. I must find them. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I will stop at nothing to find out who I was. |
| 2 | Every time I hit a dead end in learning of my past, I mentally shut down for a bit. |
| 3 | I'm quick to forget things. |
| 4 | I will latch onto anything that will provide me at least an idea of who I was, even if it's an obvious trap. |
| 5 | I worry that the person I once was, was not someone I would aspire to be. |
| 6 | Sometimes I am overtaken by strong feelings of emotion for no obvious reason. Sometimes sadness, anxiety or even rage. |
Contacts
You may run into individuals or groups that know you from your past life, how they interact with you should be decided with your DM.
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