Here you are...you have no idea how you got here, or who “you” even are. A quick glimpse into a clear pool at least tells you what others see. So many questions...but you suppose you should start with what you’re going to do next...an adventure of a sort seems to be the best bet.
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from among Deception, Perception, Performance, or Survival
- Languages: Choose one. (Abyssal, Celestial, Deep Speech, Draconic, Infernal, Primordial, Sylvan, or Undercommon)
- Equipment: A set of common clothes, one trinket of special significance (choose one or roll on the Gothic Trinkets table after this background), and a single silver coin with unique but somehow familiar features.
Clean Slate
Whether you’ll ever remember or not, one thing is for sure. You can proceed down several paths with this. You can embrace it and start anew, ever hoping something bad from your previous past never visits. You can begin searching for information and clues as to who you are. Or you can combine the two, begin an adventure, and hope something jogs your memory.
| d10 | Clean Slate |
|---|---|
| 1 | A monster that just recently slaughtered dozens of innocent people spared your life, and you don’t know why. |
| 2 | Your oldest memory currently is of holding an ancient tome in your hands and reading the words that were on the open pages. What did they mean, and why do you remember nothing from before? |
| 3 | You awoke this morning and looked around yourself with an incredulous sense of loss. Who were you? What were you doing? How did you get here? |
| 4 | "I feel like my thoughts are trying to tell me something, but they cannot seem to determine what, exactly." |
| 5 | It was there but a moment; a fleeting shadow on the brink of reality, your senses betraying your perception in that blink of an eye, but you're sure it was there, laughing. A lingering laugh, but for a moment more, that defined deceit and victory before it faded into nothing. What had you done? |
| 6 | Your head hurts something awful. You're not sure what you had in your possession, but you check your belongings anyhow. Your belongings...are they? What is this stuff? |
| 7 | You awake to the sound of a voice. "Remember me?" they ask, and after a strenuous silence, you do recall something...the answer "No". |
| 8 | Well, what to do next. You know how to answer that conundrum; you pull out a heavy silver coin you have that appears distinguishable from all others you've seen and give it a toss. |
| 9 | "There you are." they stated. "Come on, lets go." You follow with nothing else on your mind to think of... |
| 10 | The silence is palpable. Straining against all odds, you hope. You scream again, but nothing...You can't even seem to hear yourself. You pour every effort into trying to move to no avail. It's as though you're a prisoner in your own body. You try to tell yourself you NEED to escape...but escape what? There is nothing here. In the deepest, most unreachable fathoms of your psyche, separated by an infinitesimal abyss as if locked inside of a looking glass, you exist; watching yourself as if in a dream. |
Feature: Dead Give Away
Those who really take notice of you realize that you are a bit off. Even if you handle yourself with absolute poise, there is a noticeable trait that defines you as lost.
Suggested Characteristics
You have learned to live with the terror that haunts you. You are a survivor, who can be very protective of those who bring light into your darkened life.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I fear nothing. To fear is to have the knowledge of having something to lose. |
| 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 nothing more than the present, for what else is there. |
| 4 | I live for the thrill of adventure as it gives me purpose. |
| 5 | I don’t talk about the thing that torments me. I can relate more to others when they are as ignorant of me as I they. |
| 6 | I expect danger around every corner. It's a precaution, yet exhausting. |
| 7 | I refuse to give up, I will find somewhere in this world that remembers me for whom I once was. |
| 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 persevere and find myself, or die trying. (Any) |
| 3 | I kill monsters to make the world a safer place; seems like the right thing to do. (Good) |
| 4 | The laws of others mean nothing to me. I must take it upon myself to survive under these circumstances, as the world cares not for my tribulations. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | I like to learn of my enemy’s capabilities and weaknesses before rushing into battle. It helps me learn my own. (Lawful) |
| 6 | I have been released from the shackles of morality like "good" and "evil". I’m a monster that destroys other monsters, and anything else that keeps me from what I want. Whatever I once was matters not; for I indulge in what I've become. (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 past decisions, whatever they were, took everything from me. I strive to win back all that I’ve lost. |
| 4 | I must have done something absolutely atrocious for the gods to have erased my very existence and given me a clean slate to start anew. 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 | My life is out there, waiting for me, I can feel it. I must make do with this meager existence until I find it, mayhaps I can better others lives in the process. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have certain rituals that I seem to follow every day, although I cannot explain as to why I do them. |
| 2 | I assume the worst in people. |
| 3 | I feel no compassion for the dead. They’re the lucky ones. |
| 4 | I have...no idea |
| 5 | I am a purveyor of doom and gloom who lives in a world without hope. |
| 6 | I talk to literally everything...and everything answers back...EVERYTHING. |
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