Before you became an adventurer, your life was already full of conflict and excitement, because you made a living pillaging dangerous dungeons and selling valuables. Nomadic and restless, you wandered the land seeking the thrill of exploring its dark and dank regions, routinely testing your skills and survival instincts. The more dangerous, the better. Because of your adventures and your constant need to sell valuable items, this has brought a fair amount of suspicion into your trade. Because of this, you routinely interact with both the criminal subculture and social elite, many requiring your skills to procure hard to obtain materials or sell an object with a mysterious background. You often require a fence for many of the items you discover. Maintaining contacts in both areas has helped you succeed.
Your motivations may vary upon your class and alignment. Maybe you're a valiant individual desperately looking for a lost item, maybe you've been shunned by society and this is your only method of making a living or maybe you just like the thrill of making lots of gold in dangerous places. You could be a kleptomaniac looking to satiate their desires or a noble Paladin doing their duty, either way, you find yourself scouring the darkest places for rare objects.
As a member of an adventuring party, you might find it more difficult to pursue a personal agenda that doesn’t fit with the group’s objectives — but on the other hand, you may be able to find more valuable items and more lucrative opportunities with the help of your companions.
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from among Deception, Insight, Persuasion, and Stealth
- Tool Proficiencies: Choose two from among thieves tools, cartographer's tools, navigator's tools and a forgery kit.
- Equipment: A set of clothes appropriate to your duties, a pouch containing 20 gp and a magical item found on one of your many dungeon dives (discuss with your DM).
Your frequent dungeon dives into the nether regions of the land, have brought you in contact with many valuable magical items. In order to sell them, you have established a reliable network of traders and fences all looking to profit off your next adventure. These connections come in the form of mysterious contacts in any city you visit. It could be a person who provides information about the locals and their economics, who has heard about your exploits and is looking to profit. It could also be a member of a local cartel. Nefarious or no, someone is looking to make a profit off your next haul and this can provide you with valuable information. However, it can result in random confrontations from those who think they can take you wares by force. Buyer beware, your constant dealings with shrewd and nefarious individuals, whether of not they're inside a dungeon, has made you battle hardened and astute. Your perception for a good or bad situation, in and out of battle, is top-notch. As a result, you have many connections and start your adventure with one magic item. Work with your DM to determine it's type and rarity.
Suggested Characteristics
Use the tables for the criminal background below as the basis for your Dungeon Delver's traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to suit your identity as a hunter for valuable relics.
For instance, your bond might involve other adventures seeking fortune or the organizations or individuals that employ you. Your ideal could be associated with your determination always to line your pockets with gold or your desire to maintain your reputation for being a dependable source of rare goods.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I always have a plan for what to do when things go wrong. |
| 2 | I am always calm, no matter what the situation. I never raise my voice or let my emotions control me. |
| 3 | The first thing I do in a new place is note the locations of everything valuable—or where such things could be hidden. |
| 4 | I would rather make a new friend than a new enemy. |
| 5 | I am incredibly slow to trust. Those who seem the fairest often have the most to hide. |
| 6 | I don’t pay attention to the risks in a situation. Never tell me the odds. |
| 7 | The best way to get me to do something is to tell me I can’t do it. |
| 8 | I blow up at the slightest insult. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Honor. I don’t steal from others in the trade. (Lawful) |
| 2 | Freedom. Chains are meant to be broken, as are those who would forge them. (Chaotic) |
| 3 | Charity. I steal from the wealthy so that I can help people in need. (Good) |
| 4 | Greed. I will do whatever it takes to become wealthy. (Evil) |
| 5 | People. I’m loyal to my friends, not to any ideals, and everyone else can take a trip down the Styx for all I care. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Redemption. There’s a spark of good in everyone. (Good) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I’m trying to pay off an old debt I owe to a generous benefactor. |
| 2 | My ill-gotten gains go to support my family. |
| 3 | Something important was taken from me, and I aim to steal it back. |
| 4 | I will become the greatest thief that ever lived. |
| 5 | I’m guilty of a terrible crime. I hope I can redeem myself for it. |
| 6 | Someone I loved died because of a mistake I made. That will never happen again. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | When I see something valuable, I can’t think about anything but how to steal it. |
| 2 | When faced with a choice between money and my friends, I usually choose the money. |
| 3 | If there’s a plan, I’ll forget it. If I don’t forget it, I’ll ignore it. |
| 4 | I have a “tell” that reveals when I’m lying. |
| 5 | I turn tail and run when things look bad. |
| 6 | An innocent person is in prison for a crime that I committed. I’m okay with that. |
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