You were born into and grew up enslaved, owning nothing including your own freedom. You worked everyday that you can remember, from waking until sleeping. You lived in squalor, fighting for too little food and a place to sleep close enough to the fire not to freeze in winter. You endured sickness without medicine or time to recuperate. You managed to survive, and grow stronger and hardier. As you grew, so did your responsibility, having more and different jobs thrust upon you. Despite years of beatings, endless toil, and near starvation, you have gained mastery over a craft, and become a valuable asset to your enslaver.
The impetus for your escape was sudden and unexpected, and irrevocably set you on the path away from everything you've ever know, towards a strange and unfamiliar world.
You have proficiency with one artisan's tool, Perception, and Insight plus one language you learned from another enslaved being.
- Skill Proficiencies: Perception, Insight
- Tool Proficiencies: One type of artisan’s tools
- Languages: One language of your choice learned from another enslaved being.
- Equipment: A set of artisan’s tools (one of your choice), a sample item of your chosen craft, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp
What circumstances ended your time of enslavement?
| d6 | What ended your enslavement? |
|---|---|
| 1 | The enslaved rose up in revolt - you were implicated as one of the revolt's leaders, and managed to escape, you do not know if the revolt was successful or not. |
| 2 | A rival attacked your captors, you were forced to flee for your own safety - you don't know what became of your captors or the others you were enslaved with. |
| 3 | You and another of the enslaved defender a child from a guard, killing the guard in the process. You were able to free yourself, but do not know what became of the child. |
| 4 | A plague struck your home, killing enslaved and enslavers alike. When the guards started slaughtering the enslaved, you pretender to be dead, were buried, and crawled your way to freedom. |
| 5 | The house of your captors went up in flames and killed the entire family. The ensuing battle between the guards over the spoils left too few watching the enslaved and you escaped. |
| 6 | Enslaved started mysteriously disappearing, vanishing from sight, all hours of the day and night. One day you did too - and found yourself far away without any idea how or why. |
A lifetime under the watch of guards who doled out beatings and worse for any perceived insolence, real or imagined, has made you hyper-vigilant: constantly in a state of heightened awareness for any threat or danger. You've mastered reading people's intent, as a way of avoiding conflict or drawing unwanted attention. As such, you are adept at knowing where danger is coming from, and gain the benifits of the Alert feat:
- You gain a +5 bonus to initiative.
- You can't be surprised while you are conscious.
- Other creatures don’t gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of being unseen by you.
Suggested Characteristics
The Formerly Enslaved lived in harsh conditions considered inadequate for even livestock. They are often driven by a desperate need to keep their newfound freedom which sometimes pushed them to strive for the liberation of others.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I keep scraps of food in my pockets so I'll never be hungry again. |
| 2 | This worlds is all new to me so I ask a lot of questions that people think I should already know. |
| 3 | I am uncomfortable in crowded places, too many potential threats to keep track of. . |
| 4 | I sleep with my back to a wall or tree, ready to defend myself at any moment. |
| 5 | I eat like an animal and need to be better about hygiene in general. |
| 6 | I am unaccustomed to using money, and have no idea what things cost. |
| 7 | I am so used to silently observing people that I will sometimes forget to speak. |
| 8 | I am meticulous about staying clean and refuse to live in filth every again. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Compassion. We must be with those that suffer and offer respite for the weary. (Good) |
| 2 | Community. We have to take care of each other, because no one else is going to do it. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Change. The low are lifted up, and the high and mighty are brought down. Change is the nature of things. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Freedom. I would rather die than live another day enslaved, and no one should live in enslavement. |
| 5 | People. I help the people who help me — that’s what keeps us alive. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Hope. I escaped my life of enslavement, so others can too. |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I need to find out what happened to the others after I left. |
| 2 | I save money to buy freedom for other enslaved when I can. |
| 3 | I owe a benefactor that helped me adjust to a life of freedom, and wish to repay them greatly for their kindness. |
| 4 | I know that I'm being hunter by my former captors, but I don't know why. |
| 5 | I've been accused of the murder of my former captors and am wanted for it. |
| 6 | No one else should have to endure the enslavement I’ve been through. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I do not trust authorities and do not cooperate with their commands. |
| 2 | I see enslavement and forced labor everywhere, whether it's there or not. |
| 3 | Displays of wealth make me sick, and I'll actively seek to inconvenience or even harass those that make them. |
| 4 | I refuse to work for anyone who's background I am unsure of. |
| 5 | Violence and death are fully justified if it means freeing someone from bondage. |
| 6 | I lash out at anyone who attempts to exert influence or control over me and my decisions. |
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