Marked by the Beast was originally published in the Moonshae Isles Regional Guide and is reproduced here with permission from Baldman Games
Your blood has a hint of the beast, the foul master behind the lycanthropes of the Moonshae Isles. In the past your family was touched by one of the Black Blood tribe or another lycanthrope of the Moonshaes. Whether it came from the Black Bloods, or even by a peaceful shapeshifter, you’re fairly sure your infection will never bloom into full lycanthropy. You sometimes, however, feel the burn of rage or the coolness of natural peace. You’ve managed to make your way through this life without killing anyone when in your darker moods, and you have a kinship with the creatures that live in the wild, almost like you understand them and they you. Both the light and the dark dwell within you, and how you’ll handle this pain, this anger, and this connection to the land is up to you, for good or ill.
- Skill Proficiencies: Survival, Nature
- Tool Proficiencies: Any artisan tool
- Languages: Any one of your choice
- Equipment: A journal from one of your parents with details of their association with a lycanthrope, common clothes, a set of artisan tools (one of your choice), the claw of an animal, and a pouch containing 10 gp
Something happened to you that caused you to be marked, be it magical or just the pain of living. Choose or randomly determine a defining event that makes you marked by lycanthropy.
| d6 | Your Pain |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your family was killed by the Black Blood tribe, but you survived. |
| 2 | An ancestor was touched by lycanthropy but was healed, leaving just a trace in your family. |
| 3 | You were attacked by a wolf, and some said it was a werewolf. |
| 4 | As a child you drank the water from a moonwell corrupted by the Black Blood tribe. |
| 5 | Rumor says your grandfather was a werebear that protected the local town. |
| 6 | You were born by the light of the blood moon, and the locals have always thought you cursed. It feels like a blessing to you. |
An unexplained rage bubbles just below the surface of your personality. Animals sense this within you and may react in different ways. Small animals that are typically prey such as rodents, beasts of burden, or other small creatures, fear you or act with hostility. Animals that tend to be predators see you as more of kindred spirit and are docile or, at the DMs discretion, even protective towards you. Exceptions may happen if you enter an alpha creature’s territory as sensing you could cause heightened aggression.
Suggested Characteristics
One marked by the beast is shaped by that experience. The alternating rage and peace one feels can be disorienting, and people may not treat you normally. You might find solace in nature, or you might embrace the rage and let it drive you to greater heights than you could have achieved before.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I wear my rage on my sleeve. |
| 2 | I love wandering the woods and will spend hours in them. |
| 3 | I fumble my words around other people. |
| 4 | Tension always seems to thicken when I enter a room. |
| 5 | I have no use for books or the words within them. They annoy me. |
| 6 | I rise early and make sure any companions rise with me. |
| 7 | A first impression is very important to me, and I’m not apt to change my mind about a person after I’ve met them. |
| 8 | I’m rude to those who are rude to others, even if I don’t know them or the person they’re being rude to. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Aspiration. I wish to be accepted by those around me. (Any) |
| 2 | Freedom. I want to walk the woods of the Moonshae Isles without fear of the darkness within them. (Chaotic) |
| 3 | Self-Knowledge. I want to understand the feelings within myself, where they come from, and how to live with them. (Lawful) |
| 4 | Independence. If I can attain more knowledge, I can throw off this burden. (Any) |
| 5 | Greater Good. I need to stop the Black Bloods for the good of the Moonshae Isles. (Good) |
| 6 | Might. By embracing my situation, I can become stronger. (Neutral) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | It’s my duty to protect the animals of the Moonshae Isles. |
| 2 | An injury to the Moonshae Isles is an injury to me. |
| 3 | The moonwell showed me a coming disaster, and I will do anything to prevent it. |
| 4 | I’ve been searching my whole life for the answer to my inherent rage. |
| 5 | I’ve been corrupted by the Black Bloods. I hope to find a way to cleanse myself someday. |
| 6 | I have a lover who doesn’t know I’m marked by the Beast. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | Once someone questions my courage, I never back down no, matter how dangerous the situation. |
| 2 | Once I start drinking it’s hard to stop. |
| 3 | I let my rage get the better of me way too often. |
| 4 | I take people for granted and am not very empathetic. |
| 5 | When it comes to lycanthropes, especially the Black Bloods, I’m never cautious. |
| 6 | I’m not one for saving those who can’t save themselves. It’s just a way for nature to cull the weak. |
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