You spend your entire life imprisoned by monsters and have only just escaped. You might have been enslaved by a tribe of orcs or been kept as a pet by a mighty dragon. When creating a character with this background, you need to ask yourself: How did you escape? Did you fight your way out? Run off in the middle of the night? Or did they let you go willingly? If so, why? Whatever way, you are now free. Stranded in a world that you have never seen much off before, you must get used to new customs, laws and people. You have to find your place in the world and
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from Arcana, Investigation, Religion, Sleight of Hand, Animal Handling, Perception; Deception and Survival.
- Tool Proficiencies: Choose one from Cook's Utensils, Leatherworker's Tools, Weaver's Tools, Herbalism Kit, Vehicles (Land) and Dragonchess Set
- Languages: Choose two, one of which is exotic. (Abyssal, Celestial, Deep Speech, Draconic, Infernal, Primordial, Sylvan, or Undercommon)
- Equipment: A Diplomat's pack, one trinket of special significance (choose one or roll on the Gothic Trinkets table after this background). Also gain a set of set of common clothes and 1 sp.
Prior to becoming an adventurer, your path in life was defined by being imprisoned and kept locked up for a long time. Now that you've escaped, you fear that they may find you - to do things with you, you don't want to imagine. In the part of your life you left behind, you did (or were forced to do) things that haunt you to this day. Choose a Harrowing Event, or roll from the table below.
| d10 | Horror |
|---|---|
| 1 | A monster made you slaughtered dozens of innocent people and you don’t know why you obeyed. |
| 2 | You were held captive by a great dragon. You can still feel it watching you, coldly and distantly. Sometimes it beckons you in the dead of night. |
| 3 | The creatures who held you captive, forced you to murder your child after you had birthed them. You see the blood everytime you close your eyes. |
| 4 | Your maesters have a history of practicing the dark arts. You dabbled once and felt something horrible clutch at your soul, whereupon you fled in terror. |
| 5 | The creatures stole your brother, before you were their prisoner. Your parents exchanged you for him. Now you want to find them, whether to ask why or to take your revenge. |
| 6 | You fought your way to freedom along with someone else. He died so that you could make it out. |
| 7 | A hag kidnapped and raised you. You escaped, but the hag still has a magical hold over you and fills your mind with evil thoughts. |
| 8 | When you were with the monster, you saw things unfit for a sane mind. You left them behind, but those words and images are burned into your psyche. |
| 9 | You were kept and groomed to become evil, but escaped before they could succeed. What you did back then still terrifies you. |
| 10 | You did terrible things to free yourself. You became a monster, and it haunts your waking dreams. |
You are well versed in the normal and abnormal society and standards of your Captors race. You have advantage on Intelligence checks referring to your captors race, species, society, and even possible plans they might have.
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 don’t run from evil. Evil runs from me. |
| 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 that tomorrow I might die or be in bondage again. |
| 4 | I live for the thrill of the hunt. It makes me feel fully free. |
| 5 | I don’t talk about my past, even though it haunts me day and night. I’d rather not burden others with my curse. |
| 6 | I expect danger around every corner. |
| 7 | I refuse to be enslaved and i will not allow others to suffer the same fate. |
| 8 | I put no trust in divine beings. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | I try to help those in need and free those in bondage, no matter what the personal cost. (Good) |
| 2 | I’ll put an end to every slave-master. (Any) |
| 3 | I kill monsters to make the world a safer place, and to make sure no one will be kept locked up by them ever again. (Good) |
| 4 | The realm never did anything for me, so I have no obligation to obey it's laws. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | I like to know my enemy’s capabilities and weaknesses before rushing into battle. (Lawful) |
| 6 | I’m a monster that destroys other monsters, and anything else that gets in my way. (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 or free the chained. |
| 3 | My freedom came at the cost of someone elses. I will do anything to find and free them. |
| 4 | A terrible guilt consumes me. 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 | I have a half monster child. I must make sure they don't get in my way and to keep them safe. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have certain rituals that I must follow every day. I can never break them. |
| 2 | I assume the worst in people. |
| 3 | I feel no compassion for the dead. They’re the lucky ones. |
| 4 | I have an addiction. |
| 5 | I am a purveyor of doom and gloom who lives in a world without hope. |
| 6 | I talk aloud to people in my mind. They are the aftermath of the little company I had as a child. |
The only reason you survived your life in bondage is that you always know the proper way to escape a difficult situation. That ability stayed with you - whenever you're in an area you can spend a certain amount of time (1 Action for a room/ a smaller area or 1 minute for a larger space) to identify all possible exits and emergency routes. This feature only lets you identify these ways, it does not necessarily help you escape.
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