You have a way with plants and animals and a fascination with anatomy. You spend most of your time at the edge of a settlement and are considered eccentric at best by its residents. Working with the physiology of living creatures comes naturally to you, though your knowledge is not always understood or welcomed by others; you have learned to either flaunt and overstate your skills or hide them, depending on your audience.
How did you come by your knowledge? Are you truly a natural, self-taught, or did you have a mentor? You are not necessarily a spellcaster, though it is likely you have picked up a few minor magic tricks over the years. The source of your proficiency likely also informs your reasons for remaining isolated; were you taught by a fey creature in the wild? Did you learn at the feet of a village healer or midwife? Did you study with a druid, only to find you lacked the rigor necessary to follow in their footsteps? Perhaps you were the assistant to a necromancer, required to learn the ins and outs of anatomy, or perhaps you were needed as a field medic in a military operation.
- Skill Proficiencies: Medicine, Performance
- Tool Proficiencies: Herbalism kit
- Languages: One of your choice
- Equipment: A set of common clothes, an herbalism kit, and 15 gp.
As an herbalist, healer, and sometime instructor, you cannot help but be well-known to your neighboring settlement – possibly even to several nearby settlements. While you may not be fully trusted, you are definitely respected, and even those who devote their lives to greater magicks than you possess will often seek you out for advice on esoteric topics they lack the time or inclination to study. You get along as well with animals as people – possibly better – and generally have little to fear from even the wildest of creatures.
As long as you are conscious, a beast, fey, monstrosity, or plant that can see you will never behave in a hostile manner toward you unless you or one of your companions attack it.
Suggested Characteristics
Some hedge mages are well suited to a life of seclusion, whereas others chafe against it and long for company. Whether they embrace solitude or long to escape it, the solitary life shapes their attitudes and ideals. A few are driven slightly mad by their years apart from society.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I’ve been isolated for so long that I rarely speak, preferring gestures and the occasional grunt. |
| 2 | I am utterly serene, even in the face of disaster. |
| 3 | The leader of my community had something wise to say on every topic, and I am eager to share that wisdom. |
| 4 | I feel tremendous empathy for all who suffer. |
| 5 | I’m oblivious to etiquette and social expectations. |
| 6 | I connect everything that happens to me to a grand, cosmic plan. |
| 7 | I often get lost in my own thoughts and contemplation, becoming oblivious to my surroundings. |
| 8 | I am working on a grand philosophical theory and love sharing my ideas. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Greater Good. My gifts are meant to be shared with all, not used for my own benefit. (Good) |
| 2 | Logic. Emotions must not cloud our sense of what is right and true, or our logical thinking. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Free Thinking. Inquiry and curiosity are the pillars of progress. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Power. Solitude and contemplation are paths toward mystical or magical power. (Evil) |
| 5 | Live and Let Live. Meddling in the affairs of others only causes trouble. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Self-Knowledge. If you know yourself, there’s nothing left to know. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | Nothing is more important than the other members of my hermitage, order, or association. |
| 2 | I entered seclusion to hide from the ones who might still be hunting me. I must someday confront them. |
| 3 | I’m still seeking the enlightenment I pursued in my seclusion, and it still eludes me. |
| 4 | I entered seclusion because I loved someone I could not have. |
| 5 | Should my discovery come to light, it could bring ruin to the world. |
| 6 | My isolation gave me great insight into a great evil that only I can destroy. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | Now that I’ve returned to the world, I enjoy its delights a little too much. |
| 2 | I harbor dark, bloodthirsty thoughts that my isolation and meditation failed to quell. |
| 3 | I am dogmatic in my thoughts and philosophy. |
| 4 | I let my need to win arguments overshadow friendships and harmony. |
| 5 | I’d risk too much to uncover a lost bit of knowledge. |
| 6 | I like keeping secrets and won’t share them with anyone. |
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