Note: This background can only be taken by members of the shifter race.
You are a shifter from a community that shunned so-called "civilization" and embraced the beast within, known as the Pack (or Herd, Flock, or any other collective noun). Your upbringing kept you isolated from other races, always assured that the Pack was all you needed, and it's possible that you never encountered any non-shifters until you left for a life of adventure. Whatever your reason for leaving, you may find the bonds of the Pack tough to bend or break.
- Skill Proficiencies: Survival and your choice from: Arcana, Nature, and Animal Handling
- Tool Proficiencies: Herbalism kit and your choice of one set of artisan's tools
- Equipment: A set of common clothes, a fur cloak, a spear, and a totem of your pack's patron animal
To these shifters, the Pack is everything -- so why aren't you with them? Did you leave of your own volition, or were you forced out of the only life you've ever known? Choose an event that severed you from your pack, or roll on the table below.
| d6 | Severing Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | My pack was slaughtered. I am the only surviving member. |
| 2 | I left after a fight with the leader of my pack. |
| 3 | An important relic was stolen from my people, and I left on a mission to retrieve it. |
| 4 | I was banished for a crime or other transgression. |
| 5 | My pack is in danger, and I left to see if the outside world has any solutions. |
| 6 | I grew tired of my isolated existence. I wanted to see what life was like outside the Pack. |
Because you are so in tune with your inner beast, you are skilled at living off the land. You can find food and fresh water for yourself and up to five other people each day, provided that the land offers berries, small game, water, and so forth. Additionally, wild individuals of your pack's totem animal regard you as one of their own, unless they are being controlled (such as by an animal friendship spell).
Suggested Characteristics
Like most shifters, the personalities of those who run with the Pack are influenced by their bestial ancestry. However, because of their isolation from other races, these traits can be more pronounced.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | Nothing can distract me when I'm on the hunt. |
| 2 | I automatically defer to the largest/strongest/oldest person in the room. |
| 3 | I'm frequently baffled by things everyone else finds commonplace. |
| 4 | Just because I want to fight you, doesn't mean I don't like you. |
| 5 | I can't investigate something without sniffing it. |
| 6 | I bare my teeth and/or growl to show displeasure. |
| 7 | I'm not bothered at all by nudity, and I can't understand why anybody would be. |
| 8 | Once I claim a space as mine, you better stay out. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Loyalty. If I call you friend, it's for life. (Any) |
| 2 | Tradition. My people's way of life must be maintained. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Exploration. I want to know everything about the outside world. (Neutral) |
| 4 | Nature. I won't keep my inner beast locked away for anyone's sake. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | Respect. Non-Pack still deserve to be treated well. (Good) |
| 6 | Domination. This will all be Pack land. (Evil) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I'd rather die than expose my pack's secrets. |
| 2 | I cannot return to the Pack until I've completed my mission. Failure is not an option. |
| 3 | I would do anything for my pack, even if they wouldn't like my methods. |
| 4 | I will someday take my revenge on the ones who banished me. |
| 5 | I have a family back with the Pack. I hope to see them again. |
| 6 | The Pack isn't everything -- I need to be my own person first. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I'm always too rough, so I'm constantly breaking things. |
| 2 | I am utterly convinced of my pack's superiority, and resist all attempts to introduce me to new things. |
| 3 | People find my manners to be anywhere from "bad" to "deeply offensive". |
| 4 | I like to indulge in greater society's pleasures... maybe a bit too much. (Or a lot too much.) |
| 5 | I have issues with personal space. |
| 6 | My idea of personal hygiene is lacking for most people's tastes. |
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