You are an archaeologist with a twist. The carvings on the walls and the bodies of the long dead may interest scholars of antiquity, but your interests lie in the valuables they were interred with. Perhaps you took to the craft out of desperation, a need to feed your family. Or, it may have been the thrill of adventure that called to you, urging you to set foot in the deep and hidden places of the world, where no mortal has walked for centuries or more. You are a tomb robber: a reclaimer of ancient wealth and evader of deadly traps.
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from Athletics, Investigation, Perception & Stealth.
- Tool Proficiencies: Thieves' Tools
- Equipment: A backpack containing a hammer, a crowbar, a tinderbox, 5 days of rations, and a waterskin, with 50 ft. of hempen rope strapped to the side of it. A hooded lantern, one flask of oil and a shovel, or ten torches, 5 pitons and 50 ft. of hempen rope. A set of common clothes including a hood, and a mundane treasure or trinket valued at 10 gp or less which was taken from a tomb or grave.
Years of raiding necropolises and dungeons has gifted you with an uncanny ability to sense the presence of concealed doors, traps, and hidden treasures. You have advantage on checks to discern the presence of such structures, as well as on Intelligence (Investigation) checks to determine how to open or activate such devices. While this can assist you in deducing how a trap functions, it does not help you identify how a trap can be safely deactivated. Each time you use this feature, there is an accumulative 10% chance that you will make an inaccurate and possibly fatal assumption. This chance resets when you complete a long rest.
Suggested Characteristics
Tomb Robbers are the flip side to archaeologists, using many of the same skills. Professional raiders are as much experts in research as their respectable counterparts. But while scholars hunt for artefacts in the hope of piecing together the history of lost civilisations, tomb robbers care more for the value of the trinkets they find. Some tomb robbers scavenge from graves or target mausoleums. Others will spend weeks pawing through old records, searching for unplundered tombs and learning their traps, considering the increased risk well worth the potential for greater hoards of treasure. Whether it’s the thrill of the adventure or a lifestyle necessary for survival, all tomb robbers know one thing. The dead have no need for their gold.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I am cautious and calculated. I’ll spend months to research a site just to be sure I know every trap and hidden exit. |
| 2 | I might be a thief, but that doesn't mean I don't respect the dead. However, the dead can’t spend their gold. I can. |
| 3 | I do what I do for the thrill. It helps me to feel alive. |
| 4 | Every situation should be looked at objectively, unclouded by sentimentality or emotion. |
| 5 | I love puzzles and mysteries. |
| 6 | I love creepy-crawlies, and I’m never without my pet spider, Arabella. |
| 7 | I always let others go first. Let them find the traps I failed to notice. |
| 8 | A body is just a shell. It has no importance beyond the treasure it’s buried with. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Adventure. Life is about taking risks. I never feel more alive than when I’m one step from death. (Chaotic) |
| 2 | Desecration. If it’s shiny and valuable, it’s mine, even if I have to pick apart your corpse to claim it. (Evil) |
| 3 | Survival. I’ll do whatever it takes to survive. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Renown. I want my name to be known. Fame is the only way to truly defeat death. (Any) |
| 5 | Discovery. Not only gold has value. Knowledge is worth more than any trinket. (Any) |
| 6 | Waste Not. Hoarded wealth is wasted. I reclaim what’s lost so it can be useful again. (Good) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | There are people who rely on me to provide for them. |
| 2 | It’s not stealing. It’s reclaiming. Wealth should be spent, not hoarded. |
| 3 | I am searching for a particular artefact. One day, I’ll find the tomb it’s hidden in, and it will be mine. |
| 4 | Someone I cared about went missing on a tomb raid. I’ve been searching for answers ever since. |
| 5 | I will be the greatest treasure hunter that ever lived. |
| 6 | I used to have a partner. My mistake cost them their life. I won’t make that mistake again. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have impulse control issues, and have a tendency to leap before I look. |
| 2 | I love devising plans, but as soon as the action starts, I’ll forget it. |
| 3 | Once I learn of a treasure hoard, it’s all I can think about. |
| 4 | Don’t make me choose between you or the treasure. You won’t like my choice. |
| 5 | I have a mental list of most people I know, ranked in order of how much wealth I think they’ll be buried with. |
| 6 | I will loot bodies before the fight is over. Occasionally, while they’re still breathing. |
While other tomb robbers specialise in dungeon delving, evading traps and seeking the riches from the long interred, you take a more practical approach. Why risk your life breaking into trap-laden tunnels when you can easily spend a quiet evening digging up a fresh grave or two. You may not find the grand treasure hoards of past kings, but your also less likely to disturb a lich, trigger a cave in, or be lost in an endless maze of dark tunnels.
You are well accustomed to being up close and personal with the dead. You automatically pass Wisdom saving throws to avoid being frightened by undead creatures. Unfortunately, there’s something about you that unsettles most people. Whether it’s the faint odour of the grave, the calculated expression in your eyes, or the cold inflection of your voice. As a result, you have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks when interacting with common folk.
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