There are many who are essentially blind to what is going on around them. You are not one of them. The alleys and streets of the city hide little from your gaze, and depending on how you employ your trade, authority may love you, or hate you.
Observant and able to connect the dots where others might not, your ability to piece together information is formidable in its own right. Maybe you honed these skills working for the City Watch. Perhaps you employed your skills working for the gangs, scouting out good safehouses or safe routes through the city. Maybe you're just an independent party with a knack for connecting the dots. Your work can make you one of the most dangerous adventurers alive... or one of the most useful.
Whatever the case, you are concerned with the mysteries of the world. Whether those mysteries affect your own life, or are simply around you, is a part of history.
- Skill Proficiencies: Any two from the following: Perception, Investigation or Insight
- Tool Proficiencies: You are proficient with Thieves' Tools
- Languages: One language of your choice, generally the common language of the city you work in.
You can usually find at least one person, often an old friend or a random civilian, within a populated area you reside in willing to provide information about a place, a person, or an organization. These people will give you vague but accurate details about the target, but generally are not able to inform you of anything specific.
Suggested Characteristics
How has your curious lifestyle changed you? Do you look for every lie that a person tells you? Do you glance around a room to look for it’s secrets whenever you can? Are you telling people about contradictions in their speech while sipping a martini?
How have your ideals changed with constant travel and secret-delving? Do you no longer value promises as much, if they inhibit the search for the truth? Do you value the truth more than your well-being? More than the well-being of someone else?
Investigator work brings a lot of clients. Do you care about any of them? How about any of the criminals that you’ve caught? Do you feel any empathy for the people that you put behind bars? How about for any of the authority figures that may have helped you out? Or even the ones that have the gall to step in your way?
What has your history of searching and seeking done to your mind? Do you have a nervous tick whenever someone directly addresses you? Have you developed a drug habit to cope with the constant pressure put on you by your clients? Do you never fully build a trusting relationship because anyone could be stabbing you in the back?
| d7 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I can pour over every single detail at an investigation for hours without pause. |
| 2 | I appear stoic on the outside, even if I internally feel otherwise. |
| 3 | I'm no stranger to criminals and working with them to get what I need to know. |
| 4 | I absentmindedly doodle or write in my notebook when questioning someone, or whenever I have time. |
| 5 | I sometimes resort to intimidation, whether by force or by threat, to gain answers. |
| 6 | I'm a very avid reader, and often read mystery novels to keep my wits sharp. |
| 7 | I have a habit of creating a personality profile of everyone I meet, especially those who are close to me. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fairness. All perspectives should be considered when making an argument. (Neutral) |
| 2 | Creativity. The path to the truth takes many shapes. Sometimes it pays to pave a new path. (Chaotic) |
| 3 | Greed. I manipulate my clients to earn a way better payout. After all, only I can provide them what they need, at a premium. (Evil) |
| 4 | Justice. Many are those who would seek to evade discovery and punishment for their crimes. (Lawful) |
| 5 | Accountability. The means by which I acquire answers and knowledge must be as pristine as the truth I seek. (Lawful) |
| 6 | Service. Many who seek answers don't have the means to find them on their own. I have the skills to help. (Good) |
| d4 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have an assistant whom I am close with. I send letters to them occasionally. |
| 2 | I have a keepsake from a particularly memorable or close-to-the-heart investigation. Nobody knows its worth but me. |
| 3 | I have a few regular contacts who have become close friends over the years. |
| 4 | I have an old safehouse in the city I grew up in where I did a lot of my work. The walls are probably still covered with little notes. |
| d7 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I let my personal biases affect how I judge people. |
| 2 | It is very difficult for me to fully trust someone, not when I've been blatantly lied to so many times. |
| 3 | I fear I may too closely follow something to the point it becomes a detriment to me. |
| 4 | I may fail to see an obviously important detail, instead paying attention to more minute details. |
| 5 | Sometimes, the truth is much scarier than not knowing. I'm afraid that may ring true eventually. |
| 6 | I can be so aloof to the point it hurts others. |
| 7 | Sometimes I ask too many questions, and sometimes those questions drift away from the matter at hand. |
You work for unseen masters, or are in the employ of an organization who maintains a respectable distance from you and your work. Maybe you're one of a number of such agents, or maybe you're the only one your masters trust to get the job done right. Regardless, all of your time, resources and efforts are expected to be put towards the completion of a particular task. Convene with your DM about what this mission may be, its scope, and its objectives as they relate to the overall campaign.
Are you seeking a person? A place? A thing? Or are you, perhaps, just seeking an answer? Is this mission public knowledge? Is it private and privileged information?
Your masters or employers remain unseen, trusting that you can handle your task with little to no input. However, you are not without ways of keeping in touch with them discreetly, and they are not unwilling to help. In different places, at different times, in specific small spaces you may find a dead drop - a small cache of useful items or information, as decided by your DM. Depending on the nature of your work, your masters may require you to keep in contact and report back to them regularly with these dead drops.
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