You don't know what it is like to make a decision for yourself. All you know is that ever since you were young someone seemed to either literally, or metaphorically, be holding your leash. You've learned the languages of your Keepers and the skills they demanded. Maybe you were sold off at an early age or perhaps you were a treasure of conflict. Whatever the reason, you are accustomed to being controlled and now that you have somehow found your freedom, you find yourself seeking guidance from those around you.
You are good at doing what you are told to do and you are even better at not weighing the morality of the order. This doesn't mean you are a bad person but you have been conditioned to forgo your sense of right or wrong and do what is expected of you. However, this does not mean that your actions do not weigh on your soul.
Nightmares haunt you regularly as you find it difficult to openly grieve for what you may have done and perhaps with luck, one day someone who shares your ideals will find you. For now you will serve, travel, and do the bidding of your Keepers until you find your own morality, voice or purpose.
- Skill Proficiencies: You have learned the skills required by your previous Keepers.
- Languages: You have learned the languages required by your previous Keepers.
- Equipment: A set of artisan’s tools (one of your choice), a shovel, an iron pot, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp
You previously pursued a simple profession among the peasantry, perhaps as a farmer, miner, servant, shepherd, woodcutter, or gravedigger. But something happened that set you on a different path and marked you for greater things. Choose or randomly determine a defining event that marked you as a hero of the people.
| d10 | Defining Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | You do not remember life before servitude. Sold, traded or born into it, you can't remember a life before which sometimes reflects in how you handle social interations. |
| 2 | You were born under a dark star. You can feel it watching you, coldly and distantly. Sometimes it beckons you in the dead of night. |
| 3 | An apparition that has haunted your family for generations now haunts you. You don’t know what it wants, and it won’t leave you alone. |
| 4 | Your family has a history of practicing the dark arts. You dabbled once and felt something horrible clutch at your soul, whereupon you fled in terror. |
| 5 | An oni took your sibling one cold, dark night, and you were unable to stop it. |
| 6 | You were cursed with lycanthropy and later cured. You are now haunted by the innocents you slaughtered. |
| 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 | You opened an eldritch tome and saw things unfit for a sane mind. You burned the book, but its words and images are burned into your psyche. |
| 9 | A fiend possessed you as a child. You were locked away but escaped. The fiend is still inside you, but now you try to keep it locked away. |
| 10 | You did terrible things to avenge the murder of someone you loved. You became a monster, and it haunts your waking dreams. |
Since you come from the ranks of the common folk, you fit in among them with ease. You can find a place to hide, rest, or recuperate among other commoners, unless you have shown yourself to be a danger to them. They will shield you from the law or anyone else searching for you, though they will not risk their lives for you.
Suggested Characteristics
A folk hero is one of the common people, for better or for worse. Most folk heroes look on their humble origins as a virtue, not a shortcoming, and their home communities remain very important to them.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I am quick to listen to someone I respect or fear, even if it means ignoring my inner voice. |
| 2 | Even though my past was rough, I often was able to find the silver lining of the darkest clouds. |
| 3 | I find it difficult to relax around people I percieve to be in charge. |
| 4 | It is second nature for me to lookout for and protect those around. My safety and well being is placed second to that of those around me. |
| 5 | I don’t talk about the thing that torments me. I’d rather not burden others with my past. |
| 6 | I expect pain around every corner. |
| 7 | I refuse to become a victim, and I will not allow others to be victimized. |
| 8 | Despite my trust in my keeper, I always give myself to the task I am assigned. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | I try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good) |
| 2 | I’ll bury the memories of my past and learn to live my life or die trying. (Any) |
| 3 | I live and kill to ensure that others will not have to suffer like I have. (Good) |
| 4 | I have come to the conclusion that position and money mean nothing as any of it can be taken in an instant. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | I have learned that there are always rules, spoken or assumed, and that following them is usually the prefered path. (Lawful) |
| 6 | I have seen and lived true monster and know that they do whatever they want to accomplish their goals. I have learned that what works for monsters can also work against monsters. (Evil) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I will not let my past define me and will continue to better myself and my life. |
| 2 | I would sacrifice my life and my soul to to ensure that no one has to suffer. |
| 3 | My past has broken my ability to form meaningful connections and relationships. I long to be able to fix this. |
| 4 | A terrible guilt consumes me. I hope that I can find redemption through my actions. |
| 5 | Anger and hate live in me and I constantly work to never let it out. |
| 6 | I have something I want to protect and do anything to keep it safe. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have certain habits that I must follow every day. I can never break them. |
| 2 | I don't trust people easily even though I may serve them entirley. |
| 3 | Kindness and friendship are alien terms to me and often leave me uncomfortable. |
| 4 | I have picked up unhealthy or undesirable coping mechanisims. |
| 5 | I am a purveyor of doom and gloom who lives in a world without hope. |
| 6 | I talk to spirits that no one else can see. |
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