You relentlessly seek the truth of the endless Universe, you have spent years if not decades flipping through tomes of the greatest and darkest corners of the libraries. Untold knowledge at your very fingertips. Sick of research it is time for field work bringing light too the shadows of dark rituals, strange cults and terrifying Outer Gods.
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from among Insight, Investigation, or Arcana
- Tool Proficiencies: Disguise kit, thieves’ tools
- Equipment: A magnifying glass, evidence from a past case (choose one or roll for a trinket from the Horror Trinkets table after this background), a set of common clothes, and 10 gp
Stumbled Into Darkness
What caused you to get into this line of work? When you were young did you escape from a cult as sacrifice or were you apart of it? Did you hear legends of beings that had incomprehensible motives or did you witness some dark horrific act in play. These are the reasons you study and search the world for lost artifacts and books of forbidden knowledge.
| d8 | Stumbled Into Darkness |
|---|---|
| 1 | A friend was wrongfully accused of murder. You tracked down the actual killer, turned out to be a cult and you proved your friend’s innocence and starting your career as a detective. |
| 2 | You’re told you went missing for weeks. When you were found, you had no memory of being gone. Now you search to discover what happened to you. |
| 3 | You helped a spirit find peace by finding its missing corpse. Ever since, other spectral clients have sought you out to help them find rest. |
| 4 | You revealed that the monsters terrorizing your home were illusions created by a cruel mage. The magic-user escaped, but you’ve continued to uncover magical hoaxes. |
| 5 | You were wrongfully accused and convicted of a crime. You managed to escape and seek to help others avoid the experience you suffered, even while still being pursued by the law. |
| 6 | You survived the destructive use of a magic device that wiped out your home. Members of a secret organization found you. You now work with them, tracking down dangerous supernatural phenomena and preventing them from doing harm. |
| 7 | You found evidence of a conspiracy underpinning society. You tried to expose this mysterious cabal, but no one believed you. You’re still trying to prove what you know is true. |
| 8 | You got a job with an agency that investigates crimes that local law enforcement can’t solve. You often wonder which you value more, the truth or your pay. |
Feature: Known and Unknown Investigator
You’re experienced at gaining access to people and places to get the information you need. Law enforcement knows about you whether they misunderstand you or ask for your help is part of the reputation you hold. Luckily most commoners just think your another inquisitive mind coming to pick their brains for information.
Spell List
Occult Knowledge: The Occult Historian has had enough studies into the Eldritch arts that they have picked up a handful of spells.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| Cantrip | friends, message |
| 1st | arms of hadar |
| 4th | arcane eye |
| 5th | modify memory |
Suggested Characteristics
Characters in a horror-focused campaign might have distinct motivations and characteristics. Use the following tables to supplement your background’s suggested characteristics or to inspire those of your own design.
| d12 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I had an encounter that I believe gives me a special affinity with a supernatural creature or event. |
| 2 | A signature piece of clothing or distinct weapon serves as an emblem of who I am. |
| 3 | I never accept that I’m out of my depth. |
| 4 | I must know the answer to every secret. No door remains unopened in my presence. |
| 5 | I let people underestimate me, revealing my full competency only to those close to me. |
| 6 | I compulsively seek to collect trophies of my travels and victories. |
| 7 | It doesn’t matter if the whole world’s against me. I’ll always do what I think is right. |
| 8 | I have morbid interests and a macabre aesthetic. |
| 9 | I have a personal ritual, mantra, or relaxation method I use to deal with stress. |
| 10 | Nothing is more important than life, and I never leave anyone in danger. |
| 11 | I’m quick to jump to extreme solutions. Why risk a lesser option not working? |
| 12 | I’m easily startled, but I’m not a coward. |
| d12 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Adrenaline. I’ve experienced such strangeness that now I feel alive only in extreme situations. |
| 2 | Balance. I strive to counter the deeds of someone for whom I feel responsible. |
| 3 | Bound. I’ve wronged someone and must work their will to avoid their curse. |
| 4 | Escape. I believe there is something beyond the world I know, and I need to find it. |
| 5 | Legacy. I must do something great so that I’m remembered, and my time is running out. |
| 6 | Misdirection. I work vigorously to keep others from realizing my flaws or misdeeds. |
| 7 | Obsession. I’ve lived this way for so long that I can’t imagine another way. |
| 8 | Obligation. I owe it to my people, faith, family, or teacher to continue a vaunted legacy. |
| 9 | Promise. My life is no longer my own. I must fulfill the dream of someone who’s gone. |
| 10 | Revelation. I need to know what lies beyond the mysteries of death, the world, or the Mists. |
| 11 | Sanctuary. I know the forces at work in the world and strive to create islands apart from them. |
| 12 | Truth. I care about the truth above all else, even if it doesn’t benefit anyone. |
| d12 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I desperately need to get back to someone or someplace, but I lost them in the Mists. |
| 2 | Everything I do is in the service of a powerful master, one I must keep a secret from everyone. |
| 3 | I owe much to my vanished mentor. I seek to continue their work even as I search to find them. |
| 4 | I’ve seen great darkness, and I’m committed to being a light against it—the light of all lights. |
| 5 | Someone I love has become a monster, murderer, or other threat. It’s up to me to redeem them. |
| 6 | The world has been convinced of a terrible lie. It’s up to me to reveal the truth. |
| 7 | I deeply miss someone and am quick to adopt people who remind me of them. |
| 8 | A great evil dwells within me. I will fight against it and the world’s other evils for as long as I can. |
| 9 | I’m desperately seeking a cure to an affliction or a curse, either for someone close to me for myself. |
| 10 | Spirits are drawn to me. I do all I can to help them find peace. |
| 11 | I use my cunning mind to solve mysteries and find justice for those who’ve been wronged. |
| 12 | I lost someone I care about, but I still see them in guilty visions, recurring dreams, or as a spirit. |
| d12 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I believe doom follows me and that anyone who gets close to me will face a tragic end. |
| 2 | I’m convinced something is after me, appearing in mirrors, dreams, and places where no one could. |
| 3 | I’m especially superstitious and live life seeking to avoid bad luck, wicked spirits, or the Mists. |
| 4 | I’ve done unspeakable evil and will do anything to prevent others from finding out. |
| 5 | I am exceptionally credulous and believe any story or legend immediately. |
| 6 | I’m a skeptic and don’t believe in the power of rituals, religion, superstition, or spirits. |
| 7 | I know my future is written and that anything I do will lead to a prophesied end. |
| 8 | I need to find the best in everyone and everything, even when that means denying obvious malice. |
| 9 | I’ve seen the evil of a type of place—like forests, cities, or graveyards—and resist going there. |
| 10 | I’m exceptionally cautious, planning laboriously and devising countless contingencies. |
| 11 | I have a reputation for defeating a great evil, but that’s a lie and the wicked force knows. |
| 12 | I know the ends always justify the means and am quick to make sacrifices to attain my goals. |
Contacts
Every Occult Historian has at least one contact that has stuck with you or that you have given them proof of the underground occult. You tend to keep them either close too your heart or pocket.
| d6 | Contact |
|---|---|
| 1 | A person within law enforcement that has seen your irrefutable proof, and will always try to help you even if superiors will try to keep information from you. |
| 2 | A commoner that looks up too you, and will aid you any way they can. |
| 3 | A Grand Librarian or Arch Mage that allows you access too tomes of dead civilizations and the wing that does not officially exist. |
| 4 | An archeologist that will help you decipher exotic text but it may take some time |
| 5 | A local leader who will fund your adventures for saving his or her children from a cult sacrifice. |
| 6 | A local Cult leader who will help give you information on fellow cults to get rid of the competition. |
Previous Versions
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5/27/2022 5:05:23 AM
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