At a young age, you were exceptionally skilled with magic, so much so that teachers of all varieties were always seeking you as a pupil. Some for the purpose of training you to better learn the craft, and others for their own needs. Around your ninth or tenth birthday, you had an uncontrolled magic outburst and your parents decided it would be for the best that you should train. They reviewed the information provided by past teachers that sought you out and eventually decided on one.
Since leaving to train, you rarely, if ever saw your family and have been raised in the educational surroundings. Unfortunately, the person they decided on lied about their intention and taught you how to harness your gifts for their own personal gain. One day, after a year or two of training, while the instructor was out on a supply run you went exploring through their lab and found a secret room that worshiped a foul entity of sorts. While searching through the room, the entity took notice of you and the not fully tamed power within. It beckoned you to approach and to touch the dagger sitting on the table, promising whatever you desired. From the moment the dagger was picked up, the pact was sealed and you can feel a tethered connection between you and your new patron.
- Skill Proficiencies: From your magical talents, you understand the way Arcana works within the world, and through study, you are able to choose between either History or Religion.
- Tool Proficiencies: Choose two gained from your time spent as a student.
- Languages: Two of your choice, one provided through the study of languages and given one from your tether with your patron.
- Equipment: A grimoire with the symbol of your patron, and a gold pouch.
Somewhere on your body is a marking that signifies your pact. This mark can be a literal brand of burned flesh or a more elegant and detailed tattoo.
To those educated in the arcane, it is recognized as the mark of an evil patron. However, to everyone, the mark gives off an uneasy feeling when seen, so you may tend to hide it in polite company. This mark also allows the bearer to choose the accompanying feat: "Branded Boon" starting at level 4. Must be added to homebrew collection to use!
If you spend one minute concentrating, you are able to contact your god, and ask it for a favor. If it agrees to the favor, the god may set a requirement before or after the favor is set. You are also able to take back the favor or negotiate the requirements.
While the favor is owed the god essentially owns you, and they are to do anything in their power to you from body control to interplanar travel. You are able to accrue "debt" to the god, but this is not advised as each favor usually becomes harder to pay.
Suggested Characteristics
As a student of magic, your personality may be largely defined by your training. You have spent most of your life surrounded by magic, and in the presence of more experienced magic users, not all of whom had your best interests in mind. Magic could be central to your life, whether it be merely a means to another goal, or that mastering magic is the goal itself.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I tend to talk about magic as if everyone understands it and cannot comprehend the ignorance of those who do not. |
| 2 | I consider my Master to have been a font of wisdom and have a quote from him for almost every situation. |
| 3 | My Master taught me the value of secrets, I keep them very well and have a few of my own. |
| 4 | I am constantly seeking a way to either strengthen or lessen the bond that ties me to my patron. |
| 5 | I am usually researching lore about my Patron. |
| 6 | When exposed to some new piece of magic, I can’t help but try to figure out what it does and how it works. |
| 7 | I hate being linked to my patron and feel disgusted whenever the connection is felt. |
| 8 | I have no intention of honoring the pact made with my patron and will use the magic I’ve been given, without honoring any deal, damn the consequences. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Magic For Magic’s Sake: I seek to study and improve Magic, simply for the betterment of Magic (Neutral) |
| 2 | Greater Good: Magic should be used to protect and improve the lives of the common people (Good) |
| 3 | Power: Through my Patron, I will conquer and gain victory (Evil) |
| 4 | Tradition: I will uphold the pact made with my Patron, even if I don’t agree. A deal’s a deal. (Lawful) |
| 5 | Independence: I have cast off the shackles of both, my Master and my Patron and will seek my own path (Chaotic) |
| 6 | Spirit: I will make my family proud and one day see them again (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I often think of the family I left behind when I became an apprentice, I would like to find them someday. |
| 2 | I had a romantic relationship with someone I met while being trained, I still love them. |
| 3 | I am utterly loyal to my Patron, everything else comes second. |
| 4 | I am hunting for the one who is responsible for allowing my Patron to enter this realm. |
| 5 | I see my Patron as my rival and seek to pass them in power. |
| 6 | I idolize a historical magic user, and measure my accomplishments against theirs. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | People who are superstitious about Magic are idiots, and not worth my time. |
| 2 | I look down on anyone who was not properly trained in the Magic they wield. |
| 3 | If my Patron calls me, I’ll abandon what I’m doing to listen and obey. |
| 4 | I can get so distracted by the mystery and wonder of magic, that I can forget I’m supposed to be focusing on the task at hand. |
| 5 | I killed my Master on the orders of my Patron, so now I am wanted by the authorities in the location that I studied. |
| 6 | I believe that the world would be better off if Magic-users ran everything. |
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