You were not born—you were created.
You were made, you were flesh infused with a newborn soul. An accident of magic, inexplicable yet alive and awoken into consciousness. An adult body with an innocent mind—but then innocence is fragile, and so easily tarnished in a life with such troubling beginnings.
However you awoke into life, you began as a Flesh Golem, a grim amalgamation of body parts stitched together with some sickening surgery—but where most golems are animated by a stolen spirit from the elemental Plane of Earth, you were instead infused with this soul, new and pure and unknowing of the world. Whether this was a freak accident, a grisly experiment or something else, you have found yourself alive as one of the infamous 'Awakened'.
Life and awareness could have found you in many ways. Perhaps you staggered forth, your first waking sight an eldritch ritual circle, of which you found yourself in the center. Hunched figures towered over you from all sides and their words stirred your will, you served at their command—you were nothing but a tapestry of the fallen, a golem of crudely-knitted flesh; servant and slave—until your conscience and free will manifested, awoken into life. You left your unsuspecting masters in a bloody heap, your sewn hands stained in crimson hues.
You lurched lost and hateful into the world, staring out through unlearned eyes, thirsting desperately for understanding and acceptance. What little shelter you've found might have come at a high cost or arduous, dubious work. Eventually screams seem to inevitably echo in your wake; they see your hideous scars and label you a monster, an abomination, and they drive you off with pitchforks and torches.
Whatever your origin, the world is yours to discover—for better or worse.
You possess all the usual features of the race you were predominantly made from, this includes language—it's possible you instantly understood the languages known by the mind of the body you found yourself in. Otherwise you've had to learn the hard way over time since awakening—from the books you can scavenge, the unlikely tutorship from a sympathetic teacher, or from the vain pleas of your victims. After awakening, you can speak in a potentially raspy or wheezing voice.
Once your consciousness and mind is awoken you begin to need air, food, drink and sleep along with all the other requirements for living that your race has, such as warmth. You lose the features specific to Flesh Golems and you now age at the regular rate of the race your were predominantly created from, from the average age of the parts you were created from.
(No statistical changes apply when choosing this background. You count as a standard living creature and not a construct when applicable.)
- Skill Proficiencies: Perception and either Athletics, Stealth or Survival.
- Languages: One of your choice.
- Equipment: A sack, manacles and a chain or a set of common clothes (including a hood), a blanket, a mess kit, and a pouch containing 10 gp.
Most of the rare few Awakened in the world are the results of strange magic or horrid rituals. Rarer still are the Awakened brought to consciousness and life through other, less insidious means. Regardless of your origin, your first moments will have likely been harrowing and shaped your personality. Choose or randomly determine what strange form of creation lead to your existence.
| d6 | Creation Origin |
|---|---|
| 1 | You were the result of a dark wizard's experiments in soul magic. |
| 2 | An ordinary flesh golem was nearly complete—a bolt of lightning struck its body. You were the result. |
| 3 | You were a mindless guardian of an ancient temple. A passing fey or celestial took pity on you their magic was the spark that gave you life. |
| 4 | You are the result of an arcane toymaker's attempts to replace a close, deceased family member. Possibly with the deceased's own flesh. |
| 5 | You were created by a lonely hermit looking for companionship. |
| 6 | An alchemist tried to save someone by replacing their wounded parts with other's flesh. The life was saved, but the soul was lost—you found yourself an unwilling intruder in this patchwork body. |
As a misfit and outcast to the wider world, your very appearance strikes fear or suspicion into the hearts of most mortals. However, a select few people in the world instead find you a fascinating specimen. Dark wizards, surgeons, alchemists and dubious sages are among those intrigued by your very existence; you can almost always find and gain an audience with some of these types, and gain small favors in exchange for letting them study you—at your peril.
Suggested Characteristics
You are hated and feared by the common folk of nearly every mortal, birthed race—your short life has been harsh and difficult, your every day precarious. Most Awakened try to find purpose in their wretched existence.
Your bond is almost certainly related to your earliest days of life.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have come to enjoy the terror my appearance evokes. |
| 2 | I am still uncertain as to what kind of person I wish to be, often testing new personas and accents. |
| 3 | I do not understand humor—but that doesn't stop me from trying. |
| 4 | I'm haunted by vague memories of a time before I awoke. They are the memories of when I was a golem or the people whose flesh I was carved from. |
| 5 | My curiosity knows no bounds—I have a child-like fascination with even simple things I come across and notice. Every sensation is a new experience. |
| 6 | I mimic the opinions of those around me when I have yet to form any of my own on a subject. |
| 7 | I am nervous and fearful, flinching at the sight of my own shadow. The world has made me this way. |
| 8 | I find the concept of money strange, and spend it frivolously whenever people will trade with me. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Freedom. I was a slave and puppet until my free will manifested. I will never be controlled again. (Chaotic) |
| 2 | Vengeance. They think me a monster? Then let me be monstrous; they will pay for the contempt and disgust I've been shown. (Evil) |
| 3 | Aspiration. They think I am a monster, it's up to me to prove I'm not. (Any) |
| 4 | Respect. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly, I know that more than most. (Good) |
| 5 | Might. My creator(s) held absolute power over me. Now free, I must hold power over others or else become a slave again. (Evil) |
| 6 | Purpose. The concepts of right and wrong mean little to me, I just want to find my place in this world. (Neutral) |
| d8 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I lashed out and killed my creator(s)—I am burdened by guilt and believe I deserve every hardship I suffer. |
| 2 | A magical amulet of exists that was created alongside me, that can still control me. I must find and destroy it. |
| 3 | I am in love with someone—the thought that they will never return such feelings is a daily torment. |
| 4 | I owe my life to a kindly farmer who took me in shortly after my awakening. |
| 5 | Although my creator is dead, I still feel a strange connection to where they created me. |
| 6 | I carry a small trinket with me wherever I go. It was the first thing I ever truly owned and I would rather die than part with it. |
| 7 | I am a stranger in the skin of other people who came before me. I dread that I might meet anyone who knew those people in life. |
| 8 | I am fascinated by a particular town, and wish more than anything that I might one day be accepted among them. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | A secret part of me I deny still yearns for the simplicity of being controlled, even from a destructive source. |
| 2 | Despite the contempt I am often shown, I am still far too trusting to the point of child-like naivety. |
| 3 | I struggle to understand social etiquette and the cultural norms of the world I find myself in. |
| 4 | I do not know my own strength—this often leads me to accidentally breaking things or hurting people. |
| 5 | I believe I am superior to regular, birthed folk. |
| 6 | I am always angry and irritable, even among those who show kindness and kinship. |