You have the ability to communicate with the dead. You have tried to ignore their pleas for help, to no avail. Whether the spirits are there to aid you or hinder you depends on the nature of the ghost you are communing with. It might ask you to locate a lost object, seek revenge on their killer, deliver a message to a loved one, or complete an unfinished task interrupted by their death. The burden of these errands has taken its toll, isolating you from most people and making you neglect your own needs. You must find a balance between the two worlds before you become lost in-between.
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from among Arcana, Investigation, Perception, or Religion
- Languages: Choose two, one of which must be Abyssal, Celestial, Deep Speech, Draconic, Infernal, Primordial, Sylvan, or Undercommon
- Equipment: A monster hunter’s pack (containing a chest, a crowbar, a hammer, three wooden stakes, a holy symbol, a flask of holy water, a set of manacles, a steel mirror, a flask of oil, a tinderbox, and 3 torches), one trinket of special significance (choose one or roll on the Horror Trinkets table after this background), a set of common clothes, and 1 sp.
Prior to becoming an adventurer, your path in life was defined by one moment, one fateful decision, or one tragedy. Now you have the ability to communicate with the spirits from beyond the grave. Choose an awakening event that unlocked your senses or roll one on the Awakening Events table.
| d10 | Awakening Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | A ghost that murdered dozens of innocent people spared your life, and you don’t know why. |
| 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 | A jiāngshī took your sibling one cold, dark night, and you were unable to stop it. |
| 6 | You were possessed by a spirit 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 wraith attacked your family as a child. You survived, but the scars to your soul still tug you toward the afterlife. |
| 10 | Your shadow was separated from you and hunts you relentlessly. |
After a fateful experience, you believe you're aligned with spirits and can serve as a conduit for their insights and goals. You have advantage on any Arcana or Religion check you make to remember or research information about spirits and the afterlife. Additionally, you begin your adventuring career with a custom-made device for communing with otherworldly forces, perhaps a spirit board, a tarokka deck, an automatic writing planchette, dowsing rods, a cup for tea leaves, or a device of your own design. Add your proficiency bonus to any ability check you make using this type of divining tool.
Suggested Characteristics
You have learned to live with the voices and visions that surround you. Others think you aloof and can be very judgmental to your isolated way of living.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I don’t run from evil. Evil runs from me. |
| 2 | I like to read and memorize poetry. It keeps me calm and brings me fleeting moments of happiness. |
| 3 | I spend money freely and live life to the fullest, knowing that tomorrow I might die. |
| 4 | I live for the thrill of the hunt. |
| 5 | I don’t talk about the thing that torments me. I’d rather not burden others with my curse. |
| 6 | I expect danger around every corner. |
| 7 | I refuse to become a victim, and I will not allow others to be victimized. |
| 8 | I put no trust in divine beings. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | I try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good) |
| 2 | I’ll stop the spirits that haunt me or die trying. (Any) |
| 3 | I put spirits to rest to make the world a safer place, and to exorcise my own demons. (Good) |
| 4 | I have a dark calling that puts me above the law. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | I like to know my enemy’s capabilities and weaknesses before rushing into battle. (Lawful) |
| 6 | I’m a monster that destroys other monsters, and anything else that gets in my way. (Evil) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I keep my thoughts and discoveries in a journal. My journal is my legacy. |
| 2 | I would sacrifice my life and my soul to protect the innocent. |
| 3 | My torment drove away the person I love. I strive to win back the love I’ve lost. |
| 4 | A terrible guilt consumes me. I hope that I can find redemption through my actions. |
| 5 | There’s evil in me, I can feel it. It must never be set free. |
| 6 | I have a child to protect. I must make the world a safer place for them. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have certain rituals that I must follow every day. I can never break them. |
| 2 | I assume the worst in people. |
| 3 | I feel no compassion for the dead. They’re the lucky ones. |
| 4 | I have an addiction. |
| 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. |
Previous Versions
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Posted Jun 7, 2023This is the final version! All typos and proficiencies fixed!
This background is an adaptation of the Haunted One background from Curse of Strahd and uses the Spirit Medium feature from Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft!