You are haunted by a terrible burden from your past. After trying to forget it, indulge in a life of crime and start anew, you find yourself standing at a new haunting scene time and time again. This haunting predicament can't be solved with spells or slayed with swords, yet you fight it every day to justify or atone for the past. This haunting comes in many forms, some may come as a shadowy figure, endless nightmares, recurring memories or chilling whispers. You must find a way to overcome this burden before a new haunting is created once more.
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose one skill from among Arcana, Investigation, Religion, or Survival
- Tool Proficiencies: A set of thieves’ tools
- Languages: Choose one additional language
- Equipment: One trinket of special significance (choose one or roll on the Horror Trinkets table after this background), a set of dark common clothes including a hood, and 1 sp.
Prior to becoming an adventurer, your life was filled with misfortunate events, tragedy and timings. You feel a darkness seeping into you every time you hope for a positive outcome, and you fear it will be taken time and again. Choose a series of events that haunts you, or roll one on the Misfortunate Events table.
When someone looks into your eyes, they can see the scars of your past and that you are haunted by misfortune. Though they might fear you, commons will extend every courtesy to you and help you to their best of their ability. Unless you have shown yourself to be a danger to them, they will even take up arms to fight alongside you, should you find yourself facing an enemy alone.
Suggested Characteristics
You have learned to live with you fate of misfortune. You are a survivor who can be very protective of those who are close enough to trust and are fearful of any misfortune that may come onto them.
| 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 kill monsters 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 him (or her). |
| 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. |
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