Something terrible happened to you, but rather than die fighting a doomed battle, you fled. While your enemies assumed your cowardice, you sailed to the astral plane under the guise of religious zealotry. In truth, you were only biding your time. There, unageing, you toiled and seethed, honing your skills for a fated rematch against those who wronged you. It's been so long, you're not sure what the world is like any more.

Often appearing normal to their companions, characters with the avenger background lie in wait, their patience a knife's edge, for the perfect moment to strike. They are living revenants, and see themselves as little more than tools in the divine exaction of justice, though they hide it well.

Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Intimidation

Languages: From your time spent in the Astral plane, you are proficient in Gith and Celestial

Equipment: A trinket from your life before you chose to pursue vengeance; a costume befitting the persona you have assumed; a pouch containing 10 gp

Suggested Characteristics

An avenger plays their persona — the hero or extraordinary person they pretend to be on a daily basis — but it's all a facade just waiting to crack with any hairline fracture. To define a persona, feel free to choose characteristics from other backgrounds. The person behind the persona may be cruel, robotic, or even compassionate; what's important above all is that they are trying to achieve vengeance, whatever that may mean to them. Consider the differences between justice, revenge, and vengeance, and craft your character's true personality around them. Those with this background have two sets of characteristics, one for their persona, and one for the avenger underneath.

d8	Personality Trait
1	I’m gregarious and overly-friendly to mask my true intentions.
2	I strive to have no personality — it’s easier to forget what’s hardly there.
3	I lie outrageously and unbelievably or otherwise make myself look stupid so that people underestimate me.
4	I sleep only as much as I need to, and have frequent nightmares.
5	I plot my life with clinical precision and frequently zone out; people typically believe I'm day-dreaming.
6	I cultivate a single, obscure hobby or study, and eagerly discuss it at length as a form of misdirection; really, it's a hyperfixation to keep me sane.
7	I observes others, learning how to blend in — when to stay quiet, when to laugh.
8	I am the extreme opposite of whatever persona I have assumed.

d6	Ideal
1	Compassion. I can't stand to see others go through what I have and will protect them at all costs. (Good)
2	Justice. It's really not a matter of vengeance to me; I'm simply an instrument of the law. (Lawful)
3	False Sense of Security. Deception is a weapon. I strike from the last place my enemies would expect. (Chaotic)
4	Deterrence Theory. My name will be a malediction, a curse that will send my enemies running with but a whisper. (Evil)
5	Symbol. I may not be the hero people want, but I will be the hero that they need. (Any)
6	Anonymity. It’s my deeds that should be remembered, not their instrument. (Any)

d6	Bond
1	I treasure a memento of the person or instance that set me upon my path.
2	What I do, I do for the world. The people don’t realize how much they need me.
3	I’ve seen too many in need. I must not fail them as everyone else has.
4	I stand in opposition, lest the wicked go unopposed.
5	I am exceptional. I do this because no one else can, and no one can stop me.
6	I do everything for those who were taken from me.

d6	Flaw
1	Death terrifies me. I refuse to die until I've realized my vengeance.
2	I hold eye contact unflinchingly and often inappropriately.
3	I have no sense of humor. I'm so used to solitude that I take everything seriously and have forgotten how to laugh.
4	There is no rest for the wicked; I overexert myself, sometimes needing to recuperate for a day or more.
5	I think far ahead, a detachedness often mistaken for daydreaming.
6	I see morality entirely in black and white.