You are not of this Plane, you grew up in a land of death, you always called the Shadowfell your home. Death does not phase you, you welcome it as a natural part of existence for every living creature. You were raised by your mother, one of the few to have looked upon the Duskmaven without her mask, a privilege her followers rarely had. While she always had an air of mystery to her, she was loving towards you and took care in raising you, having seen the fate of deities who spurned their children before.
Unlike some deities of death, your mother, while stern, always had a kindness to her. She was a guide to the souls of the recently deceased, she offered them protection to the afterlife, regardless of the deities whose land of the dead their final destination was. She never required it, but would frequently make requests for memories or tokens from the soul who she was guiding's life.
As the goddess of death, as well as fate and winter, and being associated with twilight, inevitability, and the passage of time in the mortal plane your mother is not always understood, but she has never minded and has tried to teach you not to mind as well, as those who matter and are true devotees will not fear her or misunderstand her ways and teachings.
You've found yourself in the material plane, be it you wanted to explore, your mother had a task or quest for you, or some other reason you are here. It is up to you if you want to parade your parentage around and bring on the risks that may come with it, or if you wish to hide the identity of your mother in order to walk among the mortals quietly. Of course as the child of a goddess you naturally have some otherworldly aspects to you, and perceptive intelligent creatures may be able to connect those aspects to having a divine parent.
***DISCLAIMER*** This is a background I created for a character in a campaign I'm running, in my campaign my portrayal of The Raven Queen is inspired both by her lore in The Forgotten Realms, as well as she is inspired by her appearance in Critical Role. Please feel free to use this if it works for a character in your campaign! I can see this working for a Wildemount or Tal'dorei campaign, of course in that case feel free to omit the references to her lore in the forgotten realms.
- Skill Proficiencies: Due to your parentage, you have an intimate knowledge of death, dying, the afterlife, and all the deities that surround it. Choose proficiency in one of the following: Medicine, Religion, or history.
- Languages: Living in a realm of the dead allows you plenty of beings to interact with and learn from, especially as an immortal soul. Pick two languages you've learned in your time in your mothers realm.
- Equipment: You gain a holy symbol (Signifying your connection to your mother), Vestments (those typically worn by high priests/priestesses of your mother), a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 20 gp.
Being the child of the goddess of fate, you occasionally gain insight surrounding the fates and what is to come should no one change their current plans of actions. Occasionally you receive glimpses into the threads of fate, providing you insights or warnings related to impending danger or important decisions.
At the DM's discretion, you may occasionally have visions of the future you are currently heading towards provided to you from your mother. Sometimes these visions contain imminent danger to you or your companions, or perhaps visions of what may happen regarding important decisions you or your companions will have to make in the near future. Alternatively if you're feeling lost you may try to commune with your mother and ask for insight or guidance, at the DM's discretion you either receive the insight you request or your pleas do not reach your mother, alternatively roll a d100 and on a roll equal or lesser than your level you receive a glimpse at the threads of fate, on any roll higher than your current level either your pleas do not reach your mothers ears or she has no insight to offer you.
Suggested Characteristics
As the child of a very unique goddess you have level of uniqueness surrounding yourself, perhaps you've inherited some of her quirks, or perhaps you have a fierce desire to spread the truth about your mother. Chances are you also have intimate knowledge of the teachings and tenets devotee's of your mother follow and frequently find yourself correcting mistranslations or versions of these teachings and tenets altered by mortals. Feel free to select or roll to decide which of the following Characteristics your character has.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I frequently correct those who teach incorrect versions of my mothers teachings, I don't care why they're preaching something false but I will not allow them to fool anyone. |
| 2 | I almost always remain calm and collected in any situation, very few things encountered in the mortal world phase me after spending centuries with my mother in her realm. |
| 3 | I often speak in riddles and come off as very enigmatic, and I'm frequently told I confuse people. |
| 4 | I often seem to have a far off look, as though I'm listening to someone who isn't there or looking at someone who isn't there. |
| 5 | I treat everyone the same, upon meeting someone for the first time I treat them with basic kindness. Whether they retain that kindness and earn my respect, or lose it all together is up to the choices they make. |
| 6 | I speak quite frankly of death and mortality. Evidently, some people find this disturbing. |
| 7 | I frequently try to offer guidance and assistance to those who ask for it, and those who seem to need it. |
| 8 | I often give warnings and advise in the form of fables and parables, these tend to have pragmatic advise or warnings we need to make sure we heed. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fairness. No one is better than the other innately, its our choices and how we treat others that set us apart from one another. (Lawful) |
| 2 | Fate. While there are certain inevitabilities to life, everyone has the chance to take charge and change their fate. Nothing is certain, apart from death and taxes. (Chaotic) |
| 3 | Dignity. Not all creatures deserve respect, but all deserve dignity, regardless of the level of respect they deserve. (Neutral) |
| 4 | Destiny. Everyone has something racing towards them, this is their destiny, some great, some small. All needing to be accepted. (Any) |
| 5 | People. No one person is the same, and all can be worth knowing. I want to find the ones who are worthwhile and help them by any means necessary(Neutral) |
| 6 | Greater Good. I am here to free and guide trapped souls to their final resting place, in order to achieve these goals I must destroy those that threaten the safe passage of the souls of the deceased. (Good) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | My mother sent me on a quest to the plane of Mortals, I will do everything in my power to complete it and make her proud. |
| 2 | My mother is the only parent I've known, I know little about my father and would love to learn more. The most I've gotten out of my mother is that he was an adventurer/devotee who caught her attention. |
| 3 | I hate how misunderstood my mother can be and will fight anyone who speaks ill of her. |
| 4 | Life and Death go hand in hand, I would like to help teach people not to be afraid of death or their own mortality. |
| 5 | I am very proud of who my mother is and always wear her symbol or other iconography associated with her. |
| 6 | I am quite fond of Raven's, and I can always tell which ones report back to my mother. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | The identity of my parentage is something you'll have to pry from me, I won't give up that information easily though I am willing to tell you almost anything else. |
| 2 | I'm Naïve about mortals and how their world actually works, my experience with them is more limited than I realized. |
| 3 | I didn't grow up regularly partaking in common indulgences of the world, and now I have a certain weakness for them. |
| 4 | I would always bombard new souls with questions, now I do that with new people I meet. |
| 5 | I can be a little too honest and blunt, I don't mean to cause harm but I see no reason to beat around the bush. |
| 6 | Like my mother, I hate undead and am determined to bring them to their proper, final rest. |