Perhaps you are a failed lich, the victim of a horrible negative energy accident, or even cursed with twisted immortality by a powerful fae. Whatever the reason, you cannot die (not easily, at least), but neither can you live! Every time your soul begins to leave your body it is inevitably thrust back into it (it's quite unpleasant).
As an accidental undead, your body rests in a state of perpetual deterioration or starvation and you are most likely horribly disfigured. Radiant energy burns you, you count as undead in addition to your original creature type, and your body is quite fragile.
But of course, you're also practically immortal.
Author's Note: This background is quite powerful in some ways, but I've tried to make it relatively mechanically balanced. You could also take this as a feat, rather than a background, should it be thrust upon you during a campaign.
- Skill Proficiencies: You gain no proficiencies from this background; why would you?
- Tool Proficiencies: You gain no proficiencies from this background; why would you?
- Languages: You gain no proficiencies from this background; why would you?
- Equipment: A memento of your first death, a scrap of writing hinting at the origin of your undying curse (or its prevention, if known), and traveler's clothes.
Feel free to come up with your own curse origins.
| d6 | Curse Origin |
|---|---|
| 1 | Failed Lich Ascension |
| 2 | Fae Curse |
| 3 | Divine Curse |
| 4 | Necromancy Gone Wrong |
| 5 | Soul Bound to Cursed Object |
| 6 | Magically Bound to an Unfulfilled Promise |
Your undying curse includes a number of unfortunate symptoms:
- You are vulnerable to radiant damage.
- Your hit point maximum is perpetually halved. This does not apply to apply to increases in max HP from spells and other effects. Healing is not reduced.
- You only make one death saving throw instead of three.
- You are horribly disfigured; the specifics of your disfigurement are up to you.
- You gain two more minor miscellaneous curse symptoms; the specifics are up to you. For example, you may have lost your sense of smell, your right eye may keep popping out of your head, or you may be wracked by nightmares.
You gain two major benefits, however:
- Undead Nature: You need to eat, drink, and breath five times less than the average person, and you age twice as slowly. You count as an undead for the purposes of spells and abilities, in addition to your other types.
- Undying: Whenever you die, you may return to life at 1 hp after 1 minute. While dead, you may expend your highest-level spell slot to instead return at the end of your next turn. You may use another expendable class feature instead, if your DM allows it.
If your body is completely destroyed (such as by being immersed in lava, digested or disintegrated), you instead return to life at the next dawn within one mile of your death (flip a coin with your DM; whoever wins chooses the location). You may gain the benefits of a long rest (provided enough time has passed), but you still return with 1 hit point. You may still expend a spell slot (or other resource) to speed up the process, but you instead return to life after an hour.
If you are overkilled (reach your negative maximum hit points) by radiant damage, you are permanently obliterated.
Spell List
You may cast Feign Death on yourself at will. You remain conscious throughout, and may end the spell at will.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|
Suggested Characteristics
Most people who have died many times will develop some neuroses or tics; you may fidget with a loose body part morbidly, despise tombstones or graveyards, or speak jealously of the dead.
Comments