Bastard Image

You have spent your life as a half-child, receiving the love of one parent but the resentment of another. You seek belonging, but that sense of loneliness has created a drive and discipline that is rare among others your age. Although less likely to form friendships, those few bonds that you do have are strong and uneasily broken. You have also learned to blend in (as much as is possible), to stay out of the eye of those who might mock you. You're also adept at entertaining yourself and spending long periods in solitude.

 
Skill Proficiencies: Deception or Intimidation, Insight or Stealth.

As a bastard, you have had to learn to either lie or force your will upon others in order to avoid frequent beatings and harassment. You are adept at bending the truth to your purposes, or frightening those who might stand against you.

You have also become adept at either reading people–in order to understand who might wish you ill–or hiding, and avoiding insult or injury. Keeping to yourself has made you an observer of people, whether that be to garner people's real motivations or to simply avoid them altogether.

Tool Proficiencies: Forgery kit or Disguise Kit
Languages: One of your choice
Equipment: A worn leather satchel stuffed with notes and musings (possibly artistic) from your hours of solitude, a memento from your natural parent, a set of common clothes, a forgery kit, and 9 gp
 
Feature: Unknown Heritage

You carry in your body and heart the blood of an unknown parent, with abilities, beliefs, and passions with which you are unfamiliar. At least one aspect of this unknown parent will likely affect your life in an unexpected way, either in an important moment or through constant small interactions with the world around you. You might have an ability, a latent talent, a predisposition to a certain skill, or even a power that is atypical for your profession or class. This remnant of your unknown parent may manifest when you least expect it, in surprising ways.

Work with your DM to determine the details of your heritage, how that heritage might manifest itself in known as well as unexpected ways, and its impact on the campaign.

 
Suggested Characteristics

Some bastards spend their lives trying to fit in and win the approval of their adopted parent or family. Others live lives marked by bitterness as they hate those who do not accept them. Still others live lives of honor and respect, spending their waking moments trying to prove their worth to those who would write them off as the refuse of society.

d8 Personality Trait
1 I’ve been isolated for so long that I rarely speak, preferring gestures and the occasional grunt.
2 I am utterly emotionless, even in the face of disaster.
3 The leader of my religious sect had something wise to say on every topic, and I am eager to share that wisdom.
4 I feel tremendous empathy for all who suffer.
5 I’m oblivious to etiquette and social expectations.
6 I connect everything that happens to me to a grand, cosmic plan.
7 I often get lost in my own thoughts and contemplation, becoming oblivious to my surroundings.
8 I am sullen and difficult to draw into conversation unless inebriated or otherwise pulled out of my normal senses.
d6 Ideal
1 Greater Good. My birth, although ignoble, was meant to serve some greater cause. (Good)
2 Logic. Emotions must not cloud our sense of what is right and true, and there is a reason for everything. (Lawful)
3 Chaotic Causality. Things are random, and life is only what you make of it. (Chaotic)
4 Revenge. Wrongs must be set right, at any cost. (Evil)
5 Live and Let Live. Meddling in the affairs of others only causes trouble. (Neutral)
6 Self-Knowledge. If you know yourself, there’s nothing left to know. (Any)
d6 Bond
1 Nothing is more important than the other members of my religious sect, order, or association.
2 I entered seclusion to hide from the horrors of my past and an unknown parent. I must someday find and confront that parent.
3 I’m still seeking the enlightenment I pursued in my seclusion, and it still eludes me.
4 I loved someone that I was forbidden to enter into a relationship with because of my illegitimate birth.
5 Should the discovery of my true heritage come to light, it could bring great pain and chaos to the world.
6 My social isolation and self-inspection gave me great insight into a great wrong that only I can right.
d6 Flaw
1 I am prone to drink or other substances that allow me to forget my birth status.
2 I harbor dark, bloodthirsty thoughts of revenge or bitterness that my isolation and meditation failed to quell.
3 I am dogmatic in my thoughts and philosophy.
4 I let my need to win arguments overshadow friendships and harmony.
5 I’d risk too much to uncover a lost bit of knowledge.
6 I like keeping secrets and won’t share them with anyone.
 
Bastard Image