"I was not always like this. Once, I walked beneath the sun without thought. I breathed, I hungered, I dreamed as men do. But that life is a distant memory, an echo drowned beneath the weight of the abyss."
"The Godstone changed me. It did not strike like a bolt of divine judgment, nor did it burn with the fire of revelation. No. It seeped into me, slow as dusk swallowing the horizon, patient as the tide eroding the shore. A whisper at the edge of my thoughts. A shadow lengthening where none should fall. At first, I mistook it for power. For a gift. But gifts do not watch you back."
"I have looked into the heart of darkness, and the shadows that lurk there… they were me. I know this now. The transformation is not sudden, nor is it kind. It is the slow unraveling of what was, the careful stitching together of something else. Something other."
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from among Arcana, Intimidation, Religion, Stealthor Survival
- Languages: Choose two, one of which must be Abyssal, Celestial, Deep Speech, Draconic, Infernal, Primordial, Sylvan, or Undercommon
- Equipment: A monster hunter’s pack (containing a chest, a crowbar, a hammer, three wooden stakes, a holy symbol, a flask of holy water, a set of manacles, a steel mirror, a flask of oil, a tinderbox, and 3 torches), one trinket of special significance (choose one or roll on the Horror Trinkets table after this background), a set of common clothes, and 1 sp.
"I was not always like this. Once, I walked beneath the sun without thought. I breathed, I hungered, I dreamed as men do. But that life is a distant memory, an echo drowned beneath the weight of the abyss."
"The Godstone changed me. It did not strike like a bolt of divine judgment, nor did it burn with the fire of revelation. No. It seeped into me, slow as dusk swallowing the horizon, patient as the tide eroding the shore. A whisper at the edge of my thoughts. A shadow lengthening where none should fall. At first, I mistook it for power. For a gift. But gifts do not watch you back."
"I have looked into the heart of darkness, and the shadows that lurk there… they were me. I know this now. The transformation is not sudden, nor is it kind. It is the slow unraveling of what was, the careful stitching together of something else. Something other."
| d10 | Harrowing Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | A monster that slaughtered dozens of innocent people spared your life, and you don’t know why. |
| 2 | You were born under a dark star. You can feel it watching you, coldly and distantly. Sometimes it beckons you in the dead of night. |
| 3 | An apparition that has haunted your family for generations now haunts you. You don’t know what it wants, and it won’t leave you alone. |
| 4 | Your family has a history of practicing the dark arts. You dabbled once and felt something horrible clutch at your soul, whereupon you fled in terror. |
| 5 | An oni took your sibling one cold, dark night, and you were unable to stop it. |
| 6 | You were cursed with lycanthropy and later cured. You are now haunted by the innocents you slaughtered. |
| 7 | A hag kidnapped and raised you. You escaped, but the hag still has a magical hold over you and fills your mind with evil thoughts. |
| 8 | You opened an eldritch tome and saw things unfit for a sane mind. You burned the book, but its words and images are burned into your psyche. |
| 9 | A fiend possessed you as a child. You were locked away but escaped. The fiend is still inside you, but now you try to keep it locked away. |
| 10 | You did terrible things to avenge the murder of someone you loved. You became a monster, and it haunts your waking dreams. |
You are an anomaly, a shadow given form where none should exist. The world struggles to perceive you, as if you were never meant to walk among the living. This dissonance grants you unsettling advantages—but also distances you from reality itself.
🔹 Unseen Between Realities. Your existence is difficult to categorize. Spells or abilities that detect undead, fiends, or living creatures struggle to place you—registering your presence as an indistinct blur, neither fully here nor fully absent.
🔹 Touch of the Forgotten. Small, non-magical light sources (candles, lanterns, torches) flicker and struggle in your presence. If you concentrate, you can snuff out a single mundane flame within 30 feet, as if the darkness itself responds to you.
Suggested Characteristics
You have learned to live with the terror that haunts you. You are a survivor, who can be very protective of those who bring light into your darkened life.
| 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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