You have spent your life in service of preparing, interring and protecting the dead. You tend to the dead, preparing corpses in a manner in keeping with your craft and preferred by the family of the deceased. The handling of the dead is taboo in many societies, so the mortician's role is to do what others would not- many find themselves shunned by common folk. Though morticians may be ridiculed and ignored by most, they are a necessary part of their communities.
- Ability Scores: Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom
- Feat: Choose between Skilled, Keen Mind, Healer or Poisoner
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from among Perception, Investigation, Sleight of Hand Religion, or Medicine
- Tool Proficiencies: Disguise Kit
Choose between Herbalism Kit and Poisoner's Kit.
- Equipment: Choose A or B: (A) Candle, Component Pouch, Disguise Kit, Fine Clothes, Holy Symbol, Perfume, Surgeon's Tools, Traveler's Clothes 15 GP; or (B) 50 GP
Choose A or B: (A) Herbalism Kit or (B) Poisoner's Kit
Different morticians have different specialties, and different ways of approaching their clients. While all morticians have some knowledge of medicine, embalming, funeral rites and event hosting, different regions put greater emphasis on different aspects of their funeral process.
| d8 | Service Specialisation |
|---|---|
| 1 | Funeral Planners & Directors (Specializes in planning and co-ordinating burial services, cremations and celebrations) |
| 2 | Embalmers (Specializes in making bodies appear lifelike) |
| 3 | Acolytes (Specialize in religious ceremonies and assistance for the dead) |
| 4 | Adventurers (Specializes in body retrieval) |
| 5 | Coroners (Specializes in dissection & determination of cause of death) |
| 6 | Counselours (Specializes in helping loved ones move on) |
| 7 | Necromancers (Specializes in dealing with undead) |
| 8 | Cremators (Specializes in cremation and operating crematoriums) |
You are familiar with the religious rites, funerary services, and corpse treatments of most societies. Your experience often results in you having unquestioned access to unsavory places, such as crime scenes and morgues, and your presence in a cemetery or graveyard, or a church or temple attached to such, will not be questioned, so long as your actions or behavior are respectful. In some cases, your medical and anatomical expertise may be called upon to determine the cause and time of death. You gain more information about criminal activities and access to criminal organizations due to your discretion and the nature of your work. You also gain Advantage on rolls against being Frightened by Liches, Ghouls and the Undead.
Suggested Characteristics
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I am attuned to people's suffering, and can spot it from a mile away. |
| 2 | I am seen as spiritual and withdrawn -- often making vague comments about the fleeting nature of existence. |
| 3 | I have a morbid sense of humour and a macabre aesthetic. |
| 4 | People are put off by me, and as a result I am defensive when it comes to meeting new people. |
| 5 | Some people are delicate flowers, concerned with soiling their finery. I'm used to rolling up my sleeves and getting my hands dirty. |
| 6 | I often forget that I too can die, and often put myself in dangerous situations because of it. |
| 7 | I am extremely anxious about death, being around it at all times, and I am constantly thinking about how everyone and everything could kill me. |
| 8 | I respect life and death. Both are beautiful in their own way. |
| d8 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Community. How we treat our dead is indicative of how we treat the living, and it is an important ritual that strengthens our bonds with each other. |
| 2 | Generosity. Everyone deserves a proper burial, no matter their status in life, and I will give it to them. |
| 3 | Relativity. There is no one right way of being, and there is no singularly true divine law. Death is as arbitrary as life. |
| 4 | People. Every person I bury has a story, and something to teach. Learn from them. |
| 5 | Aspiration. I'll put aside any stench, horror or danger to better my understanding of my field. |
| 6 | Religion. It is important to care for the soul in the afterlife. It is my duty to help souls along. To resist death, or to impede a soul's journey to the beyond, is a gross violation of nature. |
| 7 | There is good money in this business, and it is one that others shy away from. Death is inevitable, so the living might as well earn a profit. |
| 8 | Education. I want people to be educated about the process so they fear death less. |
| d8 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | The workshop where I learned my trade is the most important place in the world to me. |
| 2 | Someone dear to me died without resolution, and I was never able to say goodbye. I do not want this to happen to anyone else. |
| 3 | I had a near-death experience and it shaped me into who I am today. |
| 4 | I have always been morbidly fascinated by the process of death and dying, in ways my community rejected and refused to understand. |
| 5 | My community was there for me during the deepest losses of my life. I now aim to return the favour for them. |
| 6 | When my mentor's health declined, they bequeathed me something with a cryptic message attached. They still won't reveal any clues, insisting I must wait until they are dead to figure it out. |
| 7 | I've already dug my own grave back home. I hope to enter it later than sooner. |
| 8 | Spirits are drawn to me. I do all I can to help them find peace. |
| d8 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I can be callous & insensitive when dealing with death, and consider it a transactional affair. |
| 2 | I'm not used to communicating with the living, and therefore can be overly blunt, graphic, and insensitive or drive people away with my dark sense of humour. |
| 3 | I can seem detached from the real world. |
| 4 | I will go out of my way to help someone get a proper burial, often to my own detriment. |
| 5 | The ways I've seen people die have made me superstitious about the strangest things and hellbent on avoiding death at all costs. |
| 6 | I'm haunted by the time I saw a person I buried dig themselves out of their grave. |
| 7 | I spend too much time tinkering in necromancy, and no longer respect the natural order of life and death. |
| 8 | I would steal from the dead and kill to increase business if that's what it took. |
As an mortician, you've become familiar with humanoid anatomy. People who are aware of your talents tend to be wary of you. Despite this, work is rarely scarce. Higher end families are more than willing to pay top dollar to make sure their family is taken care of, even after death. Should a murder victim turn up, the crown might be persuaded to give you a few coins for your help in attempting to identify the body. Additionally, other morticians might be willing to give you a free room in return for your help with the embalming progress. You also gain Advantage on rolls against being Frightened by Liches, Ghouls and the Undead.
OR
You have a connection with those who are in mourning. Those family & friends, or others who have had a loved one pass, or even those who have found a body, will feel comfortable in your presence. They can sense you understand what they are going through. You can talk people in this situation regardless of if they are homeless or nobles. These people will all act as though you are a friend unless you have acted against them and they know it. You also gain Advantage on rolls against being Frightened by Liches, Ghouls and the Undead.
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