You hail from illustrious beginnings and are used to a high level of comfort. However your plutocratic upbringing has not lessened your empathy for those less well-off than yourself. You have made a name for yourself as a philanthropist among the squalid poor. You aim to maximize the pleasure of the entire community, or at least those members you are aware of. You are no stranger to quantifying the pleasure and pain of all persons and making the hard decisions that your lessers aren't capable of. Adventuring and slaughter don't come as naturally to you as most delvers. You are a person who lives in the moment you cant be bothered to consider the future side-effects of your action. You know that pain should be avoided and pleasure should be exalted so you make it a point to increase the pleasure of everything that experiences pain and pleasure.
- Skill Proficiencies: History, Persuasion
- Tool Proficiencies: One type of gaming set
- Languages: One of your choice
- Equipment: A set of fine clothes, a signet ring, a scroll of pedigree, and a purse containing 25 gp
Thanks to your generous nature, people are inclined to think the best of you. You are welcome in high society, and people assume you have the right to be wherever you are. The common folk make every effort to accommodate you and avoid your displeasure, and other people of high birth treat you as a member of the same social sphere. You can secure an audience with a local noble if you need to but you have to try to persuade them to improve the conditions of the peasants and farm animals.
Spell List
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | goodberry, healing word |
Suggested Characteristics
Utilitarians are born and raised to a very different lifestyle than most people ever experience, and their personalities reflect that upbringing. They are educated, experienced pleasure seekers. A utilitarian lifestyle comes with a plethora of bonds—responsibilities to family, to other nobles (including the sovereign), to the people entrusted to the family’s care, or even to pleasure itself. But this responsibility is often a good way to undermine a utilitarian.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | My eloquent flattery makes everyone I talk to feel like the most wonderful and important person in the world. |
| 2 | The common folk love me for my kindness and generosity. |
| 3 | While I come from wealth you may not be able to recognize that from looking at me because I always give my treasure to those less well off than myself. As I result I often look shabby. |
| 4 | I take great pains to always figure out which action will make everyone the happiest. |
| 5 | I never turn down fun and I always try to convince everyone to have the most fun possible. |
| 6 | Despite my noble birth, I do not place myself above other folk. We all have the same blood. |
| 7 | I wont attack other beings unless they attack me first and I don't eat meat or animal products. |
| 8 | I feel guilty if I am experiencing pleasure at the expense of others. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Respect. Respect is due to me because of my position, but all people regardless of station or species deserve to be treated with dignity. |
| 2 | Responsibility. It is my duty to increase the pleasure of those above me and below me, and to let everyone know of the blight of the peasantry and beasts. |
| 3 | Rights denying. I do the most pleasurable thing for the community even when it is not an action that I prefer. |
| 4 | Calculating. I quickly perform the utilitarian calculus before acting. |
| 5 | Family. I see all subjects of the sovereign masters, pain and pleasure, as an extension of my family, I place no weight on familial ties. |
| 6 | Noble Obligation. It is my duty to protect and improve the lot for the people beneath me. |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I will not act if I have not calculated the felicity of my action. |
| 2 | I forgo all luxury, to improve the conditions of the least well-off. |
| 3 | I believe that every pain/pleasure is equal and deserve equal consideration. |
| 4 | I secretly would rather be socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. I give more weight to the higher pleasures. |
| 5 | I experience pleasure at actions others consider painful. Roll a d6 and Gain 5 additional HP when you are dealt damage from 1)Blunt 2) Slashing 3)Piercing 4)Fire 5)Shocking 6)Cold |
| 6 | I do not care what the motivation of the action was if it increases the pleasure of the community I must praise the agent. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | Whenever I am doing an action I must check the hedonistic calculus. DC15 if I fail I lose a turn. |
| 2 | I hide a truly scandalous secret that could ruin my family forever. |
| 3 | I often lie to save peoples hurt feelings but I am not good at it. -2DC on all deception checks. |
| 4 | I have an insatiable desire for carnal pleasures. |
| 5 | I am too worried about my personal biases. When making decisions that affect myself I always choose the benefit of the group over myself. |
| 6 | I know that there are only two absolute pains, death and awkwardness. If I fail a Persuasion/Performance/Deception Check I must flee and If I every drop to 2 HP I must attempt to flee. |
Rule Utilitarians served as vassals to Act utilitarians for most of their lives. While you agree of most of their positions on the multiverse you think that they spend too much time calculating their next step. You are a person of action. and you do not share there penchant for beasts. Moreover they spend too much time in the present you believe a true hero thinks about the future. You gain the ability to demand that the rest of your party including NPC's and hostiles tell you which action they would prefer. You can gain advantage on any rolls that are recommended by an experienced NPC or character. These sources form the rules of your actions.
As an emblem of chivalry and the ideals of courtly love, you might include among your equipment a banner or other token from a noble lord or lady to whom you have given your heart — in a chaste sort of devotion. (This person could be your bond.)
If your character has a Utilitarian background, you may select this background feature instead of Position of Privilege.
You have a +5 on all persuasion rolls that encourage people to prefer the conditions of the broader community, including non-humanoid animals and monsters, if and only if you give all of your wealth except 5gp to feed the poor.
Comments