Entertainer (Revised 2024 Version)

You thrive in front of an audience. You know how to entrance them, entertain them, and even inspire them. Your poetics can stir the hearts of those who hear you, awakening grief or joy, laughter or anger. Your music raises their spirits or captures their sorrow. Your dance steps captivate, your humor cuts to the quick. Whatever techniques you use, your art is your life.

Work with your DM to determine how your character became an entertainer. They might have spent much of their youth following roving fairs and carnivals, performing odd jobs for musicians and acrobats in exchange for lessons. Or they might have been the child of established thespians working in a large city, honing their talents in great academies like an apprentice artisan learning a trade. What skills do they excel at now, and how are they using them? Do they work within the confines of a single building or city, or do they take their show on the road? If they travel, do they travel alone or with a troupe of fellow performers? What kinds of art is your character compelled to create? If they're an actor, for example, do they prefer comic or tragic roles? If they're a musician, do they specialize in lively drinking songs or tender love ballads? How famous and successful are they? If they're a starving artist, what keeps them from giving up on the entertaining life? If they're a success, have they remained humble or developed an overinflated ego? Perhaps most importantly, what does your character believe is the purpose of their art? Do they only aspire to amuse the masses and sing the praises of wealthy patrons? Or do they want to change their world and use their words to speak truth to power?

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Ability Scores: Strength, Dexterity, Charisma
Feat: Choose one feat from the Origin Feat list that you feel is appropriate for your character. Musician is recommended.

Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics and Performance

Tool Proficiencies: A musical instrument or Disguise Kit

Equipment: Choose A or B: (A) Tool of your chosen proficiency, 2 Costumes, Mirror, Perfume, Traveler's Clothes, the favor of an admirer, 11 GP; or (B) 50 GP

Suggested Characteristics

Successful entertainers have to be able to capture and hold an audience’s attention, so they tend to have flamboyant or forceful personalities. They’re inclined toward the romantic and often cling to high-minded ideals about the practice of art and the appreciation of beauty.

d8	Personality Trait
1	I know a story relevant to almost every situation.
2	Whenever I come to a new place, I collect local rumors and spread gossip.
3	I’m a hopeless romantic, always searching for that “special someone.”
4	Nobody stays angry at me or around me for long, since I can defuse any amount of tension.
5	I love a good insult, even one directed at me.
6	I get bitter if I’m not the center of attention.
7	I’ll settle for nothing less than perfection.
8	I change my mood or my mind as quickly as I change key in a song.

d6	Ideal
1	Beauty. When I perform, I make the world better than it was.
2	Tradition. The stories, legends, and songs of the past must never be forgotten, for they teach us who we are.
3	Creativity. The world is in need of new ideas and bold action.
4	Greed. I’m only in it for the money and fame.
5	People. I like seeing the smiles on people’s faces when I perform. That’s all that matters.
6	Honesty. Art should reflect the soul; it should come from within and reveal who we really are.

d6	Bond
1	My instrument is my most treasured possession, and it reminds me of someone I love.
2	Someone stole my precious instrument, and someday I’ll get it back.
3	I want to be famous, whatever it takes.
4	I idolize a hero of the old tales and measure my deeds against that person’s.
5	I will do anything to prove myself superior to my hated rival.
6	I would do anything for the other members of my old troupe.

d6	Flaw
1	I’ll do anything to win fame and renown.
2	I’m a sucker for a pretty face.
3	A scandal prevents me from ever going home again. That kind of trouble seems to follow me around.
4	I once satirized a noble who still wants my head. It was a mistake that I will likely repeat.
5	I have trouble keeping my true feelings hidden. My sharp tongue lands me in trouble.
6	Despite my best efforts, I am unreliable to my friends.

Contacts

Since entertainers tend to be outgoing individuals who strive to connect with others using their art, it's easy for them to acquire contacts wherever they go. Conversely, this profession attracts many self-centered individuals who don't care how many enemies they make in their quest for fame and fortune. Many entertainers in D&D realms work as part of a larger group; your character might belong to an acting troupe, a band of musicians or a team of acrobats, for example. Even if your character works by themselves, they likely count some fellow entertainers among their friends, lovers and/or family members. Patrons are important to the livelihoods of most entertainers, and they can serve as obstacles or as a source of adventure hooks or money-making opportunities. Whether or not an entertainer is successful and well-known, they likely have at least a few fans and admirers. These individuals can serve as allies, but some of them can easily cross the line from friendliness to hostility (especially if they're a little too fond of your character). Consider whether your character's personality makes them more likely to collect friends or enemies. Are they the kind of artist who enjoys being part of a team and sharing the joy of creation with likeminded people? Or do they want the spotlight all to themselves and think they're surrounded by inferior rivals?

d8	Contact
1	You have a deal with a tavern keeper to perform weekly at their establishment in exchange for room and board.
2	You compose poems and songs to a muse whose identity you keep a secret.
3	One of your peers is a classically trained actor who loves dramatic plays, but their acting troupe keeps casting them in comic roles.
4	You know or belong to a family of traveling singers and musicians whose internal dynamics are much more contentious than they appear to be.
5	You learned your combat skills from an older, accomplished stage fighter who was once a soldier.
6	Your friend or sibling is a playwright currently in hiding from powerful authorities that they've criticized in their work. This doesn't stop them from sending out new manuscripts to be performed.
7	One of your friends or enemies is an animal trainer who names each of their animals, treats them like family and leads them in elaborate acrobatic performances.
8	You're acquainted with a famous puppeteer who performs shows using detailed, complex marionettes they constructed themselves.