You once lived your life herding livestock and tending the land on a ranch or similar enterprise. Days were spent driving cattle (or other livestock) across the open range and nights were spent huddled around a campfire with your down-to-earth companions.
Although the plains you rode over and the stars you slept under will always be dear to you, the people of your community saw your potential for so much more and destiny called you to strike out on your own.
- Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Nature
- Tool Proficiencies: Simple Firearms, Cook's Utensils, Lassos
- Equipment: A saddlebag, a bedroll, flint and tinder, a cast-iron skillet, a canteen, 50 feet of hempen rope (coiled into a lasso), a set of well-worn clothes, a hat, a good luck trinket (choose one or use the d100 chart in the PHB), a small musical instrument (such as a harmonica or something similar) and a pouch containing 10 gp.
Defining Event
You previously pursued a simple profession among the working folk, herding livestock and tending the land, but something happened that set you on a different path and marked you down for greater things. Choose or randomly determine a defining event that marked you as a hero of the people.
| d10 |
Defining Event |
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1
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I stood up to a tyrant’s agents.
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2
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I saved people during a natural disaster.
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3
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I stood alone against a terrible monster.
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4
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I stole from a corrupt merchant to help the poor.
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5
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I led a militia to fight off an invading army.
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6
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I broke into a tyrant’s castle and stole weapons to arm the people.
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7
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I trained the peasantry to use farm implements as weapons against a tyrant’s soldiers.
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8
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A lord rescinded an unpopular decree after I led a symbolic act of protest against it.
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9
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A celestial, fey, or similar creature gave me a blessing or revealed my secret origin.
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10
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Recruited into a lord’s army, I rose to leadership and was commended for my heroism.
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Feature: Ranch Hand
When you need to, you can secure free room and board at a ranch, plantation, or farm for yourself and your adventuring companions. It could be a ranch you have worked on before or another that you have good relations with. In return for free food and lodgings you and your companions are expected to assist the workers with an honest day's work.
Suggested Characteristics
A folk hero is one of the common people, for better or for worse. Most folk heroes look on their humble origins as a virtue, not a shortcoming, and their home communities remain very important to them.
| d8 |
Personality Trait |
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1
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I have become accustomed to living life on the range.
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2
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Despite my gruff exterior, I'm actually very polite and respectful.
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3
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I am confident and tender, but not afraid to defend the defenseless.
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4
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I have an uncanny love for animals.
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5
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I am considered strange by my brethren.
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6
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I have been in many standoffs, but my days of fighting are behind me now.
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7
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I misuse long words in an attempt to sound smarter.
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8
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With my past firmly behind me, I wander the world aimlessly in search of a higher calling.
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| d6 |
Ideal |
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1
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Respect. People deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. (Good)
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2
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Fairness. No one should get preferential treatment before the law, and no one is above the law. (Lawful)
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3
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Freedom. Tyrants must not be allowed to oppress the people. (Chaotic)
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4
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Might. If I become strong, I can take what I want—what I deserve. (Evil)
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5
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Sincerity. There’s no good in pretending to be something I’m not. (Neutral)
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6
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Destiny. Nothing and no one can steer me away from my higher calling. (Any)
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| d6 |
Bond |
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1
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I have a family, but I have no idea where they are. One day, I hope to see them again.
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2
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I worked the land, I love the land, and I will protect the land.
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3
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A proud noble once gave me a horrible beating, and I will take my revenge on any bully I encounter.
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4
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My tools are symbols of my past life, and I carry them so that I will never forget my roots.
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5
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I protect those who cannot protect themselves.
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6
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I wish my childhood sweetheart had come with me to pursue my destiny.
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| d6 |
Flaw |
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1
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The tyrant who rules my land will stop at nothing to see me killed.
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2
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I’m convinced of the significance of my destiny, and blind to my shortcomings and the risk of failure.
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3
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The people who knew me when I was young know my shameful secret, so I can never go home again.
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4
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I have a weakness for the vices of the city, especially hard drink.
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5
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Secretly, I believe that things would be better if I were a tyrant lording over the land.
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6
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I have trouble trusting in my allies.
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