You are haunted by something so terrible that you dare not speak of it. You have done everything in your ability to run away from it, to hide from who/what you are. Anything to avoid confrontation let your secret(s) be revealed. This memory that haunts you can’t be slain with a sword or banished with a spell. It might come to you as the shadow, of mice or man a nightmare retelling of your past, a memory that refuses to die, or a simple glare from passersby. The burden has taken its toll, isolating you from most people and making you question your value.
- Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from among Deception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, or Survival
- Tool Proficiencies: Disguise Kit
- Equipment: A backpack (see the sidebar), a set of common clothes and disguise kit, and one trinket of special significance (choose one or roll on the Gothic Trinkets table after this background).
Half-Breed Outcast
Prior to becoming an adventurer, your path in life was defined by one dark moment, that to no or little fault of your own cost the life off your parents or family. The guilt is a darkness threatening to consume you.
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Half-Breed Outcast |
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1
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A monster that slaughtered dozens of innocent people spared your life, leaving you with the guilt of surviving.
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2
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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.
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3
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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.
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4
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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.
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5
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An oni took your sibling--the only remaining family you had --and you were unable to stop it.
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6
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You were cursed with lycanthropy and later cured. You are now haunted by the innocents you slaughtered.
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7
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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.
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8
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You did terrible things to avenge the murder of someone you loved. You became a monster, and it haunts your waking dreams.
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Feature: Survivors Guilt
Those who look into your eyes can see that you have faced unimaginable horror and that you are no stranger to darkness. Though they not know you, commoners will extend you every courtesy and do their utmost to help you. Unless you have shown yourself to be a danger to them, they will even take up arms to fight alongside you, should you find yourself facing an enemy alone.
Suggested Characteristics
You have learned to live with the shame that haunts you. You are the only survivor, who can be very protective of those who bring light into your darkened life as to not bring upon the loss of more life.
| d8 |
Personality Trait |
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1
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I don’t run from evil. I neutralize it.
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2
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I like to read and memorize poetry. It keeps me calm and brings me fleeting moments of happiness.
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3
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I hoard money and spend only what I need, knowing that tomorrow I might need to start a new life... again.
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4
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I hate confrontation, and avoid combat as much as I can.
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5
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I don’t talk about the thing that torments me. I’d rather not burden others with my curse.
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6
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I expect danger around every corner.
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7
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I refuse to become a victim, and I will not allow others to be victimized.
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8
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I put no trust in divine beings.
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| d6 |
Ideal |
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1
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I try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good)
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2
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I’ll stop the spirits that haunt me or die trying. (Any)
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3
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I kill monsters to make the world a safer place, and to exorcise my own demons. (Good)
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4
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I have a duty to that puts me above the law. (Chaotic)
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5
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I like to know my enemy’s capabilities and weaknesses before rushing into battle, so that I may defeat them with my words. (Lawful)
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6
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I’m a monster that destroys other monsters, and anything else that gets in my way. (Evil)
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| d6 |
Bond |
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1
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I keep my thoughts and discoveries in a journal. My journal is my legacy.
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2
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I would sacrifice my life and my soul to protect the innocent.
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3
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My torment drove away the person I love. I strive to win back the love I’ve lost.
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4
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A terrible guilt consumes me. I hope that I can find redemption through my actions.
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5
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There’s evil in me, I can feel it. It must never be set free.
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6
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I have a child to protect. I must make the world a safer place for him (or her).
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| d6 |
Flaw |
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1
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I have certain rituals that I must follow every day. I can never break them.
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2
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I assume the worst in people.
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3
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I feel no compassion for the dead. They’re the lucky ones.
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4
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I have an addiction.
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5
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I am a purveyor of doom and gloom who lives in a world without hope.
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6
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I talk to the spirits of my dead family, though I'm not sure they listen.
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Posted Jun 29, 2019Not a bad base! I feel like the Half-Breed part of this isn't addressed. The Half Breed-Outcast section could be more oriented towards how player races affected them becoming an orphan.
I used this as a base for a dragonborn born from two different ancestries. This could also be used for Half orcs who are half elf or other playable race combinations.