Shadowborn

You were never meant to exist.

You were not born — you manifested. When a mortal died while drowning in hatred toward another being, their shadow tore free and became you. You are a memory given form, a hatred given eyes and wings. You remember scraps of their life, their bitterness, the face they cursed with their last breath.

But now you walk on your own. You are no longer someone’s shadow — you are something else. Something new. Something dangerous.

Skill Proficiencies:

• Stealth or Deception (how you survived while bound to shadows)

Tool Proficiencies: Disguise Kit or Poisoner’s Kit (choose one)

Languages: One language spoken by the mortal you were attached to (your “creator”).
You also know Infernal.

Equipment:  

• A black, cracked mirror shard (you cannot see your true form in it)

• A journal filled with fragmented memories or hateful thoughts that are not entirely yours

• A hooded cloak that always seems cold to the touch

• A small trinket from your creator’s life (locket, ring, broken weapon, etc.)

• A pouch with 10 gp

 

Suggested Characteristics

d6	Personality Trait
1	I don’t understand why people smile. It feels unnatural.
2	I observe everyone quietly — hatred is always growing somewhere.
3	I speak softly, like a whisper from behind someone’s shoulder.
4	I sometimes speak in the voice of my creator without noticing.
5	I don’t fear death. I’ve already seen it from the inside.
6	I want to understand life, even though I was born from death.

d6	Ideal
1	Revenge. I will finish what the one who birthed me could not.
2	Redemption. I was born from hatred. I want to prove I can be more.
3	Silence. Hatred grows when words are spoken. Silence is safe.
4	Freedom. I refuse to be a tool of another person’s rage again.
5	Power. If I must exist, I will make the world fear me.
6	Curiosity. I was never alive. I want to know what it means to live.

d6	Bond
1	I must find the person my creator hated.
2	I carry their final memory like a brand on my soul.
3	Someone showed me kindness once — I cannot forget it.
4	There is a child connected to my former life. I watch over them in secret.
5	I keep the weapon that killed my creator — I will use it when the time is right.
6	I don’t belong in the Hells or the Heavens. I will carve my own place.

d6	Flaw
1	I feel no guilt harming others. Life is just fuel for hatred.
2	I sometimes whisper cruel things without meaning to.
3	I don't sleep — but I hear their dying thoughts every night.
4	I struggle to see people as real. They are just shadows with hearts.
5	If someone reminds me of my creator or their enemy, I lose control.
6	Deep down, I fear I am nothing but a curse wearing a body.