Everything was going so well! You had a life of luxury, love, and comfort when you suddenly lost it all. Perhaps you were framed for crimes you didn’t commit and lost your reputation, fortune, and career. Maybe a rampaging dragon or another monster wiped out everything you had in a single calamitous afternoon. Or you might have sought out a Deck of Many Things, hoping to make your successful life even more glorious—only to draw a destructive card that changed your destiny forever.
Your desperation has driven you to the career of adventurer. You don’t seek out dark dungeons and their monstrous inhabitants for excitement and glory; you do it because every other path is closed to you. But you have risen high on fortune’s wheel once before, and with luck and fortitude, you could do so again.
- Skill Proficiencies: Gain proficiency in the skills Stealth, and Survival
- Languages: Choose one.
- Equipment: One trinket of special significance (choose one or roll on the Horror Trinkets/Ruined trinkets table after this background).
Prior to becoming an adventurer, your path in life was defined by one dark moment, one fateful decision, or one tragedy. Now you feel a darkness threatening to consume you, and you fear there may be no hope of escape. Choose a harrowing event that haunts you, or roll one on the Harrowing Events table.
| d8 | Harrowing Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | A monster that slaughtered dozens of innocent people spared your life, and you don’t know why. |
| 2 | 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. |
| 3 | You were framed for a heinous crime (murder, theft of a sacred relic) and, despite your innocence, were found guilty and exiled or imprisoned. |
| 4 | Your family has a history of practicing the dark arts. You dabbled once and felt something horrible clutch at your soul, whereupon you cast yourself away. |
| 5 | You accidentally harmed someone you cared about while in an uncontrolled animal or monstrous form, leading to you being cast out of your community. |
| 6 | You broke a sacred oath or failed in your duty, leading to the destruction of a holy site or the death of a respected figure. |
| 7 | After an uncontrolled magical transformation or a misunderstood situation, a powerful noble assumed you were engaged in an heretical act, permanently ruining your reputation. |
| 8 | You are one of the few survivors of a village massacre, leaving you with physical & mental scars and a ruined life. |
You have weathered ruinous misfortune, and you possess hidden reserves others don’t expect. You gain the Alert, Skilled, or Tough feat (your choice). Your choice of feat reflects how you’ve dealt with the terrible loss that changed your life forever. If you need ideas, here's some help: If you’ve kept your senses sharp for every opportunity and climbed your way out of misery by seizing the tiniest scrap of hope, choose Alert. If you’ve redoubled your efforts to reclaim what was once yours, choose Skilled. If you’ve stoically persevered through your misfortune, select Tough.
Suggested Characteristics
You have learned to live with the misery that haunts you. You are a survivor, who can be very protective of those who bring light into your darkened life.
| d6 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I’ve changed from my past, and I work to live up to my new path. (Balance, Throne) |
| 2 | Every moment is a gift I refuse to squander. (Euryale, Skull) |
| 3 | Now that I’ve overcome having nothing, I can survive anything. (Fool, Ruin, Talons) |
| 4 | I know enemies are set against me, and I always prepare for the worst. (Flames, Rogue) |
| 5 | I interpret every event as part of a larger pattern I just haven’t worked out yet. (Puzzle, Star) |
| 6 | I must make up for so much time I’ve already lost. (Donjon, Void) |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | I try to help those who are at their lowest, because I know what it's like to be there. (Good) |
| 2 | I’ll get my greatness back or die trying. (Any) |
| 3 | I'll do anything to get back to my old life. (Neutral) |
| 4 | Fortune hasn't and won't smile upon me. I will adapt to anything it throws at me. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | I like to know my enemy’s capabilities and weaknesses before rushing into battle. (Lawful) |
| 6 | The world took everything from me, now I'll take anything to rebuild my life. (Evil) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I track my journey back to greatness in a journal. My journal is my legacy. |
| 2 | I would sacrifice my soul to undo what happened. |
| 3 | Someone destroyed my whole life. I strive to find them and destroy their life. |
| 4 | Fortune has not smiled on me and I strive to win their smile back. |
| 5 | I'm bound to the person who lifted me out of my despair when I was at my lowest. |
| 6 | I have a sibling/friend that I lost in the chaos of my ruin. I'm searching for them. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I tend to ruin good opportunities because I believe I don't deserve it or I'll ruin it anyway. |
| 2 | I assume the worst in people. |
| 3 | I'm usually unable to share, because what if I never get it back? |
| 4 | No-one can fix my life. Only I can. |
| 5 | I am a purveyor of doom and gloom who lives in a world without hope. |
| 6 | Nothing matters, so why would it matter if I did something wrong? |
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Posted Dec 20, 2025Ummm so it's kinda not finished lol. Sorry if its kinda botched (OvOu)