On the surface, you are a quiet, unassuming intellectual. You might be a dusty archivist in a grand library, a diligent clerk in a city magistrate’s office, or a devoted student of history. But this is merely a carefully constructed facade. In reality, you are a shadow operative—an information broker, a spy, or a sleeper agent for a secretive syndicate like House Dimir. You use your access to records, letters, and historical texts to intercept communications, alter ledgers, forge critical documents, and uncover the hidden secrets of the city's elite.
- Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Investigation
- Tool Proficiencies: Forgery Kit and Calligrapher's supplies
- Languages: One of your choice
- Equipment: A Dimir insignia, three small knives, a set of dark-colored common clothes, A bottle of black ink, a bottle of invisible ink, a quill, a set of fine calligrapher's supplies, a hidden cipher wheel or decoder ring, a set of dark common clothes with a deep hood, and a belt pouch containing 15 gp.
Because of your dual life as a legitimate scholar and a covert agent, you know how to navigate both public bureaucracy and the criminal underground.
When you need to find a specific piece of information, you usually know exactly which library, vault, or government office holds it. Furthermore, you can use your academic credentials—or flawless forgeries of them—to gain access to restricted archives, private collections, or bureaucratic offices that would normally be off-limits to the public.
Within any major city, you also know of at least one "dead drop" location where you can safely leave encoded messages for your syndicate, or receive secret missives and objectives in return.
| d8 | Reason for Infiltration |
|---|---|
| 1 | My parents belong to this guild, and I let them think I’m following in their footsteps. |
| 2 | I’ve been assigned to track this guild’s activities. |
| 3 | I’ve been assigned to get close to an individual in this guild and learn their secrets. |
| 4 | I’ve been assigned to recruit a new Dimir spy from the ranks of this guild. |
| 5 | I was a member of this guild before the Dimir recruited me. |
| 6 | I don’t like what this guild stands for and want to destroy it from within. |
| 7 | I secretly wish I could leave the Dimir and join this guild, but there is no escaping the Dimir. |
| 8 | I chose this guild at random or on a lark. |
Spell List
For you, the spells on the Dimir Guild Spells table are added to the spell list of your spellcasting class. (If you are a multiclass character with multiple spell lists, these spells are added to all of them.)
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| Cantrip | encode thoughts, mage hand |
| 1st | disguise self, sleep |
| 2nd | detect thoughts, pass without trace |
| 3rd | gaseous form, meld into stone, nondetection |
| 4th | arcane eye, freedom of movement |
| 5th | modify memory |
Your magic is meant to be subtle and undetectable, but it might pull shadows or clouds of mist around you as you cast your spells. Using the encode thoughts cantrip described below, you can turn a creature’s thoughts (including your own) into a thought strand that others can potentially read, share, or steal. These thought strands are treated as valuable currency among the Dimir.
Suggested Characteristics
A Covert Chronicler is defined by their dual nature. They must be convincing as harmless academics, while possessing the cunning and ruthlessness required to traffic in stolen secrets.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I’m good at hiding my true thoughts and feelings. |
| 2 | When I’m in doubt about revealing something, I assume it’s a secret, and I don’t share it. |
| 3 | I like to sound mysterious, because wisdom hidden grows deeper with time. |
| 4 | I have no patience with people who get in my way. |
| 5 | I love hearing about other people’s nightmares. |
| 6 | Combat is meant to be quick, clean, and one-sided. |
| 7 | I like to stick to the shadows. |
| 8 | I never show my anger. I just plot my revenge. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Guild. My true guild is all that really matters. (Any) |
| 2 | Control. I like pulling the strings. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Secrets. I collect secrets and never reveal them. (Any) |
| 4 | Knowledge. I want to know as much as I can about this city and how it works. (Any) |
| 5 | Independence. I value the freedom to pursue my own goals without interference. (Chaotic) |
| 6 | Nihilism. I don’t believe in anything, and anyone who does is a fool. (Neutral) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I discovered a secret I can’t let anyone else uncover — including my guild superiors. |
| 2 | I formed a close friendship or romance with someone in the guild I’m infiltrating. |
| 3 | The Dimir agent who recruited me was unmasked and killed. My revenge on the killers will be thorough and painful. |
| 4 | I spend as much time as I can in the Ismeri Library because I’m certain an information hub operates behind its facade. I want its secrets! |
| 5 | I’m utterly loyal to my superior in the guild, more than to the guild or its guildmaster. |
| 6 | Someone has discovered my true identity. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I like secrets so much that I’m reluctant to share details of a plan even with those who need to know. |
| 2 | I would let my friends die rather than reveal my true identity. |
| 3 | I have trouble trusting anyone but myself. |
| 4 | I have a particular vice that puts all my secrets at risk if I’m not careful. |
| 5 | I’m pretty sure I’ve done something horrible that I can’t remember because of the guild’s mind magic. |
| 6 | I put too much trust in the people who give me orders. |
Contacts
As an agent of House Dimir working undercover, you have limited contacts within your guild. Your relationships within your secondary guild, in the guise of your false identity, are usually more extensive.
Roll once on the Dimir Contacts table, giving you an ally who serves as your contact in Dimir. Then roll twice on the table for your secondary guild. The first roll gives you an ally there, and the second roll gives you a rival.
| d8 | Contact |
|---|---|
| 1 | I know a Dimir courier who relays messages to me from someone higher up the chain of command. |
| 2 | I get orders from a shapeshifter I recognize only through a series of code phrases we exchange. |
| 3 | An ostentatiously wealthy vampire is my secret guild superior, summoning me to a luxurious estate by means of coded messages. |
| 4 | I have never met my guild contact, but I receive telepathic messages, usually in my dreams. |
| 5 | I’ve never met my guild contact, but I get coded messages from a pattern of street lights and graffiti. |
| 6 | I didn’t discover the identity of my guild contact until after we had begun a romantic relationship. |
| 7 | My superior maintains an elaborate identity as a young street urchin … unless it’s all a lie, and I’m being sent on ridiculous missions by a twisted child. |
| 8 | My sibling and I both get telepathic orders from a mysterious contact, and I’m starting to question the authenticity of my sibling’s orders. |
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