No one knows where you came from. You were found as an infant by an unlikely troop of adventurers. This leaves you vulnerable to the winds of fate while you are small, but as you grow, who knows? Perhaps you will be free to shape your own fate -- or are you tangled up in a web of destiny greater than anyone can know? And maybe you are not as vulnerable an infant as you seem.
Foundlings can be of any age, from infants to young adolescents. Work with your DM to choose ability stats that match your age and the progression of your character. You and your DM may choose to adjust these stats as time passes and your character gets older.
- Skill Proficiencies: Persuasion, Perception
- Languages: You are so young, there is no way you can have mastered any languages. Yet sometimes it seems you understand every word said around you. And other times, you speak with a voice much older than your years.
- Equipment: Blanket, set of common clothes, a skin filled with goat or cow's milk, a mysterious clue to your origin, and a pouch containing 50 gp
While you have no idea of your origins, a single clue was tucked in the basket, blanket, or furs in which you were found. Could this be the thread that leads to your past, or some explanation of why you were left on your own?
| d10 | Clue to Origin |
|---|---|
| 1 | A golden orb that sometimes sparks with light when you touch it, but no one else. |
| 2 | The hilt of a broken sword |
| 3 | A crystal roughly fashioned into a pendant on a tarnished chain or leather thong. |
| 4 | A wax-sealed parchment letter that is indecipherable once opened |
| 5 | A signet ring that has been marred as if by the cut of a blade. The crest that remains is unfamiliar. |
| 6 | A broken stone tablet with mysterious symbols carved all over it. |
| 7 | A wooden flute carved with animal totems |
| 8 | A pouch containing three smooth painted river stones |
| 9 | A distinctive birth mark |
| 10 | A hand-carved wooden doll |
You are so young, you do not yet have full control over your mind and body -- though preternatural power seems to bloom within. At the beginning of your turn, the GM can have you roll a D20 on the Infantile Struggles table below to determine the nature of the next turn on which you are able to perform an action.
Infants sleep a lot. You are asleep for every outcome of a d20 roll that is above your Awake character level. When you are asleep, you are unconscious until you take damage, someone uses an action to awaken you, or the end of your next turn.
As you grow, you gain more control over body and mind. Starting at 10th level, when you role on the Infantile Struggles table, roll two d20 and chose one outcome. Starting at 17th level, roll three d20 and chose one outcome.
|
d20 |
Awake level |
Next turn Effect |
|
1 |
1 |
Until the end of your next turn you behave as though under the effect of the Confusion spell. In addition, at the beginning of your next turn, sorcerers roll a d100 on the Wild Magic table and the effect takes place immediately. |
|
2 |
9 |
Until the end of your next turn you behave as though under the effect of the Slow spell. |
|
3 |
9 |
On your next turn you use half your speed to run in a random direction |
|
4 |
9 |
You are spitting up. Until the end of your next turn, you cannot speak or use vocal components of spells. |
|
5 |
8 |
Take your turn as normal |
|
6 |
8 |
Until the end of your next turn, you spend your action screaming at the top of your lungs. Each creature within 30 feet must make a DC10 constitution saving throw or be deafened until the end of their next turn. |
|
7 |
7 |
Your scream reaches a new level of piercing. Until the end of your next turn, you spend your action screaming. You create an effect as though you cast the spell Shatter as a second level spell centered on yourself. |
|
8 |
7 |
You are spitting up. Until the end of your next turn, you cannot speak or use vocal components of spells. |
|
9 |
6 |
Until the end of your next turn you behave as though under the effect of the Slow spell. |
|
10 |
6 |
Take your next turn as normal |
|
11 |
5 |
Until the end of your next turn, if you have a bonus action, you spend it pooping yourself. Until the end of your next turn, each humanoid that starts its turn within 5 feet of you must make a DC10 wisdom saving throw or spend 5 feet of its speed moving away from you. |
|
12 |
5 |
Until the end of your next turn, you are afraid of a random enemy or object within 30 feet of you. |
|
13 |
4 |
At the beginning of your next turn you trip and fall prone |
|
14 |
4 |
Take your next turn as normal |
|
15 |
3 |
Until the end of your next turn, you spend your action screaming at the top of your lungs. Each creature within 30 feet must make a DC10 constitution saving throw or be deafened until the end of their next turn. |
|
16 |
3 |
Until the end of your next turn, you are afraid of a random enemy or object within 30 feet of you. |
|
17 |
2 |
Take your next turn as normal |
|
18 |
2 |
At the beginning of your next turn you trip and fall prone |
|
19 |
1 |
Take your next turn as normal |
|
20 |
1 |
You are manic! Until the end of your next turn you behave as though under the effect of the Haste spell. |
Spell List
Foundlings, as tiny infants, may seem helpless. But they wield surprising power over the adult creatures around them, often able to sway them to go to great lengths for the foundling's benefit.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| Cantrip | friends |
Suggested Characteristics
A foundling's origins are a mystery. Most foundlings seek to learn their own nature as a clue to where they come from. Many are driven to find their families and understand the circumstances of their abandonment. Still others ignore their past and set out to mold their own destiny with a clean slate.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | Whether in play or to deal with difficult feelings, I like to pretend I am a wild animal, like a bear or giant lizard. |
| 2 | I am slightly mischievous, and make little things trickier for everyone |
| 3 | When I set my mind to something, I follow through no matter what gets in my way. |
| 4 | When I want something and I can't have it I scream like a tea kettle. |
| 5 | I seem much older than my apparent years, sometimes unnervingly so. |
| 6 | I am curious about everything I see, sometimes more than is safe |
| 7 | I get very frustrated when others don't understand my baby talk |
| 8 | I get bored easily. When am I going to get on with my destiny? |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Sharing is nice. I want to give other people the good things I have (Good) |
| 2 | Fairness. No one should have more or less than anyone else. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Freedom. I do what I want to do. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Suffering. Nothing is as cruel as a child. I smile like an angel at the suffering of others. (Evil) |
| 5 | Sincerity. There’s no good in pretending to be something I’m not. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Learning. It's a big world out there, and I want to learn everything I can about it. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have no idea who my people are and who my family is. I would give anything to meet them. |
| 2 | I love plants or animals. I am unexpectedly gentle with tiny living things. |
| 3 | I was abandoned once. Who knows when my new friends might leave me. I am always terrified of being left behind. |
| 4 | I have a favorite toy or object that brings me great comfort. I will do anything to keep it with me. |
| 5 | I have bonded indivisibly with the individual who first found me. I will never leave them, and I think they take care of me, whether that is true or not. |
| 6 | I am mesmerized by a particular toy or object. Woe be it to any who interrupts my contemplation of its beauty. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | Someone from my mysterious past killed whoever was taking care of me, and if they knew I was still alive would stop at nothing to kill me too. |
| 2 | I am quick to anger and slow to forgive. Woe be they who arouse my ire. |
| 3 | I love everyone I meet with simple acceptance, even if I should be wary |
| 4 | I put things in my mouth that I should not, but how else am I supposed to learn? |
| 5 | While I understand several languages to some degree, my mouth still can't make the sounds. I speak in a meaningless babble and expect others to understand |
| 6 | I have trouble trusting that my allies won't abandon me. |
Contacts
What What!!!
| d1 | Contact |
|---|---|
| 1 | You behave on your next turn as though you were under the influence of the Confusion spell. |
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