Hark! Friends, Romans, and Countrymen hasten to lend you their ears. You are the voice of the kingdom, the scribe of the universe, the narrator of the Gods themselves. You are a Herald! Once, you spoke on behalf of your local Lord; now, you travel the world, witnessing the feats of great heroes and championing their tales. You know how to address a crowd and more than one reputation has been lifted into legend or shattered upon the rocks at your very whim. There are those whose abilities shape the world; your abilities shape the history of the future.
- Skill Proficiencies: Your talented tongue is practically a psychic assault. You gain proficiency in one skill designed to sway the hearts and minds of men and one skill that demonstrates your uncanny knowledge of the cosmos.
- Tool Proficiencies: Sometimes, a real legend is worth immortalizing in art. You gain proficiency with one tool that you use to record your tales of greatness.
- Languages: Your travels bring you far and wide, introducing you to many peoples and cultures. You gain proficiency in one additional language of your choice.
- Equipment: You carry a journal to take notes of your adventures, a map to annotate where you've been, and a trademark item that acts as your personal signature wherever you go.
While it's likely that you'll tell any story worth telling, chances are you have a preference for what kinds of stories you think are worth telling.
| d8 | Genre |
|---|---|
| 1 | I sing only of my own deeds. |
| 2 | My tales speak of the heroism of my party. |
| 3 | My tales speak of people I have met. |
| 4 | My tales speak only of my liege Lord. |
| 5 | My tales speak for the Gods. |
| 6 | My tales speak for the highest bidder. |
| 7 | My tales bear witness to great events. |
| 8 | My tales expose hidden truths. |
You learned quickly that a Herald with a poor memory doesn't last long as a Herald, so you set aside time each day to practice memory tricks to help keep your stories in order. Over time, this has given you an almost supernatural ability to retain stories and names, even if finer details might escape your grasp (those can always be ad-libbed, after all!). In addition, your reputation as a singer of great deeds makes you an especially attractive conversationalist for proud and ambitious adventurers/soldiers/etc. who are frequently all-too-willing to talk up their own deeds in the hopes of getting their own name added to your growing mythology.
Spell List
A proper Herald knows how to add flair to their stories by manipulating the environment. The cantrip prestidigitation is added to your spell list.
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| Cantrip | prestidigitation |
Suggested Characteristics
As a Herald, you play to the tune of your people. Perhaps you appeal to their lust for glory, or their thirst for vengeance, or their desire for supremacy. You choose and weave tales to produce your desired outcomes.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I love a good story. Tell me you've got one and I'm all yours. |
| 2 | I weave myself into every story I tell and discreetly make myself the hero. |
| 3 | A good story is 10% truth and 90% creative genius. |
| 4 | I have no patience for subpar stories. |
| 5 | I chose this profession for the secondary benefits. |
| 6 | My favorite part of the job is having people eating right out of my hands. |
| 7 | I believe information should travel freely and be available to all people. |
| 8 | It's important to tell the people what they want to hear. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Duty - I glorify the name of my Lord. (Lawful) |
| 2 | Transparency - I deliver only the unmitigated truth. (Neutral) |
| 3 | Justice - Someone has to bring the truth to the people. That person might as well be me. (Good) |
| 4 | Rebellion - The people deserve the truth, no matter the consequences. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | Manipulation - I use my stories to influence the views of the people. (Evil) |
| 6 | Talent - I tell stories because I have a knack for it. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | My liege Lord saw my potential and lifted me out of hardship. They are a truly great person. |
| 2 | I once met a great hero. I tell their tale in the hopes of finding them again. |
| 3 | I seek a lost relic tied to my God(s). |
| 4 | I owe it to those I've lost to carry on their stories. If I happen to also find the one responsible, well... |
| 5 | I seek a story worth being written in eternity. |
| 6 | I was wronged. I will use my talents to seek redress. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I'm actually a coward. I'd rather hear about a story than witness it, and rather witness it than be in it. |
| 2 | I mean, sure, I may not have been the first person to tell this story... |
| 3 | Sometimes there's a slow news day. What's the harm in making something up? |
| 4 | I write myself into all of my stories. |
| 5 | I only share the good things and quietly omit the bad things. Why be a downer? |
| 6 | I tend to emphasize the negative. People want drama! |
Contacts
If a traveling Herald, you are likely familiar with a great many people, most notably other Heralds and noteworthy adventurers. If there is a tavern or other location you frequently perform in, you may also be on good terms with the owner and any regular patrons.
If a Lord's Herald, you are likely on good terms with any especially powerful members of the royal households and their militaries.
You're not some wandering Herald; you speak only behalf of your liege Lord. You may not be traveling with them at the moment, but that's only because you're traveling ahead to sow the seeds of legend in the surrounding communities before your Lord rides in on his shining white steed to win their hearts forever.
Within your Lord's sphere of influence, your word is treated as law, topped only by that of the royal household. Soldiers part for you, generals kneel to you, the people pray to you. You are as good as royalty and treated as such.
Being so close to greatness can come at a price, however; people know that you have the ear of the Lord and will stop at nothing to ingratiate themselves to you for favors. A clever Herald might play this to their benefit.
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Posted Sep 2, 2020I really like this idea but would love some clarification on the proficiencies.
Skill Proficiencies: Your talented tongue is practically a psychic assault. You gain proficiency in one skill designed to sway the hearts and minds of men and one skill that demonstrates your uncanny knowledge of the cosmos. (I assume this is meant to be a choice between persuasion, performance or deception? and the second is a choice between History, Arcana or Religion? The flavor is great, but a bit more mechanical specification would be great.)
Tool Proficiencies: Sometimes, a real legend is worth immortalizing in art. You gain proficiency with one tool that you use to record your tales of greatness. (I'd assume Calligraphers or Painters tools are the assumption here but want to clarify if you had other tools in mind in addition?)
Overall, I would love to see better outline of the mechanics of the choices, because the flavor is great, but leaves a lot up to interpretation. If that's the design, totally legit, but could utilize more specifics on guidelines and intention but add the caveat that if the DM and Player want to change it, go for it. In my experience, better to have the rules and break them, then not have rules and have to make stuff up and enforce it on the fly.
Thanks!
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Posted Sep 3, 2020Hello! Sorry for the confusion, and thank you for the constructive criticism. You're right -- I made this in a flurry of inspiration and neglected to list the specifics in the description as would usually be there. I was only thinking in terms of using it on DNDBeyond, where the mechanics are populated in the character creation window, and hadn't considered external uses. I'll hopefully change that up and publish a more transparent version soon. In the mean time, here's the man behind the curtain:
Skill Proficiencies:
Choose one: Persuasion, Intimidation, Deception*
Choose one: Arcana, History, Nature, Religion
Tool Proficiencies:
Choose one: Calligrapher's Supplies, Glassblower's Tools, Mason's Tools, Painter's Supplies, Potter's Tools, Weaver's Tools, Woodcarver's Tools
* I'm honestly not sure why I didn't include Performance. I'm going to review that and probably add it into the updated version.
Thanks again!
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Posted Sep 4, 2020Hey! Thanks so much for the quick reply and clarification. These setups make a lot of sense and are really cool. When I was reading through it the other day, I definitely got a Chaucer (from a Knights Tale) vibe from the background, which is super cool. Gonna talk to my DM about using this as a background in an upcoming game hopefully.
Thanks again so much and I'll definitely look forward to seeing what you do with this down the line. Job well done!