You have been serving someone, perhaps your whole life. Think about how you ended up in slavery and who owned you. At some point in your servitude, you have managed to escape, but unfortunately you are now being hunted. You may be hunted purely by your ex-owner, or they may have sent authorities or mercenaries after you. Maybe even assassins. Discuss with your DM to decide who is hunting you, and their goals (they may be attempting to kill you).
Decide what you did for your owner as a slave, and also their role in society. For example, serving a merchant would allow a slave to understand money, or serving a noble will give insight into their customs. Consider how this has affected your character.
Choose a skill and tool that pertain to your role, and choose a language that your ex-owner would have used. You may only be able to speak this language, unless taught to write it.
- Skill Proficiencies: You gain proficiency with a skill pertaining to your role as a slave.
- Tool Proficiencies: You gain proficiency with a tool or instrument pertaining to your role as a slave.
- Languages: You gain proficiency with the language of your owner, but only spoken.
- Equipment: The tool you chose for the background, a simple weapon, a set of clothes pertaining to your role as a slave and a pouch containing stolen 1GP.
You are on the run from whomever your ex-owner has sent your way. You are still marked as a slave in some way on your body, unable to remove this mark, and this allows other people who have had experience with slavery (be it nobles or commoners or authority) to recognise this if seen. This will provoke different reactions from different people, but most importantly, commoners will tend to regard you with kindness and assist you, but typically only if it doesn't risk their safety.
Suggested Characteristics
Slaves are used to being property and depending on the time in servitude, can depend on what has happened to their personality.