You've always been entranced by the grand tales of heroes, adventurers, and rogues. Your dreams are always filled with slaying dragons, gathering riches, or basking in glory. But with no access to normal training or education, you thought your dreams were doomed.
Until you discovered the Famous Dungeoneer's Correspondence School™. Sending off for their starter package, you completed your tests in record time. You've accumulated stacks of textbooks, guides, and other informative brochures on your chosen class or profession. For years, you completed classes-by-mail, self-guided study, and a variety of mail-in tests.
After finally passing the final written test for your specialization, you've received your Famous Dungeoneer's Correspondence School™ Diploma and are ready to begin your grand adventure. Leaving home with just your weapon, your diploma, and a bag of guidebooks, you are ready to seek your destiny.
- Skill Proficiencies: History, Investigation
- Equipment: A 10 foot pole, a signal whistle, a set of common clothes, diploma, a small bag of maps, guides, and brochures, and a pouch containing 15 gp.
As part of your coursework, you were allowed to expand the breadth of your knowledge, showing mastery of more than just basic adventurer requirements. When selecting this background, you may choose two courses: one practical course and one language course. Each of these elective courses adds the related proficiency.
| d8 | Elective Credits |
|---|---|
| 1 | Guilds and You - Artisan's Tools (your choice) |
| 2 | Overcoming Obstacles - Thieves' Tools |
| 3 | Which Witch is Which - Herbalism kit |
| 4 | Berries: Food or Poison? - Poisoners kit |
| 5 | Networking for Dummies - Playing card set |
| 6 | Phrasing and Fawning - One Standard Language |
| 7 | Cults and Creators - One Exotic Language |
| 8 | Stagecraft - Disguise kit |
That Famous Dungeoneer sure does know about a lot of different places, and he wrote all about them in the stack of texts and maps you've accumulated. By taking a few minutes to dig through your stack of guidebooks, you can learn a lot about the area you are in, regardless of its distance from normal "civilization". The application of this knowledge is at your DM's discretion, but should be especially good for locating landmarks and historic sites, identifying the varieties of local flora and fauna, and reciting strange bits of regional trivia that even lifelong natives may not know (or care about).
In addition, you can spend a few minutes to flip through a phrasebook, and awkwardly stumble through any standard language. Communication this way takes ten times longer than normal fluency, and you are limited to basic concepts and ideas, as well as anything that might be found in a tourist's phrasebook (such as "Where is the bathroom?", "Do you speak Common?", and "What do you mean there's no trial?!").
Suggested Characteristics
Graduates of the Famous Dungeoneers' Correspondence School™ tend to be naive but enthusiastic adventurers. They have likely lived a sheltered life, and know little of the world (outside their stack of guidebooks). In new places, they tend to be awe-struck and entranced, and will often spout off some strange bit of trivia or dig excitedly through their packs for a
local guidebook.
Their goals are often simplistic and probably a touch naive, such as "Acquire Fame" or "Gain Treasure" or "See New Places" or "Conquer World". After all, the Famous Dungeoneer offers special advanced courses for future villains, as well.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | Give me a drink and I’m your friend. |
| 2 | I laugh off insults and never take them personally. |
| 3 | I’m confident in my own abilities and do what I can to instill confidence in others. |
| 4 | I like a job well done, especially if I can convince someone else to do it. |
| 5 | I’m always polite and respectful. |
| 6 | I face problems head-on. A simple, direct solution is the best path to success. |
| 7 | I ask a lot of questions. |
| 8 | I know a story relevant to almost every situation. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Adventure. I’m far from home, and everything is strange and wonderful! (Chaotic) |
| 2 | Open. I have much to learn from the kindly folk I meet along my way. (Good) |
| 3 | Greed. I’m only in it for the money and fame. (Evil) |
| 4 | Destiny. Nothing and no one can steer me away from my higher calling. (Any) |
| 5 | Community. It is the duty of all civilized people to strengthen the bonds of community and the security of civilization. (Lawful) |
| 6 | Sincerity. There’s no good in pretending to be something I’m not. (Neutral) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | All life is precious to me. I know I can change the world without taking a humanoid life. |
| 2 | Though I had no choice, I lament having to leave my loved one(s) behind. I hope to see them again one day. |
| 3 | I want to be famous, whatever it takes. |
| 4 | I protect those who cannot protect themselves. |
| 5 | I have a family, but I have no idea where they are. One day, I hope to see them again. |
| 6 | I keep my thoughts and discoveries in a journal. My journal is my legacy. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have trouble keeping my true feelings hidden. My sharp tongue lands me in trouble. |
| 2 | I too often hear veiled insults and threats in every word addressed to me, and I’m quick to anger. |
| 3 | There’s no room for caution in a life lived to the fullest. |
| 4 | I can’t keep a secret to save my life, or anyone else’s. |
| 5 | I can’t help but pocket loose coins and other trinkets I come across. |
| 6 | I’d rather kill someone in their sleep than fight fair. |
Comments