You were orphaned by horrible circumstances. Perhaps your family was slaughtered by marauding bugbears, murdered by abyssal demons, turned undead by a foul necromancer, or even executed by a cruel lord. Whatever the reason, you found yourself alone in a cruel world with nothing to rely on but your wits and tenacious will to survive.
You begin your adventuring career with enough money to live modestly but securely for at least ten days. How did you come by that money? What allowed you to break free of your desperate circumstances and embark on a better life?
- Skill Proficiencies: Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Deception,Intimidation
- Tool Proficiencies: thieves’ tools
- Equipment: A small knife, thieve's tools, a pet mouse, a token to remember your parents by, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp
The people you meet can see in it in your eyes that your circumstances are the result of a terrible past, and are impressed by your temerity in the face of such a background. Good aligned commoners and even some nobles are willing to provide you and any small group of friends you vouch for a place to rest in the short term, provided they have the accomidations available. They will also supply you with short term rations, and any inexpensive gear needed.
Suggested Characteristics
Scarred Orphans are shaped by the tragedy that took their family from them, for good and for ill. They tend to be driven either by a commitment to the people with whom they were raised by, or lived with on the streets, a burning desire to find a better life, or a desire to enact vengeance upon the creatures or persons responsible for their family tragedy.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I hide scraps of food and trinkets away in my pockets. |
| 2 | I ask a lot of questions. |
| 3 | I like to squeeze into small places where no one else can get to me. |
| 4 | I sleep with my back to a wall or tree, with everything I own wrapped in a bundle in my arms. |
| 5 | I eat like a pig and have bad manners. |
| 6 | I think anyone who’s nice to me is hiding evil intent. |
| 7 | I don’t like to bathe. |
| 8 | I bluntly say what other people are hinting at or hiding. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Respect. All people, rich or poor, deserve respect. (Good) |
| 2 | Community. We have to take care of each other, because no one else is going to do it. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Change. The low are lifted up, and the high and mighty are brought down. Change is the nature of things. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Retribution. The rich need to be shown what life and death are like in the gutters. (Evil) |
| 5 | People. I help the people who help me — that’s what keeps us alive. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Aspiration. I’m going to prove that I’m worthy of a better life. |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | My town or city is my home, and I’ll fight to defend it. |
| 2 | I sponsor an orphanage to keep others from enduring what I was forced to endure. |
| 3 | I owe my survival to another urchin who taught me to live on the streets. |
| 4 | I owe a debt I can never repay to the person who took pity on me. |
| 5 | I escaped my life of poverty by robbing an important person, and I’m wanted for it. |
| 6 | No one else should have to endure the hardships I’ve been through. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | If I’m outnumbered, I will run away from a fight. |
| 2 | Gold seems like a lot of money to me, and I’ll do just about anything for more of it. |
| 3 | I will never fully trust anyone other than myself. |
| 4 | I’d rather kill someone in their sleep than fight fair. |
| 5 | It’s not stealing if I need it more than someone else. |
| 6 | People who can’t take care of themselves get what they deserve. |
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