Quote from Ajexton >>

I like a Shadar-kai/Raven Queen backstory to a Phantom Rogue. Fits well in my mind. 

 I made one with a “witch-doctor” “Voodoo” feel to it that was also very fun on a one-shot. Like a goblin Nazeebo from Diablo. 

I just found out about the Shadar-Kai and I immediately knew I had to play one! So I decided to do a phantom rogue shadar-kai and now I am looking for inspiration of a backstory. Won't be too hard, but I don't want to make it too generic or "easy"

Someone on the Discord was talking about a character with split personalities and of course I warned them to be sensitive to people with mental illnesses, but it also got my brain churning and it produced this:

Eydan is a collector of oddities and trinkets. He is a mild mannered merchant who always seems to have the perfect gift for a child or a unique purchase to brighten one's day. By day he travels from town to town with his wagon, always on the lookout for antiques and treasures to sell in the next town, but every once in awhile a strange gleam can be seem in his eyes as he watches the children play. You see, he once had three children of his own until they were taken from him. He never talks about it, in fact he seems to have forgotten all about it, but in his hometown they still talk about The Collector, a murderer who worked his way through the rich and elite of the town, killing them gruesomely and collecting seemingly random items from their bodies. Woe betide anyone who mistreats a child in Eydan's sight, because they are likely to be visited by The Collector that night. The thing is, The Collector is just a twisted aspect of Eydan and doesn't understand small slights. Anything that makes a child cry can trigger an episode and The Collector only knows vengeance. It doesn't understand that the horrific tableaus it creates out of a parent who dared to scold a child doesn't comfort that child in any way.

Eydan doesn't remember anything he's done as The Collector and explains it all away, like odd trinkets showing up in his collection are just something he must have bought a few towns ago and forgotten. Meanwhile The Collector is just all of his rage and sorrow all bottled up and walled away, which is why he doesn't actually remember what happened to his kids.

Genasi Rogue in my campaign just picked Phantom, so she had a dream she was walking through a muddy mushroom field (reference to previous battle site), phantoms rose up around her, and she went to conjure flame, but instead found herself holding an iridescent blue-black gem.  There was a radiant flash and the ghosts began to dissipate and be sucked into the gem, and when she woke up she found the gem in her hand. It will be the source of the whispers and wails, and eventually store the soul trinkets.  

Each of the players either has or will eventually get a certain similar artifact that ties into the overall campaign, I'm still setting up the payoff but it should be neat when they realize how their various foci and trinkets are involved.

I've also got a mid-level boss coming up that might let me expand on the in-campaign lore for storing souls in gems, hopefully that coincides with the 9th level feature because I love working the PC abilities into the lore of the campaign itself, makes it feel more like part of the world rather than just some new box on the character sheet. 

I am in a campaign where my cm has made everything we fight more powerful so we could have up to forty levels and the first thing I came up with is a Shadow sorcerer and a phantom rogue asimmar  known as gravebreaker that uses suppressed pistols to hunt down people in a cyber future  

Cool thread....
I'm building a Phantom rogue  Uul'Rha'Sin.
I am thinking he is working for/under So-Kehur a Necromancer Red Wizard in alliance to Szass-Tam
Since I'm having the character come from Thay, there is much Undead and slavery. He has become somewhat sensitive to the spirits about.
As his function is to find magic items for his patron, I am using a variant human with magic initiate (minor ill, mage hand, (find familiar or light or or detect magic)) and intend to multiclas into Warlock (undead patron). Only intend to go 2-3 levels in Undead warlock (invocations: mask of many faces, eldritch sight)
Greedy and calm under pressure, I loot crypts of the dead and mansions of the living. It was in this way I was discovered by So-Kehur who used necromancy and nearly killed me. But seeing my boldness and skill decided to take me as a Slave/Agent. Binding me to their dark plots.
I now travel the land seeking what magic item they desire, following clues to crypts, or burglarizing the rich.

After watching the D&D Beyond spotlight video about the Phantom Rogue, I got to thinking about what a, like, happy or positive Phantom Rogue might look like--one who's not especially murderous or who's had a near-death experience. What I settled on was as follows:

She's a tiefling named Shepherd. She has the Acolyte background and is a member of a sect that primarily follows the teachings of Ilmater and Kelemvor, and which sees the reduction of suffering in the world as the highest ideal, taking it upon itself to ease the passing of those dying in particularly drawn-out fashions. They perform euthenasia for those whose bodies might be failing from old age or from some incurable disease and only ever do so with consent and upon request. Since the practice is poorly regarded, they're not always looked kindly upon, even though they only offer their services to those who ask for them. Furthermore, as a tiefling, Shepherd may (or may not, depending on the community) already be looked upon with contempt or distrust, and so sees it as fitting for her to take this burden of suffering the metaphorical slings and arrows of society writ large upon herself to help people achieve the peace they desire and deserve. Outside of her practice, she's actually rather lively and affable, and fond of bright colors and other treats for the senses. After all, a life not spent living is a life wasted, and all the experiences out there to be had are enrichment for the soul.

I have a bit of headcanon that the Tokens of the Departed she might receive could take forms related to some sort of unfinished business for the deceased. Of course, I also have a headcanon for the Wails from the Grave: that they're only audible to the victim of said wails and take the form of sing-song rhymes like "One, two, she's coming for you" (yes, inspired by the Freddy Kruger nursery rhyme).

I haven't actually had the chance to play her yet, but I'm looking forward to the day I get to do so.

Variant Human, looks like Karl Diedrich Bader. With Haunted One (apparition) background. A wizard school dropout—Magic initiate (wizard) with attack cantrips and shield spell once per long rest. Will take Ritual caster—Wizard at 4th level, gotta get that Phantom Steed! It’s been fun so far. Rolled a black wooden pipe that creates puffs of smoke that look like skulls for a trinket. We just started running through Rime of the Frost Maiden.

Custom lineage Haunted One with the Healer Feat.
Crazy Bob was born and raised in a brothel near the docks in Luskan.  Coming from a long line of mixed lineages Bob doesn't quite look like a human, elf, dwarf, gnome, orc, or Tiefling.  He has a whole bunch of all those things.   As he got older he was trained in first aid and became the house "doctor" without any real medical training.  He has lost a number of folks on the table.  He has always heard the voices and was perceived crazy for a long time.  Only recently have the voices become more useful, and very clearly real.

After reaching young adulthood he started exploring the world using his healing skills to get passage on ships.  Bob loves daggers