Haunted One
Source: Curse of Strahd
You are haunted by something so terrible that you dare not speak of it. You’ve tried to bury it and run away from it, to no avail. Whatever this thing is that haunts you can’t be slain with a sword or banished with a spell. It might come to you as a shadow on the wall, a bloodcurdling nightmare, a memory that refuses to die, or a demonic whisper in the dark. The burden has taken its toll, isolating you from most people and making you question your sanity. You must find a way to overcome it before it destroys you.
NOTE: Some backgrounds have options to choose from. Please read carefully. You may not get every proficiency listed below, as some may be a choice between one or the other.
- Stat Options (choose either +2 in one stat and +1 in another, OR +1 in all three): Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom
- Skill Proficiencies (your choice of TWO): Arcana, Religion, or Survival
- Tool Proficiencies: One Gaming Set and one Musical Instrument of choice.
- Languages: Two Standard and one Exotic language of choice.
- Background Keepsake: A trinket of special significance (roll on table below)
- Background Gold: 5gp.
Origin Feat
Origin Skill Focus
You gain a +1 to two different Skills you are proficient in.
Suggested Characteristics
You have learned to live with the terror that haunts you. You are a survivor, who can be very protective of those who bring light into your darkened life.
Other
Harrowing Event
Prior to becoming an adventurer, your path in life was defined by one dark moment, one fateful decision, or one tragedy. Now you feel a darkness threatening to consume you, and you fear there may be no hope of escape. Choose a harrowing event that haunts you, or roll one on the Harrowing Events table.
| 1 | A monster that slaughtered dozens of innocent people spared your life, and you don’t know why. |
| 2 | You were born under a dark star. You can feel it watching you, coldly and distantly. Sometimes it beckons you in the dead of night. |
| 3 | An apparition that has haunted your family for generations now haunts you. You don’t know what it wants, and it won’t leave you alone. |
| 4 | Your family has a history of practicing the dark arts. You dabbled once and felt something horrible clutch at your soul, whereupon you fled in terror. |
| 5 | An oni took your sibling one cold, dark night, and you were unable to stop it. |
| 6 | You were cursed with lycanthropy and later cured. You are now haunted by the innocents you slaughtered. |
| 7 | A hag kidnapped and raised you. You escaped, but the hag still has a magical hold over you and fills your mind with evil thoughts. |
| 8 | You opened an eldritch tome and saw things unfit for a sane mind. You burned the book, but its words and images are burned into your psyche. |
| 9 | A fiend possessed you as a child. You were locked away but escaped. The fiend is still inside you, but now you try to keep it locked away. |
| 10 | You did terrible things to avenge the murder of someone you loved. You became a monster, and it haunts your waking dreams. |
Trinket Table
| d100 | Trinket | d100 | Trinket |
| 1 | A picture you drew as a child of your imaginary friend | 51 | A stone that emits a single endless sigh |
| 2 | A lock that opens when blood is dripped in its keyhole | 52 | A rag doll with two red dots on its neck |
| 3 | Clothes stolen from a scarecrow | 53 | A spring-loaded toy with a missing crank |
| 4 | A spinning top carved with four faces: happy, sad, wrathful, and dead | 54 | A mason jar containing a harmless but agitated, animate ooze |
| 5 | The necklace of a sibling who died on the day you were born | 55 | A black wooden die with 1’s on all the faces |
| 6 | A wig from someone executed by beheading | 56 | A child’s portrait with “born” written on the back, along with next year’s date |
| 7 | The unopened letter to you from your dying father | 57 | A dagger-sized shark tooth |
| 8 | A pocket watch that runs backward for an hour every midnight | 58 | A finger that’s taken root in a small pot |
| 9 | A winter coat stolen from a dying soldier | 59 | A toolbox containing the remains of a dangerous but broken clockwork arachnid |
| 10 | A bottle of invisible ink that can only be read at sunset | 60 | A pitcher-sized, opalescent snail shell that occasionally, inexplicably shudders or tips over |
| 11 | A wineskin that refills when interred with a dead person for a night | 61 | The logbook of an ice-breaking ship called The Haifisch |
| 12 | A set of silverware used by a king for his last meal | 62 | A small portrait of you as a child, alongside your identically dressed twin |
| 13 | A spyglass that always shows the world suffering a terrible storm | 63 | A silver pocket watch with thirteen hours marked on the face |
| 14 | A cameo with the profile’s face scratched away | 64 | A woodcut of a wolf devouring its own hind leg |
| 15 | A lantern with a black candle that never runs out and that burns with green flame | 65 | A planchette etched with raven skulls |
| 16 | A teacup from a child’s tea set, stained with blood | 66 | A moist coral figurine of a lamprey with arms, legs, and a bipedal stance |
| 17 | A little black book that records your dreams, and yours alone, when you sleep | 67 | A bronze fingertrap sculpted with roaring tigers |
| 18 | A necklace formed of the interlinked holy symbols of a dozen deities | 68 | A pearl necklace that turns red under the full moon |
| 19 | A noose that feels heavier than it should | 69 | A fossil of a fish with humanoid features |
| 20 | A birdcage into which small birds fly but once inside never eat or leave | 70 | A plague doctor’s mask |
| 21 | A lepidopterist’s box filled with dead moths with skull-like patterns on their wings | 71 | A paper talisman with smudged ink |
| 22 | A jar of pickled ghouls’ tongues | 72 | A locket containing the smeared image of an eyeless figure |
| 23 | The wooden hand of a notorious pirate | 73 | A canopic jar with a lid sculpted like a goat |
| 24 | A urn with the ashes of a dead relative | 74 | A jack-o’-lantern made from a small, pale gourd |
| 25 | A hand mirror backed with a bronze depiction of a medusa | 75 | A single high-heeled, iron shoe |
| 26 | Pallid leather gloves crafted with ivory fingernails | 76 | A candle made from a severed hand |
| 27 | Dice made from the knuckles of a notorious charlatan | 77 | A clockwork device that beats like a heart |
| 28 | A ring of keys for forgotten locks | 78 | A blank masquerade mask |
| 29 | Nails from the coffin of a murderer | 79 | A glass eye with a live worm inside |
| 30 | A key to the family crypt | 80 | A sheet with two eyeholes cut in it |
| 31 | A bouquet of funerary flowers that always looks and smells fresh | 81 | The deed to someplace called Tergeron Manor |
| 32 | A switch used to discipline you as a child | 82 | An ornate, wax-sealed crimson envelope that resists all attempts to open it |
| 33 | A music box that plays by itself whenever someone holding it dances | 83 | A mourning veil trimmed in black lace |
| 34 | A walking cane with an iron ferrule that strikes sparks on stone | 84 | A straitjacket covered in charcoal runes |
| 35 | A flag from a ship lost at sea | 85 | A tattered, burlap mask with a crooked smile painted on it |
| 36 | A porcelain doll’s head that always seems to be looking at you | 86 | A green ribbon designed to be worn as a choker |
| 37 | A wolf’s head wrought in silver that is also a whistle | 87 | Dentures with mismatched, sharpened teeth |
| 38 | A small mirror that shows a much older version of the viewer | 88 | A warm, fist-sized egg case |
| 39 | A small, worn book of children’s nursery rhymes | 89 | A copper ring with “mine” engraved on the inside |
| 40 | A mummified raven claw | 90 | A glass ampoule containing a neon green fluid |
| 41 | A broken pendant of a silver dragon that’s always cold to the touch | 91 | An eye patch embroidered with a holy symbol |
| 42 | A small locked box that quietly hums a lovely melody at night, but you always forget it in the morning | 92 | A severed big toe with a nail that continues to grow |
| 43 | An inkwell that makes one a little nauseous when staring at it | 93 | A journal that has been heavily redacted |
| 44 | An old doll made from a dark, dense wood and missing a hand and a foot | 94 | A glove with a mouth-like design stitched on the palm |
| 45 | A black executioner’s hood | 95 | An ornate but empty reliquary made of silver and fractured glass |
| 46 | A pouch made of flesh, with a sinew drawstring | 96 | A ceramic figure of a cat with too many eyes |
| 47 | A tiny spool of black thread that never runs out | 97 | A crumpled paper ticket bearing the words “admit none” |
| 48 | A tiny clockwork figurine of a dancer that’s missing a gear and doesn’t work | 98 | An electrum coin with your face on one side |
| 49 | A black wooden pipe that creates puffs of smoke that look like skulls | 99 | A shrunken gremishka head that twitches when anyone casts magic nearby |
| 50 | A vial of perfume, the scent of which only certain creatures can detect | 100 | A sunburst amulet with a red stone at the center |
Personality
Please select TWO from the list below.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I don't run from evil. Evil runs from me. |
| 2 | I like to read and memorize poetry. It keeps me calm and brings me fleeting moments of happiness. |
| 3 | I spend money freely and live life to the fullest- knowing that tomorrow I might die. |
| 4 | I live for the thrill of the hunt. |
| 5 | I don't talk about the thing that torments me. I'd rather not burden others with my curse. |
| 6 | I expect danger around every corner. |
| 7 | I refuse to become a victim, and I will not allow others to be victimized. |
| 8 | I put no trust in divine beings. |
Ideal
Please select one from the list below.
| d6 | Ideal Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I try to help those in need- no matter what the personal cost. |
| 2 | I'll stop the spirits that haunt me or die trying. |
| 3 | I kill monsters to make the world a safer place and to exorcise my own demons. |
| 4 | I have a dark calling that puts me above the law. |
| 5 | I like to know my enemy's capabilities and weaknesses before rushing into battle. |
| 6 | I'm a monster that destroys other monsters and anything else that gets in my way. |
Bond
Please select one from the list below.
| d6 | Bond Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I keep my thoughts and discoveries in a journal. My journal is my legacy. |
| 2 | I would sacrifice my life and my soul to protect the innocent. |
| 3 | My torment drove away the person I love. I strive to win back the love I've lost. |
| 4 | A terrible guilt consumes me. I hope that I can find redemption through my actions. |
| 5 | There's evil in me- I can feel it. It must never be set free. |
| 6 | I have a child to protect. I must make the world a safer place for them. |
Flaw
Please select one from the list below.
| d6 | Flaw Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have certain rituals that I must follow every day. I can never break them. |
| 2 | I assume the worst in people. |
| 3 | I feel no compassion for the dead. They're the lucky ones. |
| 4 | I have an addiction. |
| 5 | I am a purveyor of doom and gloom who lives in a world without hope. |
| 6 | I talk to spirits that no one else can see. |
