Urban Bounty Hunter

Source: Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide (SCAR Version)

Before you became an adventurer, your life was already full of conflict and excitement, because you made a living tracking down people for pay. Unlike some people who collect bounties, though, you aren't a savage who follows quarry into or through the wilderness. You're involved in a lucrative trade, in the place where you live, that routinely tests your skills and survival instincts. What's more, you aren't alone, as a bounty hunter in the wild would be: you routinely interact with both the criminal subculture and other bounty hunters, maintaining contacts in both areas to help you succeed.


You might be a cunning thief-catcher, prowling the rooftops to catch one of the myriad burglars of the city. Perhaps you are someone who has your ear to the street, aware of the doings of thieves' guilds and street gangs. You might be a "velvet mask" bounty hunter, one who blends in with high society and noble circles in order to catch the criminals that prey on the rich, whether pickpockets or con artists. The community where you plied your trade might have been one of Faenûn's great metropolises, such as Waterdeep or Baldur's Gate, or a less populous location, perhaps Luskan or Yartar – any place that's large enough to have a steady supply of potential quarries.


As a member of an adventuring party, you might find it more difficult to pursue a personal agenda that doesn't fit with the group's objectives – but on the other hand, you can take down much more formidable targets with the help of your companions.


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): Charisma, Strength, Wisdom
  • Skill Proficiencies (your choice of TWO): Athletics, Deception, or Insight
  • Tool Proficiencies: Thieves' Tools and one Gaming Set of choice.
  • Languages: One Standard and one Exotic language of choice.

  • Background Keepsake: A trinket from a memorable bounty (value under 10gp)
  • Background Gold: 20gp.

Origin Feat

Origin Prepared

You gain a bonus to your Initiative equal to your Proficiency Bonus.


Suggested Characteristics

Your bond might involve other bounty hunters or the organizations or individuals that employ you. Your ideal could be associated with your determination always to catch your quarry or your desire to maintain your reputation for being dependable.


Personality

Please select TWO from the list below.

d8 Personality Trait
1 I tend to approach conversation with people I've just met as though it were an interrogation.
2 I project arrogance and conceit at times- especially after turning in a troublesome target.
3 I'll accept the help of others with a bounty- so long as they can prove their skill to me first.
4 It needn't be hunting down a mark - I'll chop firewood for an old woman if there's pay involved.
5 I'm not prone to idle chatter and prefer keeping to myself unless the topic's business.
6 I've a great deal of practical experience from hunting bounties and can relate to almost any situation.
7 I'm rather adept at games of skill like darts or five-finger fillet.
8 I frequently move from town to town- eager to pursue new marks and seek new contacts.

Ideal

Please select one from the list below.

d6 Ideal Trait
1 Justice These people have violated the law once and I won't let it happen twice.
2 Clean-up. I will get these criminals off the street with help from the law or not.
3 Brutality. Gold pales to the brilliance of the life draining from their eyes.
4 Morality. It's not enough to hunt them down... they have to understand that what they've done is reprehensible.
5 Ambiguity. This job is just a job like any other. Nothing personal against my targets.
6 Endurance. In no other line of work could anyone expect to test their limits so completely.

Bond

Please select one from the list below.

d6 Bond Trait
1 I used to be a soldier; my comrade's betrayal forced me from my home, and into this life.
2 Though my friends are few; I owe them my life many times over and would happily die for them.
3 Horrendous tales and vile rumor destroyed my family's good name and this path is the only recourse to find the truth.
4 The contract turned sour and now I find myself yoked to dangerously twisted employers.
5 All my deeds would surely consign me to prison - only by servicing officials do I stay free.
6 Mindless thuggery stole the life of one I cherished and the price they must pay is one I will collect.

Flaw

Please select one from the list below.

d6 Flaw Trait
1 Sleep- when it comes- is no sleep at all. The time spent tracking marks has left me skittish and paranoid.
2 Not only am I good at what I do- but I love what I do- and I hate myself for it.
3 I refuse to believe anyone can be trusted and will root through their life until I'm satisfied they can be.
4 At a younger age my actions earned me the brand of a criminal- those mistakes haunting me and my fellows even today.
5 It is only for my own selfish need to be the best at what I do that I abandon my team to bring the bounty in first.
6 Contract or not- I never bring murder bounties back alive. They showed no mercy and neither will I.