Background: Haunted One

### Haunted One
You are haunted by something so terrible that you dare not speak of it. You've tried to bury it and flee from it, to no avail. This thing 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 others and making you question your sanity. You must find a way to overcome it before it destroys you.
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* **Skill Proficiencies:** Choose two from among Arcana, Investigation, Religion, and Survival
* **Tools Proficiencies:** One type of gaming set or musical instrument
* **Languages:** Choose one exotic language (Argon, Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, Reidran, Sahuagin,  or Undercommon)
* **Equipment:** A monster hunter's pack (see the sidebar), a set of common clothes, and one trinket of special significance (choose one or roll on the Gothic Trinkets table), and a belt punch containing 10gp

#### Feature: Heart of Darkness
Those who look into your eyes can see that you have faced unimaginable horror and that you are no stranger to darkness. Though they might fear you, commoners will extend you every courtesy and do their utmost to help you. Unless you have shown yourself to be a danger  to them, they will even take up arms to fight alongside you, should you find yourself facing an enemy alone.

#### 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.

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| d12 | Sharn background |
|:-:|:-|
| 1 | My family has lived for a long time in Sharn, we are respected in our community. But then that thing happened to me ... |
| 2 | I came to Sharn as a refugee from the Last War. I spent some time in the lower wards (or deeper) trying to make a living. It was there one day that I survived a Harrowing Event. |
| 3 | If there is anyplace in Khorvaire that has someone that can help me with my Harrowing Event, it has to be Sharn. I mean Sharn has everything, right? |
| 4 | I came to Sharn to escape the horrors of war only to have this happen ... |

| 2d8 | Personality Trait |
|:-:|:-|
| 2 | I have great compassion for those who have suffered great horror. | 
| 3 | I like to read and memorize poetry. It keeps me calm and brings me fleeting moments of happiness from my haunted mind. |
| 4 | I spend money freely and live life to the fullest, knowing that tomorrow I might die. |
| 5 | I live for the thrill of the hunt. |
| 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, they never helped me from the darkness. |
| 9 | I am waging a personal war on madness itself. |
| 10 | I believe strongly in destiny, accepting all events as meant to be. |
| 11 | I have seen a coming war or apocalypse, worse than the Last War or Day of Mourning. |
| 12 | I see omens in every event and action. The Sovereigns try to speak to us, we just need to listen. |
| 13 | I have no fear of death, but madness on the other hand... |
| 14 | I believe strongly in destiny, accepting all events as meant to be. It has to be the only thing that saved me. |
| 15 | I have a joke for every occasion, especially occasions where humor is inappropriate. |
| 16 | I don't run from evil. Evil runs from me. |

> **Monster Hunter's Pack** A monster hunter's pack includes a chest, a crowbar, a hammer, three wooden stakes, a holy symbol, a flask of holy water, a set of manacles, a steel mirror, a flask of oil, a tinderbox, and three torches. Purchasing the pack costs 33 gp, which is cheaper than buying its contents individually.

<div class='footnote'>BACKGROUNDS | HAUNTED ONE</div>

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#### 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. The harrow Event table becomes the "I became a [blank] because ..." table.

| d12 | Harrowing Event |
|:-:|:-|
| 1 | 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. |
| 2 | You were born under a dark star or a piece of the Draconic Prophecy. 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, or a apparition from your troop during the Last War,  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 or hag or Daelkyr took your sibling one cold, dark night, and you were unable to stop it. |
| 6 | You only just managed to escape the Day of Mourning alive. You can still remember the sounds and horrors you saw of those that did not make it. |
| 7 | You did terrible things to avenge the murder or death of someone you loved. You became a monster, and it  haunts your waking dreams. |
| 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 | A monster that slaughtered dozens of innocent people, spared your life, and you don't know why. |
| 11 | You were cursed with lycanthropy and later cured before the Silver Flame could find you. You are now haunted by the innocents you slaughtered. |
| 12 | You stumbled onto the portal of one of the Daelkyr. You had moments of staring into the madness within before you where saved by a Gatekeepr. But you cannot get the madness out of your head when you sleep. |

| d12 | Ideal |
|:-:|:-|
| 1 | **Danger.** It is the threat of death that lets us know we're alive. (Neutral) |
| 2 | **Survival** I'll stop the spirits that haunt me or die trying. (Any) |
| 3 | **Greater Good.** I kill monsters to make the world a safer place, and to exorcise my own demons. (Good) |
| 4 | **Might.** I have a dark calling that puts me above the law. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | **Competence.** I like to know my enemy's capabilities and weaknesses before rushing into battle. (Lawful) |
| 6 | **Power.** I'm a monster that destroys other monsters, and anything else that gets in my way. (Evil) |
| 7 | **Cunning.** I will outsmart the horror of my past. (Any) |
| 8 | **People.** I help people who help me—that's what keeps us alive. (Neutral) |
| 9 | **Charity.** I try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good) |
| 10 | **Faith.** I trust that my deity will guide my actions. I have faith I can overcome this darkness in me. (Lawful) |
| 11 | **Freedom.** The world must be free of this darkness. (Chaotic) |
| 12 | **Justice.** Every monster must pay for their bad deeds, no matter how. (Evil) |

| d12 | Bonds |
|:-:|:-|
| 1 | No one else is going to have to endure the darkness I've been through. |
| 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 him (or her). |
| 7 | I have visions of my brutal death, and live to undo the prophecy. |
| 8 | I am seeking for someone or something to save me from my past. |
| 9 | The evil forces in the world must be stopped. |
| 10 | I will discover the truth hidden in this darkness. |
| 11 | I keep my thoughts and discoveries in a journal. My journal is my legacy. |
| 12 | I will get revenge on the evil forces that destroyed my life. |

<div class='footnote'>BACKGROUNDS | HAUNTED ONE</div>

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| d12 | Flaws |
|:-:|:-|
| 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. |
| 7 | I believe the madness speaks to me in my dreams. |
| 8 | I live on the lip of insanity, wanting to know reasons... |
| 9 | I am cautious and guarded—wary of others who might harm me or be agents of darkness. |
| 10 | I take foolish risks because I think I'm being tested by my god. |
| 11 | I am attached to a precious possession with immense sentimental value and significance. Without it, I am no longer myself and am prone to suffer from depression, moodiness, or aggressive behavior. Roll on the Gothic trinkets table. |
| 12 | I will never fully trust anyone other than myself. |

<div class='footnote'>BACKGROUNDS | HAUNTED ONE</div>