Backgrounds

A player character's background is selected during character creation in The Domains of Dread, being a representation for a biographical aspect of that character's story prior to being Misted. Every character selects a single background and receives bonuses and/or maluses regarding that background as listed below. While a character is required to select a background from this list, a generic background is also made available for cases where none of the provided backgrounds are desirous or applicable.

A background does not need to be the sole point of interest in any given character's origin, but should factor in to at least a negligible degree. General backgrounds may be chosen by anyone (except for natives of domains with limited background selection, which are marked in the character creation process), and special backgrounds by characters who fulfill their requirements.

All background abilities unless otherwise indicated are exceptional, not supernatural, in nature.

General Backgrounds in The Domains of Dread

Acolyte

An acolyte has always known faith. Even without the structure of a church, there are always those who place matters of soul and spirit ahead of any other earthly concern. For some, this path of enlightenment is a source of strength that follows them throughout their lives - in others, as they are now, must escape these shackles of tradition. For either case an acolyte has unmatched conviction.

- 75sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a censer, incense, a folio stack of papers, and an inkwell.
- +1 to Lore.
- Acquires innate ability: [Su] divine icon. At rest time the acolyte may choose to pray over or otherwise consecrate an item of their ideoligion or personal faith. They may then brandish this item in combat as a free action, provoking a DC 15 Will save on a broadcast target. If the target fails, they are shaken for a duration equal to 1 round + 1 round/level. 1/rest.

Apprentice

Those that understand society know that waiting for a prodigy to come and solve their problems would bring the world to a slow, resolute halt. People are people, and people are mortals, so too must their skills and knowledge be passed on to the next generation. Such is the role of an apprentice, chosen to carry on the legacy of their craft no matter the scale - be it weaving baskets or the Weave itself, such is their importance in the grand scheme.

- 150sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a folio stack of papers, an inkwell, and a small bag.
- +1 to Knowledge.
- Acquires innate ability: learning through seeing. The apprentice receives a 25% bonus to experience earned while performing the tasks of a profession while in the nearby company of another player character with a higher profession level.

Adventurer

It is rare that an individual may be called adventurer from their earliest days. Even if they have not yet seen a forgotten ruin or clashed with great and alien beasts, the adventurer forever seeks the unknown whether for glory, gain, or the simple joy of doing. Wanderlust suffuses the adventurer, and they live by their instincts; after all, if these instincts did not suffice, they would not be here today.

- 100sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a set of climbing equipment, a torch, a carving dagger and a small bag.
- +1 to Search and Survival.
- Acquires innate ability: travel ready. The adventurer takes 1.25x as long to become exhausted from mundane sources.

Artisan

Some see the world differently: in colors, shapes and patterns which others do not, and either with exhaustive pursuit or mad inspiration, bring these differences into the light of day through their work. Artisans are not necessarily the finest of craftspeople - but enough to live from it. Nor must they put on the airs of a sculptor or cathedral illuminator as an artisan may take as much pride from wood frames as they might true to life statues. Even as they might put this life behind them, their designs will lurk behind their eyes forever.

- 200sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a folio stack of papers, an inkwell, and a small bag.
- +5 to an applicable profession level of choice.
- Acquires innate ability: foresee masterwork. Once a week IRT the artisan may choose to guarantee their next profession project to reward the most profession experience available OR to be at the highest possible quality level.

Athlete

Whether through muscle or speed, an athlete takes on the energy of their life to dedicate to maintenance of their mortal machine. They might be laborers, performers, or simple survivors with nothing left to count on other than their own hide. The mark of an athlete is to occupy a state of synchronicity with their form: to find, challenge, and exceed their limits at will.

- 75sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit.
- +1 to Dexterity OR Strength, -1 to Wisdom.
- Acquires innate ability: ride adrenaline. The athlete may push themselves even further beyond as a free action, gaining 15% increased movement speed for a duration equal to 1 round + 1 round/level if they selected Dexterity, or +5 bludgeoning damage on hit for a duration equal to 1 round + 1 round/level if they selected Strength. 1/rest.

Bookkeeper

Before ink and paper, chalk and slate, beans and jars, there have always been those responsible for the art of the tally. A bookkeeper knows where something is, or where it can be found. They will know how much it costs and where to acquire it cheaply. They know who to use and who isn't pulling their weight. Even at their most disorganized, a cost-benefit analysis flitters by as they sleep. Some are precise, others swear by feeling, but in any case they'll be confident enough to make others see what they see - at least enough to have proof they were right all along, when it falls apart.

- 100sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a currency pouch, a folio stack of papers, an inkwell, and a small bag.
- +1 to Appraise.
- Acquires innate ability: present records. Once a day IRT the bookkeeper may select a neutral non-player character vendor to have 15% better base buy/sell rates before Appraise for their next 3 transactions. This ability cannot trigger on a vendor whose demeanor is dissatisfied with the bookkeeper.

Charlatan

Those who live by the lie are of countless names and faces, impossible to define by any single lexicon - for as soon as they are, the charlatan has cut themselves anew from whole cloth and a smile. At their guarded core a charlatan may be anyone, with any skill be they high or low, bold or cowardly, rich or poor, strong or weak. All that is really required is an audacity to cheat and methods to escape consequence. Some charlatans, ever duplicitous, are even themselves unaware of their nature - they just can't help themselves.

- 150sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a disguise kit, and a small bag.
- +1 to Deception.
- Acquires innate ability: sell the steal. A charlatan has one more disguise slot than usual and any disguise set in this innate slot does not suffer disadvantages related to being an unestablished disguise.

Courtier

In every society there will be the chosen winners and losers; somewhere just beneath the former you will find those who by luck or cunning present themselves as creatures of like kind. A courtier knows exactly how to transform an identical phrase into a cutting jest or hidden code with little more than a shift in tone or twitch of the eye. Even when alliances dissolve and chosen winners change, they will naturally seek these new roosts, changing their skin however they need in order to be re-ingratiated.

- 100sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a fan, and a small bag.
- +1 to Presence.
- Acquires innate ability: sense the tides. A courtier experiences 0.75x the negative NR shift that would be suffered for a socially adverse action, and 1.25x the positive NR shift for a socially desirous action. This ability cannot trigger more than once a week IRT, but may trigger twice if separately for a negative action and a positive one.

Criminal

A criminal is anyone who survives by defiance of the so-stated common good. No matter the law whether true, unjust or when law is no more than a brutal code of rule by strength, those who have filtered down into the dregs of society are those who have crossed the law one way or another. Criminals may be wrongly accused, accused without consequence, or may be those for whom "law" is but a three-letter word and not enough legs - but nevertheless, they have been dealt their bad hand at some point before present.

- 75sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a currency pouch, a set of thieves' tools, and a small bag.
- +1 to Sleight of Hand and Handle Device.
- Acquires innate ability: market connections. A criminal has their initial NR adjusted to Disfavored in the major domains, and allocate Sign Language as a free language. Certain non-player characters may have different reactions to criminal player characters, including the possibility for unique fencing opportunities for stolen goods or revealing hidden areas.

Deprived

To be deprived is to have nothing truly of one's own. It is to have hunger, thirst and fatigue as familiar as family and just as ignored until their absence is natural. One in such a state may strive to escape it or settle, numbly, into whatever stands for its embrace. These are the beggars and the diseased in the Realms of Terror, the refugees and the downtrodden. One may be deprived for years and not compute the fact. A rare few may have even chosen this way of life, perhaps in pursuit of an ideal or self-flagellation.

- 25sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit.
- +1 to Constitution, -1 to Presence.
- +2 to Survival.
- Acquires innate ability: inured survival. A deprived suffers 0.5x any damage suffered due to mundane sources of weather, and does not require a campfire to successfully rest outdoors.

Entertainer

Wherever there are people in the civilized reaches of the Realms of Terror, so follows meal and music. The entertainer has made it their purpose to provide both the former and the latter - celebrating for all those around them. Some struggle with this yoke, regarding performances as the act of another "self" while feeling nothing in their private moments. Others may assure themselves grandly about their own skill and importance, even when these skills are unremarkable or downright horrendous. But so long as they are paid and not shooed out of every last establishment down to the last podunk treacle of society, the show goes on.

- 100sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a choice of performing instrument, a choice of costume hat, and a small bag.
- +2 to Performance, -1 to Stealth.
- Acquires innate ability: encouraging ditty. An entertainer may play a pithy set of music with an equipped instrument, providing +1 to saves made against Fear, Horror and Delirium in a medium area around them for a duration equal to 1 turn + 1 round/level. 1/rest. This improves to +2 should the entertainer achieve 10 hard ranks in Performance.

Farmer

Through sweat and toil may the farmer provide for themselves, their families and their communities - so long as their master cares to share the harvest. They are hardworking individuals who foster a deep connection to their field, whether for merely agriculture or the add of husbandry, cultivars and the many other (often thankless) tasks of the homestead. Usually the transition from farmer into someone of more significance is abrupt - even if chosen for themselves. Many heroes in Outlander worlds and beyond the Misty Border alike were once farmers who grew disenchanted with digging more holes.

- 100sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a choice of metal tool, a bundle of field rations, and a small bag.
- +1 to Survival and Handle Animal.
- Acquires innate ability: steer the flock. A farmer begins with their choice of mundane animal companion, able to be called or sent away from any outdoor environment. 1/rest. Should this companion die and be buried, the farmer may call after another animal after a week IRT. This animal companion is separate from any companion obtained for reasons of being a Druid or a Hunter.

Fisher

Wherever there is water - or in certain environs, semi-permeable mud - there are potentially edible things to be wrested free. To fish is not at all the simple profession it is often characterized, encompassing the stoic souls who are able to sense the weather in their brows and fearless divers that pry pearls from the jaws of shellfish. They are masters of patience, feared for this by their quarry inasmuch desirous for it by others - or so they, the fishers, may well attest.

- 100sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a fishing set, a bundle of field rations, and a small bag.
- +1 to Survival and Perception.
- Acquires innate ability: resist the waves. A fisher, while fishing, does not suffer any adverse effect on the outcome due to time of day or present weather. They may make Perception checks in heavy rain as though it is not raining for purposes of detecting entities who are hidden or otherwise in stealth.

Game Hunter

The act of hunting is as old as life itself. For the game hunter it may be art, science, even an unconscious compulsion. Some may see this as subsistence, or the pursuit of power and the thrill of the kill. They may be friend, foe, or even component of the Cycle that is Nature, but even the most conscientious game hunter has a look about them that is a narrow eye in search of prey.

- 100sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a carving knife, a bundle of field rations, and a small bag.
- +1 to Survival and Perception.
- Acquires innate ability: bounty of the kill. When a game hunter skins or otherwise interacts with a slain animal, they have a 25% chance to receive double the product and bestow themselves +1 to saves made against Fear, Horror and Delirium checks until their next rest.

Hermit

It may be said that no two people will have the same reason for hermitage in the Realms of Terror. Whether for mere bad luck such as in the case of castaways and lone survivors or something more, the call of self-sufficiency has been given and duly answered. Even if they live only ever a stone's throw from others, anyone for keeps their own company and defies integration may become a hermit. Though this solitude is an opportunity for honing the mind, nothing is ever certain beyond the Misty Border, and such a path taken alone may as much lead to madness.

- 50sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit.
- +1 to Wisdom.
- Acquires innate ability: tune of solitude. The hermit may meditate at rest time, bestowing +1 to saves made against Fear, Horror and Delirium so long as no one else enters their sight radius, and do not require a campfire to successfully rest outdoors.

Investigator

The unknown is past tense in presence of an investigator. Finders of the hidden, seekers of the truth, and students of all that is, an investigator knows a little bit about everything - and how best they might find what they don't know yet. This is orchestrated through the occasional sleepless night and, occasionally, confronting groups of suspicious strangers. Some investigators are creatures of justice and ethics, while others are the sort cursed as simply meddlesome and nosey.

- 100sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a folio stack of papers, an inkwell, and a small bag.
- +1 to Search and Knowledge.
- Acquires innate ability: commit to memory. When an investigator reveals a hidden sight or object, they are guaranteed to find it again for all future Search checks performed to find that sight or object. This ability does not trigger for sights or objects which are hidden through supernatural or player character related means.

Merchant

A merchant in the Realms of Terror is the gleeful 'best friend' of any Mist-led, promising opportunities in exchange for a spare weapon, some silver, a small gem and whatever else might gleam in their eyes. Even in cultures that do not deal in coinage, merchants become masters of the barter are able to nevertheless come away with more for less. They'll anticipate your needs before you do, and stock easy trust that you'll return for more.

- 250sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a currency pouch, and a medium bag.
- +1 to Appraise.
- Acquires innate ability: turn over coinage. A merchant may exchange their itemized currency for the currency of the present domain without losing any to moneylender taxes. They may carry 1.25x the amount of loose silver before suffering encumbrance.

Sage

The Realms of Terror are vast, and time beyond the Misty Border without measure. There is more to study and (attempt to) understand than what is possible for any mortal lifetime, but sages do not take this fact as to be discouragement. Whether academics or students of natural science, these are those with the burning need to "know", be it a single but blinding truth, or the sum of everything. Inevitably, all sages contend with the question of what knowledge in the Core that is forbidden should stay forbidden - often, too late.

- 125sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a folio stack of papers, an inkwell, and a small bag.
- +1 to Lore and Knowledge.
- Acquires innate ability: identify the esoteric. Checks performed by a sage to identify a world object or translate written language are rolled twice.

Sailor

Where there is water, so must there be sailors. These are the folk that are unsteady on solid ground, mistrusting straight roads to live instead by a complex, inscrutable web of nautical tradition. A sailor always has eye on the horizon - searching for their destination, or wearied watch for ill omens. Creatures of no home except the sea, sailors friend their firmest friends and foulest foes amongst their own peers.

- 100sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a sightglass, and a small bag.
- +1 to Perception and Acrobatics.
- Acquires innate ability: all routes to the seas. The sailor enjoys +1 to saves made against Fear, Horror and Delirium if they are near a long body of water or were near a long body of water within the last hour IGT. If they rest near this long body of water and are uninjured, they will be bestowed a 4 HP overheal before other sources. They do not require a campfire to rest outdoors if the above need is met.

Scribe

In the beginning there were words and, shortly after, those to write them down. The scribe is more than a bearer of knowledge or a passive observer of situations as they are - writing nigh automatically, often in puzzling shorthand that would vex even modest students of the arcane. They can find, notate, and copy anything set before them, at times resenting having to do precisely what they record: speak. Not all scribes are happy with their lot in life, either - their work is often a thankless task.

- 100sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a folio stack of papers, an inkwell, and a medium bag.
- +1 to Intelligence, -1 to Presence.
- Acquires innate ability: copywork. A scribe may freely produce a nascent copy of any written article in their inventory without the need for an additional paper, pulling the copy "from somewhere". 1/rest. At rest time they may similarly produce a folio stack of papers once per day IRT.

Smuggler

As long as trade has existed, so too has forbidden trade. Where others might concern themselves with law, prices, inventories and the whims of the market, a smuggler would find these points amusing, but irrelevant foppery. All they need concern themselves with is the location of an acquisition and whether or not it is nailed down. A smuggler may be foul, even fair - but they are agents of resistance, slipping under the nose of order.

- 100sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit and a medium bag.
- +1 to Appraise.
- Acquires innate ability: underhand. A smuggler may choose any single item on their persons to hide for purposes of being strip searched. Should they fail their Sleight of Hand check, all but the chosen item will be revealed. This item cannot exceed 3x2 size, or 10.0 units of encumbrance.

Spy

In service to cult, country, or the highest bidder, there will always be those whose nonexistence is equal parts asset and subject of legend - and yet, origins of the most common spy may be as mundane as simply being the wrong person in the right place. Should they take to this job and do it correctly, they will never be known for it. Spies are often attached to the sprawling organs of some extant organization and are, just as often, eventually told to take on new lives elsewhere. Fortunately, there will always be work for a sharp set of ears and a sharper knife in the Realms of Terror.

- 100sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a folio stack of papers, an inkwell, and a small bag.
- +1 to Deception and Perception.
- Acquires innate ability: cleaner listening. A spy may hear the whispers of other characters 1.25x as far away, scaling with hard ranks in Perception until 1.50x at 10 hard ranks.

Watch

The profession of watchman is, perhaps, the singlemost contentious in all the Realms of Terror. Asked to arbitrate through laws that they themselves may understand little better than a layperson and to dispense this justice judicially but not always promptly, their closeness to the authoritative bodies of the Core no doubt open them to endless opportunity to question and be questioned. Yet for some cosmic property beyond the Misty Border, they continue in this toil nevertheless, whether for a real sense of law and order or the promise of a pouch of silver at day's end.

- 100sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit, a choice of metal weapon, a choice of metal helm, and a small bag.
- +2 to Perception, -1 to Stealth.
- Acquires innate ability: eye on them. A watch always counts as close range for purposes of attempting to undisguise, and do not suffer disadvantages on their Intuition check due to environment or weather.

Urchin

Attributed, falsely, to be the sole domain of delinquent youth, the truest form of the urchin is that of its original namesake, now called 'hedgehog' (as waifs and beggars have snatched that name in the night). An urchin is an opportunist that is feckless in their pursuit. Lightning fast and quick on their feet, they are able to thrive comfortably in undesirable places of society, getting on with just enough misdeeds that their actions are mistaken for nuisance rather than a feral drive of self-enrichment.

- 75sp starting silver stipend.
- Acquires a cloth outfit and a medium bag.
- +1 to Dexterity, -1 to Wisdom.
- Acquires innate ability: easy getaway. An urchin has a +2 circumstantial bonus to any check made to resist being detained, manacled, or otherwise rendered immobile. If they succeed on any such check, they have 5% increased movement speed for a duration equal to 1 round + 1 round/level.