Background: Family Legacy

Created specifically for the Heart of Darkness Campaign.

Description

You come from a proud family tradition and have been instructed in that tradition your whole life. In many places, people will recognize your family name, sometimes even outside of your homeland. You are never just ‘you’; your family’s deeds, both good and bad, are with you wherever you go.

Skill Proficiencies

History, Choose 1 additional

Tool Proficiencies

Artisan (Scribe/Caligraphy)

Languages

Choose 1 associated with family background

Equipment

One set of either Artisan or Fine clothing, bearing your family sigil. A book detailing your family’s lineage and deeds. A device bearing your family sigil that can be used for communication (example: signet ring). The rest in starting gold according to class.

Feature: Succor

The character has family resources that can be tapped in times of need. This is usually a family member or close family friend who can be called upon to provide a small favor, at the DM’s discretion. The nature of the favor is along the lines of a safe place to stay (and possibly recuperate), an introduction to a key NPC, or a small cache of mundane equipment. (Since none of the players are from the region where the adventures will take place, a family ally will be present in town). Your family name may grant access to certain social circles (high or low) that would otherwise be blocked to you. You may or may not be able to request favors from these social contacts, at the DM’s discretion.

Suggested Characteristics

Personality

1. Your family name is your most cherished possession and you would never do anything to impugn your family’s reputation.
2. You are the black sheep of your family, the one that ‘everyone knows about’ and you enjoy embarrassing your family with a never-ending stream of scandals.
3. Your family legacy is one that you are ashamed of and you have dedicated your life to proving that you are not like them.
4. You’ve never really bought into your family’s tradition and ‘legacy’. They’re just old stories and you don’t really feel bound by them.

Ideal

1. You are driven to increase your family’s fame by your noble deeds. (Good)
2. You desire above all to help those that your family has harmed. (Good)
3. You are simply better bred than lesser people and expect obedience from them. (Evil)
4. You crave power above all else. Your family is a convenient, and expendable, means toward achieving your goals. (Evil)
5. You are loyal to your family and the word of your family patriarch or matriarch is as binding as that of any lord. (Lawful)
6. The demands placed on you by your family have always chafed; you really just want to be your own person. (Chaotic)
7. You seek to change your family’s legacy by your own actions. (Neutral)
8. Your will prove your family’s superiority by besting your family’s enemies. (Neutral)

Bond

1. You aggressively search for a precious lost family heirloom because the one to retrieve it will become the new head of the family.
2. Your family has enemies and you seek to stymie/defeat them at every opportunity.
3. You send as much treasure back to your family as you can (either because they demand it or because they have fallen on hard times and need it).
4. You have a secret friendship/love affair with someone from your family’s bitter enemies and seek to reconcile differences between the two groups.
5. You will never rest easy until you have destroyed your family.
6. Your family legacy has held you back from a dearly desired goal (high office, marriage, etc) and you desperately try to prove yourself worthy of your goal.

Flaw

1. You take unreasonable offense to the slightest complaint about your family.
2. You simply cannot believe anything bad about your family, no matter the evidence.
3. You secretly think you and your family are better than everyone else, even noble rulers.
4. You condescendingly treat everyone as a tool for your family’s benefit.
5. You will kill to keep your family secrets.
6. You will kill to reveal your family’s dark deeds to the world.