Homebrew:Experiment: Difference between revisions

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{{ooc note|This is an implementation of the {{PAGENAME}} background from [[The Crooked Moon]]}}
{{ooc note|This is an implementation of the {{PAGENAME}} background from [[The Crooked Moon]]}}
__NOTOC__
__NOTOC__
Some portion of your past has been swallowed by nothingness. The missing time could be a short interval—mere days or weeks gone from your memory— or you might have only vague hints at best of who you are and where you are from. Flashes of déjà vu are common, taunting you with recollection, but they almost always slip away, as ungraspable as the mists of Druskenvald. An injury, some traumatic experience, or the magical workings of a spell or curse could be the culprit behind your amnesia.
You are forever altered in some drastic, physical way, perhaps even made monstrous. A blasphemous fusion of science, alchemy, and magic changed you, possibly to mend some unrecoverable malady, or to test the limits of your biology. The process was a success, at least to a point, but the change left its mark on you. The indelible warping of your form can be a source of fear for those who do not understand what they see.


; <nowiki>Feat:</nowiki> : [[homebrew:Memory Starved|Memory Starved]]
; <nowiki>Feat:</nowiki> : [[homebrew:Altered|Altered]]
; <nowiki>Skill Proficiencies:</nowiki> : Choose two (see below)
; <nowiki>Skill Proficiencies:</nowiki> : {{intimidation}}, {{medicine}}
; <nowiki>Tool Proficiencies:</nowiki> : Choose one (see below)
; <nowiki>Tool Proficiencies:</nowiki> : [[equipment:alchemists-supplies|alchemist's supplies]]
; <nowiki>Languages:</nowiki> : See below
; <nowiki>Equipment:</nowiki> : Choose A or B: (A) alchemist's supplies, manacles, perfume (to cover chemical smell), traveler's clothes (with hooded cloak); or (B) 50 gp
; <nowiki>Equipment:</nowiki> : Choose A or B: (A) book (personal notes), ink, ink pen, traveler's clothes, 11 gp; or (B) 50 gp
 
== Scattered Memories ==
You don't choose skill proficiencies or a tool proficiency when you select this background, and you don't choose any languages other than Common during character creation—these are parts of your past that you are missing. Instead, you can pick one of those proficiencies or languages during play at any time. The knowledge might return in a spontaneous flash, even as you make a roll that relies on the proficiency, or slowly emerge as you struggle to solve a problem. Once you choose one of these features, you can't choose another one until you gain a level.
 
The GM might rule that you can choose a new recalled feature early if something reminds you of your past, such as finding a piece of evidence from your missing memories or experiencing an event similar to one you have forgotten. Of particular value is an event relating to one of the story threads or trinkets presented below.


== Building an {{PAGENAME}} ==
== Building an {{PAGENAME}} ==
Any character can face misfortune or a choice that steals their memory. Consider how your character came to lose their memory. Was it lost through injury or illness, or did something more sinister steal it with a toxin or curse? You might decide to leave this choice up to the GM, letting you as a player discover the cause alongside your character.
An experiment can come from any class or walk of life. Were you kidnapped and altered against your will, or did you volunteer for a heinous procedure? Was the experimenting done purely for discovery, to overcome a worse fate, or for someone to play at being a god? Whatever the reason, the process is never pleasant, and it always leaves scars—both those you can see and those that have marked your very soul.


=== Suggested Story Threads ===
=== Suggested Story Threads ===
This background presents a paradox when considering threads to weave through a campaign, since the character may not remember them. Work with the GM to create some leading events or people that can serve as constants to trace a path through the void of the character's past, especially if the GM can insert existing nonplayer characters into the thread to strengthen these connections. The Amnesiac Story Threads table suggests events and people who can be the start of these threads.
The Experiment Story Threads table suggests events and people who can be the start of story threads for your character that weave through the campaign.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
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! 1d6 !! Thread
! 1d6 !! Thread
|-
|-
| 1 || You have recurring dreams of someone you might recognize on your adventures.
| 1 || A particular song stirs feelings of sadness and overwhelming anger in you, reminding you of the process that changed you.
|-
|-
| 2 || You absent-mindedly doodle the same design or symbol over and over.
| 2 || A portion of your altered body is very clearly grafted from a different person, and they might want it back.
|-
|-
| 3 || A friend has been traveling the provinces of Druskenvald with a caravan, searching for any hint of your past as they do.
| 3 || Another person was changed alongside you. They fled before you left, urging you to do the same.
|-
|-
| 4 || A rhyme or song you've never heard before comes to mind when your thoughts wander.
| 4 || You have recurring nightmares of the procedure you endured, sometimes seeing glimpses of faces in the dream that you don't recognize.
|-
|-
| 5 || Rainbow colors, such as those on a soap bubble or oil slick, fill you with unexplained terror.
| 5 || Your physical difference invites curiosity and attention, which for some reason is more disturbing than disdain or fear.
|-
|-
| 6 || You have a fragmented recollection of traveling to a remote place in the mountains.
| 6 || A peculiar symbol is branded on or near your alteration.
|}
|}


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! 1d6 !! Trinket
! 1d6 !! Trinket
|-
|-
| 1 || Half of a tarnished silver ring with a partial inscription in a language you don't understand
| 1 || A syringe with a faintly glowing purple residue
|-
|-
| 2 || A music box that plays a sad tune you recognize but can't identify
| 2 || A wrench that is the only one that fits a bit of simple machinery built into your body
|-
|-
| 3 || A short note addressed to you signed with a name you don't recognize
| 3 || A sheaf of chemical-stained parchments covered in incomprehensible notes and schematics
|-
|-
| 4 || A thin silk scarf with a fading scent that stirs familiarity
| 4 || A spool of silver thread that matches stitches in your altered body part
|-
|-
| 5 || A toy horse with unfamiliar initials inked on it
| 5 || A metal hip flask with strange runes scratched into one side
|-
|-
| 6 || A locket whose portrait is burnt and unrecognizable
| 6 || A smooth stone that comforts and soothes you when you hold it tightly
|}
|}


[[category:homebrew backgrounds]]
[[category:homebrew backgrounds]]

Latest revision as of 23:11, 27 July 2025

(OOC: This is an implementation of the Experiment background from The Crooked Moon)

You are forever altered in some drastic, physical way, perhaps even made monstrous. A blasphemous fusion of science, alchemy, and magic changed you, possibly to mend some unrecoverable malady, or to test the limits of your biology. The process was a success, at least to a point, but the change left its mark on you. The indelible warping of your form can be a source of fear for those who do not understand what they see.

Feat:
Altered
Skill Proficiencies:
IntimidationCharisma (Intimidation)skillWhen you attempt to influence someone through overt threats, hostile actions, and physical violence, the DM might ask you to make a Charisma (Intimidation) check. Examples include trying to pry information out of a prisoner, convincing street thugs to back down from a confrontation, or using the edge of a broken bottle to convince a sneering vizier to reconsider a decision., MedicineWisdom (Medicine)skillA Wisdom (Medicine) check lets you try to stabilize a dying companion or diagnose an illness.
Tool Proficiencies:
alchemist's supplies
Equipment:
Choose A or B: (A) alchemist's supplies, manacles, perfume (to cover chemical smell), traveler's clothes (with hooded cloak); or (B) 50 gp

Building an Experiment

An experiment can come from any class or walk of life. Were you kidnapped and altered against your will, or did you volunteer for a heinous procedure? Was the experimenting done purely for discovery, to overcome a worse fate, or for someone to play at being a god? Whatever the reason, the process is never pleasant, and it always leaves scars—both those you can see and those that have marked your very soul.

Suggested Story Threads

The Experiment Story Threads table suggests events and people who can be the start of story threads for your character that weave through the campaign.

Experiment Story Threads
1d6 Thread
1 A particular song stirs feelings of sadness and overwhelming anger in you, reminding you of the process that changed you.
2 A portion of your altered body is very clearly grafted from a different person, and they might want it back.
3 Another person was changed alongside you. They fled before you left, urging you to do the same.
4 You have recurring nightmares of the procedure you endured, sometimes seeing glimpses of faces in the dream that you don't recognize.
5 Your physical difference invites curiosity and attention, which for some reason is more disturbing than disdain or fear.
6 A peculiar symbol is branded on or near your alteration.

Experiment Trinkets

When you make your character, you can roll once on the Experiment Trinkets table instead of on the normal starting Trinkets table.

Experiment Trinkets
1d6 Trinket
1 A syringe with a faintly glowing purple residue
2 A wrench that is the only one that fits a bit of simple machinery built into your body
3 A sheaf of chemical-stained parchments covered in incomprehensible notes and schematics
4 A spool of silver thread that matches stitches in your altered body part
5 A metal hip flask with strange runes scratched into one side
6 A smooth stone that comforts and soothes you when you hold it tightly
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