Homebrew:Night Stalker: 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.
Once you were prey, stalked by a monster through the dark of night. Now, you are the hunter, and the things which you once feared will learn the true meaning of dread. You have become far deadlier, hungrier, and crueler than the monster that once hunted you. You are, yourself, the monster now—a fearsome creature once thought to slake its hunger on you or those close to you. You survived, and your would-be killer will have its own destruction in turn.


; <nowiki>Feat:</nowiki> : [[homebrew:Memory Starved|Memory Starved]]
; <nowiki>Feat:</nowiki> : [[homebrew:Hunter of Hunters|Hunter of Hunters]]
; <nowiki>Skill Proficiencies:</nowiki> : Choose two (see below)
; <nowiki>Skill Proficiencies:</nowiki> : {{stealth}}, one skill from the following list: {{arcana}}, {{history}}, {{religion}}, {{nature}}
; <nowiki>Tool Proficiencies:</nowiki> : Choose one (see below)
; <nowiki>Tool Proficiencies:</nowiki> : [[equipment:leatherworkers-tools|leatherworker's tools]]
; <nowiki>Languages:</nowiki> : See below
; <nowiki>Equipment:</nowiki> : Choose A or B: (A) leatherworker's tools, book (one creature type), hooded lantern, hunting trap, oil (3 flasks), traveler's clothes, 8 gp; 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 ==
== Building a {{PAGENAME}} ==
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.
Consider how you joined the hunt against the creatures of the night. Did you lose someone close to you or survive an attack? Perhaps you were raised in a family line of dedicated hunters. Rangers, rogues, and barbarians make fearsome night stalkers, as does any character with a passion to oppose these deadly creatures.
 
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}} ==
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.


=== 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 Night Stalker 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 || You're hunting the creature that slew your loved ones.
|-
|-
| 2 || You absent-mindedly doodle the same design or symbol over and over.
| 2 || You started your hunt with zeal but quickly find that you're losing your stomach for it.
|-
|-
| 3 || A friend has been traveling the provinces of Druskenvald with a caravan, searching for any hint of your past as they do.
| 3 || As you learn more about the creatures of the night, you discover that some of your initial thoughts about them were wrong.
|-
|-
| 4 || A rhyme or song you've never heard before comes to mind when your thoughts wander.
| 4 || You failed to stand up to a creature and saved yourself instead of someone else. Now you try to make up for that shame.
|-
|-
| 5 || Rainbow colors, such as those on a soap bubble or oil slick, fill you with unexplained terror.
| 5 || The monsters you hunt terrify you to your soul, and you lash out to deny your fear.
|-
|-
| 6 || You have a fragmented recollection of traveling to a remote place in the mountains.
| 6 || Your fervent hunt is a cover for your desire to become something more than mortal.
|}
|}


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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 necklace of yellowed fangs
|-
|-
| 2 || A music box that plays a sad tune you recognize but can't identify
| 2 || A series of letters showing a person's personality sharply eroding into incoherence and raving
|-
|-
| 3 || A short note addressed to you signed with a name you don't recognize
| 3 || A knife made from a massive creature's claw
|-
|-
| 4 || A thin silk scarf with a fading scent that stirs familiarity
| 4 || A casting of a monstrous footprint
|-
|-
| 5 || A toy horse with unfamiliar initials inked on it
| 5 || A hide or pelt from a vicious beast
|-
|-
| 6 || A locket whose portrait is burnt and unrecognizable
| 6 || A glass eye that normal animals shy away from
|}
|}


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

Latest revision as of 23:19, 27 July 2025

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

Once you were prey, stalked by a monster through the dark of night. Now, you are the hunter, and the things which you once feared will learn the true meaning of dread. You have become far deadlier, hungrier, and crueler than the monster that once hunted you. You are, yourself, the monster now—a fearsome creature once thought to slake its hunger on you or those close to you. You survived, and your would-be killer will have its own destruction in turn.

Feat:
Hunter of Hunters
Skill Proficiencies:
StealthDexterity (Stealth)skillMake a Dexterity (Stealth) check when you attempt to conceal yourself from enemies, slink past guards, slip away without being noticed, or sneak up on someone without being seen or heard., one skill from the following list: ArcanaIntelligence (Arcana)skillYour Intelligence (Arcana) check measures your ability to recall lore about spells, magic items, eldritch symbols, magical traditions, the planes of existence, and the inhabitants of those planes., HistoryIntelligence (History)skillYour Intelligence (History) check measures your ability to recall lore about historical events, legendary people, ancient kingdoms, past disputes, recent wars, and lost civilizations., ReligionIntelligence (Religion)skillYour Intelligence (Religion) check measures your ability to recall lore about deities, rites and prayers, religious hierarchies, holy symbols, and the practices of secret cults., NatureIntelligence (Nature)skillYour Intelligence (Nature) check measures your ability to recall lore about terrain, plants and animals, the weather, and natural cycles.
Tool Proficiencies:
leatherworker's tools
Equipment:
Choose A or B: (A) leatherworker's tools, book (one creature type), hooded lantern, hunting trap, oil (3 flasks), traveler's clothes, 8 gp; or (B) 50 gp

Building a Night Stalker

Consider how you joined the hunt against the creatures of the night. Did you lose someone close to you or survive an attack? Perhaps you were raised in a family line of dedicated hunters. Rangers, rogues, and barbarians make fearsome night stalkers, as does any character with a passion to oppose these deadly creatures.

Suggested Story Threads

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

Night Stalker Story Threads
1d6 Thread
1 You're hunting the creature that slew your loved ones.
2 You started your hunt with zeal but quickly find that you're losing your stomach for it.
3 As you learn more about the creatures of the night, you discover that some of your initial thoughts about them were wrong.
4 You failed to stand up to a creature and saved yourself instead of someone else. Now you try to make up for that shame.
5 The monsters you hunt terrify you to your soul, and you lash out to deny your fear.
6 Your fervent hunt is a cover for your desire to become something more than mortal.

Night Stalker Trinkets

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

Night Stalker Trinkets
1d6 Trinket
1 A necklace of yellowed fangs
2 A series of letters showing a person's personality sharply eroding into incoherence and raving
3 A knife made from a massive creature's claw
4 A casting of a monstrous footprint
5 A hide or pelt from a vicious beast
6 A glass eye that normal animals shy away from
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