Homebrew:Reflected Wanderer: 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 were once whole, but part of you has been separated from your being and now also wanders the world. This aspect of you took your reflection and shadow with it, and it travels about as a mirage that looks identical to you. You know this other self is out there—you can feel it—but what it wants and why is lost on you. Sometimes you encounter a stranger that knows you—for good or ill—though you've never met them before, and you can't help but wonder if they met the other you.


; <nowiki>Feat:</nowiki> : [[homebrew:Memory Starved|Memory Starved]]
; <nowiki>Feat:</nowiki> : [[homebrew:Unreflected|Unreflected]]
; <nowiki>Skill Proficiencies:</nowiki> : Choose two (see below)
; <nowiki>Skill Proficiencies:</nowiki> : {{deception}}, {{investigation}}
; <nowiki>Tool Proficiencies:</nowiki> : Choose one (see below)
; <nowiki>Tool Proficiencies:</nowiki> : [[equipment:disguise-kit|disguise kit]]
; <nowiki>Languages:</nowiki> : See below
; <nowiki>Equipment:</nowiki> : Choose A or B: (A) disguise kit, mirror, traveler's clothes, 16 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.
Any character can be a reflected wanderer. How was it that your being came to be divided? How much do you understand about your situation? Are you truly who you think you are, or are you, in reality, the very castoff reflection of your other self ?
 
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 Reflected Wanderer 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 close, long-term relationship went suddenly sour as if you wronged the other person.
|-
|-
| 2 || You absent-mindedly doodle the same design or symbol over and over.
| 2 || Your other self leaves you messages and signs as it travels, sometimes seeming fond and other times resentful.
|-
|-
| 3 || A friend has been traveling the provinces of Druskenvald with a caravan, searching for any hint of your past as they do.
| 3 || Animals are unsettled by you, becoming skittish and restless in your presence.
|-
|-
| 4 || A rhyme or song you've never heard before comes to mind when your thoughts wander.
| 4 || You're wanted for several minor crimes you never committed, though eyewitnesses named you. Over time, more crimes of increasing severity occur.
|-
|-
| 5 || Rainbow colors, such as those on a soap bubble or oil slick, fill you with unexplained terror.
| 5 || Someone you've been at odds with begins treating you with more respect and kindness.
|-
|-
| 6 || You have a fragmented recollection of traveling to a remote place in the mountains.
| 6 || Mirrors sometimes crack when you touch them.
|}
|}


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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 shattered hand mirror
|-
|-
| 2 || A music box that plays a sad tune you recognize but can't identify
| 2 || An invitation to a powerful person's home whom you've never met
|-
|-
| 3 || A short note addressed to you signed with a name you don't recognize
| 3 || A locket with your silhouette painted in it on both sides, facing each other
|-
|-
| 4 || A thin silk scarf with a fading scent that stirs familiarity
| 4 || A short, derisive letter from yourself that you don't remember writing
|-
|-
| 5 || A toy horse with unfamiliar initials inked on it
| 5 || A brooch delivered to you that you didn't purchase
|-
|-
| 6 || A locket whose portrait is burnt and unrecognizable
| 6 || A piece of chalk that writes in a different color than it appears to be
|}
|}


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

Latest revision as of 23:22, 27 July 2025

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

You were once whole, but part of you has been separated from your being and now also wanders the world. This aspect of you took your reflection and shadow with it, and it travels about as a mirage that looks identical to you. You know this other self is out there—you can feel it—but what it wants and why is lost on you. Sometimes you encounter a stranger that knows you—for good or ill—though you've never met them before, and you can't help but wonder if they met the other you.

Feat:
Unreflected
Skill Proficiencies:
DeceptionCharisma (Deception)skillYour Charisma (Deception) check determines whether you can convincingly hide the truth, either verbally or through your actions. This deception can encompass everything from misleading others through ambiguity to telling outright lies. Typical situations include trying to fast-talk a guard, con a merchant, earn money through gambling, pass yourself off in a disguise, dull someone's suspicions with false assurances, or maintain a straight face while telling a blatant lie., InvestigationIntelligence (Investigation)skillWhen you look around for clues and make deductions based on those clues, you make an Intelligence (Investigation) check. You might deduce the location of a hidden object, discern from the appearance of a wound what kind of weapon dealt it, or determine the weakest point in a tunnel that could cause it to collapse. Poring through ancient scrolls in search of a hidden fragment of knowledge might also call for an Intelligence (Investigation) check.
Tool Proficiencies:
disguise kit
Equipment:
Choose A or B: (A) disguise kit, mirror, traveler's clothes, 16 gp; or (B) 50 gp

Building a Reflected Wanderer

Any character can be a reflected wanderer. How was it that your being came to be divided? How much do you understand about your situation? Are you truly who you think you are, or are you, in reality, the very castoff reflection of your other self ?

Suggested Story Threads

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

Reflected Wanderer Story Threads
1d6 Thread
1 A close, long-term relationship went suddenly sour as if you wronged the other person.
2 Your other self leaves you messages and signs as it travels, sometimes seeming fond and other times resentful.
3 Animals are unsettled by you, becoming skittish and restless in your presence.
4 You're wanted for several minor crimes you never committed, though eyewitnesses named you. Over time, more crimes of increasing severity occur.
5 Someone you've been at odds with begins treating you with more respect and kindness.
6 Mirrors sometimes crack when you touch them.

Reflected Wanderer Trinkets

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

Reflected Wanderer Trinkets
1d6 Trinket
1 A shattered hand mirror
2 An invitation to a powerful person's home whom you've never met
3 A locket with your silhouette painted in it on both sides, facing each other
4 A short, derisive letter from yourself that you don't remember writing
5 A brooch delivered to you that you didn't purchase
6 A piece of chalk that writes in a different color than it appears to be
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