This is an old revision of the document!
Table of Contents
Weird Features
First Batch
Some of these should perhaps be moved over to the family background deck. Let's keep Skills over on that deck, and weird things you don't get as skills in this one. Special Features should be non-supernatural.
Would you like to choose which to move over? Or would you like me to choose? Choose away
Also, once we put these on notecards, will players be able to keep the cards? Is there a reason why players shouldn't keep the cards? It would keep these features unique. I like the idea of the cards going to the players who pick them. At the very least we should number them so we can track which ones have already been claimed. I reused the special features in the past. But, maybe you are right and we should let them keep them.
| Index | Title | Feature |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Child of the New World | Your family fled your homes following invasion, and you grew up as a child exploring the natural magesty of the new world. You gain the Survival Proficiency from your time living on your wits outdoors. |
| 2 | Born Collector | You come from a long line of artisans, and take pride in your collections. You gain the History Proficiency, and may reroll any checks to identify the value of the three categories of items you collect. |
| 3 | Framed Lawman | A former lawman with a keen eye for detail, you were driven from civilized society when you were framed for an atrocity you did not commit. You retain your skills as a lawman and have the Investigation Proficiency. |
| 4 | Double Life | You've led a double life in the past. You were part of your small village's ruling cult, as well as one of the secret fighters working to keep the cult from opening the Atlantean vault located in the nearby wood. It all came to an end when they brainwashed your wife and child and convinced them to disown you. You've gained the Religion Proficiency |
| 5 | Cowardice | You fled the battlefield, leaving much of your clan to be butchered. You've travelled to the new world to start a new life, with resolve never to leave a fight in shame again. You get advantage on all fear checks |
| 6 | Heirloom | You grew up in a place of privilege as the second son of a chieftain. Following your father's death, your older brother sought to consolidate his strength and commissioned an assassin to kill you in cold blood. Discovery of your sibling's cruel intent motivated you to take your father's +1 magic Heavy Armor from his youth and run. |
| 7 | Escaped the Fey | You were stolen from your family by the Fey as a child. You returned as an adult and cut your Fey doppelganger's throat. You are now on the run for the murder of yourself. You have gained proficiency with Disguise Kit from your work foiling attempts to find you. |
| 8 | Religious Upbringing | Born into a religious family you were given an education in astrology, philosophy and the basics of sorcery. You start with the Religion Proficiency. |
| 9 | Born Warrior | Born into the warrior caste, you fought against rival cities to gain sacrifices for the Undying Lord of your City. You gain the Intimidation Proficiency. |
| 10 | Thrall of Lund | Taken from the countryside at a young age, you were forced to work in the hidden Monastery of Lund, where you were abused and forgotten until you could plot revenge and gain your freedom. You gain +2 permanent hit points |
| 11 | Ghostly Twin | After your twin died in a freak accident, you found that you could continue to hear his voice whisper in your ear giving you timely advice and keeping you safe. You may reroll one D20 check per safe rest |
| 12 | Spiritual Ancestors | Your powerful spiritual ancestors have chosen you at a young age to continue their experiments from the grave. You can create magic items at half cost |
| 13 | Raised as a Noble | You were raised in a noble court. Although pandered and privileged growing up, you developed a strong sense of your own power and destiny to rule. You start with +2 CHA. |
| 14 | Imaginary Friend | Growing up poor and alone, you would often play with your “imaginary friend”. They would tell you stories and scare the bullies away. Now that you study magic, you realize that this being you knew growing up was not imaginary after all. You may re-roll a spell mishap one time per short rest |
| 15 | Already Died Once | You died once. You don't remember anything about your death, just the fact that you woke up just before being buried. Your old friends and family say you've changed and treated you oddly, so you decided to try your hand at adventuring. When mortally injured in the future, you may roll twice on the injury chart and take the better roll. |
| 16 | Exotic Upbringing | You are the offspring of a haughty and noble trader dealing with exotic and forbidden wares. You gain proficiency in Deception and you may re-roll any checks associated with any sales negotiations. |
| 17 | Born to Fight | Born into one of the elite mercenary companies, you have tired of constant warfare and have traveled to find adventure across the sea. You start with +2 STR which helped you raise through the ranks. |
| 18 | Enchantress Mother | Your mother was a famous sorceress and courtesan. Your childhood was dominated by the turmoil that the constant stream of Sorcerers duels with rivals and lovers caused. You start with the Arcana Proficiency, and you may add your proficiency bonus to any saving throws against enchantment, charms, and necromantic magic. |
| 19 | Born a Thrall | You were a thrall to a noble family, and you became well used to their capricious whims and cruel behavior. You are so tough you start with +2 Permanent Hit Points |
| 20 | Healing Heart | You helped to tend to those ill with the plague, and did everything in your power to keep your patients alive. You start the game with the Medicine Proficiency. |
| 21 | Monastic Survivor | You volunteered to be a servant at the Monastery of Tribulation. What hardships you’ve endured and horrors you have witnessed as a result. You gain the Intimidation Proficiency. |
| 22 | Pretty Survival | You grew up without an immediate family in the great mass of citizens of a debaucherous metropolis, in a drugged haze, full of wonder, spectacle and violence. You are one of the ‘pretty’ ones who charmed the masked nobles and survived as a result. You start with a +1 CHA and the Persuasion Proficiency. |
| 23 | Strange Fisherman | You are one of the fisher people of coast. Compared to the city dwellers, you have a simple life of singing folk songs, eating and drinking heartily and occasionally running from the monsters that live in dark caves along the coast. You gain the Athletics Proficiency as well as advantage on Perception checks made while guarding your sleeping comrades. |
| 24 | Survived a Dark Ritual | You were kidnapped as a child to serve as a human sacrifice for a dark ritual. The summoning went awry and the otherworldly horrors dragged your captors to their doom, leaving you shocked but unharmed. You can cast the light cantrip even if you aren't a Scholar or Zealot. |
| 25 | Duplicitous Apprentice | For months you helped your master prepare the dark ritual to summon an imp from a blood sacrifice. You slit his throat before he could murder the captive children, only to complete the bloody ritual yourself to take his power. You know the ritual to create imps, and you may already have an imp servant yourself if you are a scholar. |
| 26 | Empath | In your nightmares, you hear dark whispered secrets of failures and desires others tell only themselves. Sometimes, you can hear these whispers during the day. These whispers give you advantage on any Persuasion checks because you can almost taste what it is that others want out of a social interaction. |
| 27 | Vampiric Bloodline | Your eastern European ancestor is unnaturally long lived and healthy. Uncannily so. Some say you look just like him. Perhaps your ancestor is actually a vampire. Perhaps you are one as well? You may add +4 additional hit points healed after a rest as long as you drink the blood of a sentient killed no earlier than 24 hours ago. |
| 28 | Missionary to the New World | With your family's blessing, you have taken holy vows and traveled to the new world as a missionary. However, once you arrived you've struggled with your promises to Jehovah. You often find yourself tempted by worldly vices, and struggle privately with the frustrating sinister needs within your soul that threaten to explode. You may enter a berserker rage. While enraged, he gains a +2 bonus to attack throws and becomes immune to fear. However, the character has a -2 penalty to AC and cannot retreat from combat. Once it has begun, a berserker rage cannot be ended until combat ends. |
| 29 | Leper | Once you contracted leprosy, you hardened your heart and turned away from polite society to serve a power higher than you. You have disadvantage to all Persuasion checks, but you may remove two CHA and add them to any other attribute to raise it no higher than 18. |
| 30 | Raised in a Cave | You were raised in a dark cave, lending you comfort to being below ground. The bowels of the earth is your preferred state. So much so that you abhor the surface world. Trees are your enemy. You miss your mother, who disappeared from the cavern when you were a teenager. You know the time of day and direction of travel despite being below ground without the sun or stars to guide you. You can see an extra 10' into the darkness because your senses are so attuned to the darkness of the underground. |
| 31 | I See Dead People | As a young man, your responsibilities included raising barns, mining for iron, and climbing down wells. You never told anyone about the spirits of the dead you experienced while digging, but you were uncomfortable with them staring blankly at you while you did your work. You gain the Athletics Proficiency and you can see incorporeal undead. |
| 32 | Drunken Stepfather | Your stepfather would beat you regularly when in his cups. Over the years you learned how to dodge his blows. Now that he's dead, your quickness is an asset you hope to help support your widowed mother. You have gained +2 DEX and the Acrobatics Proficiency for your trouble. |
BATCH TWO
Angelic Blessing The Archangel Michael appeared over your head at your birth and blessed you in the name of the Lord. If you choose the Cleric archetype, you gain 1 extra level-1 spell known.
Animal Empathy You spent many years with a mad hermit in the forest near home. Once he ordered you to cook a “magic weasel” he found, and when you tasted some of the juices you gained a degree of animal empathy. You can now give orders to your horse, dog or any well trained animal which you have become familiar to. These orders succeed on a Cha check. The command have a range of 40' and count as quick action. If you don't have Animal Handling proficiency, you gain it.
Bestia Neptunis One of your ancestors is rumored to have been a Bestia Neptunis (Sea Monster of some sort). It is true that you can hold your breath for 15 minutes and make simple telepathic communication with marine mammals.
Blood of Atlantis Whenever you are near an Atlantean object that is magical, and you concentrate, you can detect that magic and sometimes even a little information about its nature and function.
Clan of the Lidless Eye Your childhood neighbors muttered that your family were descended from Trolls or Elves or Djinni. You seem to need no sleep and are immune to sleep spells and similar sleep-related magic or sleep poisons.
Devil for the Drink A notorious drinker, after a battle, if your character drinks a pint of alcoholic liquid, he is immediately heals 1d6 hit points of damage (once per fight).
Fire Won't Burn There, No Fire At All On the seventh day of the seventh month of your seventh year, your family burned down around you, and you were seen protected by a shining nimbus. To this day, you gain +4 on all saving throws and attacks against Fire. You also take ½ damage from all fire attacks.
God Owes You a Favor Due to a major service done by your father to the Church, if you are present at an Archbishop's cathedral on the first Sunday of any month, you are given a free healing potion.
I Ain't Afraid of No Bears Your grandpa, Bearkiller Kniva, was so feared by bear-kind, that when a bear or part-bear monster tries to attack you it must make a morale check every round before it can swing.
In Tune With the Oneness of the Universe After a strange encounter with forest mushrooms, you now see how the forces of the universe are largely illusion. You can use the Subtle Force (telekinesis) Cantrip at will, regardless of whether you normally use arcane magic or not.
Just Can't Keep You Down Rumored to be sired by a black bear in the dark of the moon, you refuse to die. Whenever you are brought to 0 hit points, roll a Constitution check (with proficiency bonus) to immediately leap up and regain 1d4+1 hit points.
Luminous Inheritance At birth, a scraggly stranger entered your home and gifted your parents with 6 iron rods, each 12” long, and each of which radiates light equivalent to a lantern, without need for fuel. The rods are covered with mysterious Atlantean glyphs.
Mark of Cain You have a mysterious birthmark, which when shown to Trolls and Giants will cause them to be non-hostile to you (until you cross them).
Mind Over Matter After studying with a strange foreigner in your off hours as a youth, you can, once a day, if you concentrate for 10 minutes, levitate up to 30' off the earth for as long as you maintain concentration.
Mysterious Blessing On the way to meet your comrades at the first adventure, a luminous man with his face shrouded by a cloak appears in front of you and makes a sign of blessing, raising one of your Ability Scores (rolled randomly) by 1d4 points.
Natural Born Alchemist Having spent too much time with the gnomes of the garden and forest, you have learned to identify any magic potion or alchemical concoction with a simple sniff.
Pixie Protector You have become friends with a powerful Pixie, Fairy or Sidhe in the forest nearby. He will do you favors as long as you don't make a pig of yourself. If you do, he will make a pig of you.
Ratman One of your ancestors was cursed as a wererat for a time. You can never be surprised by a rat, ratman or wererat of any sort. You also gain +2 to hit, damage, and other checks against any sort of rat, ratman, wererat or rat-monster.
Ruh-Roh For some reason, you have been best friends with an otherwise normal talking dog for your whole life.
Robust Bloodline From a long line of mountain-men, you heal one point of damage per day, in addition to any other sort of healing, whether you rest or not.
Salubrious Blood It was told to you at your 12th birthday that you are descended from Joseph of Aramithea and so are of the Grail Family, related to Percival and Galahad of old. You may be called on one day to perform a service for the Grail, but in the meantime, you are immune to all diseases, including lycanthropy and tomb rot.
Second Sight Descendant of prophets and witches, if you take a round of inaction to focus, you can see the true nature of things through any illusion, disguise or even invisibility. The sight lasts for as long as you concentrate.
Sign of the Magi You were born at a strange astrological concordance of the planets Saturn and Mercury, which caused a local astrologer to warn your parents to watch for signs. On the seventh hour of the seventh day after your birth, strange writings appeared in flame on your forehead, causing you no harm. You proved to be magical prodigy in your youth and gain 1 extra cantril and 1 extra first level spell known at first level. The astrologer would never again speak of, to or near you.
Solar Attunement Born in the middle of Stonehenge, or some similar ancient solar site, you gain +1 to AC, Hit, Damage and checks when you outside under direct sunlight.
Steeped in Holiness From your youth minor miracles, light and a feeling of blessedness surrounded you. You are able to make healing potions, cleric scrolls, and holy water at 25% less cost in components and time.
Time Enough for the Earth in the Grave Having saved an air-spirit from doom, your character gets +4 to saves vs. being turned to stone and takes half damage from all attacks by Earth Elementals and their earthy kin.
Trace of the True Cross You were born in the presence of a fragment of the True Cross. Your defense against any Spiritual Attack is improved by +5.