Background: Monster Hunter

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“Where there is darkness, I bring the light. Where there are people who do not want the light, I bring the sword as well.”

MONSTER HUNTER

The night is dark and full of terrors, or at least it is for the average person. To you the night is dark and full of prey. You are the terror to those monsters that whisk away children and slaughter cattle in the darkest hours. Wherever peasantry live in fear of shadows, wherever the heinous and hideous challenge the light, and wherever the snarls of vile beasts stalking the night can be heard your kind can be found.

You have dedicated your entire life to driving out the unnatural monstrosities of the land. When they appear, you slay them. When they flee, you chase them. When they hide, you burn the forest to the ground to find them.

Monster Hunters wander the realms, rarely staying on one place for any longer than it takes to seek out and eradicate their prey. As such, your kind are respected and feared across the land, for your kind are often seen not as benevolent protectors, but as thrill seekers or blood thirsty game hunters whose profession just happens to have beneficial side effects. At best you are seen as a necessary evil. At worst you are thought to be a monster yourself.

What could have driven you to accept such stigma and pursue a life that almost always ends violently and at a young age? Are you searching the world for the specific werewolf that took your family from you? Did you decide that only by dedicating your life to killing such beasts could you ever truly protect your nation? Or, is it like they said; are you really nothing more than a selfish thrill seeker in a thin disguise?

Skill Proficiencies: Survival, Nature and choose one from among Stealth and Intimidation

Languages : Choose any one language

Equipment: A set of common clothes, a trophy from a slain monster, a pouch with 10gp.

FEATURE: SCENT OF THE PREY

You’ve spent your life hunting monsters and you’ve gotten quiet good at it. You know their scent and their behaviors as if you were yourself one of them. Work with your DM to choose a creature from the Monster Manual that fits into the narrative of the world in which you will be playing. Alternatively, roll on the Monstrous Prey table and then choose a single creature which fits into that category. The creature must be a monstrosity or of a monstrous nature (a werewolf for example). You gain advantage on Wisdom (Survival) and Intelligence (Nature) checks when tracking and attempting to recll information about that creature.

SUGGESTED CHARACTERISTICS

Monster Hunters are naturally driven and strong willed people, often living by their own code rather than that of the world. They are more often good, but rarely lawful. Monster Hunters are quite used to being shunned or feared by the common folk and tend to keep to their own or spend time with the more adventurous. Perhaps the most defining characteristic of a Monster Hunter is the thing which drove them to choose such a dangerous life.

MONSTROUS PREY (D6)

1. Undead- I am dedicated to the eradication of undeath (ex: Mummy, Vampire, Zombie)

2. Humanoid- The monster I hunt is almost human-like (ex: Lycanthrope, Kobold)

3. Monstrosity- I hunt the truest of monsters. (ex: Doppleganger, Wyvern, Naga)

4. Dragon- Fearlessly, I hunt dragons to wipe them from the face of the planet.

5. Demon/Devil- The demons and devils of the world are prey to me. (ex: Manes, Quasit, Erinyes)

6. Other- I hunt and destroy a type of creature unlike any other. (ex: Gargoyle, Myconid, Salamander)

PERSONALITY TRAIT (D6)

1. I’m more comfortable sleeping outside than in an inn or home.

2. I collect trophies from my kills.

3. I rarely laugh. When I do, it is at things other people might find inappropriate to laugh at.

4. I like anything or anyone that can distract me from the horrors of life for even a moment.

5. I don’t give up once I’ve set my mind to something.

6. I have some rather intricate rituals that I preform in preparation for mundane tasks like setting up camp.

IDEALS (D6)

1. Self-Reliance- Asking for help is something that weak people do.

2. Respect- Respect is earned, not given. Those who have mine are as good as gold. Those who do not may as well not exist.

3. Community- Our ability to work together is what separates us from the real monsters.

4. Retribution- For every innocent life taken I will kill a dozen of their kind. One day it will be the monsters that hide when the sun goes down.

5. Death- Death is a noble part of life and I do not shrink from it. In fact, I welcome it as a release from this awful world.

6. Glory- I want them to sing songs of my deeds as a hunter.

BONDS (D6)

1. I will hunt the monster that killed my family until one of us is dead.

2. My noble family has no idea where I am. Someday, I will return to them.

3. If I town or village is being tormented by some monstrous creature, I am obligated to help.

4. My profession is in my blood, as countless generations of my family have done the same thing.

5. My life as a hunter was decided by the priest of my tribal village.

6. I mourn for a long fallen comrade.

FLAWS (D6)

1. I harshly judge those who can’t defend themselves as weak and unworthy.

2. I would rather fight to the death than run from a monster.

3. Though I don't think twice about killing a monster, even the idea of killing a person makes me nauseus and dizzy.

4. I am very prideful. I am easily offended by insults to my skills. I boast and exaggerate. I might even spread disparaging rumors of those I envy.

5. If I had to choose between saving a friend and killing the enemy, I would choose to kill the enemy.

6. Knowing that life is short, I tend to indulge in every vice I can, which leads to its own set of problems the longer I go without dying.

#backgrounds #SeriousBackground