Background: Monster Within

The Monster Within background is doubtlessly one of my favorites. Something about the chance to roleplay constantly holding back is in such contrast to the common way of using D&D for cathartic murder hobo-ing. The Mosnter Within was the most fun I've had writing a homebrew anything before.

(Download the PDF here)

“Fangs within the darkness

Flesh within the light Pitious is the daybreak

Unholy is the night

Always he is hunted

That is the monster’s plight “

MONSTER WITHIN (Non-Standard Background)

Within your soul a darkness stirs, a deep and unrepentant evil that, unless kept constantly in check, would claw its way into the world, taking control of you and likely killing anyone you cared about. You have spent countless hours in meditation, prayer and arcane study in an attempt to control the beast within, and have gained some measure of respite from doing so. However, no matter the length to which you go to free yourself of it, it will always be part of you.

Perhaps you labor to control your own thirst for blood, having been bitten by a weakened vampire spawn. Perhaps knowing that with the full moon your will power wanes and you become the were-beast so many of your town rightfully fear you have built a cage for yourself in the woods. Or, is the monster within you not of some supernatural origin, but only the dark shadow of your own nature you seek to reign in from its murderous outbursts?

Those with Monsters Within live lives of only fleeting peace, constantly struggling with themselves and with society. Theirs is a life of torment, as they know they will never fully free themselves from the monster, but neither would they ever surrender to it. Those with Monsters Within are usually emboldened to resist it by some connection to their old life. A promise to a loved one, an unfinished quest, a holy vow, these are what prevents them from giving in.

Most with Monsters Within shun communities, either because they fear they will hurt some innocent or they fear the innocents will hurt them. Those few who do live among other people usually lead very secretive lives, having very few relations and living on the outskirts of town.

Skill Proficiencies: None

Language Proficiencies: None

Tool Proficiencies: None

Save Proficiencies: Constitution and Wisdom

Equipment: A set of common clothes and an empty coin purse

FEATURE: MIND & BODY

You gain proficiency with both Wisdom and Constitution saves.

SUGGESTED CHARACTERISTICS

Those strong enough to contain the ghastly will of their own profane nature are always of strong mind and body. The lifestyle lived by someone with a Monster Within is determined by the nature of their struggle. A person seeking to contain vampirism may work in a graveyard, feasting on the freshly dead, while a person containing a werewolf may satiate their urges by working as a hunt master. Work with your DM to determine an appropriate Monster Within and pervious lifestyle for your character.

THE MONSTER WITHIN (D6)

1. Vampire- Cursed with the blood of the vampires, you are drawn to feed on the living.

2. Lycanthrope- Part man, part beast. You feel the call of the wild within your soul.

3. Mindflayer- A mindflayer seeks control over you from afar. Whispers from beyond reason haunt your dreams and call you to dark deeds from the depths of your unconscious.

4. Demonic- Though it doesn’t show as much as a Tiefling, you were born of a demonic bloodline, drawing you to commit great acts of evil on your neighbors.

5. Psychosis- Either by nature or by your awful upbringing, a dark passenger has latched on to your mind, always urging you to do unspeakable things.

6. Alien Parasite- A grotesque alien creature resides within you. It may or may not have a mental link with you, but it is likely driving you to take actions you wouldn’t, whether you know it or not.

IDEALS

1. Self-Reliance- There is no reason to ask someone to do for you what you can do yourself.

2. Self-Control- Giving in to one’s impulses is a sign of weakness, and a moment of moral laxity may lead to a lifetime of compromise. (Law)

3. Agency- You get what you want by making it happen. Letting others make choices or letting choices make themselves robs you of power.(Neutral)

4. Independence- People only have power over you if you let them. If you aren’t free, it’s because you aren’t trying to be. (Evil)

5. Self-Sacrifice- We all do evil. It is only by doing more good that we can redeem ourselves in the eyes of the gods. (Good)

6. Revenge- The creature that put this curse on me will pay a thousand fold, when I find it.

BONDS (D6)

1. I have always wanted someone who could love me for who I am.

2. The object I carry is an object of great power, helping me to maintain control.

3. I have lived several times my normal lifespan. My child is now elderly, even though I appear young.

4. My parents saw the darkness in me. They trained me to use it for good. I live a life of practiced ritual and schedule to maintain control.

5. People in my home town witnessed what happened to me and consider me a monster. Everyone in the area has likely heard the story.

6. I know killing the person I love wasn’t my fault, but I will never forgive myself.

FLAWS (D6)

1. In combat I give in to the beast within me, letting its fury flow out.

2. I often argue with myself as if there were two people arguing.

3. I am disgusted by good actions or celestial beings.

4. I survive by drinking tiny amounts of blood from people I know, when they are asleep or not looking.

5. If I ever came into direct contact with the creature that seeks to control me, I would give in to them.

6. I can’t resist raw meat. If I see it, I have to eat it.

#backgrounds #plothookbackgrounds #DramaticBackground #Unbalanced