Guardian Spirit

For most of your life you were tasked with guarding a holy site. Throughout your time there, the worshippers and the clergy only ever barely registered your presence. You were taught by your predecessor about all the hidden nooks and crannies of the site, and you became invisible when moving around the holy grounds, to the point where the clergy were dismissing you as a legend.

But you were there, and you helped in many ways, especially the young and the ones whose faith was flagging. For them you kindled the light of faith – perhaps they’d find some token of the god’s approval, carefully planted by you, or perhaps they’d catch a glimpse of you from the corner of their eyes, confirming your existing, and growing your legend in the process.

Whether this was a self-assigned mission that you carried out, one assigned by a deity, or one entrusted to you by friends or family has blurred in your memory. You served for so long that you forgot what started it all. But one day your service came to an end.

Perhaps the temple burned through an act of carelessness by one of the clergy, perhaps people simply forgot about the temple or the deity. Whatever the case, you left, on a mission to restore your temple to its former glory.

You should work with your Dm to determine what caused you to set out from the holy grounds that you tended to and protected. Was it destroyed or neglected? Did the god stop answering your prayers? Were you sent out on a mission by someone? Is it for restoration, vengeance, or curiosity that you set out?

  • Skill Proficiencies: Religion, Stealth
  • Tool Proficiencies: calligrapher’s supplies
  • Equipment: 2 sets of common clothes (one that’s bright and vivid with the colors of your temple or god, and one that is very plain and usable as a disguise), vestments, a holy symbol, and a pouch with 10 gp.

Feature: Temple Rat

You know your way around temples better than even the most dedicated priest. Whenever you’re on sacred ground (as determined by the GM, but should include temples, shrines, and holy sites) to any god, you gain advantage on Stealth checks.

Furthermore, while in such places you are always able to find a safe place (though not necessarily comfortable) to rest for a day.

Suggested Characteristics

You’ve spent your life hidden from people almost all of your life, and it’s been spent in a place that people only go to pray or appease the gods. As such most of your speech comes from scripture and prayer, and you might have picked up an odd habit or two.

d8 Personality Trait
1 The first thing to do is always to ask others about their religion. You can learn a lot from that.
2 I spent so much time alone that I talk to myself.
3 I quote scripture when I talk. When possible, I misquote it to test the clergy… Or simply to tease or annoy them.
4 I’ve relied on myself all my life. Relying on others is difficult.
5 I always give to charity.
6 I lend a helping hand when people need it, a shoulder to cry on, or an ear to listen with.
7 Sometimes I ignore the big picture to focus on the detail, especially where people are involved.
8 I spent so much time in a temple that the open sky makes me a little wary.
d6 Ideal
1 Non-Traditional. Some customs are good, but many have become habits. They need to be tested. (Chaotic)
2 Charity. I help those in need, no matter what. (Good)
3 Stoicism. I keep going no matter the odds. Nothing sways me from my path. (Lawful)
4 Ambition. I’ll restore my temple and my faith to its former glory. (Any)
5 Balance. Things will be as the gods ordained. There is no changing fate. (Neutral)
6 Vengeance. I will destroy those who wronged me or who stand in my way. (Evil)
d6 Bond
1 I will return to my temple one day, in triumph.
2 One of the clergy helped me when I was injured. I owe him my life.
3 I will do anything to protect my faith.
4 I’ve brought a small piece of my old temple with me. It will serve as the foundation of the next one.
5 I am a champion of the common people.
6 I don’t remember what caused me to start serving. One day I will find out.
d6 Flaw
1 I berate others when they don’t observe their own religious ceremonies and traditions.
2 I’m set in my ways, and don’t like going out of my comfort zone.
3 I spent so much time alone in the temple, that I don’t know how to act around others.
4 I feel uncomfortable when I’m the center of attention.
5 I’m obsessively fussy. Everything must be in its place.
6 I am deathly afraid of fire. It is the enemy that destroyed my home.
Section 15: Copyright Notice

Ancestral Anthologies Vol. 2: Fox & Fae © 2020, Beyond the Horizon; Author: Kim Frandsen.

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