Doomsday Prophet

The end is nigh! This is completely true as far as you’re concerned. Whether real or imagined, you see visions of the end of the world. So vivid and real are these visions that you must at least suspect that they are prophetic in nature, or perhaps you are totally convinced. In any case, you may be compelled to share your visions with others to serve as a warning, or you may quietly witness the end, over and over in your mind. Will you try to stop it? Do you embrace it? Or do you just want to visions to stop?

Skill Proficiencies: Intimidation, Religion

Languages: Two of your choice

Equipment: A set of common clothes, a collection of small portents of doom that you have accumulated over time, apocalyptic scriptures or notes, and a pouch containing 5 gp.

Feature: Visions of the End

You are blessed or cursed with extremely realistic visions which indicate the end times are coming soon. Whenever you complete a long rest, roll 1d6. On a roll of 1, 2, or 3, you experience no visions during that rest. A roll of 4, 5, or 6 indicates that you experienced one of these visions while you rested, perhaps in the form of a dream while you slept. The exact content and duration of the vision are up to the GM, but these visions always appear to be prophetic and apocalyptic in nature.

If you do experience such a vision while resting, there is a chance that it will also grant you some incidental insight into other matters which involve you. Roll another d6. If the result of this roll is a 4, 5, or 6, you may ask the GM one yes or no question related to you in some way, which he must answer truthfully. The GM has final say if your question is acceptable and may require you to ask another, but GMs are encouraged to allow some leeway on these questions. If the answer requires more than a simple yes or no to be accurate, or the response is neutral, the GM may provide a short phrase as a response to adequately answer the question. The intent is to give the Doomsday Prophet a means by which they might occasionally uncover secrets just by virtue of their unique gift/curse.

Examples of questions one might ask are: Did the halfling steal my ring? Am I the son of the king? Are my friends still alive? Will I find the final key? Does he love me? Will it rain here tonight? Can I trust the merchant?

Fleshing Things Out

Some questions to consider when determining how this background applies to your character: What is the source of your visions? Is it a divine power, something totally alien to your world, or are the visions just a product of your own mind? Perhaps you don’t know. Do you believe the visions to be true? Or do you prefer to think that you are mad?

When and how do your visions come to you? What do you do with your visions? Are you compelled to share them with others by way of warning? Do you keep them to yourself and try to hide the coming doom you see on the horizon from others? How have your visions affected you personally?

You should also consider what caused you to take up the role of an adventurer. Are you on a quest to determine if your visions are true? Or perhaps you believe in them totally, so you are seeking to stop the impending doom? Or maybe you welcome the end and are striving to accelerate it. It could even be that you are simply intrigued by the visions and seek to discover what they truly mean. Or it is even possible that your reason for adventuring is something totally unrelated, but in the back of your mind, all the time, you have the simmering fear of what is to come: the end that you have foreseen.

d8 Personality Trait
1 I have to warn them. Everyone.
2 Why me? I didn’t ask for this.
3 Only I am worthy to see these visions.
4 The world is ending anyways; might as well enjoy these final days.
5 Only with faith will people persevere, even through the conclusion of the world’s story.
6 Amassing wealth is pointless now.
7 Every crisis is an opportunity.
8 Knowing what’s coming gives me a chance to prepare.
d6 Ideal
1 Compassion. We must be good to each other in these final days. (Good)
2 Fate. Nothing can be done to change the path fate has laid out for us. (Lawful)
3 Equity. The end will come to saint and sinner alike. (Neutral)
4 Resistance. I refuse to accept that it has to be this way. (Chaotic)
5 Acceptance. All things that begin must end. (Any)
6 No Consequences. The end is coming no matter what I do, so who cares about consequences? (Evil)
d6 Bond
1 These visions are a gift that I welcome.
2 The end of the world will be a beautiful finale that I cannot wait to see.
3 I just want someone to believe me.
4 It is my job to warn people about what I have seen.
5 I must not squander what time I have le ft.
6 These visions are a curse, and I will do anything to get rid of them.
d6 Flaw
1 I sleep late, even on judgment day.
2 Best to be good and drunk when the end comes.
3 I’ll try to weasel out of the apocalypse, just like I do with everything else.
4 You can make a pretty good living fearmongering.
5 I’ve given up on social graces like hygiene. Why bother?
6 The coming doom is everyone else’s fault.
Section 15: Copyright Notice

The Big Book of Backgrounds Copyright 2019, P.B. Publishing, Phil Beckwith, and Cody Faulk.

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