Six Backgrounds from Edel
Troika!-compatible character backgrounds from a newly liberated sphere.
Unquiet Golem
You clearly weren't made for crushing armies or defending treasure hoards. What is a golem without a prescribed
purpose? A pity your maker isn't around to answer all of the vexing questions that sentience brings.
Possessions
- Small hidebound journal
- Quill pen and diverse inks
- Bag of books1
- Spyglass
Skills
3 Strength
2 Fist Fighting
2 Second Sight
2 Etiquette
Special
You are made of either:
A) Furnace-hardened ceramics with bold glazing (immune to fire and heat),
B) A patchwork of sturdy canvas, tanned hides, and colorful fabrics (Light Armor, negates [#] armor penetration), OR
C) Impossibly smooth glass (2 Random Spells at rank 1).
You do not eat, but you do need to sleep as normal. Unlike other golems, you can speak.
Your sizable fists deal damage as a Staff.
Bogtrawler
Most folks do not care to crawl through the viscous muck of Sopa-Sopa. Most folks want nothing to do with the
vapors that slacken muscles and pull minds like taffy. Most folks will never find the abandoned rucksacks, the priceless
baubles, the long-petrified murders.
Fortunately, you are not most folks.
Possessions
- Hooked pole (Damage as Axe, uses Polearm Fighting)
- Putrid clothing
- Hatchet
- Witch-Hair rope
Skills
2 Poison
2 Evaluate
2 Polearm Fighting
1 Swim
1 Strength
1 Tracking
1 Climb
Sagann of Broadest El
You are one of the massive variety of fish-folk hailing from Broadest El. The wonders of Edel's mightiest sea
were not enough to slake your unquenchable curiosity. Armed with your marine intuition and trusty harpoon, you are ready
for the bizzare and alien world of the drylands.
Possessions
- Harpoon (Damage as Spear)
- Sailcloth breeches
- 50' rope, daisy-chained
- Coral talisman (non-magical, but worth 3d6 silver in a pinch)
- Large waterskin (6 days' worth, begins at capacity)
Skills
5 Swim
2 Spear Fighting
2 Strength
1 Wrestling
Special
You have a fully-functional set of gills, and need not surface for breath while underwater. However, hydration
is more important for you than for most: you must either submerge yourself in water for at least 10 minutes or drink a
large water ration daily (20 minutes/2 rations in desert or tundra). Failure to do so for 2 days results in Drying-Out, which
functions as Drowning.
Noro Longhunter
Longhunters roam far from the fertile mesas of their people, braving the scorching Azure Sands for meat and for
glory.
Possessions
- Atlatl (Dart-Thrower, damage as Crossbow)
- Brace of Darts (4, damage as Spear -1)
- Broad-brimmed hat
- Dusty blue poncho
- Gourd filled with Goatseye Cactus juice2(3 uses)
Skills
3 Tracking
3 Atlatl Fighting
1 Spear Fighting
1 Run
1 Sneak
1 Forage
Acolyte of Junk
Some say that if one cannot buy bread, one has no worth themselves. The devotees of the Gullfather know better--there
is glorious bounty to be found in society's leavings. Currency is folly when there are treasures on the morning shores
and feasts in the pig-troughs.
Possessions
- Gnarled driftwood club
- Heavily mended clothing (as Light Armor)
- Small pot
- Sewing kit with spools of rough thread
Skills
2 Sneak
2 Mending
1 Club Fighting
1 Running
1 Trapping
1 Healing
1 Cooking
1 Carpentry
1 Horticulture
Special
Gullfather's Blessing: While under the blessing of the Scavenger God, you may test your Luck in any settlement
to find a lightly-used mundane item (once per item, per day). You also suffer no penalties for using improvised weapons,
or for plausible jury-rigged solutions. If you use money to engage in financial transactions of any kind, or ask others to do the
same on your behalf, your blessing is revoked. Barter is both acceptable and encouraged. To regain the Gullfather's
favor, you must destroy a bank, mint, or treasure hoard.
Goblin Containment Veteran
You are a scarred veteran of one of countless goblin wars. Valuable though they are to the liberation of spheres,
the sprawling, mindbending labyrinths of the goblins must be kept as small as possible wherever they arise. Few things faze
you after witnessing the senseless horrors of twisted hyperbolae and kinematic space.
Possessions
- Worn chainmail (Light Armor)
- Warped sword
- Bolas
- Weighted net
Skills
2 Sword Fighting
2 Throwing
2 Spell--Breach
2 Spell--Coal Resolve
1 Spell--Sentry
1 Spell--Random
Notes
- Bag of books: Test your Luck to find a plausibly relevant piece of information. A roll of 2 yields disastrously
false info. 6 uses.
- Goatseye Cactus juice: When consumed, induces a state of serene focus and hallucinated color-swaps. +1 to Skill for an
hour, but the comedown is inevitably accompanied by a violent vomiting fit (-2 Stamina).
~slothbear, 04/17/2019
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