Scoundrel

You have taken part in less-than-legal businesses for quite some time. You are a person of the world, oh yes.

The underworld offers many career opportunities, and you may have tried your hand at several of them. In the eyes of many, it is a perverse, rotten universe, but to you, it is a complicated, turbulent family among which both camaraderie and treachery can be found at every turn.

Features

Knowledge of the Underworld

You can smell out corruption. Most communities have their share of criminals and crooked officials. Obviously, you cannot spot whether someone is involved in such dealings at a glance, but you can readily find unlawful people whom you can negotiate with or ask for information. From this point onward, what happens is up to you, but you know what you are getting into.

Suggested Characteristics

Adventurers with a criminal background are plentiful. Most, but not all, take this path out of greed. Some see in it a way to make a name for themselves, to perform beyond the uneasy tedium of their questionable activities. When their traveling companions are aware of their origins, they tend to be wary of such a disreputable individual, but such suspicion rapidly fades if there is nothing on which to ground it. Characters with this background tend to have particularly troublesome bonds.

Personality Trait

1. When I meet someone, I like to make them squirm, to make them feel I am a threat to them, particularly if they think themselves better than me.
2. I need to probe people, to get a good idea of their intentions through a few well-chosen remarks and questions.
3. I am very ill-tempered. And I hold a mean grudge.
4. Nice people bore me, I enjoy the company of rascals.
5. Baubles, gaudy clothes, swaggering stride; I make a display of my wealth, whether my pockets are full or empty.
6. Few know who I truly am. I am always playing a role.
7. I like looking for trouble, and trouble seems to like me.
8. Scornful tone, cocked eyebrow; I always look like I am making fun of other people, even when I have no ill intent.

Ideal

1. Freedom Rules are made to be broken. (Chaotic)
2. Charity One way or another, wealth must be redistributed. (Good)
3. Power Accumulate wealth and influence by any means possible. (Evil)
4. Structure Hierarchy and honor ensure the prosperity of the underworld. (Lawful)
5. Hellraising Too many castes, too many prejudices; only a good kick to the anthill can bring some vigor back into this moribund world. (Chaos)
6. Pragmatism Expect nothing from doctrines, people, organizations, and other such facades. Only rely on yourself and, at most, a few trustworthy comrades. (Neutral)

Bond

1. A criminal organization blackmails me by threatening a loved one I cannot protect.
2. I am on the run and must rely on the assistance of local contacts to ensure my freedom.
3. I have ended up on the bad side of a crime lord and they intend to make me pay.
4. I gave up on my real identity long ago, but I know I will have to assume it again one day.
5. Some criminal big shot double-crossed me in the past. They do not know that I am plotting their downfall.
6. My family would be ashamed if they knew better about my past.

Flaw

1. When I get bored, I try to inject a little chaos into the situation.
2. I cannot rest easy if I have not lied through my teeth at least once during the day.
3. I do not always think about the safety of others.
4. I have a troublesome tendency to fall in love with agents of the official authority.
5. I find it hard to resist the call of a good drink when I am at a tavern or party.
6. A soothsayer told me that all my wishes would come true once I had killed a certain number of innocents. Sometimes, I believe it.