Ruined
Source: The Book of Many Things
Everything was going so well! You had a life of luxury, love, and comfort when you suddenly lost it all. Perhaps you were framed for crimes you didn't commit and lost your reputation, fortune, and career. Maybe a rampaging dragon or another monster wiped out everything you had in a single calamitous afternoon. Or you might have sought out a Deck of Many Things, hoping to make your successful life even more glorious—only to draw a destructive card that changed your destiny forever. Your desperation has driven you to the career of adventurer. You don't seek out dark dungeons and their monstrous inhabitants for excitement and glory; you do it because every other path is closed to you. But you have risen high on fortune's wheel once before, and with luck and fortitude, you could do so again.
Skill Proficiencies
Stealth, Survival
Tool Proficiencies
One gaming set of your choice
Languages
One of your choice
Equipment
A cracked hourglass, a set of rusty manacles, a half-empty bottle, a hunting trap, a gaming set (matching your chosen proficiency), a set of traveler's clothes, and a pouch containing 13 gp
Features
Still Standing
You have weathered ruinous misfortune, and you possess hidden reserves others don't expect. You gain the Alert, Skilled, or Tough feat (your choice).
Building a Ruined Character
Ruined characters were on top of the world before misfortune struck. Many were wealthy. Others come from modest backgrounds, but they were surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones. They might have been famous, or simply never encountered serious hardship before. Some were born to privilege or rose to prominence through trickery or a false reputation. Now a Deck of Many Things—or another calamity—has knocked them down like a house of cards.
Suggested Characteristics
Personality Traits
| d6 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I've changed from my past, and I work to live up to my new path. (Balance, Throne) |
| 2 | Every moment is a gift I refuse to squander. (Euryale, Skull) |
| 3 | Now that I've overcome having nothing, I can survive anything. (Fool, Ruin, Talons) |
| 4 | I know enemies are set against me, and I always prepare for the worst. (Flames, Rogue) |
| 5 | I interpret every event as part of a larger pattern I just haven't worked out yet. (Puzzle, Star) |
| 6 | I must make up for so much time I've already lost. (Donjon, Void) |
Ruined Trinkets
When you make your character, you may roll once on the Ruined Trinkets table, instead of on the Trinkets table in the Player's Handbook, for your starting trinket.
| d6 | Trinket |
|---|---|
| 1 | A rusted scrap of a once-beloved family heirloom |
| 2 | A land deed, but all the names and markings that once tied it to you have faded into obscurity |
| 3 | A bauble once imbued with powerful magic |
| 4 | A battered playing card with a hole pierced in it, its face depicting the card that affected you |
| 5 | A yellowed Humanoid tooth that whispers eerily when placed under a pillow |
| 6 | A keepsake from someone you were once close to but who is now your enemy |