Mage Hunter (5e Background)

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Mage Hunter

By Skiorh

You worked for (or were raised by) an organization which specialized in tracking, investigating, and apprehending beings that had magical powers. Perhaps your organization was a school of wizards and sorcerers that had a distaste for students who practice magic outside their teachings, or for a government that had a hatred of those who dabble in the dark arts. You enforced the rules of magic - whether for a public or private interest. Work with your DM to determine what organization you were a part of and the reason you left. Perhaps you accidentally killed an innocent civilian that wasn't a magic practitioner at all, maybe you were forced into retirement, or maybe you discovered that your organization's intentions were corrupt and evil.

If you prefer a less foundational backstory, maybe you were the sole survivor of a horrific magical event which hardened your heart against magic and all its users. You strive to destroy magic and those who use it, seeing it as a force none ought to wield due to its destructive potential. Work with your DM to discuss what possible historical event or recurring phenomena involving magic could have tempered a hatred towards the arcane. Perhaps your home was ransacked by an infamous band of bloodthirsty wizards, or maybe someone dear to you was used as a sacrifice in the name of magical research.

Skill Proficiencies: Arcana and Investigation

Tool Proficiencies: Vehicles (land)

Languages: Any one

Equipment: A set of traveler's clothes, a pocket book entitled Field Guide To Auras, Nodes and Residuals, a quill, 5 parchments, and a pouch containing 10 gp.

Feature: Reputation

Your occupation has gained you infamy across the magical community whether you like it or not. All mages you encounter now believe talking to you implicates them as a target of your organization. When you are in a civilized settlement, you can invoke your position to exert influence over mages to gain information. This might include secret hideouts, meetings, pieces of lore, locations of dark artifacts, or the whereabouts of someone you might be searching for.

Suggested Characteristics

Mage hunters are shaped by their organization's goals, beliefs, and traditions. The tolls of hunting mages whether you believed they were innocent or not have left a mark on you, forming most of your characteristics.

d8	Personality Trait
1	I am often seen alone, walking faster, ahead of anyone else.
2	People often hear me drawling about how magic users all deserve long, painful deaths.
3	I'm described as defensive, always justifying everything I do.
4	You'll find me often in a library dwelling on books about evil mages I've read over and over again already.
5	My actions and temperament are controlled and tempered, more than what can be said for magic.
6	I claim to only be a little paranoid when I may be freaking out inside.
7	I consider violence as a last resort, and my pacifist attitude reflects that.
8	Preparation is everything. I am ridiculous meticulous in that regard, double checking my laces, dotting my i's and crossing my t's...

d6	Ideal
1	Greed. I only took this job for the money - nothing more, nothing less (Any).
2	Righteousness. I have a duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves. (Good)
3	Power. I will use all the magical secrets I've learned to kill those who get in my way. (Evil)
4	Code of Honor. I hold all mages accountable for their actions. (Lawful)
5	Destruction. As long as the job gets done, who cares if a few buildings explode? (Chaotic)
6	People. I help the people who help me - that's what keeps me alive. (Neutral)

d6	Bond
1	I have some old colleagues that I can trade information with from time to time.
2	Those who fight beside me are worth dying for.
3	I carry an ancient artifact that must not fall into the wrong hands.
4	I owe my organization a great debt for forging me into the person I am today.
5	There is one mage who has always been one step ahead of me.
6	Someone I loved died because of a mistake I made. That will never happen again.

d6	Flaw
1	I'll do anything to get the job done, damn the consequences.
2	Most people scream and run when they see a demon. I stop and take notes about its anatomy.
3	I am in love with a person who dabbles in dark magic and I will do anything to protect them.
4	I have been secretly practicing the dark magic I have been fighting my entire life.
5	Ale and wine are the only thing that keeps me functioning anymore.
6	Someone powerful would do anything to have my head, so I seek to gain his or her head first.

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