Powerless Mage (5e Background)

Powerless Mage

Your magical power was what defined you. It allowed you to be who you were. But who were you exactly? A powerful adventurer fighting evil creatures (or perhaps not only such) for gold? A student of the arcane, trying to uncover secrets that are beyond most? Perhaps a high priest of some diety or a druid devoted to protecting nature? Whatever your life might have been, it is gone now - alongside your magical power. But how did you lose it? Was your connection to magic severed by a dark ritual or curse? Maybe you did something to offend your diety or dark patron and your power was taken from you as punishment? What's even more important is how you dealt with the new situation. Did you try to find a new source of power, by any means necessary, or did you accept your fate and decided to settle for a more normal, boring life? Did anything change since then?

Skill Proficiencies: Arcana, Nature or Religion AND Investigation or Perception

Tool Proficiencies and Languages: one tool or language (can be exotic) of your choice

Equipment: a pouch containing 20 GP, your old (non-functioning) focus, a set of traveler's clothes

Feature: Longing for Magic

Your old power might be gone, but your sense for magic is still present and you have to rely on it more than ever. You can casually sense nearby sources of significant magical power (even if someone is attempting to hide them) and possibly locate them, if you focus. At DMs discretion, you might recognise the source (place, item, person, spell etc.), its type (arcane, divine etc.) and sense whether it's good, evil or neither.

Alternate Feature: Experienced Adventurer

Your may have lost the abilities that allowed you to be a successful adventurer, but the knowledge and experience you obtained are still with you. You probably know more about spells and monsters than your companions, at least from the practical standpoint, simply because you have seen a lot of them before. The DM may give you some free knowledge (or advantage on checks to get that knowledge) when encountering a new monster or spell - apparently, it wasn't all that new to you.

Suggested Characteristics

d8	Personality Trait
1	I'm used to being much more powerful than people around me and can sometimes get overconfident.
2	Disobeying rules brought me where I am now, I'm not making that mistake again.
3	I'm still an important person and I demand respect.
4	I don't like attention, I'd rather be invisible to the world.
5	After a few drinks, I like telling the tales of my fantastic adventures and the powerful foes that I bested - regardless of whether anyone is listening.
6	I'm very secretive about my past and don't like being recognised.
7	What good is power and influence, if you can loose it in a blink of an eye? I much prefer the common folk and their simple lives.
8	Since I'm not able to practice magic anymore, I'm even more involved in any theoretical discussions about it.

d6	Ideal
1	Determination. I will do anything to gain power again. Anything. (Evil)
2	Worth. Without my magic, I'm nobody. How can I change that? (Any)
3	Perseverance. Magical powers or not, my goals and obligations remain the same. (Lawful)
4	Acceptance. Acceptance: There is no point trying to influence the world without my powers. (Neutral)
5	Service. I always tried to use my magic for good. Now I have to find a different way to help people. (Good)
6	Independence. No amount of power is worth binding myself to the will of another. (Chaotic)

d6	Bond
1	I may be powerless now, but my enemies are not. They might go after me now that I'm weak.
2	I still have a mission to fulfil. How am I going to manage that now?
3	My old friends still rely on me and may need my help.
4	I have to make sure that people from my past don't find out about what happened to me.
5	I lost my magic at the worst possible time and it had dire consequences. [Now everyone blames me for it./It is my responsibility to fix it.]
6	I lost my divine powers due to deeds that my diety could not accept. Other followers still hold what I did against me.

d6	Flaw
1	When I hear of something that could increase my power, I just drop whatever I'm doing and try to learn more.
2	Only after I lost it, did I realise how dangerous my magic was. Now I'm afraid of having power again.
3	I relied on my magic too much - without it I feel vulnerable and get scared easily.
4	If I can't have magic, nobody should. I secretly despise any users of the arcane.
5	Magic isn't reliable enough, if it can be so easily lost. I will never trust it again.
6	The gods allowed my power to go away, yet their followers still have theirs. I hate them.

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