Scavenger (5e Background)

Scavenger

By Jes Cole

Similar to an outlander, scavengers often find their lives in the lands displaced from that of typical civilization. They are called many things, from vultures to rats, and likened to depraved and deprived people who live off the misery of others. In reality, scavenging is a multi-faceted activity that encompasses the lives of many who cannot afford to live by better means, often times. This means making use of discarded items or remaking them into something new entirely. Artificers often are scavengers for scraps and materials they can use to create their newest invention. Not all scavengers eke out a living, as some simply originated from bleak and impoverished areas. However, the habits of a scavenger do not die easily, and many who used to scrounge will often find themselves looking around at the waste of decadence with grief.

Different sorts of scavengers populate different niches of the so-called art by its practitioners. Many hunt around for material items that have worth that they can polish up and pawn. Others look for bits and pieces that can be used to make or fix other things, making further use for discarded items beyond simple profit. Some scavengers, like lizardfolk, scavenge for living material, harvesting bone and flesh from dead things to make weapons and even eat. There are scavengers who specifically target sites of war to find weapons and materials left by conflict. This behavior often makes scavengers seem to be amoral and bestial, thinking solely on survival and nothing sacred.

When making your scavenger character, take into account how they developed this scavenging habit. Did they grow up impoverished, surviving off scraps? Perhaps they see value in things that no one else does, and they want to save them from being lost. Some scavengers survive off what they scavenge, like food leftovers. Secondary hunters seek carcasses from animal kills to make use of the leftovers. What does your character scavenge? How do they use it? Is it pure survival, or maybe curiosity that drives them? If they did not come from a family of scavengers, how is their habit viewed? It is not uncommon for scavengers to also be hoarders and thus viewed as unclean kleptomaniacs. Due to their roving sense for scraps, scavengers will often travel far and wide in search of their treasure in another's junk. They are thus often well-traveled and familiar with surprising customs, particularly if they do business with locals in junk-trading.

Skill Proficiencies: Investigation, Perception

Tool Proficiencies: One type of artisan's tools

Language Proficiencies: One of your choice

Equipment: A trinket dear to you that was scavenged (i.e, a sword hilt, ruined necklace, a scrap of cloth with an insignia), a set of common clothes, a warm blanket, a leather sack, and a pouch containing 10 gp.

Feature: Keen Eye

Whenever you see something that could be of value, you have a vague estimate of its worth, as well as some interesting information about the item, if there is anything interesting to know. Items might also have obscure uses that you can point out. If you fail any checks to identify the value of an item, you learn of someone or someplace where you can have the item's value measured, unless the DM deems the item too rare or obscure.

Examples of usage

• "You pick up the dead soldier's sword and notice that despite being a straight, double-edged sword, it has a curved grip. This style of sword was crafted by the former emperor's imperial smithy at the capitol before it was burned to the ground, and this example even bears the craftsman's mark of the master smith who formerly ran that shop. This soldier must have once been a member of the imperial army, or perhaps he was one of the old guard, still clinging to his fallen colors."
• "The book is nonsense to you. It's written in eldercommon, a mish-mash of elvish and dwarvish. As you contemplate tossing it aside, you remember a young scholar who beat you at a game of cards some years ago. He said he was a teacher at the Lighthouse University on the Northern coast. Who knows, maybe the book might just have some gold coins hidden in it after all...."

Suggested Characteristics

d8	Personality Trait
1	If anyone were to take something from my collection, I would hunt them down and take it back.
2	I polish every item in my collection until it sparkles.
3	I always check my collection to make sure everything's still there.
4	I see myself as a liberator of forgotten things.
5	I try to come up with an inventive way to use every item I find.
6	I speak in gruff tones, and I am usually rude to people that I've never met before.
7	Nobody can see my collection until it is complete.
8	If I had a coin, I'd put it in my mouth and pray for lockjaw.

d6	Ideal
1	Generosity - Collections are made so that others can benefit. (Good)
2	Preservation - I keep my collection so that it will last through the ages. (Lawful)
3	Origin - I want to find out more about this favorite piece of mine... Who had it, and where were they from? Where are they now? (Any)
4	Gold - My collection will make me very rich one day. (Any)
5	Collection - Only my collection matters. (Neutral)
6	Greed - Gold is worth more than lives. (Evil)

d6	Bond
1	Someone stole from my collection, and I will make the thief pay.
2	Everyone wants one of the most precious items in my collection, but I don't know why.
3	I once had a friend who was lost after a battle. I spend my hours sifting through battlefields looking for them.
4	I hunt for the perfect addition to my collection.
5	The vault that contains my collection is the place I feel most comfortable in.
6	I came from a poor village. The proceeds from my work go towards making life better there.

d6	Flaw
1	I can't keep my hands away from valuable objects.
2	Once, I stole from the wrong battlefield, and now, a group of mercenaries are hunting me down.
3	I treat items for sale with greater care than my companions.
4	If I had to choose between the most valuable item in my collection and one of my companions, I would choose the item.
5	I smell terribly, but I am the only one who does not notice this.
6	I secretly think that in the end, wealth is all that matters.

5.00

(one vote)

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