Divine Servant (5e Background)
Divine Servant
You were created fully formed in an outer plane, to serve a lawful good deity. This background is most suitable for an angel, but can be used for any player character race with a divine inception. As a divine servant, you have a specific reason for adventuring in the material plane away from your home. It might be a specific mission entrusted to you by a high ranking angel, or perhaps you are being punished to teach you some humility.
Skill Proficiencies: Religion, Insight
Languages: Two of your choice
Equipment: A self-filling flask of soma or ambrosia, from which you (and only you) can derive sustenance; a flask of holy water; a pouch holding 10 precious gems chosen by you; 10 gp.
Divine Mission
Why are you here?
| d6 | Divine Mission |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hunt a succubus that worms her way into the courts of lords. |
| 2 | Find and convince a particular malevolent asura to come back to the fold of Varuna. |
| 3 | Spread joy and hope among the downtrodden and in places of misery. |
| 4 | Convert heathens and heretics to your deity's religion. |
| 5 | For your arrogance, you will learn humility. |
| 6 | A whole organization, culture, or realm has been judged as irredeemably corrupt. For the greater good you must strike it down. |
Feature: Divine Protection
Clergy and Religious Folk of all sort can sense a divine presence in your life, and unless they have an alignment antithetical to your Deity's, regard you as one to be revered. And as such, will provide help, food, and shelter to you.
Suggested Characteristics
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | You are a zealot, and refuse to acknowledge the power of other deity. |
| 2 | You consider yourself "special," and whether this is true or not, you believe you have special knowledge of your deity that few others have. |
| 3 | You don't feel the need to disciple to others openly, to your deity's chagrin. |
| 4 | You enjoy the quarrels of mortals. |
| 5 | You find it funny that humanoids can get drunk. |
| 6 | You pray incessantly and to the possible annoyance of your teammates. |
| 7 | You sing hymns anytime you are lost in thought and even while you sleep. |
| 8 | You are hyper-critical of other religious establishments and make your comments and concerns well known. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Embodiment You strive to embody one facet of your Deity above all others. (Alignment equal to that of your deity) |
| 2 | Service Your service and kindness to others is what will best serve you deity. (Good) |
| 3 | Obedience Obedience and discipline is what leads to salvation. (Lawful) |
| 4 | Revelation Your deity's will doesn't need to control everything, and those who come to faith under their own power are stronger than those who have been lead to faith. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | Inquiry It is just as important that you understand the creatures you're helping as helping them is. (Any) |
| 6 | Oppressor You want everyone to practice your religion. You aren't afraid to use violence if that's what it takes.(Evil.) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | My deity is cross with me for something I am now trying to make up. |
| 2 | My life was saved by a creature tainted with darkness (Tiefling, Drow etc.) and it made me revaluate my beliefs. |
| 3 | I am haunted by the visions of a family I could not save or one I wrongly destroyed. |
| 4 | After I got here, a church other than my deities took me in, I owe them a great deal. |
| 5 | On this plane I am listless, and have latched onto a party member for purpose. |
| 6 | An old priest who convinced me to spare a young heretic, who has shown me that things aren't as black and white as I would prefer. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | You have no flaws, You are perfect. The dungeon master can cause you to not take an action if they feel that that actions would indicate a flaw. |
| 2 | You are loyal to a fault. You prioritize your deity's will before all others. |
| 3 | You become irate when lesser beings don't see things your way. |
| 4 | You can't stand being in the same room as creatures of the opposite alignment, and will go out of your way to remove them in any way possible. |
| 5 | You look down on deities other than your own, actively mocking or insulting their followers whenever possible. |
| 6 | Stuck on a plane with lesser beings, even reduced as you are, means you are hard to draw into conversation and prefer silence. |
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