Improved Backgrounds by Dr. Damion “Doc” Meany
You woke one day with no memory of who you were before becoming an adventurer. Your body remembers the skills it learned in your previous life, though you don’t remember being taught them. Perhaps you come up with so many different ideas about who you might have been. Perhaps those thoughts keep you up at night. At random times, you might have flashbacks, a sense that something in your surroundings is connected to your past, but you have no cohesive idea what it means. So you continue adventuring because apparently you’re good at it. Maybe you’ve just accepted this is your life now, or maybe you dig through history and investigate leads hoping that anything might give you a hint that will bring you one step closer to learning who you truly were.
What do you think caused your character’s memory loss? Was it some kind of injury or disaster? Perhaps a magical mishap has left you cursed or you’re protecting yourself from a horrible past trauma. Do you think the answers are out there? Is it possible to get back to who you once were? Or do you even care to find out?
Skill Proficiencies: Choose one skill now. Choose your second skill the first time you are asked to roll a d20 Test for it.
Tool Proficiencies: Choose one the first time you are asked to roll a d20 Test for it.
Languages: Choose one. You may decide it now or the first time you hear it or see it written.
Equipment: A book with scribbles of half remembered images and notes, one extra trinket, common clothes, a pouch with 20gp.
From time to time you randomly encounter people or places that suddenly jog a part of your memory. Perhaps it is someone who knew you, calling out your name (or a name you don’t remember having) and provoking memories of the past. Other times it might be a place you must have frequented often as information, filled with detail, floods back into your mind. This might not always be helpful, and sometimes it might be traumatic. Individuals from your past might not always be friendly, either, but sometimes they might be willing to help you out.
Obvious jokes can be made here about players who are simply too lazy to come with a backstory for their character and so they shift that responsibility on the game or the DM, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are plenty of ways in which you can engage with the Amnesiac trope with dramatic irony in mind, knowing more about your character than your character does and carefully guiding them through shocking revelations for interesting emotional effect. These characters might also develop interesting quirks, like overly formal or religiously inspired attitudes, cynical confusion, or an obsessive need to learn about everything and record it in a book or on their skin.
| Personality Traits | |
| d8 | Personality Trait |
| 1 | I keep a diary I am constantly adding to in case I suddenly remember something (or forget everything again). |
| 2 | I am sullen and quiet, as I often feel homesick for a life I can’t remember. |
| 3 | I like to do something to capture the moment like composing little songs or drawing pictures. |
| 4 | I am trusting of everyone who shows me kindness. |
| 5 | I come up with a new story of who I was every time I am asked. |
| 6 | I’m a touch melodramatic, feeling as though I’ve been cheated out of the life I had. |
| 7 | I get blinding headaches when I think about my past. |
| 8 | I constantly ask questions, desperate to learn as much as I can. |
| Ideals | |
| d6 | Ideal |
| 1 | Optimism. A fresh start. A new chance to improve the future! (Good) |
| 2 | Revenge. I know I was wronged. I must find out by whom and balance the scales. (Evil) |
| 3 | Truth. There is a reason my memory is gone. There must be a way to recover my life (Lawful). |
| 4 | Independence. No memories means no obligations (Chaotic). |
| 5 | Freedom. Why bother searching for the past? It’s in the past. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Driven. I am obsessively focused on uncovering my past. (Any) |
| Bonds | |
| d6 | Bond |
| 1 | I vaguely remember a lost loved one; I must find them again. |
| 2 | I have a sense of who might be responsible for my amnesia, and they will pay for it. |
| 3 | I was taken in by a family (or group); they are my new family now. |
| 4 | I hold a memento of my past. I feel that it is important and must determine why. |
| 5 | I’ve come to realize that someone was taking advantage of my memory loss. |
| 6 | I would sacrifice anything to uncover my past. |
| Flaws | |
| d6 | Flaw |
| 1 | I frequently forget things, as though my amnesia is an ongoing problem. |
| 2 | I think everyone is hiding something from me. |
| 3 | Every time I hit a dead-end learning about my past, I lose it for awhile. |
| 4 | My lack of knowledge leads me to being indecisive and slow to respond to situations as they arise. |
| 5 | I’ll latch onto anything that I think will provide me answers, even if it’s an obvious trap. |
| 6 | I use intoxicating substances to numb my pain and sadness. |