Dungeons & Dragons 5e Background: Mercenary
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Mercenary
As a mercenary, your services were for hire to anyone who could afford them. What drove you to be a soldier of fortune? Was it to escape poverty? Was it the thrill of battle? Or was it simply that fighting was all you knew growing up? Who was your mercenary company, or did you work alone? What made you give it up, or are you still for hire? Did you make any allies or enemies along the way? What wars or battles were involved in? What were the consequences? Lost allies? War crime charges?
Features
Hired Blade You are a soldier of fortune, a fighter who sells his services to the highest bidder. You roam towns and cities in search of a place where your unique set of talents are useful; whether for a lord hunting a group of bandits, or a local barkeep tired of the goblin infestation in his cellar, you can always find some work if you look hard enough. The job itself should not matter much for a person like you, at least that is what others believe. Therefore, other less admirable and shunned upon jobs sometimes arrives at your lap, giving you the choice and the problem of figuring a way to compromise between your ethics and your job.
Suggested Characteristics
You are a mercenary who hunted down your employer's enemies for coin. Were you happy in this life? What made you leave it behind to become an adventurer? Did you leave it at all, or is adventuring just another way of putting food on the table?
Traits
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I like to show off, particularly if there's a chance to get a job offer in it. |
| 2 | I am always gregarious and cheerful, no matter the situation, as long as I am paid well. |
| 3 | To me, the whisper of steel and the clash of weapons is just as pleasing as any amount of gold. |
| 4 | I always train because training leaves the person ready even in a moment of respite or weakness. |
| 5 | I hold myself to a strict code of ideals. |
| 6 | I keep my personal possessions in secret places which are known only to me. |
| 7 | I would do anything to protect my weapons of arm, for I know it will protect me in return. |
| 8 | I do nothing, move no finger or a blade, unless I hear the jingling sound of coins. |
Ideal
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Golden Soul: I fight for money, and nothing else. (Neutral) |
| 2 | Great Publicity: I will be known for my deeds, sooner rather than later. (Any) |
| 3 | Power or Death: In my line of profession, the strong live and the weak starve. (Evil) |
| 4 | Non-Sold Honor: I never break my promises. Never. (Lawful) |
| 5 | War and Crime: Whenever chaos flourishes, so too does my work. (Chaotic) |
| 6 | Good for Sale: I am a sellsword who swings his weapon only in the name of good. (Good) |
Bond
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I became a mercenary to support my family, who would have probably starved in a slum somewhere if not for me. |
| 2 | I fight for a lover that knows little if not nothing of me. |
| 3 | I was inspired by a great hero to become a mercenary. |
| 4 | I treat my valued comrades like brothers, and I will let no insult or injury fall upon them. |
| 5 | I seek to protect something of great importance to me by keeping it a secret, so you better forget what you just heard. |
| 6 | I never disrespect an employer, if they never disrespect me or stop giving me money. |
Flaw
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I'll do anything for coin, damn the consequences. |
| 2 | As much as I pretend to love fighting, I secretly hate hurting others. |
| 3 | I have crippling debts that my work barely pays it off. |
| 4 | I never fail at my tasks, even if I have to resort to less honorable means to complete them. |
| 5 | I would send an innocent to face his death if it means I will win the fight. |
| 6 | Someone powerful would do anything to have my head, so I seek to gain his or her headfirst. |
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