Scholar of the Forbidden

The Crooked Moon

Scholar of the Forbidden

Ability Scores: nil

Feat: Dread Speech

Skill Proficiencies: Arcana, Intimidation

Tool Proficiency: Calligrapher's supplies

Equipment: Choose A or B: (A) Calligrapher's supplies, Book (a topic of arcana), Ink (black), Ink Pen, Lamp, Oil (3 flasks), Paper (10 sheets), 2 GP; (B) 50 GP

Delving into the brittle pages of ancient tomes and weathered tablets carved with blasphemy, you have unearthed secrets of eldritch beings of unfathomable might. Most of their meaning slips like whispers out of your grasp, but you have seized both forbidden knowledge and cursed power from them. The deeper you plunge into depravity, the more certainty you feel that you are not there alone.

This background gives you the option to choose an additional known language; Deep Speech is recommended

Building a Scholar of the Forbidden

Wizards and Warlocks make the most common Scholar of the Forbidden, but any character who stumbles onto the dread truths waiting beneath the surface of reality can find themselves walking the path. The secrets you unveil could threaten to destabilize any number of powerful beliefs and organizations, which makes you dangerous to them.

Suggested Story Threads

The Scholar of the Forbidden Story Threads table suggests events and people who can be the start of story threads for your character that weave through the campaign.

The Scholar of the Forbidden Story Threads table

1D6	Thread
1	A wealthy patron paid you handsomely to research what let to your discoveries, and they want what you found.
2	When you spoke aloud the first secret word you deciphered, you passed out and woke hours later to find your lips cracked and blackened.
3	Something has been following you since you uncovered the forbidden secrets. You sense it always behind you, drawing closer.
4	Your shadow converse with you when you're alone, acting as a debate partner and sounding board in your studies.
5	The reflections of your eyes are black voids, but no one else seems to notice.
6	An order of inquisitors or witch hunters hound you wherever you travel, seeking to silence you and your discoveries forever.

Scholar of the Forbidden Trinkets

When you make your character, you can roll once on the Scholar of the Forbidden Trinkets table, instead of on the normal starting trinkets table.

Scholar of the Forbidden Trinkets

1D6	Trinket
1	A broken fragment of a stone table carved with symbols that seem to slither and writhe.
2	A desiccated bit of tentacle.
3	A small soapstone idol that always seems to end up in your pocket, bag, or otherwise on your person.
4	A book bound in Humanoid skin with blank pages that absorb ink or other pigments.
5	An alien eyeball floating in a jar of preservative fluid.
6	An antique amulet with indecipherable symbols, that whispers at the edge of consciousness when worn.