You have spent your life tending the dead and ensuring they remain undisturbed. Whether as a cemetery guardian, a crypt keeper, or a servant of a death god, your work required you to maintain the graves, prepare the deceased, and ward off those who would desecrate the resting places of the departed. Your hands have dug countless graves, and you have seen the many ways death claims its victims—some peaceful, others violent.
Gravekeepers often live solitary lives, respected yet feared by those who view their work as grim or unnatural. Some take pride in their duties, honoring the deceased, while others see their role as a burdensome necessity. Many gravekeepers learn the old rites and superstitions surrounding death, knowing the proper ways to calm restless spirits or ward against dark omens. Some have even faced the horrors of undeath firsthand, standing vigil against those who seek to disturb the eternal rest of the departed.
Keeper of the Dead
You have an intimate knowledge of burial customs, funeral rites, and superstitions surrounding death. Common folk and clergy alike respect your expertise, and you can often gain access to places of burial, crypts, and temples of death-related deities without question. Additionally, you can usually tell if a body has been tampered with, if a grave has been disturbed, or if a place is haunted simply by observing subtle signs that others might miss.
Suggested Characteristics
Gravekeepers are shaped by their close relationship with death. Some are solemn and respectful, treating the dead with reverence, while others have a morbid sense of humor to cope with their grim duties. Many are quiet and observant, used to spending long hours in silence, but some feel an intense connection to the past, believing the spirits of the dead still watch over them.
Personality Traits
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|
| 1 | I keep my voice soft and my words few—respect for the dead should be mirrored in life. |
| 2 | I have a grim sense of humor, laughing in the face of death. |
| 3 | I believe the dead can still hear us, so I always speak kindly around graves. |
| 4 | I treat my tools—shovels, lanterns, and holy symbols—with great reverence. |
| 5 | I carry out my work with pride; I am the guardian of the resting dead. |
| 6 | I often mutter old prayers, even when I’m not aware of it. |
| 7 | I keep records of the dead, ensuring they are not forgotten. |
| 8 | I am unshaken by horror or gore—I have seen it all before. |
Ideals
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|
| 1 | Respect. The dead deserve to be honored and protected. (Good) |
| 2 | Tradition. Funeral rites must be upheld, or the spirits will not rest. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Balance. Death is natural, and those who defy it must be stopped. (Neutral) |
| 4 | Knowledge. The dead still have secrets to share, if you know how to listen. (Any) |
| 5 | Fatalism. All things die eventually—why fight fate? (Chaotic) |
| 6 | Profit. There’s always coin to be made from death, one way or another. (Evil) |
Bonds
| d6 | Bond |
|---|
| 1 | A family tomb or graveyard was desecrated, and I seek to restore its honor. |
| 2 | I once promised to protect a particular grave, and I still visit it regularly. |
| 3 | The spirits of the dead have guided me before, and I trust them still. |
| 4 | A death-related deity or order gave me my purpose, and I remain loyal to them. |
| 5 | I uncovered something strange during my work—something I must understand. |
| 6 | A restless ghost haunts me, either as a guide or a tormentor. |
Flaws
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|
| 1 | I am unnervingly comfortable around death and corpses, making others uneasy. |
| 2 | I struggle to connect with the living—I understand the dead better. |
| 3 | I refuse to let go of a specific loss, and it haunts my every action. |
| 4 | I sometimes hear whispers from the graves, and I cannot always ignore them. |
| 5 | I secretly believe that death is a lie, and I wish to prove it. |
| 6 | I take morbid souvenirs from every grave I dig. |
Comments