Backgrounds

Backgrounds in Avatar D&D necessitate a change from what is in the standard D&D, even if slight. For instance, the acolyte background is irrelevant since there are no Gods or deities to worship, but it could be changed to a spiritual devout; in fact, acolyte is the only one that is incompatible, as this conflicts with the Acolyte class.

## Spiritual Devout (formerly Acolyte\*)

> You have spent your life in the devoted to meditation, prayer to the spirits or false deities, or spiritual enlightenment. You act as an intermediary between the realm of the physical world and the spirit world, communicating between spirits and humans to resolve conflict and appease demands.
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**Skill Proficiencies:** Insight, Spirits

**Tool Proficiencies:** Herbalism kit, medicine kit

**Equipment:** A holy symbol (a gift to you when you entered your spiritual journey); a prayer book, prayer wheel or prayer beads; 5 sticks of incense; vestments; a set of common clothes, and; a belt pouch containing 15 gp (of your chosen nation)

### **Feature:** People's Favour

As a spiritual devout, people who appreciate the importance of the spirits will yield to your will to an extent, recognising your devotion and eloquence. You can expect to be welcomed well by common folk, nobles, and other spiritual figures, as too will your companions be. You can talk your way into receiving gifts, accommodation, and healing. At a temple or similar spiritual location, you can expect to be given the same bonuses as before, but also a place to hide, and transport to large hubs.

Should you meet, on your travels, people of a similar spirituality, you may be able to call on them for assistance with problems, and maybe combat.

### Suggested Characteristics

Much like real life, spiritual devouts are shaped by their spiritual experience and journey. The path of their journey will have an impact on their outlook on life. If they are particularly secluded in their meditation, they may become socially inept; conversely, if they spend their time preaching about the spirits, they may be too intrusive.

### **Variant Spiritual Devout:** Cultist

Instead of devoting yourself to a life of study, prayer, meditation, and enlightenment, you choose to worship a God, however false or mortal they may be. In service to this God, you are fanatical, often committing atrocities, ritual sacrifices, and honour killings. Your cult is secret, when it can be, and answers to nobody but their God; however, they can influence politics with their 'persuasive' tactics (depending on their size).

To become this, change your skill proficiencies from insight to deception, and spirits to stealth, and change your tool proficiencies from herbalism to poisoner's kit and medicine to disguise kit. This also grants you an alternative feature to people's favour.

#### **Variant Feature:** Blood Brothers

For a large cult, you can assume that your cult has a headquarters either in or nearby to every large city in the world. As such, when you arrive in one of said cities, you can rendezvous with a contact to take you to said headquarters. In these headquarters, you may receive food, temporary accommodation, artisan access, and healing, though your companions will be unable to join you conscious. Accompanying this, should you wish to leave the city, you can set-up transport arrangements to any other major city.

You can call upon your brethren to assist you with difficult combat, but your companions cannot join you, for that would reveal your connection to the cult.