Dungeons & Dragons 2024 (D&D) Background: Investigator
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Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft
Investigator
Ability Scores:
Feat:
Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from among Insight, Investigation, or Perception
Tool Proficiency: Disguise kit, thieves’ tools
Equipment: A magnifying glass, evidence from a past case (choose one or roll for a trinket from the Horror Trinkets table after this background), a set of common clothes, and 10 gp
You relentlessly seek the truth. Perhaps you’re motivated by belief in the law and a sense of universal justice, or maybe that very law has failed you and you seek to make things right. You could have witnessed something remarkable or terrible, and now you must know more about this hidden truth. Or maybe you’re a detective for hire, uncovering secrets for well-paying clients. Whether the mysteries you’re embroiled in are local crimes or realm-spanning conspiracies, you’re driven by a personal need to hunt down even the most elusive clues and reveal what others would keep hidden in the shadows.
Features
Case Details
| d8 | First Case |
| 1 | A friend was wrongfully accused of murder. You tracked down the actual killer, proving your friend’s innocence and starting your career as a detective. |
| 2 | You’re told you went missing for weeks. When you were found, you had no memory of being gone. Now you search to discover what happened to you. |
| 3 | You helped a spirit find peace by finding its missing corpse. Ever since, other spectral clients have sought you out to help them find rest. |
| 4 | You revealed that the monsters terrorizing your home were illusions created by a cruel mage. The magic-user escaped, but you’ve continued to uncover magical hoaxes. |
| 5 | You were wrongfully accused and convicted of a crime. You managed to escape and seek to help others avoid the experience you suffered, even while still being pursued by the law. |
| 6 | You survived the destructive use of a magic device that wiped out your home. Members of a secret organization found you. You now work with them, tracking down dangerous supernatural phenomena and preventing them from doing harm. |
| 7 | You found evidence of a conspiracy underpinning society. You tried to expose this mysterious cabal, but no one believed you. You’re still trying to prove what you know is true. |
| 8 | You got a job with an agency that investigates crimes that local law enforcement can’t solve. You often wonder which you value more, the truth or your pay. |
Suggested Motivations
Characters in a horror-focused campaign might have distinct motivations and characteristics. Use the following tables to supplement your background’s suggested characteristics or to inspire those of your own design.Traits
| d12 | Personality Trait |
| 1 | I had an encounter that I believe gives me a special affinity with a supernatural creature or event. |
| 2 | A signature piece of clothing or distinct weapon serves as an emblem of who I am. |
| 3 | I never accept that I’m out of my depth. |
| 4 | I must know the answer to every secret. No door remains unopened in my presence. |
| 5 | I let people underestimate me, revealing my full competency only to those close to me. |
| 6 | I compulsively seek to collect trophies of my travels and victories. |
| 7 | It doesn’t matter if the whole world’s against me. I’ll always do what I think is right. |
| 8 | I have morbid interests and a macabre aesthetic. |
| 9 | I have a personal ritual, mantra, or relaxation method I use to deal with stress. |
| 10 | Nothing is more important than life, and I never leave anyone in danger. |
| 11 | I’m quick to jump to extreme solutions. Why risk a lesser option not working? |
| 12 | I’m easily startled, but I’m not a coward. |
| d12 | Ideal |
| 1 | Adrenaline. I’ve experienced such strangeness that now I feel alive only in extreme situations. |
| 2 | Balance. I strive to counter the deeds of someone for whom I feel responsible. |
| 3 | Bound. I’ve wronged someone and must work their will to avoid their curse. |
| 4 | Escape. I believe there is something beyond the world I know, and I need to find it. |
| 5 | Legacy. I must do something great so that I’m remembered, and my time is running out. |
| 6 | Misdirection. I work vigorously to keep others from realizing my flaws or misdeeds. |
| 7 | Obsession. I’ve lived this way for so long that I can’t imagine another way. |
| 8 | Obligation. I owe it to my people, faith, family, or teacher to continue a vaunted legacy. |
| 9 | Promise. My life is no longer my own. I must fulfill the dream of someone who’s gone. |
| 10 | Revelation. I need to know what lies beyond the mysteries of death, the world, or the Mists. |
| 11 | Sanctuary. I know the forces at work in the world and strive to create islands apart from them. |
| 12 | Truth. I care about the truth above all else, even if it doesn’t benefit anyone. |
| d12 | Bond |
| 1 | I desperately need to get back to someone or someplace, but I lost them in the Mists. |
| 2 | Everything I do is in the service of a powerful master, one I must keep a secret from everyone. |
| 3 | I owe much to my vanished mentor. I seek to continue their work even as I search to find them. |
| 4 | I’ve seen great darkness, and I’m committed to being a light against it—the light of all lights. |
| 5 | Someone I love has become a monster, murderer, or other threat. It’s up to me to redeem them. |
| 6 | The world has been convinced of a terrible lie. It’s up to me to reveal the truth. |
| 7 | I deeply miss someone and am quick to adopt people who remind me of them. |
| 8 | A great evil dwells within me. I will fight against it and the world’s other evils for as long as I can. |
| 9 | I’m desperately seeking a cure to an affliction or a curse, either for someone close to me for myself. |
| 10 | Spirits are drawn to me. I do all I can to help them find peace. |
| 11 | I use my cunning mind to solve mysteries and find justice for those who’ve been wronged. |
| 12 | I lost someone I care about, but I still see them in guilty visions, recurring dreams, or as a spirit. |
| d12 | Flaw |
| 1 | I believe doom follows me and that anyone who gets close to me will face a tragic end. |
| 2 | I’m convinced something is after me, appearing in mirrors, dreams, and places where no one could. |
| 3 | I’m especially superstitious and live life seeking to avoid bad luck, wicked spirits, or the Mists. |
| 4 | I’ve done unspeakable evil and will do anything to prevent others from finding out. |
| 5 | I am exceptionally credulous and believe any story or legend immediately. |
| 6 | I’m a skeptic and don’t believe in the power of rituals, religion, superstition, or spirits. |
| 7 | I know my future is written and that anything I do will lead to a prophesied end. |
| 8 | I need to find the best in everyone and everything, even when that means denying obvious malice. |
| 9 | I’ve seen the evil of a type of place—like forests, cities, or graveyards—and resist going there. |
| 10 | I’m exceptionally cautious, planning laboriously and devising countless contingencies. |
| 11 | I have a reputation for defeating a great evil, but that’s a lie and the wicked force knows. |
| 12 | I know the ends always justify the means and am quick to make sacrifices to attain my goals. |
Horror Trinkets
Before you finish making a character, roll once on the Horror Trinkets table for a unique object your character has with them at the start of their adventuring career. These trinkets hint toward various horrific tales and might lead to dreadful revelations or be nothing more than grim keepsakes. At the GM’s discretion any of these trinkets might also be a Mist Talisman, a focal item that can lead the bearer through the Mists to a particular Domain of Dread.
Trinkets Table
| d100 | Trinket |
| 1 | A picture you drew as a child of your imaginary friend |
| 2 | A lock that opens when blood is dripped in its keyhole |
| 3 | Clothes stolen from a scarecrow |
| 4 | A spinning top carved with four faces: happy, sad, wrathful, and dead |
| 5 | The necklace of a sibling who died on the day you were born |
| 6 | A wig from someone executed by beheading |
| 7 | The unopened letter to you from your dying father |
| 8 | A pocket watch that runs backward for an hour every midnight |
| 9 | A winter coat stolen from a dying soldier |
| 10 | A bottle of invisible ink that can only be read at sunset |
| 11 | A wineskin that refills when interred with a dead person for a night |
| 12 | A set of silverware used by a king for his last meal |
| 13 | A spyglass that always shows the world suffering a terrible storm |
| 14 | A cameo with the profile’s face scratched away |
| 15 | A lantern with a black candle that never runs out and that burns with green flame |
| 16 | A teacup from a child’s tea set, stained with blood |
| 17 | A little black book that records your dreams, and yours alone, when you sleep |
| 18 | A necklace formed of the interlinked holy symbols of a dozen deities |
| 19 | A noose that feels heavier than it should |
| 20 | A birdcage into which small birds fly but once inside never eat or leave |
| 21 | A lepidopterist’s box filled with dead moths with skull-like patterns on their wings |
| 22 | A jar of pickled ghouls’ tongues |
| 23 | The wooden hand of a notorious pirate |
| 24 | A urn with the ashes of a dead relative |
| 25 | A hand mirror backed with a bronze depiction of a medusa |
| 26 | Pallid leather gloves crafted with ivory fingernails |
| 27 | Dice made from the knuckles of a notorious charlatan |
| 28 | A ring of keys for forgotten locks |
| 29 | Nails from the coffin of a murderer |
| 30 | A key to the family crypt |
| 31 | A bouquet of funerary flowers that always looks and smells fresh |
| 32 | A switch used to discipline you as a child |
| 33 | A music box that plays by itself whenever someone holding it dances |
| 34 | A walking cane with an iron ferrule that strikes sparks on stone |
| 35 | A flag from a ship lost at sea |
| 36 | A porcelain doll’s head that always seems to be looking at you |
| 37 | A wolf’s head wrought in silver that is also a whistle |
| 38 | A small mirror that shows a much older version of the viewer |
| 39 | A small, worn book of children’s nursery rhymes |
| 40 | A mummified raven claw |
| 41 | A broken pendant of a silver dragon that’s always cold to the touch |
| 42 | A small locked box that quietly hums a lovely melody at night, but you always forget it in the morning |
| 43 | An inkwell that makes one a little nauseous when staring at it |
| 44 | An old doll made from a dark, dense wood and missing a hand and a foot |
| 45 | A black executioner’s hood |
| 46 | A pouch made of flesh, with a sinew drawstring |
| 47 | A tiny spool of black thread that never runs out |
| 48 | A tiny clockwork figurine of a dancer that’s missing a gear and doesn’t work |
| 49 | A black wooden pipe that creates puffs of smoke that look like skulls |
| 50 | A vial of perfume, the scent of which only certain creatures can detect |
| 51 | A stone that emits a single endless sigh |
| 52 | A rag doll with two red dots on its neck |
| 53 | A spring-loaded toy with a missing crank |
| 54 | A mason jar containing a harmless but agitated, animate ooze |
| 55 | A black wooden die with 1’s on all the faces |
| 56 | A child’s portrait with “born” written on the back, along with next year’s date |
| 57 | A dagger-sized shark tooth |
| 58 | A finger that’s taken root in a small pot |
| 59 | A toolbox containing the remains of a dangerous but broken clockwork arachnid |
| 60 | A pitcher-sized, opalescent snail shell that occasionally, inexplicably shudders or tips over |
| 61 | The logbook of an ice-breaking ship called The Haifisch |
| 62 | A small portrait of you as a child, alongside your identically dressed twin |
| 63 | A silver pocket watch with thirteen hours marked on the face |
| 64 | A woodcut of a wolf devouring its own hind leg |
| 65 | A planchette etched with raven skulls |
| 66 | A moist coral figurine of a lamprey with arms, legs, and a bipedal stance |
| 67 | A bronze fingertrap sculpted with roaring tigers |
| 68 | A pearl necklace that turns red under the full moon |
| 69 | A fossil of a fish with humanoid features |
| 70 | A plague doctor’s mask |
| 71 | A paper talisman with smudged ink |
| 72 | A locket containing the smeared image of an eyeless figure |
| 73 | A canopic jar with a lid sculpted like a goat |
| 74 | A jack-o’-lantern made from a small, pale gourd |
| 75 | A single high-heeled, iron shoe |
| 76 | A candle made from a severed hand |
| 77 | A clockwork device that beats like a heart |
| 78 | A blank masquerade mask |
| 79 | A glass eye with a live worm inside |
| 80 | A sheet with two eyeholes cut in it |
| 81 | The deed to someplace called Tergeron Manor |
| 82 | An ornate, wax-sealed crimson envelope that resists all attempts to open it |
| 83 | A mourning veil trimmed in black lace |
| 84 | A straitjacket covered in charcoal runes |
| 85 | A tattered, burlap mask with a crooked smile painted on it |
| 86 | A green ribbon designed to be worn as a choker |
| 87 | Dentures with mismatched, sharpened teeth |
| 88 | A warm, fist-sized egg case |
| 89 | A copper ring with “mine” engraved on the inside |
| 90 | A glass ampoule containing a neon green fluid |
| 91 | An eye patch embroidered with a holy symbol |
| 92 | A severed big toe with a nail that continues to grow |
| 93 | A journal that has been heavily redacted |
| 94 | A glove with a mouth-like design stitched on the palm |
| 95 | An ornate but empty reliquary made of silver and fractured glass |
| 96 | A ceramic figure of a cat with too many eyes |
| 97 | A crumpled paper ticket bearing the words “admit none” |
| 98 | An electrum coin with your face on one side |
| 99 | A shrunken gremishka head that twitches when anyone casts magic nearby |
| 100 | A sunburst amulet with a red stone at the center |
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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.045 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 15:03, May 31 2025