New Background: Escapee

You spent years in a bad situation. You endured verbal and physical abuse, physical confinement, and meager food and rest. You waited for your chance to escape, and once it arrived you took it. With the help of those who took pity on your state, you put many miles between yourself and your captors. Now you look over your shoulder for your former oppressors who would drag you back into the darkness if given the chance.

 

Skill Proficiencies: Slight of Hand, Stealth

Tool Proficiencies: Thieves’ tools

Languages: Two of your choice

Equipment: Thieves’ tools, a tiny statue carved by a close friend or family member, an ill-fitting (and probably stolen) set of common clothes, 2 loaves of bread, a chunk of farmer’s cheese, a shank (a crudely sharpened knife, consider it a brittle dagger), and a homemade cloth bag containing 5 gp

 

Imprisonment
The reason for your previous situation could be a mistake you made, the betrayal of a friend, or just bad luck. Choose or randomly determine the type of prison your found yourself in.

   

Feature: Underground Railroad
You have contacts with those who help free people in bad situations. This could be a formal organization, or just a loose network of contacts. These people can help you out when you’re in danger of getting caught by your former captors, but more often they reach out to you to help others who are escaping. These could be nobles, farmers, merchants, sailors, or anyone who can assist those on the run, but they all want to keep their involvement secret.

 

Suggested Characteristics
Escapees are paranoid, but for good reason—there really could be someone around the next corner waiting to capture them. They attempt to blend into the background, trying not to stand out. They have deep mental scars, and sometimes they become paralyzed by the thought of being forced to return to their previous life. However fearful they may be, they cannot resist helping others in bad situations, as they feel deep empathy for those who are suffering.

         

Variant Escapee: Exile
An exile does not look over his shoulder, since there is no one chasing him, but neither can he ever return to his home. The exile may be self-imposed or the penalty for some wrongdoing, but it is unbreakable. An exile’s underground railroad consists of other expatriates who for their own reasons have left the same homeland. Instead of thieves’ tools, an exile may be proficient with artisan tools which he uses to make his way in his new home.