At the Narrator’s discretion, you may be able to benefit from the following new mechanics.

I've Seen This Somewhere Before

History may not repeat itself, but it does tend to rhyme, and when you’ve already lived a life of past adventures, there’s a chance that you’ve seen something before. At the Narrator’s discretion, you can gain advantage or an expertise die on ability checks that relate to your previous adventures. You can use this ability a number of times per long rest equal to your proficiency modifier.

Work with the Narrator to make an outline of your character’s past adventures or encounters to determine what you’ve had previous experience with. For example, Nadine the herald who spent her youth slaying demons of the deep seas in the name of a goddess of light would likely get bonuses to rolls to attack demons and determine their weaknesses, as well as those to swim, pilot sea-based water vehicles, and speak with followers of certain deities. She would, however, not necessarily know how to fight undead, steer a river barge, or anything about the religious practices of a desert-based mystery cult. Depending on the Narrator, your playstyle, and the game you are playing, you may benefit more from having several concrete examples, by proposing qualifying rolls on the fly, or a mixture of the two.

Weapons Once Wielded

Many great and glorious former adventurers had powerful magical weapons that are nearly as storied as those who wield them. They are then hung up or hidden away, left to gather dust as their edges dull and they forget what they once were.

You have such a weapon of legendary deeds. It, like you, is far from your glory days and needs time and effort to recover the power you two once had. Choose a weapon, such as a longsword, greataxe, or the like upon character creation, and work with the Narrator to determine the features and power it once had. In addition to its features as an item, your weapon may also have gained or reawoken a form of sapience. In this case, consider consulting Sentient Magic Items in Chapter 8: Enchanted Gear of Trials & Treasures, though such a weapon would not necessarily gain the usual durability and power of a standard sentient item. It would, however, have its own opinions about how the two of you should regain your lost glory—and they may not line up with yours.

The deep bond you share with your weapon makes using other armaments difficult. You cannot wield any other weapon for extended periods of time (as ruled by the Narrator, but generally about an hour) without suffering a 1d4 penalty to all attack rolls and saving throws . You are always considered attuned to this weapon, which counts against the usual maximum of three enchanted items. This weapon counts as magical for purposes of overcoming resistance and immunities and in regards to taking damage or breaking. In addition, you can use your reaction to gain an expertise die on an attack or damage roll made with this weapon a number of times per day equal to your proficiency modifier. You regain all spent uses of this feature once you finish a long rest .

If you lose this weapon or it is somehow destroyed, you still retain attunement with it. While finding or repairing it may be the goal of a great quest, there is always the possibility of regaining it, short of divine intervention. However, the loss of such an item is soulcrushing and you take a 1d4 penalty to all attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws until you are reunited with it.

Upon reaching a point of prowess and glory, such as fulfilling your destiny, your weapon regains some or all of its previous features, but retains the benefits and drawbacks of this feature.

Who I Once Was

A common trope in stories of heroes having to get back into the saddle are the moments when they are able to catch the flame that they once held. Work with the Narrator to make up an alternate character sheet, a higher-level version of your character that represents who you once were before retirement. In times of strain or when all hope seems lost, you may be able to tap into these previous abilities..

As a reaction no more than once per day, you can spend an inspiration to use one of the features of your alternate character sheet one time. This could be using the higher level character’s statistics for an ability check or saving throw, casting a spell that is only available at a higher lever, and so on. However, such a feat is immensely taxing and after using this feature you suffer at least one level each of fatigue and strife , potentially more depending on the power of the ability and the Narrator’s discretion, which they should discuss with you before you expend a use of this feature. If the chosen feature used requires a reaction, you perform it as part of spending the inspiration.

As a note, the power of these abilities can mean that encounters may go very differently than expected. In such an instance, a deeper narrative cost could be associated with this sort of ability. For example, if you are being hunted by someone who wants revenge, they are more likely to hear about you if you are able to channel greater power than normal or using a signature ability, or you may make an entirely new enemy.

Toll of Years

Depending on the level of (comparative) realism of your game, you may want to add modifiers to your character’s ability scores based on their age. For example, a character with the Former Adventurer background may be middle aged after leaving a life of bloodshed at their prime, while a Retiree would almost certainly be old or even elderly. Obviously these are general categories that vary greatly in the specifics depending on a character’s heritage, and some may not apply in certain circumstances, like an older character pointedly keeping up a healthy diet and exercise routine. However, the table below provides some general guidelines. As always, consult the Narrator before applying these changes.

Some adventurers hang up their swords and put away their spellbooks, only to find that they have to take them up again. This may be a story of fulfilling one’s true potential, achieving a glory always longed for, or even one of redemption and penance for a past life of violence or treachery.

Special Feature: Former Self. Upon character creation, also create a version of your character that represents who they once were, up to 10 levels higher than whatever your adventure starts at.

Source of Inspiration: Memory.You are both haunted and driven by who you once were. You gain inspiration whenever you score a critical with an ability check your former self had proficiency in, or overcome something that you could not in your past adventures.

Defeat a foe who you had previously lost to, face a fear you developed from your previous life adventuring, restore (or destroy) an item, relationship, or group that was iconic of your old adventures, subvert or fulfill the expectations of someone who knew you before.

Inspiration Feature: Things Remembered. As a reaction, you may spend your inspiration to use the proficiency bonus and ability score of your former self to make a single attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.

Fulfilling Your Destiny 

You fulfill your destiny when you either become who you once were again, or diverge markedly from that path but still find glory.

Defeat a major foe from your past or their modern day heir or analog, restore a settlement or large organization that suffered in your absence, take revenge on whatever entity drove you from adventuring before or destroyed your peaceful retirement, found an institution with numerous members that is in line with or antithetical to your old values.

Fulfillment Feature: Reborn. You have either found your stride again, or decided who you once were is not who you will be again. Either way, you are the stuff of legends. You gain a +1 bonus on all attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.

In addition, you may use Things Remembered twice per long rest without using inspiration. If you reach a level equal to or surpassing your Former Self, you can use that feature to instead gain a +5 to the roll before you know the outcome as your excellence shines through

Table: Death Destiny

D6 Motivation

1 Unfinished Business: You learned of something you accidentally left undone

2 Debt: Someone has called in a debt from a long time ago.

3 Loss. Loss of a loved one or friend has called you to return to a life of adventure.

4 Disappointed. The quiet life does not live up to what you expected.

5 Guilt. The guilt of past failures has pushed you back into action.

6 Enemy Returns. An enemy you thought you had defeated has returned.

Plenty of stories have heroes and former mercenaries give up a life of adventure for quiet, honest work. But it’s never that simple: just because they’ve walked away from the happenings of the world, doesn’t mean that the world is done with them! There are stories also about mages that hung up their robes to don a gardener’s apron or famous berserkers that now content themselves with yelling advice from the sidelines while enjoying a nice cuppa instead of sparring personally. That doesn’t mean their tale has ended, however, as the call to adventure can come from unexpected places. Whatever reason a character hung up the tools of their past trade, the following mechanics can help them take it—or something completely different—up once more.