You kept a city running through the sweat of your brow, loading and unloading ships, serving as an extra pair of hands on a construction site, and performing other tasks. It isn’t always honest work, but it’s always hard work.

Why did you leave this life behind? How did you get your adventuring skills and equipment?

Those that lack homes, ask for alms, and other impoverished folk have been, broadly, left behind by whatever society they are a part of. You were part of those huddled masses, doing everything you could to survive, but going to bed hungry more often than not.

How did you escape that life? What was the turning point for you? Who did you leave behind? What scars do you bear from that time?

You are aware of your counterpart, of course. But more than that, you loathe them. You have started your adventures, at least in part, in order to find this person, remove them in some fashion, and take their place.

Have you located your counterpart yet? Why do you seek to replace them? Are they repugnant and you would right their wrongs? Do you seek to balance the universe? Or do they simply have the life that you were meant to have? What if you do eventually find them—and realize you have no wish to fulfill what was once your burning ambition?

Your life has been chiefly defined by your charge to protect a great treasure or secret which must be kept from the prying eyes of outsiders. Whether you were tasked with protecting a sacred artifact, concealing the true heir to the throne, or maintaining the seal on an ancient curse, the time has come to step into the wider world.

You have done what few have managed: you have aged gracefully out of adventuring. Maybe exhaustion overtook you, maybe you had accomplished all you had dreamed. Whatever happened, you have done exceedingly little since then. Maybe you drank yourself into darkness each night, or maybe you’ve been content to just watch the flowers glow on a small plot of land you’ve bought yourself.

What pulled you back into a life of adventure? Do you want to go back to retirement? What drives you, and what beckons you to stop?

Whether it came from army training, time with a mercenary band, a military education, or some less-conventional source, you’ve been taught the art of war. Battle is far more than just swinging a sword, after all, and you likely spend as much time with tactical manuals and maps as you do conventional weapons.

Where did you gain this level of tactical ability? Do you hire your skills out to the highest bidder or did you take jobs on moral grounds? Or do you just seek out excitement and adventure to test your skills?

You’ve had to make a living with your fists, but you’ve never had time to develop a particularly attractive style of fighting. The world is a rough place to make it in, and if that meant breaking a chair over your opponent’s head or taking them down with a grapple, then so be it.

With this brutal fighting style at your disposal, did you seek out excitement and opponents or was fighting for pay merely a grim reality? Did you leave a trail of broken bodies or reluctant admirers in your wake?

+1 to Strength or Dexterity, and +1 to Constitution.

Through intense training by a master of the art, you’ve made your body a deadly weapon and you have speed and precision to use it effectively. What called you to leave such training in favor of adventuring?

This type of skill doesn’t come lightly. How did you receive such training? Who was your teacher? What kind of combat did you study? How do you use it? Have you chosen to dedicate yourself to this path, or do you use this experience to further your studies elsewhere?

Whether you were driven by personal vendetta, fueled by stories of renowned figures, or something else entirely, you’ve made a career out of hunting monsters. This is dirty, dangerous work, but not as fatal as the average person might believe—an individual skeleton or giant rat can pose a serious threat to a commoner, but with the right tools and preparation even an amatuer hunter stands a better-than-even chance. It’s a good living for those willing to put up with the risks…and the ichor.