D&D 2024 Backgrounds - Vigilante
The vigilante is the embodiment of the antihero. They take the law into their own hands, often operating outside legal boundaries to enforce justice as they see fit. Unlike law enforcement officers, vigilantes act without any sort of official authority. The law often sees vigilantes as criminals, while the public at large thinks of them as heroes—of a kind.
A vigilante relies on their skills, resources, and moral compass to combat crime or injustice. They take on criminal organizations, corrupt officials, and threats they believe are being ignored by the system, risking their safety to deliver their own form of justice. A vigilante's methods can range from non-lethal interventions to extreme violence, depending on their code of ethics and the severity of the situations they face.
Vigilante
Ability Scores: Strength, Wisdom, Charisma
Feat: Stalker
Skill Proficiencies: Deception and Intimidation
Tool Proficiencies: Thieves’ Tools
Equipment: Choose A or B: (A) Thieves’ Tools, caltrops, crowbar, costume, hooded lantern, manacles, rope, 12 gp or (B) 50 gp
People become vigilantes for various reasons, often driven by deep personal experiences. Maybe you suffered a personal loss, such as the death of a loved one due to crime, and feel that the justice system has failed them. Others may be motivated by a strong sense of morality or duty, believing they must protect those who cannot defend themselves. Some vigilantes are disillusioned with law enforcement, seeing it as corrupt, slow, or ineffective, and choose to act independently. This deep frustration with injustice fuels their decision to step into the shadows and fight for what they believe is right.
Some see vigilantes as necessary forces where law enforcement fails, while others view them as dangerous individuals who create chaos rather than justice. Your actions live in a grey zone, where the line between right and wrong raises ethical questions about whether your brand of justice truly serves society or simply replaces one form of lawlessness with another. Regardless of perspective, the existence of vigilantes highlights the persistent flaws in the justice system, government, and society’s ongoing struggle with crime and accountability.
Background Story Ideas
Magistrates have been sending people to the gallows for minor infractions. You must find out why.
The gangs have become violent of late, beating small merchants and artisans if they cannot pay protection money. Their livelihoods depend on you ending the gang’s reign of terror.
Corruption runs deep, not with the local leaders, but with a shadow government made up of mages - who shape policy whisper in the ears of the rich and influential. What are the mages up to, and what is their endgame?
Origin Feat
Stalker
You hunt your target so you can deliver the punishment they deserve. You gain the following traits.
Restrain and Subdue: When successfully Grapple a creature, they have the Restrained trait instead of the Grappled trait.
Lurker. You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.
