Close TiesBackground
You've forged a close friendship with one of Willowshore's notable citizens, and you have a long tradition of sharing tea with each other while chatting about shared interests, plans for the future, town gossip, or other matters of note.
Work with your GM to choose one of the NPCs mentioned in the Willowshore Gazetteer (other than Granny Hu or Old Matsuki)—your GM might have suggestions for which NPC makes the most sense for your character or might know something about an NPC's eventual role in the campaign that would give your character a compelling story beat. You could be an employee or apprentice of this NPC, a close relation or friend, or even a friendly competitor in some way.
Your home is likely relatively close to the place of business or home of your NPC ally.
During the Reenactment Festival, you likely spent time with your NPC ally and might have made plans to get together the next day on the first day of summer, perhaps have tea together. You were chosen to be an abductee during the Reenactment Festival because your NPC friend or ally suggested the experience would be fun or good for you, or because they'd done it the previous year at your urging and now "it's your turn."
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Charisma or Intelligence, and one is a free attribute boost.
You're trained in the Diplomacy skill and the Tea Lore skill. You gain the Specialty Crafting skill feat (choose a specialty associated with your allied NPC), and your allied NPC begins with an attitude of friendly toward the party (rather than indifferent, which is the initial norm for all Willowshore NPCs).
You can add one of the following two adjustments to any background to further modify your choice to match your vision for your PC.
Family: You and one (or more) other PCs are close family members (siblings, parent/child, married, etc.) If you take this adjustment, the other PC(s) who are your family must also take this adjustment. Choose one of the following to replace the skill feat you otherwise would've gained from your background. (You and your sibling need not share the same choice—a sibling who wants to keep their background's skill feat can pick "Typical" from the list.)
- Bickering: You have a long-standing feud with your sibling(s). Whenever your sibling(s) critically fail a significant skill check or attack roll and you witness their failure, you gain a +1 status bonus to your saving throws until the end of your next turn as you secretly (or perhaps not so secretly) delight in their failure. Effect: Bickering Family
- Close-Knit: You and your sibling(s) work well together, and you go all-out to help them when they're badly hurt. When you provide Aid or Administer First Aid to your sibling(s), the DC is 5 lower than normal.
- Typical: You have a standard relationship with your sibling(s); don't change your background's skill feat.
Foundling: You aren't a native to Willowshore, but you did grow up in the town. You might have adoptive parents, or you could've grown up on the streets. Choose one of the following to replace the bonus feat you otherwise would've gained from your background.
- Bitter: You appreciate the town of Willowshore but still resent the conditions that resulted in you being abandoned or left in the town. You gain the Intimidating Glare skill feat.
- Mysterious: You keep secrets, and very few in Willowshore (if anyone) know your history before you settled in the town, in part because you've taken to learning about Willowshore by watching rather than engaging in conversation. You gain the Streetwise skill feat.
- Outgoing: You're grateful for the sense of belonging the townsfolk of Willowshore have extended to you and always do your best to repay that kindness. Once per week when you attempt a skill check to resolve a downtime activity that could benefit Willowshore (several of these activities are detailed in the adventures, and your GM can always make the call if another activity would qualify) and you fail that check, you instead succeed at the check, or if you critically fail at that check, you instead simply fail that check.
Condensed:
Boost(s): Charisma or Intelligence, free; Skill(s): Diplomacy; Lore: Tea Lore; Feat: none.