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Background Option: Knight-Errant 1

My good blade carves the casques of
Cause of Errancy:
men, Your Knight-Errant must have some reason for
My tough lance thrusteth sure, forsaking the comforts and familiarity of home for
My strength is as the strength of ten the twisting paths and snaking routes of the world.
Because my heart is pure. You may roll on the following table that corresponds
— Alfred Lord Tennyson, "Sir to your Landed/Unlanded status for a cause of
Galahad" errancy, or simply come up with your own, as best
suits your character.
Knight-Errants are questing knights who wander the d4 The Road Calls... (Landed)
lands. These warriors have chosen to seek adventure
1 I have sworn my blade and life to my lord, who
on the roads, having either never been able to secure
has great need for agents aboard. I take to the
land holdings, or simply elected to leave their
road in service of my liege, serving as his eyes,
manors and fiefs for the unknown on the horizon.
ears, and sword in the realm.
You might fight for honor, power, loyalty, or coin,
but no matter where your journeys take you, your 2 I come from a long line of knights who have all
steady sword arm and shining mail seek to bend the dutifully served an Order. Recently, the Order’s
odds to your favor. Knight-Errants usually have a heads have become aware that the enemies of
driving quest that binds them to the road, and the organization are on the move, working to
pushes them ever on until they are able to finally further their causes and weaken the Order. To
achieve their overarching goal, and look once more counteract them, the Order has issued a call to
to settle down. its members to mobilize, to sniff out
information and subvert any of the enemy’s
Landed or Unlanded Status: efforts, operations, and agents wherever they
When you build a character with the Knight-Errant can be found. I have answered that very call.
background, you may choose to have your character 3 The life of a head of Estate bored me.
be Landed (having a manor to his or her name) or Agricultural production surveys and formal
Unlanded (having no particular land property of dinners with other nobles only served to stoke
note.) How you choose will determine your feature my desires for variety, for change, for
as well as your equipment as provided by this something different. So I left, to see what the
background, and will affect how you determine your world had to offer.
cause of errancy. 4 One night, in my bedroom, I received a vision
from my deity, telling me of a great threat in
Skill Proficiencies: Survival, Animal Handling need of vanquishing. As a devout servant of my
Tool Proficiencies: One type of musical instrument God, I could not simply stay home after such a
OR one type of artisan's tools. portent.
Equipment (Landed): A coat of arms for your
armor and shield if you have one, a scroll verifying
your authority, either a leather folder of d4 The Road Calls... (Unlanded)
instructions from your superiors OR a leather 1 A dragon or some other foe destroyed my land
folder of reports on the condition of your estate holdings, and obliterated my previous life.
just prior to your leaving, with written promise With only an empty title to my name, I take up
that the retainer you entrusted with your manor the sword to lay my sworn enemy low.
will send you further reports as you request and 2 My family’s estate and holdings, on which I’ve
as able, a symbol of your Order, Liege, or Estate OR lived my entire life, have followed the path of
a signet ring, a purse containing 20 gp. inheritance away from me, leaving me with
Equipment (Unlanded): A banner with your naught but my arms and armor. No matter, I
personal coat of arms, to be carried by either say, for I shall carve a fortune for myself of my
yourself or your squire, a scroll of deeds you’ve own choosing, and with my own skill.
accomplished in your errancy which will be added
3 I was a squire for another Knight-Errant, who
to by your squire or yourself as your adventures
taught me all I know. When I was finally
proceed, a martial melee or ranged weapon, a
knighted, I found that settling down did not
whetstone, a purse containing 10 gp.
seem to appealing to me. When passing
through a town, I was stopped by a street

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 urchin, an orphan hoping to squire for me. So participate in combat nor gain XP in any way. Once
be it, I thought. I shall teach as I was taught, you have reached the 5th-level, your squire has
and together we face the unknown. learned many lessons under your careful tutelage
4 On the orders of my father, or sibling, or some and example and becomes a 1st-level character of
other powerful family member, I was banished your class. From this point forward, a squire will
from our ancestral holdings, and forced to live fight alongside your party in combat if you wish him
out my days in exile from my own home. to, however, he will claim a portion of the XP from
that combat encounter. Similarly, a squire can be
asked to help solve puzzles or overcome
adventuring challenges, but will also take an XP
Feature (Landed): Seal of Authority
portion upon completion. Your squire levels up at
Acting on the authority of your liege, Order, or even
the same rate as a standard Player Character, and
yourself, as you are the rightful lord of your own
may take class options such as archetypes as you
estate, you have the ability to use your connections
choose, or as the DM chooses, depending on who is
or title as leverage in social interactions. You can use
controlling the squire.
it to, among other things, request audiences with
people in positions of power, negotiate on behalf of
the authority you represent, and bestow the favor of
that authority upon those you deem worthy. Alternate Feature (Unlanded): Roll of
Deeds
If your DM does not allow an additional party
Feature (Landed): Well-Connected member in the form of your squire, you may instead
By virtue of your status as a minor noble and/or a take this feature. Your tale of achievements and
member of an Order, you have access to a number of triumphs as a roaming Knight of the Realm grows as
resources and people. Whenever you enter a town, your character does, and your recognition and fame
you may ask the DM if your faction has any presence soar to grander heights with every enemy you best
here, or if your lineage’s sovereignty is recognized and every challenge you face. You are able to throw
here in any way. If so, you are immediately able to your weight around with common folk and nobility
access local agents of your family or Order, that will alike, for your coat of arms and your banner are
brief you on the town, any major news/rumors of well-recognized across the land. When making
import, and, depending on the strength of presence, checks for Persuasion or Intimidation, you may
arrange for secure lodgings and possibly even invoke your Roll of Deeds to grant you advantage,
resupply. pending DM’s approval. The Roll of Deeds may not
be invoked to grant advantage in this way in an area
where no one could possibly know of your
Feature (Unlanded): Squire reputation, such as on a foreign plane, for example.
You have with you a loyal attendant who aids you in As your character gains additional levels, the area in
your travels, who you in return train the art of which your legend is known, and thus your Roll of
warfare and in the code of chivalry. While your Deeds can be used, should expand, at the DM’s
squire is with you, the time required to put on and discretion.
take off medium or heavy armor is reduced. Your
squire will also help set up camp, maintain your
equipment, and care for your mounts, though cost of Bonus Feature (Unlanded): Trusty Steed
maintenance for all of those things will still come out If you have taken the Roll of Deeds feature because
of your pocket. A squire is a 1st-level character of your DM did not allow you to have a squire, you may
your class, though built with the following modified as an additional benefit take a Pony, Pack Saddle,
ability score array: 13, 12, 11, 10, 8, 6. You may and Bit and Bridle as part of your background
choose to control your squire as you would a equipment. If you do so, you no longer get the purse
character, or you may have your DM run the squire with 10 gp as part of your background equipment
as an NPC party member. When your character is package.
1st-level, your squire has just entered your service,
having recently been elevated from pagehood. He
receives basic instruction from you and trains with
you, but is unskilled and unready, and thus cannot

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Suggested Characteristics: d6 Ideal
Each Knight-Errant adjusts to his somewhat 1 Free Will. I choose which paths I walk and
nomadic lifestyle differently. Some, driven by the when to draw my blade. I am the master of my
solitude often found on the highways, become own destiny. (Chaotic)
reserved and quiet. Others indulge in every chance 2 Chivalry. I am bound by code of conduct as a
for company and comfort when in towns, knowing knight. I take care to be courteous, I swear by
that the comforts of hearth and inn are few and far my promises, and my honesty and courage are
between, and a much nicer alternative to the as important to me as my shield and sword.
hardness of forest floor campsites. Below are some (Lawful)
suggested concepts for your Knight-Errant.
3 Strength. In the wilds beyond roof and wall, all
manner of danger lurks. Only those who are
d8 Personality Trait able to fight and defend themselves are worthy
1 I’m a taciturn traveler, hard-bitten by the long of the road. Those who are not best stay home.
stretches I’ve travelled and have still to travel, (Evil)
and when I speak, it tends to be short and 4 Connection. One of the most rewarding
direct. aspects of travel is the opportunity to meet
2 I am a person of routine and discipline. Daily new people and listen to their tales. I take
sword drills, early rising, and attention to the every and any opportunity to make friends in
lay of the land I pass through have kept me the places I find myself in. (Neutral)
alive this far, and so it shall as I journey forth. 5 Wanderlust. I’m driven to always discover
3 I am a lover as I am a fighter, and tend to be what is on over the next horizon, what the new
very forward and flirty in the rare instances day holds and where my journeys will take me
when the opportunity for romance presents next. (Neutral)
itself. 6 Piety. Throughout all of my travels, my God
4 I constantly tell and retell the tale of how I has watched over me, protected me, and in
became a Knight-Errant and the motivations return, has only asked for my faith in his or her
that pushed me into the wide world, both to further guidance. (Lawful)
new faces and to those who’ve heard the story
hundreds of times over.
d6 Bond
5 I believe that my enemies always have eyes on
me, and that their servants are everywhere. 1 Though I travel the highways and winding
trails of the land, my wish to return home to
Thus, I view each new person and place with
my family frequently threatens to overwhelm
suspicion.
my resolve to stay abroad.
6 My honor is my life. There is no creature I will
2 I found a lover in a town I passed through as a
not face, no duel I will not fight, no obstacle I
questing knight, and now wish to win that
will not surmount, to uphold it.
person’s heart through my deeds, so that I may
7 My only true home is the great outdoors. I will return in legend and glory to sweep my love off
volunteer for last watch at camp every night to his or her feet and into my arms.
see the sunrise, and my every breath of fresh
air, laced with the scent of rain, or mountain 3 I stand steadfastly by my family, and so the
wind, or the soil beneath my feet, fills me with sibling who I grew up with and who inherited
exhilaration. the household property also inherited my
loyalty, and I will answer any call he or she
8 Obedience is the most important trait of any may have for me.
knight, whether to Lord, Family, or Sovereign. I
4 In my quest for vengeance, I have taken extra
will do as those I am loyal to ask without
hesitation. care to keep myself as informed as possible
about my enemy. I have tracked his or her
whereabouts, studied his or her history, and
memorized his or her weaknesses. I know my
foe almost as well as I know myself.

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5 The weapon I bear is an old family heirloom,
and though I may find more powerful tools of
combat to wield, I will never let myself part
from the sword I set out with.
6 I have a friendly rival out there, another
Knight-Errant whom I once shared travels
with. I hope to meet him or her again
sometime, perhaps at a tournament or in a
tavern. After all, we’re still undecided as to who
is the better jouster, or the better drinker.

d6 Flaw
1 I am a carouser at heart, and will often allow
myself to go overboard whenever we happen
to be in a town or city.
2 I am too headstrong, and will frequently rush
into battles I cannot win for honor, pride, or
merely for challenge.
3 I allow myself to be distracted by thoughts
toward home or quest, and find it hard to
separate my mind from the bigger picture to
focus on the here and now.
4 I am poor at making long-term plans,
preferring instead to simply to follow the wind
and see where it takes me.
5 Dueling has become something of an addiction
for me, with each victory only further whetting
my appetite for more trial of combat. I will
issue challenges loudly and publicly to any and
all takers.
6 I feel as though no one can truly understand
my struggles nor my experiences, and, since
people come and go swiftly in the life of a
Knight-Errant, I have a difficult time allowing
anyone into my mind and heart.

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