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A hero doesn't just blink into existence the moment you fill out a character sheet; he came from
somewhere. For most characters, that means he has or had a family: a mother and father, who in turn
had mothers and fathers of their own, and so on, stretching back into the past in a chain of ancestry.
This is the character's lineage, and it shapes and defines the character, whether he's consciously
aware of it or not. Some lineages are more complex than othersadoption, sorcerer bloodlines, and
reincarnation are a few examplesbut the idea of family is still important beyond immediate blood
ties. Whatever form this lineage takes, it has a profound effect on the character's life, story, and role in
the campaign.
Whether or not your character initially gets along with his family is up to you. However, once the
campaign begins, it's the GM's responsibility to control these relatives and determine how their
attitudes change over the course of play. A character that acts against his family's interests, fails too
often in familial obligations, or behaves in a manner contrary to the family's beliefs or ethics should
expect relationships to sour. This should be handled delicately, as turning a character's family against
him seriously alters the character's place in the campaign. The GM should remember that most
families are forgiving, and only the most egregious of acts should have a permanent effect on the
character's relationships with his family.
In the event that a family member's attitude does shift, reconciliation should always be possible
(likewise, relatives who started out as unfriendly or hostile can be brought around with enough hard
work). If the character convinces his family that he is truly repentant or trying to make amends with the
offended relative, and he works to redress any wrongs he may have done, things should return to
normal over time. How the character must do this is up to the GM. It might be as simple as making a
Diplomacy check, or complex enough to merit its own side quest or short adventure.
Family Values
You can create and describe the individual members of your character's family using the guidelines
outlined in the Campaign Systems section, but a true family is more than a collection of NPCs with the
same surname. Families have traditions, values, and a shared folklore that sets them apart, even from
other groups in the same culture. When developing your character's family, you should consider what
makes that family unique.
Does the family have any famous ancestors that they're proud or embarrassed of? What stories do the
family elders tell about them? What stories do other family members tell? Does the family follow any
special naming traditions, or worship a deity unusual for the region? What songs do they sing? Do any
members have notorious reputations? Does the family have a motto? What values do they hold and
what behaviors do they condemn? These are just a few examples of questions you can use to breathe
life into the family and give its members a sense of cohesion.
Family members should never fight your PC's battles for you, and probably shouldn't fight at all except
in extreme circumstancesafter all, your PC is likely the adventurous member of the family. However,
if you take the Leadership feat and select a family member as a cohort, the normal cohort rules apply
and you may turn a family member into a combat-ready NPC (though the rest of your family may never
forgive you if you get your relative killed by a monster).
One easy way to handle the family's aid to your PC is to use the rules for NPC Boons, mainly in the
form of favor and skill boons. These boons usually come only from immediate family members, and
even then only as often as the GM feels is appropriate. Unique boons might make an excellent reward
for a PC who does her family a great service.
These offers of help don't come for free. Your character is expected to help the family when problems
arise. The family should primarily ask for small favors, things your character can take care of with a
simple skill check or a little gold. For example, your niece might ask you to help her enroll in a
prestigious academy, necessitating a Diplomacy check with the school's dean, or your character's
brother might ask for a small loan to start a new business. These favors should play to your
character's strengths, and come with tangible benefits for your adventuring career in order to prevent
the family member from becoming a GM-controlled nuisance. For example, your niece can arrange to
get you access to her school's magical library, and your brother can give you a discount on the goods
or services his business sells. These activities should take place during downtime so as to not detract
from adventuring. Family obligations are also a way to introduce short side quests into the game,
although GMs should be sure to include plot hooks that interest the rest of the party.
Inheritance
The GM may decide that your character inherits something of value from a deceased relative. This
may be as innocuous as a village farm or a house in the city, an adventurer's heirloom such as a
masterwork rapier or ring of protection +1, or something cryptic and unnerving like a glowing frog idol
or a skull that whispers secrets.
These items are often the source of adventure hooks: Perhaps squatters are living in your house, the
rapier has an inscription in a lost language, or cultists are trying to steal the idol. Sometimes the
inheritance creates family drama, such as a brother who is upset that you got the house instead of
him, an impoverished uncle who'd like to sell the ring, or a religious cousin who shuns you because
you own the blasphemous skull. Just like in real life, an inheritance can divide close family members or
create alliances out of distant relatives.
These guidelines for inheritance don't apply if you are just using the idea as a way to provide
roleplaying flavor for your character's starting equipment. For example, if your starting equipment at
1st level includes a normal longbow, you don't need GM approval to say that the bow once belonged
to your grandmother, who was a ranger in her youth. However, if you wanted an heirloom masterwork
longbow or +1 longbow for your character, you would need GM approval because the price of either of
those items is beyond what a 1st-level character could afford.
make amends for his evil deedsor bear the burden of being the only one in the family who knows
that a celebrated grandparent was secretly a cold-blooded murderer.
Long-lived monstrous races in your background can have interesting consequences for your character
though the ancestor's misdeeds happened decades ago, that relative may still be active in the
campaign. For example, the shapechanging red dragon who polluted your bloodline may awaken after
a century of rest, or the vampire queen of a nearby land may turn out to be your rebellious greatgrandmother. Adversarial relationships like these provide a campaign villain and allow all the PCs to
participate in your family's story, and can be the key to unlocking traits or other abilities for your
character.
Famous Lineages
Your character's deceased family members can have just as strong an influence over the campaign as
you do. Lineages vary widely; one character might be descended from an ancient line of kings, and
another could be the child of an infamous thief. Rather than simply granting your character benefits or
drawbacks based on her ancestors, your character's legacy should be used to provide hooks for
further adventures and quests.
For example, a powerful evil NPC might owe your character's dead grandmother a favor and plot to
discreetly eliminate your character before you learn of this debt and try to collect on it. If your character
survives long enough to discover the NPC's motives, the favor may be of great benefit. Similarly, clues
might surface implicating a dead ancestor in a terrible crime, prompting the local governor to place
your character on trial in his stead because of a law that allows punishing descendants for an
ancestor's offenses. To survive, your character needs to delve into your family history in order to clear
the ancestor's name (and save your life), perhaps recovering a forgotten title or long-lost heirloom as a
reward.
By drawing both positive and negative consequences from your character's past, the GM can present
a nuanced and realistic portrayal of your character's legacy, while simultaneously producing scenarios
versatile enough to capture the interest of the other PCs.