The Hermit has the following background feature:

"Feature: Discovery
The quiet seclusion of your extended hermitage gave you access to a unique and powerful discovery. The exact nature of this revelation depends on the nature of your seclusion. It might be a great truth about the cosmos, the deities, the powerful beings of the outer planes, or the forces of nature. It could be a site that no one else has ever seen. You might have uncovered a fact that had been long forgotten, or unearthed some relic of the past that could rewrite history. It might be information that would be damaging to the people who consigned you to exile, and hence your reason to return to society."

Unfortunately, there are no examples, and I am hard pressed to come with discoveries that are on par with other background features, and yet unique enough to the Hermit PC to be his feature, rather than to become that of the whole group within session #1.

How have you used Discovery? What are examples from your games? Any other ideas for what that discoveries could be (whether generic or campaign-specific)?

I haven't used it, but I gave it some thought when I first read the hermit background.

My conclusion was not to use some secret that can just be told to someone else.

"The crown prince is a shapechanger!" is a horrible secret to make the hermit's discovery. He tells the other PCs and *poof* your unique background feature turns to fairy dust.

I'd make it "I know the mystical mojo that alone can prove who is that certain kind of shapechanger. Its pretty involved, you have to look inside yourself, you see, and then you take this Leukrotta urine and lucky acorn and... Hey. Why are you looking at me like that? It'll work! Trust me!"

Other stuff like that:

- The secret of brewing the perfect cup of coffee

- How to talk with doors

- Divining the future from strange birthmarks

- How to cultivate a plant that usually only grows in one place of the world

- Orientation by the smell of water

- Reading ancient runes not even spells can decipher

- The proper consecration rites to put an eternal revenant to rest.

- The migration pattern of the elusive giant Kollibri

- How to safely retrieve and make edible the murderbees delicious and deadly venemous honey

- The funniest joke ever, you have to tell it in just the right way though (use with caution, great for getting erinyes to ease up on the vengeance)

Just read the popup ads.

Ways to make any woman fall in love with you!
Secrets of a 12-inch penis!
All night, every night!
Be a millionaire working 2 hours a week!
Obama's infected us all with Ebola!

Seriously though, that one's pretty hard to provide a benefit that can't be shared/taken away.  Secrets that aren't secrets once you use them or knowledge that's no longer unique once shared is pretty much the way secrets and knowledge work.

Quote from: Gold Roger;796255- The secret of brewing the perfect cup of coffee

Damn! Our hermit was trying to keep that a secret too! :mad:

heh.

Make of it what you will.

One idea though is the trinket table. The secret of one of those could be what the hermit is squirrling away. This jar of fingernails... Do you know WHO this belongs to? The horrible purpose! No one can ever find this jar or we are all doomed! Doomed!

Quote from: Omega;796275Damn! Our hermit was trying to keep that a secret too! :mad:

heh.

Make of it what you will.

One idea though is the trinket table. The secret of one of those could be what the hermit is squirrling away. This jar of fingernails... Do you know WHO this belongs to? The horrible purpose! No one can ever find this jar or we are all doomed! Doomed!

Heh, the fingernails of Vecna just waiting for a Resurrect spell. :eek:

Quote from: CRKrueger;796293Heh, the fingernails of Vecna just waiting for a Resurrect spell. :eek:

Naglfar

Quote from: CRKrueger;796293Heh, the fingernails of Vecna just waiting for a Resurrect spell. :eek:

"The fingernails in that jar are just a fake. I've always had the fingernails of vecna".

Quote from: CRKrueger;796261Seriously though, that one's pretty hard to provide a benefit that can't be shared/taken away.  Secrets that aren't secrets once you use them or knowledge that's no longer unique once shared is pretty much the way secrets and knowledge work.

Well, my thought was to have it be some source of continuing revelations; so the original secret discovery can be replaced with new knowledge deciphered from additional tea leaves.  Or it can be some kind of actual ability: having discovered that some group of demons has infiltrated the kingdom, the hermit has learned to detect the disguised demons slightly more frequently than other people.  In either case, the hermit can use the feature at later points for some benefit, consistent with what other backgrounds can do.

Quote from: Skyrock;796240The Hermit has the following background feature:

"Feature: Discovery
The quiet seclusion of your extended hermitage gave you access to a unique and powerful discovery. The exact nature of this revelation depends on the nature of your seclusion. It might be a great truth about the cosmos, the deities, the powerful beings of the outer planes, or the forces of nature. It could be a site that no one else has ever seen. You might have uncovered a fact that had been long forgotten, or unearthed some relic of the past that could rewrite history. It might be information that would be damaging to the people who consigned you to exile, and hence your reason to return to society."

Unfortunately, there are no examples, and I am hard pressed to come with discoveries that are on par with other background features, and yet unique enough to the Hermit PC to be his feature, rather than to become that of the whole group within session #1.

How have you used Discovery? What are examples from your games? Any other ideas for what that discoveries could be (whether generic or campaign-specific)?

Our hermit, literally named The Hermit, caught wind up The Cult of the Dragon's efforts to summon Tiamat from The Nine Hells. That was one of his biggest reasons for breaking his self-imposed exile...hidden away in Candlekeep, he pieced together multiple parts of a prophecy...(I am running Hoard of the Dragon Queen right now).

Quote from: Gold Roger;796255I'd make it "I know the mystical mojo that alone can prove who is that certain kind of shapechanger. Its pretty involved, you have to look inside yourself, you see, and then you take this Leukrotta urine and lucky acorn and... Hey. Why are you looking at me like that? It'll work! Trust me!"

Nice and reinforces the fact that people who are hermits are often uncomfortable to be around. Nice list overall, but...

Quote- How to talk with doors

I really, really like this one. It sounds mysterious. It seems open ended, but weird.

• The door may open for the hermit (Knock).
• The door may stay closed for the hermit (like Hold Portal).
• The door might tell the hermit who has entered or departed through it last, or recently, or ever.
• The door might squeak in warning when opened.
• Maybe the hermit can (like the key maker in that Matrix sequel) open to a different location (Dimension Door or Portal).

And maybe the hermit can't totally control which of those things the door is going to do for sure. I mean doors are probably pretty difficult to talk to. Almost as bad as walls really.

83: A bit of folded cloth that. when unfolded, turns into a stylish cap.

Thinks of the secrets that must imply. Guard it with your life!