You want to get to the bottom of the truth and find the criminals, regardless of the fact how hard it might be for you to reach it. But you love this job, so much so that you often end up in some dangerous situations but that doesn’t stop you from chasing the criminals nor the crime.
You have great skills to put two and two together when it comes to some shady business or exploring some shady places. Perhaps you are good at being a team leader and lead your team into exploring the unknown. You are the one who keeps everyone in your team in check and united against anything and everything. You are not afraid of the fact that one day your search might end up with you dead.
What is an Investigator in DND?
Investigators are rare but they have a keen eye for crime and criminals. They are mostly found in the rural areas where there are more crimes. The investigators are responsible to put the facts together like the pieces of a puzzle to solve the crime after the fact.
You have a very tough job of catching the criminals after the crime is done and so put the pieces together and try to track down the criminals who have done it. You must have some great investigative skills that and your past experience also helps you get into the mind of the criminals.
Your Skills: Your skills include Insight and Investigation.
Your Tool Proficiencies: None.
Languages: You can choose to have two languages of your choice.
Equipment: You have a uniform that symbolizes the unit your work in and also shows your rank. You also have a horn that you can use to call for help, a set of manacles, and a pouch worth 10 GP in it.
Suggested Characteristics
Personality Traits
| D8 | Personality Traits |
| 1 | You have an addiction problem. |
| 2 | You are very genre-savvy. |
| 3 | You are a braggart. |
| 4 | You are a cynic. |
| 5 | You often gamble. |
| 6 | You let others do the dirty work. |
| 7 | You are friendly with your clients. |
| 8 | You do everything yourself. |
Ideals
| D6 | Ideas |
| 1 | Honor: I will honor my word, even if it harms me. (Good) |
| 2 | Greed: I only do this for the money. (Evil) |
| 3 | Justice: If I find my client is a traitor, I will do the same. (Lawful) |
| 4 | Vigilantism: The law is a burden that I must not adhere to. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | Privacy: The case is a means to an end. That end is not my business. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Ambition: My name shall be made through detective work. (Any) |
Bonds
| D6 | Bonds |
| 1 | My bond is to the people who write mystery novels. They helped me get where I am. |
| 2 | I am in the job to escape justice, in a way. |
| 3 | I am in a debt of one hundred platinum, due to a terrible bet. |
| 4 | The bartender at the local tavern has been awfully kind these past few decades. I should probably repay his generosity. |
| 5 | One criminal betrayed me, when my villainy was less honest. When we cross paths again, only one of us will leave that place. |
| 6 | I have no bond. I am my own creature! |
Flaws
| D6 | Flaws |
| 1 | My cynicism can make me a turncoat. |
| 2 | I have waxing addiction problems. |
| 3 | I tend to make terrible bets, especially when gambling. |
| 4 | I care only for myself. |
| 5 | I am a smart aleck, and I don’t stifle my showing it. |
| 6 | I charge exorbitant prices for my taking a case, almost to the point of not receiving any. |
Feature
Informants
As an Investigator, your job requires to have as much information as possible to help you solve the crimes and catch the criminals and so it’s part of your job to have people on the streets that report back to you when they have some information regarding the crimes or the locations where the criminals meet up and things like that.
You can have up to 3 informants in the area of your work, whom you can call anytime to have information, and most of the time their information can be useful to you. It can help you solve the crimes much faster than working alone with the clues you have and also they can help you find out the secret hideouts that they have, which can also come in handy.
Why Use Investigator Background?
The investigator is one of the toughest yet fun play backgrounds that you can have in D&D 5e. Unlike the variant City Watch, an investigator has more information and a keen eye for the criminals and crime that has been committed and is better suited to put together the information more efficiently and in turn, catch the criminals.
Investigators are also pretty rare than the city watch and only the areas with more populations and number of crimes have investigators under the payroll to find out the truth behind the crimes and track down the criminals which can get a lot dangerous as it required exploration of places that otherwise the people wouldn’t dare to explore.
