Hermit: Discoveries

[8wGremlin]

So the Hermit's background feature is Discovery, and a lot of it's ideals, bonds, flaws deal with this.

Mine is this:

Discovery: You have found that magic and lifeforce are linked and that by draining a small area you can wield greater magical powers. if effect if you defile and area, you can gain advantage on the next spell you cast.

Bond: Should my discovery come to light, it could bring ruin to the world

this makes me think of Athas, Dark Sun

What Discoveries have you, or your players come up with?

[dukeofwolfsgate]

I love your idea!

Mine was that I had discovered an empty pocket-dimension that I could access by being in complete darkness (like being inside a Sphere of Darkness). I used it to store treasure until I made it back to town...

Another player I know discovered a way to scry upon the gods in their homes. Talk about soap-opera drama...

[Naanomi]

Some I've used or seen used at the table:
- know the location, key, and opening schedule of an extremely stable portal to Sigil
- know the secret binding rituals to remove an arcane spellcaster's ability to access magic permanently <- an NPC knows this in my homebrew setting
- knows the impossibly difficult recipie to the perfect dwarven brew; one that grants eternal life
- knows the secret breeding grounds and hiding places of dinosaurs around the world <- Halfling beastmaster

[Chronos]

One I've pondered, for a Great Old One warlock who's actually sane:

The Destroyer of Mind is coming, and soon. It may be tomorrow, it may be in a thousand years, but it cannot be stopped, and already its power is leaking into the world. Resistance is futile... but damnit, I intend to go down fighting it as hard as possible.

[Inevitability]

To be fair, I am not sure granting a mechanical ability with a background is balanced, let alone fair to the other players.

But, to stay on-topic, my group has a hermit in it now whose discovery was both a way to get him involved in the party and allow me to get some foreshadowing in. In a prophetic dream, he saw five powerful weapons, all threatened by an evil shadow that tried to grasp them.