Dungeon Scavenger

Beneath the civilized streets of Altazia lies a world of monsters, mana crystals, and ancient ruins. While other children were learning etiquette or studying history, you were learning how to identify a chameleon drake's tracks and how to bleed a troll.

Overview

You didn't grow up in the glittering upper city. Your family belonged to the rough-and-tumble class of mercenaries, monster hunters, and Delvers who make their living plunging into the upper levels of the Dungeon. Whether your parents died on a bad run or scraped together enough crystalized mana to send you to the Academy, your childhood was defined by the proximity of the Abyss.

To you, magic isn't an academic pursuit; it's a survival tool. You are intimately familiar with the anatomy of magical beasts and the brutal reality of subterranean combat. The manicured lawns of the Academy often feel fake to you compared to the honest darkness of the Dungeon.

Mechanical Benefits

• Starting Bonus: Gain +1 free dot in Survival (specifically related to subterranean and monstrous ecology) and +1 free dot in Awareness.
• Connection — Mercenary Guild: You maintain ties with the gritty Delvers and mercenaries who work the Dungeon entrances. Once per arc, you can call upon this network to receive highly accurate monster intelligence, secure a guide for the upper Dungeon levels, or fence illicit monster parts without asking questions.

Roleplay Hooks

• Practical Paranoia: You never sleep with your back to the door, always check ceilings for ambush predators, and inherently distrust dark corners.
• Gruesome Pragmatism: You view everything, even fallen foes, in terms of their harvestable alchemical components.
• The Debt: Your family pooled all their dangerous earnings to pay your Academy tuition; if you fail, you ruin them.