Object of Affection

Some people see possessions. You see personalities expressed through weight, contour, texture, balance, and wear.

A lovingly carved chair, a sword polished by generations of hands, an ornate musical instrument, or a delicate porcelain vessel can stir feelings in you more intense than their owners would ever understand. You form powerful attachments to particular objects, cherishing their physical presence, histories, imperfections, and the private rituals of touching, cleaning, carrying, or restoring them.

Work with your GM to determine how this fascination shaped your life. Perhaps you apprenticed to an antiquarian, appraiser, restorer, museum curator, or relic keeper. You might have traveled between noble collections, temple treasuries, archaeological sites, and estate auctions, always searching for objects whose craftsmanship or history stirred something within you. Perhaps one extraordinary artifact became the central affection of your life.

Your attachment may be romantic, sensual, devotional, or emotionally intimate. Whatever form it takes, you do not consider the object interchangeable with another of similar appearance. Its particular history, materials, blemishes, repairs, and physical presence are precisely what make it beloved.

Skill Proficiencies: History, Investigation
Tool Proficiencies: One type of artisan’s tools used for appraisal or restoration
Languages: One of your choice
Equipment: Your chosen artisan’s tools, a soft polishing cloth, a magnifying lens, a small bottle of preservation oil, an illustrated catalog of makers’ marks, a protective case containing one cherished object of little monetary value, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp

Feature: Material Biography

You are practiced at reading the physical history preserved within crafted objects. After carefully examining an item, you can usually recognize obvious signs of age, prolonged use, repair, alteration, deliberate imitation, or unusual craftsmanship. When an object bears a maker’s mark or belongs to a style you know, you can often recall its general region, period, or artistic tradition.

This examination does not reveal magical properties, exact monetary value, secret functions, or facts that left no physical evidence.

Antiquarians, appraisers, restorers, collectors, curators, relic keepers, and skilled craftspeople recognize you as someone who understands the care of meaningful objects. They will generally share ordinary information about local collections, reputable dealers, restoration services, auctions, and the known histories of notable artifacts.