Rift-Rousted Radical

You never asked to be caught between tradition and progress — but the Mana Wastes made the choice for you. When a rift storm swept through, twisting magic and machine alike, you saw lives ruined, faith shaken, and neighbors divided. Some blamed progress, claiming Alkenstar’s obsession with invention invited disaster. Others cursed tradition, insisting that clinging to old ways left the city unprepared. In the end, it didn’t matter which side was “right” — what mattered is that you were there, and your voice carried too far.

Whether you raised doubts about the pace of innovation, or mocked the fearful who long for the past, your words put you in someone’s crosshairs. A guildmaster, a priest, or an enforcer decided your stance was dangerous. They whispered away your livelihood, twisted your reputation, and left you an outlaw with no allies but your own conviction. You’ve been branded as the wrong kind of radical, even if you never chose to be one at all.

Now, forced from safety into the shadows, you live with the tension of a city tearing itself apart over what future it deserves. You may fight to slow the march of progress, to speed it up, or to reconcile the two. Whatever your path, the rift that ousted you also lit a fire in you — one that will not be easily extinguished.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Wisdom or Constitution, and one is a free ability boost. You’re trained in the Survival skill and the Politics Lore skill. You gain the *Streetwise* skill feat.