D&D 5E 101 Hermit Backgrounds

So the Hermit background in 5e includes this gem:

"Feature: Discovery
The quiet seclusion of your extended hermitage gave you access to a unique and powerful discovery. The exact nature of this revelation depends on the nature of your seclusion. It might be a great truth about the cosmos, the deities, the powerful beings of the outer planes, or the forces of nature. It could be a site that no one else has ever seen. You might have uncovered a fact that had been long forgotten, or unearthed some relic of the past that could rewrite history. It might be information that would be damaging to the people who consigned you to exile, and hence your reason to return to society."

Now there has been some banter that this is a weak background item, for as soon as you share it with the party it stops being uniquely yours.

So let's come up with 101 discoveries. They don't have to be unsharable, but you get bonus points if they are.

Hermit Discoveries:

1 The character is the last scion of a supposedly extinct royal line.
2 The character is the bastard offspring of a current royal line.
3 The character knows the name of a great demon lord. Under the right circumstances it could be used to bind or destroy him, but can attract his attention if spoken or written.
4 The character knows the melody that opens the lock on the Tomb of the Lost Muse. What he does not know is where it is.
5 The character knows exactly where and when and to whom a baby will be born, who is fated to conquer the Kingdom in fire and ash 30 years hence.
6 The character knows the 11 secret herbs and spices.
7 The character knows the location of an unclaimed diamond large enough to be used in a True Resurrection.
8 The character knows exactly what happens after death.
9 The character understands the scent based language of the shambling mounds.
10 The character found a place where a footprint is burned into the ground in glowing gold, but it has too many toes.

11 The character knows the names on the headstone of a grave that contains a great treasure but not the location of the grave yard.
12 The character knows the location of a graveyard that contains a great treasure but not the name on the headstone in which the treasure is buried.

13 The character has learned why the Gods abandoned us

14 The character knows how to achieve divinity.

15. In his/her/its hermitage, the character finds and lives among a ruin of a thought-lost ancient city/civilization. So, he knows its location and the great treasure fabled to be within (which he/she/it, naturally, had no interest in and thus did not release/awaken the dread guardian of the ruin).
16. In his/her/its hermitage, the character finds and lives among the last remaining people of a thought-lost ancient civilization. Revealing their location to the outside world would, undoubtedly, bring about their destruction (they know some secret magic, great wealth, lack of immunity to basic disease, no concept of "conflict", etc. etc. etc. that outside peoples would love to get their hands on/exploit.)
17. In his/her/its hermitage, the character discovers the altered state of mind to see spirits of the dead...but can not speak to or hear them.
18. In his/her/its hermitage, the character discovers the altered state of mind to hear spirits of the dead...but can not see them (or otherwise prove what/who the spirit actually is).
19. In his/her/its hermitage, the character finds a jeweled tablet with the words of power to bring a deity to the material world.
20. In his/her/its hermitage, the character finds a sword and intuits the incantation that transforms him into a super-strength barbarian champion channeling power from somewhere called "Greyskull." He has no idea what or where that is, though.
21. In his/her/its hermitage, the character discovers the altered state of mind/process to shapeshift into animal forms (a la druidic shapeshifting).
22. In his/her/its hermitage, the character discovers/foresees/can calculate the stellar configuration that allows one to know when/where/how/who will cause [or any combination thereof] a global catastrophe will befall the world. Naturally, the PC's actions figure into the cosmic countdown and may move the time table up or back.
23. In his/her/its hermitage, the character knows where to find clean/drinking water...anywhere.
24. In his/her/its hermitage, the character discovers the altered state of mind to speak to rocks. Unfortunately, not all stones speak...and sometimes what the hermit "hears" is just their own internal ramblings.
25. In his/her/its hermitage, the character discovers the altered state of mind to speak to trees. Unfortunately, not all trees speak...and sometimes what the hermit "hears" is just their own internal ramblings.

...need more coffee. I'll be back.

26 [+infinity]: The hermit had dreams of a disembodied voice telling him/her/it things. The source of the voice and veracity of what it says (at least initially) is unknown. DM's holiday/roulette. Is it something someone is saying...or only thinking? Is it a mortal "real" person/creature or some extraplanar being or spirit? Maybe it sounds like some in need/trouble? Maybe its the plans of a serial killer/vampire/demon/were-creature revealing their next victim? Maybe it's just some commoner's wife? The hermit doesn't really know/has to figure it out. Anything, really, goes.
27 [+infinity]: The hermit hears a voice in the winds. The source or veracity of what the voice says is [at least initially] unknown.
28: The hermit has discovered [or accidentally or by the province of some deity for unknown reasons] how to partially open their psychic mind and hears the thoughts of someone they know/used to know prior to their hermitage. 28a: The hermit has an empathic sense of said individual.
29: The hermit has discovered how to move through nature terrain unhindered and leaves no tracks anywhere (even in mud, snow, sand, etc...).
30: The hermit discovered the last known titan remaining in the world and gleans occasional or random Wisdom bonuses from his conversations/teachings with him/her/it.
31: The hermit found the hidden valley of the unicorns (where they mate and raise their young).
32 [+infinity]. The hermit found the secret dying/burial ground of the dragons/holliphants/insert magical creature here.
33: The hermit discovered how to communicate with flumphs.
34 [+infinity]: The hermit discovered how to overcome a particular magical attack/effect: look a medusa/basilisk in the eye, breathe (or hold their breath inordinately long) poisoned gases (green dragon breath, gorgon breath, etc...), can cast magic in a beholder's anti-magic field, etc...
35: The hermit either was or became blind in their hermitage and developed/now has super-hearing/sonar/eco-location a la Daredevil or Thundercats' Lynx-o.
36: The hermit found the FIRST grimoire written by the FIRST/greatest magic-user/spell-caster of all time.
37: The hermit found the FIRST religious text/decrees, written by a progenitor/long dead gods.
38: The hermit found and carried out his/her/its hermitage in a cave containing the oracle/oracular statue of some deity no one has ever heard of. [whether or not the oracle functions/talks/tells the hermit anything or not is DM's holiday]
39-41: The hermit discovered how to read the stars and their relation to certain locations that can be used as teleportal platforms [40: or open/jump gates to different planes or 41 [+ infinity]: always/only the same plane -like always finds spots to enter/exit the land of Faerie]

#42 I couldn't recover this post from Google. Sorry.

43: You discovered a pattern in the empty veins of the dead leaves that fell from the tree you slept under, when Fall came to the woodland where you spent your seclusion. When pieced together, the leaves rendered up a trail map that allowed you to escape the forest that was as much your prison as your place of solitude. You left the woods, but you have not yet decided if you will return to free the others who failed to find the heart of the woodland.

44: You learned to sing to the coastal fog that embraced the shoreline where you spent so much time alone. At first you heard echoes, then you saw shadows moving in the fog. In time, when you sang ballads of love, you felt the soft caress of lips that deposited drops of water on your cheek and chilled you to the bone. The spray from waves crashing into the shore became legions of soldiers knocked prone by the shore breeze as you sang of the mighty beat of dragon wings flying low to the ground. Pirates and slavers frequented the coast, but they never saw you and now you understand why. You left the coast reluctantly, but your purpose could not be denied. You will never be alone once you return with that which the fog desires most.

45: You see the pattern, and it terrifies you. You have always drawn lines with your mind's eye. Your way is to turn the footwork of dueling fighters into an intricate pattern spread across the floor. Likewise the movements of dancers. You trace lines between rooftops, then stand on those rooftops to trace the movements of the townspeople below. The movements of spellcasters captivate you, as do books of glyphs and magical runes. You were good for nothing; always distracted. You left your homeland for the mountains that border it. In your seclusion you began to see the pattern in your dreams, then in the memories of your life among your people. You always thought the story of the dragon chained at the bottom of a lake in the heart of your homeland was just a fable, but now you see that your people are slowly unbinding it, their every movement part of a great grand dispelling that will someday very soon free the dragon.

Originally posted by [MENTION=93444]shidaku[/MENTION]

46: During his hermitage he found a shard of an ancient being (good/evil/etc) trapped within the world, but has no idea how to reach them.
47: During her hermitage she discovered a maddened tome indicating that the world is an artificial construct.
47a: ...and that it's builders are returning but has no idea when.
47b: ...and that the world has been found unworthy, but unworthy of what?.
47c: ...and the demolition crew will be here Friday, just not which Friday.
47b: ...and the next seasons starts in August with a big character death noone saw coming.
48: That all life was brought to this world by an unknown mastermind with unknown intentions but that nothing is native to the world.
49: That there is an ancient *artifact of your choice* containing everything that is ever known, and if one were to find it they could rewrite all reality, but its location is unknown.
50: That everything in her life (mostly terrible events) was orchestrated for some great purpose, but now those guiding hands are gone and it is up to them to discover/destroy/complete her destiny.

Click to expand...

Originally posted by [MENTION=6701422]Plaguescarred[/MENTION]

51. The character knows he is a controlled avatar in an artificial world created in an alternate reality.

Click to expand...

52: You have discovered a magical link that binds the rulers of your homeland to the land itself, and to the people. At first you determined the link had its origins with the elves that once claimed the lands now ruled over by humans, but in time you discovered proof that the elves had only built on magic devised over two millennia ago by a victorious dragon that dueled and defeated its peers in order to win the right to rule over the region. You know that the elves did not reveal all the secrets of the link before they departed, for fear that the nascent human rulers would use it unwisely. But you understand the link. You know the terrible power it can channel, as well as the great good it can bring about. Your hermitage did not reveal what you should do with this secret, and you are left to wonder if the current ruler is wise enough to use the power you could reveal.

53: You discovered a Vault of Souls on your hermitage. The divine guardians that should have been present to block your entrance were missing, and you do not know if the God of the Dead is aware of their absence. Within the cavern were countless crystal skulls, some large, some small, most of them human. Each represented a soul that was once attached to a living body and that has since moved on to the afterlife, where it settled in one of the outer planes. The temptation to remove the skulls was great, because you knew that to do so would strip the linked souls away from whatever divinity claimed them, and so lessen its power even as you gained the power to command the soul. You departed the cavern wondering how you could determine which souls belonged to which deity, and how you might tip the balance of power between the gods should you decide to return to the Vault of Souls in the future.

54: During your hermitage you blundered into the legendary Vault of Unquenched Vengeance. No traps, guardians, or acolytes awaited you, and you found there was always simple food to be had and a comfortable place to sleep, whenever you desired it. You spent countless days wandering the halls and exploring the alcoves; you read all the books, and you studied the offerings of vengeance left by those who'd come before you. It was not until you tried to leave that you found your way blocked by a force unseen, and you knew without being told that you would never be able to leave unless you vowed to take up the path of vengeance started by any one of the vengeance seekers who'd left an offering and then died before their oath could be fulfilled. Now you are free of the Vault, but your oath binds you to the path of vengeance.