Background
Your character's background represents their life before becoming an adventurer. It provides skill proficiencies, tool proficiencies, languages, starting equipment, and a special feature that reflects your character's past experiences.
Choosing a Background
When selecting a background, consider:
- Your character's history and upbringing
- How they learned their skills
- What drove them to become an adventurer
- Connections they might have in the world
Background Benefits
Each background provides:
- Skill Proficiencies: Two skills that reflect your training
- Tool Proficiencies and/or Languages: Additional capabilities
- Equipment: Starting gear appropriate to your background
- Feature: A special ability that opens unique opportunities
Customizing a Background
You can customize a background by choosing any two skills, any two tool proficiencies or languages, and equipment worth the same value as the standard background.
Available Backgrounds
| Background | Skills | Tools/Languages | Feature | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acolyte | Insight, Religion | 2 languages | Shelter of the Faithful | Temple servant with deep religious connections |
| Charlatan | Deception, Sleight of Hand | Disguise kit, Forgery kit | False Identity | Con artist with multiple identities |
| Criminal | Deception, Stealth | Gaming set, Thieves' tools | Criminal Contact | Experienced lawbreaker with underworld connections |
| Entertainer | Acrobatics, Performance | Disguise kit, Musical instrument | By Popular Demand | Performer who can find stages anywhere |
| Folk Hero | Animal Handling, Survival | Artisan's tools, Vehicles (land) | Rustic Hospitality | Champion of the common people |
| Guild Artisan | Insight, Persuasion | Artisan's tools, 1 language | Guild Membership | Skilled craftsperson with guild support |
| Hermit | Medicine, Religion | Herbalism kit, 1 language | Discovery | Recluse who found profound knowledge in solitude |
| Noble | History, Persuasion | Gaming set, 1 language | Position of Privilege | Member of the aristocracy with social influence |
| Outlander | Athletics, Survival | Musical instrument, 1 language | Wanderer | Wilderness dweller far from civilization |
| Sage | Arcana, History | 2 languages | Researcher | Scholar who knows where to find information |
| Sailor | Athletics, Perception | Navigator's tools, Vehicles (water) | Ship's Passage | Seafarer who can secure passage on ships |
| Soldier | Athletics, Intimidation | Gaming set, Vehicles (land) | Military Rank | Veteran warrior with military connections |
| Urchin | Sleight of Hand, Stealth | Disguise kit, Thieves' tools | City Secrets | Street kid who knows urban shortcuts |
Background Variants
Some backgrounds have variants that provide slightly different abilities:
- Charlatan → Con Artist
- Criminal → Spy
- Entertainer → Gladiator
- Guild Artisan → Guild Merchant
- Noble → Knight
- Sailor → Pirate
- Soldier → City Watch
Additional Backgrounds
Beyond the core backgrounds listed above, many additional backgrounds exist in various sourcebooks, including:
- Anthropologist
- Archaeologist
- City Watch
- Clan Crafter
- Cloistered Scholar
- Courtier
- Faction Agent
- Far Traveler
- Haunted One
- Inheritor
- Knight of the Order
- Mercenary Veteran
- Urban Bounty Hunter
- Uthgardt Tribe Member
- Waterdhavian Noble