Backgrounds

## Introduction:

Your character’s Background is a collection of characteristics that represent the place and occupation that were most formative for the character before they embarked on a life of adventure.

When you choose a Background, you have three options:

* Build a Background by using the rules in the “Build Your Background” section (Make sure to have your Dungeon Master look over your created background for final approval/adjustments)
* Slect a premade Background from the “Sample Backgrounds” section.
* Select a premade Background from the “Sample Backgrounds” section and the customize it with the rules in the “Build Your Background” section (Same as above, show to DM for final approval/adjustments)

No matter which Background you choose, consider these questions from your character’s viewpoint:

* How does your Background influence your current worldview?
* Do you embrace or reject your Background?
* Did you form any relationships during your Background that endure today?

## Build Your Background:

Using the rules here, you can build a Background from scratch or customize a premade Background, focusing on details related to the backstory you have in mind for your character. When you build a Background, your character gains the features in the “Background Features” section below. As you make choices for those features, think about your character’s past. Where did they spend most of their time? What did they do for a living? What capabilities and possessions did they acquire? What language did they learn from their family, associates, or studies? How did their past affect their ability scores?

If you instead decide to customize a premade Background, you can choose any features in that Background and replace them with the features below of the same name. For example, if you want to change a Background’s Language feature, you can replace that feature with the Language feature below.

### Background Features

**Ability Scores:** When you determine your characters ability scores, choose two of them, and increase one by 2 and the other one by 1. Alternatively, choose three ability scores, and increase each of them by 1.

**Skill Profieciencies:** Choose two Skills. Your character gains Proficiency in them

**Tool Proficiency:** Choose one tool. Your character gains Tool Proficiency with it

**Language:** Choose one language from the Standard and Rare Languages tables (found below). Your character knows that language as well as Common.

**Feat:** Choose one 1st Level Feat. Your charcater gains that Feat

## Sample Backgrounds:

Here is a collection of sample Backgrounds that you can choose from when making a character. These Backgrounds were built using the rules in the “Build Your Background” section, and each of them contains story-oriented details that are meant to inspire you as you think of your character’s backstory.

Click into each background for the detailed breakdown of that background and the Features that it gives

### Backgrounds List:

* Acolyte
* Artisan
* Charlatan
* Criminal
* Cultist
* Entertainer
* Farmer
* Gladiator
* Guard
* Guide
* Hermit
* Laborer
* Noble
* Pilgrim
* Rewarded
* Ruined
* Sage
* Sailor
* Soldier
* Urchin

## Languages:

Your character begins play knowing at least three languages: Common, a language provided by the character’s Background, and a language that you choose from the Standard Languages table below. Knowledge of a language means your character can communicate in that language and can read and write it.

The Standard Languages table lists languages that are widespread on D&D worlds in the Material Plane, and the Rare Languages table lists languages that are more rarely known on those worlds. In each table, typical users of a language are mentioned.