Background Guide

## Every story has a beginning

Your character’s background reveals where you came from, how you became an adventurer, and your place in the world. Your fighter might have been a courageous knight or a grizzled soldier. Your wizard could have been a sage or an artisan. Your rogue might have gotten by as a guild thief or commanded audiences as a jester. Choosing a background provides you with important story cues about your character’s identity.

The most important question to ask about your background is what changed? Why did you stop doing whatever your background describes and start adventuring? Where did you get the money to purchase your starting gear, or, if you come from a wealthy background, why don't you have more money? How did you learn the skills of your class? What sets you apart from ordinary people who share your background? The sample backgrounds in this chapter provide both concrete benefits (features, proficiencies, and languages) and roleplaying suggestions.

## Proficiencies

* Each background gives a character proficiency in two skills.
* Skills are described in chapter 7 of the PHB.
* In addition, most backgrounds give a character proficiency with one or more tools.
* Tools are detailed in chapter 5 of the PHB.
* If a character would gain the same proficiency from two different sources, they can choose a different proficiency of the same kind (skill or tool) instead.

## Languages

* Some backgrounds also allow characters to learn additional languages beyond those given by race.

## Equipment

* Each background provides a package of starting equipment. If you use the optional rule from chapter 5 to spend coins on gear, you do not receive the starting equipment from your background.

## Suggested Characteristics

* A background contains suggested personal characteristics based on your background.
* You can pick characteristics, roll dice to determine them randomly, or use the suggestions as inspiration for characteristics of your own creation.

## Customizing a Background

You might want to tweak some of the features of a background so it better fits your character or the campaign setting. To customize a background, you can replace one feature with any other one, choose any two skills, and choose a total of two tool proficiencies or languages from the sample backgrounds. You can either use the equipment package from your background or spend coins on gear as described in chapter 5. (If you spend coins, you can't also take the equipment package suggested for your class.) Finally, choose two personality traits, one ideal, one bond, and one flaw. If you can't find a feature that matches your desired background, work with your DM to create one.

## List of Backgrounds

* Acolyte (Skills: **Insight,** **Religion,**and **Languages +2,** PHB p127)
* Anthropologist (Skills: **Insight,** **Religion,**and **Languages +2,** Tomb of Annihilation p191)
* Archaeologist (Skills: **History, Survival, Cartographer's Tools** or **Navigator's Tools,** and **Language +1,**Tomb of Annihilation p192)
* Black Fist Double Agent (Skills: **Deception, Insight, Disguise Kit,** and **choose one** from **Artisan’s Tools**or **Gaming Set**, CoStrahd)
* Caravan Specialist (**Animal Handling, Survival, Land Vehicles**, and **Languages** +1, Elemental Evil)
* Charlatan (Skills: **Deception,** **Sleight of Hand, Disguise Kit,** and **Forgery Kit**, PHB p128)
* City Watch (Skills: **Athletics,** **Insight**, and **Languages +2,** SCAG p145)
* Clan Crafter (Skills: **History,** **Insight**, **Artisan's Tools,** and **Languages +1,** SCAG p145)
* Cloistered Scholar (Skills: **Languages +2,** **History,**and**choose one** from Arcana, Nature, or Religion, SCAG p146)
* Cormanthor Refugee (Skills: **Nature, Survival, Elven Language**, and **Artisan's Tools +1**, RoD
* Courtier (Skills: **Insight,** **Persuasion**, and **Languages +2**, SCAG p146)
* Criminal (Skills: **Deception,** **Stealth, Gaming Set +1,**and**Thieves' tools,** PHB p129)
* Dissenter (Skills: **none**, **Special Background Feature,** Plane of Amonkhet p11)
* ~~Dragon Casualty (Skills: **Intimidation, Survival, Draconic Language**, and a **Tool** based on your Origin, CoStrahd)~~
* Earthspur Miner (Skill: Athletics, Survival, Dwarven and Undercommon Languages, Elemental Evil).
* Entertainer (Skills: **Acrobatics,** **Performance**, **Disguise Kit,** and **Musical Instrument +1**, PHB p130)
* Faction Agent (Skills: **Languages +2,** **Insight,**and **choose one** mental skill appropriate your faction, SCAG p147)
* Far Traveler (Skills: **Insight,** **Perception**, **Musical Instrument +1,** and **Languages +1**, SCAG p148)
* Folk Hero (Skills: **Animal Handling,** **Survival**, **Artisan's Tools +1**, and **Land Vehicles,** PHB p131)
* Gate Urchin (Skills: **Deception, Sleight of Hand, Thieves's Tools**, and **Musical Instrument +1**, RoD)
* Gladiator (Skills: **Acrobatics,** **Performance**, **Disguise Kit,** and **Musical Instrument +1**, PHB p130)
* Guild Artisan (Skills: **Insight,** **Persuasion, Artisan's Tools +1,** and **Languages +1**, PHB p132)
* Guild Merchant (Skills: **Insight,** **Persuasion, Artisan's Tools +1,** and **Languages +1**, PHB p132)
* Harborfolk (Skills: **Athletics, Sleight of Hand, Water Vehicles,** and **Gaming Set +1**, Elemental Evil)
* Haunted One (Skills: **Exotic Language +1,**and c**hoose two** from among **Arcana**, **Investigation**, **Religion**, and **Survival**, Curse of Strahd p209)
* Heretic (Skills: **Deception,** **Religion,**and **Languages +2,**Ruins of Mezro p28)
* Hermit (Skills: **Medicine,** **Religion, Herbalism Kit,** and **Languages +1**, PHB p134)
* Hillsfar Merchant (Skills: **Insight, Persuasion, Land Vehicles**, and **Water Vehicles**, RoD)
* Hillsfar Smuggler (Skills: **Perception, Stealth, Forgery Kit**, and **Languages +1**, RoD)
* Inheritor (Skills: **Gaming Set +1, Musical Instrument +1,** **Survival,**and **choose one**from **Arcana**, **History**, or **Religion**, SCAG p150)
* Initiate (Skills: **Athletics,** **Intimidation**, **Land Vehicles,** and **Gaming Set +1,** Plane of Amonkhet p8)
* Inquisitor (Skills: **Investigation,** **Religion**, **Thieves' Tools,** and **Artisan's Tools +1**, Plane of Innistrad p12)
* Investigator (Skills: **Insight,** **Investigation**, and **Languages +2,** SCAG p145)
* Iron Route Bandit (Skills: **Stealth, Animal Handling, Gaming Set +1,** and **Land Vehicles**, CoStrahd)
* Knight (Skills: **History** and **Persuasion**, **Gaming Set +1,** and **Languages +1**, PHB p135)
* Knight of the Order (Skills: **Languages +1,** **Gaming Set or Musical Instrument +1,** **Persuasion,**and **choose one**non-investigation Int skill, SCAG p151)
* Mercenary Veteran (Skills: **Athletics,** **Persuasion, Gaming Set +1**, and **Land Vehicles,** SCAG p152)
* Mulmaster Aristocrat (Skills: **Deception, Performance, Artisan's Tools +1**, and **Musical Instrument +1**, Elemental Evil)
* Noble (Skills: **History** and **Persuasion**, **Gaming Set +1,** and **Languages +1**, PHB p135)
* Outlander (Skills: **Athletics,** **Survival, Musical Instrument +1,** and **Languages +1,** PHB p136)
* Phlan Insurgent (Skills: **Stealth, Survival, Land Vehicles**, and **Artisan's Tools +1,** CoStrahd)
* Phlan Refugee (Skills: **Insight, Athletics, Languages +1**, **Artisan's Tools +1**, Elemental Evil)
* Pirate (Skills: **Athletics,** **Perception, Navigator's Tools,** and **Water Vehicles,** PHB p139)
* Sage (Skills: **Arcana,** **History**, and **Languages +2,** PHB p137)
* Sailor (Skills: **Athletics,** **Perception, Navigator's Tools,** and **Water Vehicles,** PHB p139)
* Secret Identity (Skills: **Deception, Stealth, Disguise Kit,** and **Forgery Kit**, RoD)
* Shade Fanatic (Skills: **Deception, Intimidation, Forgery Kit**, and **Netherese Language**, RoD)
* Soldier (Skills: **Athletics,** **Intimidation**, **Gaming Set +1**, and **Land Vehicles**, PHB p140)
* Spy (Skills: **Deception,** **Stealth, Gaming Set +1,**and**Thieves' tools,** PHB p129)
* Stojanow Prisoner (Skills: **Deception, Perception, Thieves' Tools**, and **Gaming Set +1**, CoStrahd)
* Ticklebelly Nomad (Skills: **Nature, Animal Handling, Herbalism Kit**, and **Giant Language**, CoStrahd)
* Trade Sheriff (Skills: **Investigation, Persuasion, Thieves Kit,** and **Elven Language**, RoD)
* Urban Bounty Hunter (Skills: **Choose two** from **Deception**, **Insight**, **Persuasion**, or **Stealth**, and **choose two** from **Gaming Set**, **Musical Instrument,** or **Thieves' Tools**, SCAG p153)
* Urchin (Skills: **Sleight of Hand,** **Stealth, Disguise Kit,** and **Thieves' Tools**, PHB p141)
* Uthgardt Tribe Member (Skills: **Athletics,** **Survival**, **Languages +1,** and **choose one** from **Musical Instrument** or **Artisan's Tools**, SCAG p153)
* Vizier (Skills: **History,** **Religion**, **Artisan's Tools +1,** and **Musical Instrument +1,** Plane of Amonkhet p10)
* Waterdhavian Noble (Skills: **History,** **Persuasion**, **Languages +1,**and **choose one**from**Gaming Set**or **Musical Instrument,**SCAG p154)