Backgrounds

Your character’s background describes where he or she came from, his or her original occupation, and the character’s place in Parvolon. Your DM might be willing to work with you to craft a background that’s a more precise fit for your character concept, however we have tried our best to fit them all. So it might just be as simple as choosing an existing Background and changing its name.

Below here is the Full List of the Backgrounds in Parvolon

## Acolyte

You have spent your life in the service of a temple to a specific god or pantheon of gods. You act as an intermediary between the realm of the holy and the mortal world, performing sacred rites and offering sacrifices in order to conduct worshipers into the presence of the divine. You are not necessarily a cleric – performing sacred rites is not the same thing as channeling divine power.

Choose a god, a pantheon of gods, or some other quasi-divine being, and work with your DM to detail the nature of your religious service. Were you a lesser functionary in a temple, raised from childhood to assist the priests in the sacred rites? Or were you a high priest who suddenly experienced a call to serve your god in a different way? Perhaps you were the leader of a small cult outside of any established temple structure, or even an occult group that served a fiendish master that you now deny.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Insight, Religion

**Tool Proficiencies:** None

**Languages:** Two of your choice

**Equipment:** A holy symbol (a gift to you when you entered the priesthood), a prayer book or prayer wheel, 5 sticks of incense, vestments, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 15gp

***Shelter of the Faithful***

As an acolyte, you command the respect of those who share your faith, and you can perform the religious ceremonies of your deity. You and your adventuring companions can expect to receive free healing and care at a temple, shrine, or other established presence of your faith, though you must provide any material components needed for spells. Those who share your religion will support you (but only you) at a modest lifestyle.

You might also have ties to a specific temple dedicated to your chosen deity or pantheon, and you have a residence there. This could be the temple where you used to serve, if you remain on good terms with it, or a temple where you have found a new home. While near your temple, you can call upon the priests for assistance, provided the assistance you ask for is not hazardous and you remain in good standing with your temple.

## Adventurer

You never stopped following your profession – you have *always* been an adventurer for as long as you have had a profession. Now, "adventuring" in this sense is not the same as the dragon-slaying heroism typical of in-play adventuring. Really, a more accurate description would be along the lines of "helpful grave-robbing", and probably involved a lot more sneaking around, running in terror, setting traps, and possibly taking credit for the work of others, or complete strokes of luck.

**Examples**

* your parents were adventurers,
* you were rescued by a group of adventurers who then raised you,
* being an adventurer is a respectable profession in your homeland,
* you ran away at a young age to become an adventurer,
* you grew up in an adventurers guild hall,
* you're just starting out new and fresh to the profession

Whatever the case is, you are willing and able to do work that nobody in their right mind would even consider. As an adventurer, you have likely traveled extensively, encountered violence and death, are comfortable around magic, and have likely seen many a strange, terrible, and wonderful thing. Many professional adventurers use a sort of professional slang or jargon resembling game terms, such as referring to people by their perceived "level", or ranking enemies by supposed "challenge ratings". What took you down this path, and where has it taken you? Are you pushed by some driving goal, or flee from some terrible thing? Or do you just go wherever the money flows? Are you an experienced party member, or are you more of the loner riding in the back of the cart? Were you trained up to be a professional, or did you learn by experience? What kinds of adventures have you had? What amazing sights have you seen? How have these experiences changed you?

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics and Perception

**Tool Proficiencies:** Thieves' Tools

**Languages:** One language of your choice.

**Equipment:** A wooden training sword, a set of traveler's clothes, a cloak, a shovel, a crowbar, a trophy from your first adventure, and a small pouch containing 15g

***Beloved Outcast***

You can always find a job, but somehow you can never find a place to sleep. People know you`re good for the work, but the fact that you are indicates that you`re probably not the sort of person they want to have around. People view adventurers in a mixed light with conflicting values. On the one hand, most adventurers are nothing more than murderous, grave-robbing vagrants. On the other hand, who else will rob that grave and murder those local bullies for you? Most common folk consider adventurers to be dangerous, unpredictable, and probably insane... But in a world filled with slavers, mad cults, dragons, walking dead, pit fiends, and extradimensional horrors, just about everyone could find a use for a psychotic sell-sword. Adventurers who survive and reach higher renown may find they have a small following of supporters or fans, but even they may cringe at the idea of that adventurer spending an evening in their home. Most adventurers by profession are members of an adventurers guild through which they can readily attain professional work and contacts in the field.

## Anthropologist

You have always been fascinated by other cultures, from the most ancient and primeval lost lands to the most modern civilizations. By studying other cultures' customs, philosophies, laws, rituals, religious beliefs, languages, and art, you have learned how tribes, empires, and all forms of society in between craft their own destinies and doom. This knowledge came to you not only through books and scrolls, but also through firsthand observation – by visiting far-flung settlements and exploring local histories and customs.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Insight, Religion

**Tool Proficiencies:** None

**Languages:** Two of your choice

**Equipment:** A leather-bound diary, a bottle of ink, an ink pen, a set of traveler's clothes, one trinket of special significance, and a pouch containing 10gp

***Cultural Chameleon***

Before becoming an adventurer, you spent much of your adult life away from your homeland, living among people different from your kin. You came to understand these foreign cultures and the ways of their people, who eventually treated you as one of their own. One culture had more of an influence on you than any other, shaping your beliefs and customs. Choose a race whose culture you've adopted.

***Adept Linguist***

You can communicate with humanoids who don't speak any language you know. You must observe the humanoids interacting with one another for at least 1 day, after which you learn a handful of important words, expressions, and gestures – enough to communicate on a rudimentary level.

## Archaeologist

An archaeologist learns about the long-lost and fallen cultures of the past by studying their remains – their bones, their ruins, their surviving masterworks, and their tombs. Those who practice archaeology travel to the far corners of the world to root through crumbled cities and lost dungeons, digging in search of artifacts that might tell the stories of monarchs and high priests, wars and cataclysms.

**Skill Proficiencies:** History, Survival

**Tool Proficiencies:** Cartographer's tools or navigator's tools

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** A wooden case containing a map to a ruin or dungeon, a bullseye lantern, a miner's pick, a set of traveler's clothes, a shovel, a two-person tent, a trinket recovered from a dig site, and a pouch containing 25gp

***Historical Knowledge***

When you enter a ruin or dungeon, you can correctly ascertain its original purpose and determine its builders, whether those were skala, elves, humans, orcs, or some other known race. In addition, you can determine the monetary value of art objects more than a century old.

## Archivist

History is made every day, but not all people care to remember it. People write stuff down, but it is not always preserved as it should be. People scoff at its value and call it junk, relics of the past to be forgotten. They are wrong. You are one of the few who stand against that ignorance. You keep those records and artifacts. You see the value of them, as well as what history and significance they possess. You may even know their value where others sneer at a bit of wear and tear. Time destroys, but it makes things all the more valuable to have and remember. Perhaps you are called a packrat, but let them. You have to yourself a trove of treasures from times when no one remembers.

**Skill Proficiencies:** History, Performance

**Tool Proficiencies:** A musical instrument of your choice

**Languages:** One exotic language of your choice

**Equipment:** A musical instrument of your choice, traveler's clothes, a leather-bound journal in which you record the events you witness, an inkwell, a pen and a coin-purse containing 5 gp

***Historical Value***

Since you are so well-versed in monitoring the artifacts and such of great value, you are able to plainly see value across time. You know a roughly accurate estimate of an object at any point of its existence. For example, you may look at a rusty sword and deduce what it was worth before it had been rusted.[1]

## Athlete

You strive to perfect yourself physically and in execution of everything you do. The thrill of competition lights fire in your blood, and the roar of the crowd drives you forward. Tales of your exploits precede you and might open doors or loosen tongues.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Acrobatics, Athletics

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Tool Proficiencies:** Vehicles (Land)

**Equipment:** A bronze discus or leather ball, a lucky charm or past trophy, a set of traveler's clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp

***Feature: Echoes of Victory***

You have attracted admiration among spectators, fellow athletes, and trainers in the region that hosted your past athletic victories. When visiting any settlement within 100 miles of where you grew up, there is a 50 percent chance you can find someone there who admires you and is willing to provide information and temporary shelter.

Between adventures, you might compete in athletic events sufficient enough to maintain a comfortable lifestyle, as per the "Practicing a Profession" downtime activity in chapter 8 of the *Players Handbook*.

## Charlatan

You have always had a way with people. You know what makes them tick, you can tease out their hearts' desires after a few minutes of conversation, and with a few leading questions you can read them like they were children's books. It's a useful talent, and one that you're perfectly willing to use for your advantage.

You know what people want and you deliver, or rather, you promise to deliver. Common sense should steer people away from things that sound too good to be true, but common sense seems to be in short supply when you're around. The bottle of pink colored liquid will surely cure that unseemly rash, this ointment – nothing more than a bit of fat with a sprinkle of silver dust can restore youth and vigor, and there's a bridge in the city that just happens to be for sale. These marvels sound implausible, but you make them sound like the real deal.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Deception, Sleight of Hand

**Tool Proficiencies:** Disguise kit, forgery kit

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A set of fine clothes, a disguise kit, tools of the con of your choice (ten stoppered bottles filled with colored liquid, a set of weighted dice, a deck of marked cards, or a signet ring of an imaginary duke), and a pouch containing 15gp

***False Identity***

You have created a second identity that includes documentation, established acquaintances, and disguises that allow you to assume that persona. Additionally, you can forge documents including official papers and personal letters, as long as you have seen an example of the kind of document or the handwriting you are trying to copy.

## City Watch

You have served the community where you grew up, standing as its first line of defense against crime. You aren't a soldier, directing your gaze outward at possible enemies. Instead, your service to your hometown was to help police its populace, protecting the citizenry from lawbreakers and malefactors of every stripe.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Insight

**Tool Proficiencies:** None

**Languages:** Two of your choice

**Equipment:** A uniform in the style of your unit and indicative of your rank, a horn with which to summon help, a set of manacles, and a pouch containing 10gp

***Watcher's Eye***

Your experience in enforcing the law, and dealing with lawbreakers, gives you a feel for local laws and criminals. You can easily find the local outpost of the watch or a similar organization, and just as easily pick out the dens of criminal activity in a community, although you're more likely to be welcome in the former locations rather than the latter.

## Clan Crafter

The Stout Folk are well known for their artisanship and the worth of their handiworks, and you have been trained in that ancient tradition. For years you labored under a skala master of the craft, enduring long hours and dismissive, sour-tempered treatment in order to gain the fine skills you possess today.

**Skill Proficiencies:** History, Insight

**Tool Proficiencies:** One type of artisan's tools

**Languages:** Dwarvish or one other of your choice if you already speak Dwarvish

**Equipment:** A set of artisan's tools with which you are proficient, a maker's mark chisel used to mark your handiwork with the symbol of the clan of crafters you learned your skill from, a set of traveler's clothes, and a pouch containing 5gp and a gem worth 10gp

***Respect of the Stout Folk***

As well respected as clan crafters are among outsiders, no one esteems them quite so highly as dwarves do. You always have free room and board in any place where shield dwarves or gold dwarves dwell, and the individuals in such a settlement might vie among themselves to determine who can offer you (and possibly your compatriots) the finest accommodations and assistance.

## Cloistered Scholar

As a child, you were inquisitive when your playmates were possessive or raucous. In your formative years, you found your way to one of Faerûn's great institutes of learning , where you were apprenticed and taught that knowledge is a more valuable treasure than gold or gems. Now you are ready to leave your home – not to abandon it, but to quest for new lore to add to its storehouse of knowledge.

**Skill Proficiencies:** History, plus your choice of one from among Arcana, Nature, and Religion

**Tool Proficiencies:** None

**Languages:** Two of your choice

**Equipment:** The scholar's robes of your cloister, a writing kit (small pouch with a quill, a bottle of ink, folded parchment, and a small penknife), a borrowed book on the subject of your current study, and a pouch containing 10gp

***Library Access***

Though others must often endure extensive interviews and significant fees to gain access to even the most common archives in your library, you have free and easy access to the majority of the library, though it might also have repositories of lore that are too valuable, magical, or secret to permit anyone immediate access.

You have a working knowledge of your cloister's personnel and bureaucracy, and you know how to navigate those connections with some ease.

Additionally, you are likely to gain preferential treatment at other libraries across the Realms, as professional courtesy shown to a fellow scholar.

## Cook

You once were a chef, the king of food. Either you were an artisan chef with a fine sense of taste, a master chef who knows dozens on dozens of recipes by heart, or a cook at the mess hall, serving food quickly and on the double. You understand that food has a voice; it can express moods with the right combinations of ingredients, or bring people together with a peaceful meal. What brought you out of the kitchen? A rare ingredient? Maybe your upper chef decided it was time for you to go? Or, maybe, you wanted to go on an adventure to diversify your recipe book? Regardless on why you decided to change pace from your culinary solitude, your cooking and food handling skills will prove vital to an adventuring party. You may even find food where most people don't!

**Skill Proficiencies:** Insight, Performance

**Tool Proficiencies:** Cook's Utensils

**Languages:** 2 languages of your choice, from which you derive your culinary terminology and techniques.

**Equipment:** A mess kit, a set of cook's utensils, a bottle of cooking oil, a spice kit, several recipe books, a tinderbox, an iron pot, costume or fine clothes, an electrum spork or plans for kitchensmith tools, and a belt pouch containing 5gp.

***A Tasteful Sentiment***

You can use food to communicate more than just good flavor; you can produce intellectually meaningful dishes which can send a message, however simple and abstract. At the DM's discretion, (preferably based on how the player describes what they do to send a message) you can be persuasive, deceptive, and even intimidating attempts by simply feeding a person a meal, or by preparing it in front of them. You may also treat public preparation of food as a performance to entertain.

(For example, in an attempt to persuade a peace between two nations, you may prepare a dish which incorporates both cultures' cuisines in a creative and enjoyable way and then serve it to the negotiation delegates.)

(An example of an intimidating meal would be one designed to appear poisonous; made from the target's fallen allies; or decorated with unpleasant symbolism, like a union jack cake served to a colonial American minuteman.)

(Examples of food preparation as a performance would include juggling/tossing of ingredients, fancy knife work, preparation of flambe, and other visually entertaining techniques)

## Courtier

In your earlier days, you were a personage of some significance in a noble court or a bureaucratic organization. You might or might not come from an upper-class family; your talents, rather than the circumstances of your birth, could have secured you this position.

Even if you are no longer a full-fledged member of the group that gave you your start in life, your relationships with your former fellows can be an advantage for you and your adventuring comrades. You might undertake missions with your new companions that further the interest of the organization that gave you your start in life. In any event, the abilities that you honed while serving as a courtier will stand you in good stead as an adventurer.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Insight, Persuasion

**Tool Proficiencies:** None

**Languages:** Two of your choice

**Equipment:** A set of fine clothes and a pouch containing 5gp

***Court Functionary***

Your knowledge of how bureaucracies function lets you gain access to the records and inner workings of any noble court or government you encounter. You know who the movers and shakers are, whom to go to for the favors you seek, and what the current intrigues of interest in the group are.

## Criminal

You are an experienced criminal with a history of breaking the law. You have spent a lot of time among other criminals and still have contacts within the criminal underworld. You're far closer than most people to the world of murder, theft, and violence that pervades the underbelly of civilization, and you have survived up to this point by flouting the rules and regulations of society.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Deception, Stealth

**Tool Proficiencies:** One type of gaming set, thieves' tools

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A crowbar, a set of dark common clothes including a hood, and a pouch containing 15gp

***Criminal Contact***

You have a reliable and trustworthy contact who acts as your liaison to a network of other criminals. You know how to get messages to and from your contact, even over great distances; specifically, you know the local messengers, corrupt caravan masters, and seedy sailors who can deliver messages for you.

## Diplomat

You are, or were, a diplomat, a person appointed by a nation to conduct diplomacy with one or more other nations. The main functions of diplomats are; representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending nation; initiation and facilitation of strategic agreements; treaties and conventions; promotion of information; trade and commerce; technology; and friendly relations.

Seasoned diplomats of international repute may be members of an international committee, or be employed by multinational companies for their experience in management and negotiating skills. Diplomats are members of foreign services and diplomatic corps of various nations of the world. Diplomats are the oldest form of any of the foreign policy institutions of the state, predating by centuries foreign ministers and ministerial offices.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Persuasion, Insight

**Tool Proficiencies:** None

**Languages:** 2 of your choice

**Equipment:** A set of fine clothes, a quill and bottle of ink, a blank treaty, and a belt pouch containing 15 gp

***Diplomatic Immunity***

In peaceful foreign lands that recognise you and your place of origin, you may use your status as a diplomat to avoid penalties for minor crimes, and you may not be attacked by soldiers or guards. You may procure audience with various officials and nobles by using your title, though they are less likely to meet with you directly if you are not on official business. If you are ever publicly arrested in a foreign land, your nation will likely negotiate your return if this is both possible and desired by them. Abuse of this power will mean that it will be ignored or revoked.

## Entertainer

You thrive in front of an audience. You know how to entrance them, entertain them, and even inspire them. Your poetics can stir the hearts of those who hear you, awakening grief or joy, laughter or anger. Your music raises their spirits or captures their sorrow. Your dance steps captivate, your humor cuts to the quick. Whatever techniques you use, your art is your life.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Acrobatics, Performance

**Tool Proficiencies:** Disguise kit, one type of musical instrument

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A musical instrument (one of your choice), the favor of an admirer (love letter, lock of hair, or trinket), a costume, and a pouch containing 15gp

***By Popular Demand***

You can always find a place to perform, usually in an inn or tavern but possibly with a circus, at a theater, or even in a noble's court. At such a place, you receive free lodging and food of a modest or comfortable standard (depending on the quality of the establishment), as long as you perform each night. In addition, your performance makes you something of a local figure. When strangers recognize you in a town where you have performed, they typically take a liking to you.

## Faceless

Being who you are, you could never be a hero. Whether due to your class, your people, your family, or your sins, something about you prevents you from effectively pursuing the path you've chosen. Even so, that doesn't stop you. You've left your old face behind, taking on a new persona, becoming something more.

Characters with the faceless background don a disguise—literally or otherwise—as they adventure. This persona might be dramatic or subtle. In a way, though, many characters have such larger than life personalities. Therefore, this background largely focuses on detailing the hero behind the mask.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Deception, Intimidation

**Tool Proficiencies:** Disguise kit

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** A disguise kit, a costume, and a pouch containing 10gp

***Dual Personalities***

Most of your fellow adventurers and the world know you as your persona. Those who seek to learn more about you—your weakness, your origins, your purpose—find themselves stymied by your disguise. Upon donning a disguise and behaving as your persona, you are unidentifiable as your true self. By removing your disguise and revealing your true face, you are no longer identifiable as your persona. This allows you to change appearances between your two personalities as often as you wish, using one to hide the other or serve as convenient camouflage. However, should someone realize the connection between your persona and your true self, your deception might lose its effectiveness.

## Falconer

As a falconer, you have spent years strengthening the bonds between yourself and your bird of prey. What led you to become a falconer? Was it a love for birds? Were you driven by your need to hunt for survival? Was it a hobby growing up? Or was it a need to master nature's predators of the air? Who trained you in falconry, or was it simply the bond between man and bird that helped you master the ancient art yourself? How do you employ your skill? Do you work as a messenger or perhaps a scout for a group of mercenaries? What species of raptor did you obtain and how did you come to acquire your companion? These are just a few questions to help you flesh out your inner raptor.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Animal Handling, Nature

**Tool Proficiencies:** Falconry kit and one type of artisan’s tools

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A Falconry kit, a trained bird of prey, a set of traveler's clothes, three days worth of rations, a set of artisan's tools of your choice, and a pouch containing 10 gp.

***Avian Scout***

As a Falconer, you can employ the capture, use, and companionship of a bird of prey. You can spend your downtime to train a bird of prey to perform special tricks, beyond the usual techniques of hunting and returning. Each trick takes 10 days of downtime.

**Perfect Return:** The bird will return to you when called regardless of other distractions.

**Follow:** You can use a bonus action to direct your bird to follow one creature you point to. You can track your bird by listening for its bell or spotting its tassel.

**Distract:** You can use a bonus action to direct your bird to distract a creature you point to. On its turn, the bird will fly to the target and take the Help action to distract the target each turn until you call it to return.

## Farmer

You were what most common folk are–a farmer. You worked on a lord's estate, their land, or you worked for a company and you produced resources from the land in return for food, shelter, clothing, protection, and other benefits. Farmers focus on raising living things and harvesting various useful goods–mostly food–from the land. Farmers make up the vast majority of the peasantry, alongside other raw resource producers, such as miners and fishermen.

Farmers are a hearty, enduring folk, they work long hours under the sun often doing dirty and exhausting or even disgusting work. How did you become a farmer, and for how long were you one? What did you do on your farm? Were you the landlord of the farm, or were you just a farmhand? And what caused you to leave that life behind? Was your home destroyed by war? Were you cast out for some crime? Did you flee taxes you could not pay? Were you called to join the Lord's army? Was your home stolen by an unscrupulous rival? How did you learn your current profession?

**Skill Proficiencies:** Animal Handling and Nature

**Tool Proficiencies:** Land Vehicles and Farm Implements

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A farm implement (such as a pitchfork or shovel), a set of work clothes or common clothes, a wide brimmed hat, a sack containing 5 gp worth of trade goods, and a belt pouch containing 5 gp or 1d4+2 gp.

***Of the Land***

You lack the formal education of the higher classes, but for how little you may know there is a great deal that you understand. You have a practical, working knowledge of astrology and meteorology, and can easily track the time and date as well as predict the weather within a few hours, or days if you're lucky. You understand the "secrets of life"; the needs of life (water, light, air, salt, etc.), the patterns of physical inheritance, and the connections between different plants and animals.

## Firefighter

You were a member of a city fire brigade, always on call, ready to rush out to burning buildings with buckets and pumps. You may have been part of a large, well-equipped team in a large city, or possibly the sole warden of a smaller town. Some fire brigades operated for profit – selling insurance marks – whilst others were funded by the city council or philanthropic groups. You have had experiences facing uncontrolled fires, and dealing with the aftermath of destruction and lost lives.

Consider how this past experience impacts your life as an adventurer. Are you maybe forever antsy that a fire will break out in the town you travel to? The desire of firemen to protect life can also be the seed to motivate greater pursuits. Did you perhaps start adventuring because you wanted to save more lives in other ways? There are also of course ways of evil. It is not unheard of for someone like a firefighter to misuse their authority. Perhaps you have such a lust to save people that you are willing to perpetrate fires yourself!

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Perception

**Tool Proficiencies:** Vehicles (land)

**Languages:** One standard language of your choice

**Equipment:** A firefighter's badge denoting which city you serviced, a small burnt object you kept as a souvenir, a bucket, a crowbar, a set of common clothes, a signal whistle, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp.

***City Warden***

When you enter a new town or city, you quickly notice the locations of likeliest places for fires to start (thatched roofs or timber chimneys, brewhouses, bakeries, magical laboratories) and how they might spread. You also know how to quickly find sources of water or sand, and in the event of a conflagration you can organize bucket brigades, operate pump wagons and use fire hooks.[2]

## Fisher

You have spent your life aboard fishing vessels or combing the shallows for the bounty of the ocean. Perhaps you were born into a family of fisher folk, working with your kin to feed your village. Maybe the job was a means to an end - a way out of an undesirable circumstance that forced you to take up life aboard a ship. Regardless of how you began, you soon fell in love with the sea, the art of fishing, and the promise of the eternal horizon.

**Skill Proficiencies:** History, Survival

**Tool Proficiencies:** None

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** Fishing tackle, a net, a favorite fishing lure or oiled leather wading boots, a set of traveler's clothes, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp

***Harvest the Water***

You gain advantage on ability checks made using fishing tackle. If you have access to a body of water that sustains marine life, you can maintain a moderate lifestyle while working as a fisher, and you can catch enough food to feed yourself and up to ten other people each day.

***Fishing Tale***

You can tell a compelling tale, whether tall or true, to impress and entertain others. Once a day, you can tell your story to willing listeners. At the DM's discretion, a number of those listeners become friendly toward you; this is not a magical effect, and continued amicability on their part depends on your actions.

## Folk Hero

You come from a humble social rank, but you are destined for so much more. Already the people of your home village regard you as their champion, and your destiny calls you to stand against the tyrants and monsters that threaten the common folk everywhere.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Animal Handling, Survival

**Tool Proficiencies:** One type of artisan's tools, vehicles (land)

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A set of artisan's tools (one of your choice), a shovel, an iron pot, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10gp

***Rustic Hospitality***

Since you come from the ranks of the common folk, you fit in among them with ease. You can find a place to hide, rest, or recuperate among other commoners, unless you have shown yourself to be a danger to them. They will shield you from the law or anyone else searching for you, though they will not risk their lives for you.

## Gladiator

A gladiator is as much an entertainer as any minstrel or circus performer trained to make the arts of combat into a spectacle the crowd can enjoy. This kind of flashy combat is your entertainer routine, though you might also have some skills as a tumbler or actor. Using your By Popular Demand feature, you can find a place to perform in any place that features combat for entertainment-perhaps a gladiatorial arena or secret pit fighting club.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Acrobatics, Performance

**Tool Proficiencies:** Disguise kit

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** Trident, Net, the favor of an admirer (love letter, lock of hair, or trinket), a costume, and a pouch containing 15gp

***By Popular Demand***

You can always find a place to perform, usually in an inn or tavern but possibly with a circus, at a theater, or even in a noble's court. At such a place, you receive free lodging and food of a modest or comfortable standard (depending on the quality of the establishment), as long as you perform each night. In addition, your performance makes you something of a local figure. When strangers recognize you in a town where you have performed, they typically take a liking to you.

## Guild Artisan

You are a member of an artisan's guild, skilled in a particular field and closely associated with other artisans. You are a well-established part of the mercantile world, freed by talent and wealth from the constraints of a feudal social order. You learned your skills as an apprentice to a master artisan, under the sponsorship of your guild, until you became a master in your own right.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Insight, Persuasion

**Tool Proficiencies:** One type of artisan's tools

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** A set of artisan's tools (one of your choice), a letter of introduction from your guild, a set of traveler's clothes, and a pouch containing 15gp

***Guild Membership***

As an established and respected member of a guild, you can rely on certain benefits that membership provides. Your fellow guild members will provide you with lodging and food if necessary, and pay for your funeral if needed. In some cities and towns, a guildhall offers a central place to meet other members of your profession, which can be a good place to meet potential patrons, allies, or hirelings.

Guilds often wield tremendous political power. If you are accused of a crime, your guild will support you if a good case can be made for your innocence or the crime is justifiable. You can also gain access to powerful political figures through the guild, if you are a member in good standing. Such connections might require the donation of money or magic items to the guild's coffers.

You must pay dues of 5 gp per month to the guild. If you miss payments, you must make up back dues to remain in the guild's good graces.

## Guild Merchant

You might belong to a guild of traders, caravan masters, or shopkeepers. You don't craft items yourself but earn a living by buying and selling the works of others (or the raw materials artisans need to practice their craft). Your guild might be a large merchant consortium (or family) with interests across the region. Perhaps you transported goods from one place to another, by ship, wagon, or caravan, or bought them from traveling traders and sold them in your own little shop. In some ways, the traveling merchant's life lends itself to adventure far more than the life of an artisan.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Insight, Persuasion

**Tool Proficiencies:** One type of navigator's tools

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** Mule and a cart, a letter of introduction from your guild, a set of traveler's clothes, and a pouch containing 15gp

***Guild Membership***

As an established and respected member of a guild, you can rely on certain benefits that membership provides. Your fellow guild members will provide you with lodging and food if necessary, and pay for your funeral if needed. In some cities and towns, a guildhall offers a central place to meet other members of your profession, which can be a good place to meet potential patrons, allies, or hirelings.

Guilds often wield tremendous political power. If you are accused of a crime, your guild will support you if a good case can be made for your innocence or the crime is justifiable. You can also gain access to powerful political figures through the guild, if you are a member in good standing. Such connections might require the donation of money or magic items to the guild's coffers.

You must pay dues of 5 gp per month to the guild. If you miss payments, you must make up back dues to remain in the guild's good graces.

## Haunted One

You are haunted by something so terrible that you dare not speak of it. You’ve tried to bury it and run away from it, to no avail. Whatever this thing is that haunts you can’t be slain with a sword or banished with a spell. It might come to you as a shadow on the wall, a bloodcurdling nightmare, a memory that refuses to die, or a demonic whisper in the dark. The burden has taken its toll, isolating you from most people and making you question your sanity. You must find a way to overcome it before it destroys you.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Choose two of Arcana, Investigation, Religion, or Survival

**Tool Proficiencies:** None

**Languages:** Choose one exotic language (Abyssal, Celestial, Deep Speech, Draconic, Infernal, Primordial, Sylvan, or Undercommon)

**Equipment:** A monster hunter’s pack, and one trinket of special significance (choose one or roll on the Gothic Trinkets table). Also gain a set of set of common clothes and 1sp.

***Heart of Darkness***

Those who look into your eyes can see that you have faced unimaginable horror and that you are no stranger to darkness. Though they might fear you, commoners will extend you every courtesy and do their utmost to help you. Unless you have shown yourself to be a danger to them, they will even take up arms to fight alongside you, should you find yourself facing an enemy alone.

## Hermit

You lived in seclusion – either in a sheltered community such as a monastery, or entirely alone – for a formative part of your life. In your time apart from the clamor of society, you found quiet, solitude, and perhaps some of the answers you were looking for.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Medicine, Religion

**Tool Proficiencies:** Herbalism kit

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** A scroll case stuffed full of notes from your studies or prayers, a winter blanket, a set of common clothes, an herbalism kit, and 5gp

***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 has long been forgotten, or unearthed some relic of the past that could rewrite history. It might be information that would be damaging to the people who or consigned you to exile, and hence the reason for your return to society.

Work with your DM to determine the details of your discovery and its impact on the campaign.

## Inheritor

You are the heir to something of great value – not mere coin or wealth, but an object that has been entrusted to you and you alone. Your inheritance might have come directly to you from a member of your family, by right of birth, or it could have been left to you by a friend, a mentor, a teacher, or someone else important in your life. The revelation of your inheritance changed your life, and might have set you on the path to adventure, but it could also come with many dangers, including those who covet your gift and want to take it from you – by force, if need be.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Survival, plus one from among Arcana, History, and Religion

**Tool Proficiencies:** Your choice of a gaming set or a musical instrument

**Languages:** Any one of your choice

**Equipment:** Your inheritance, a set of traveler's clothes, the tool you choose for this background’s tool proficiency, and a pouch containing 15gp

***Inheritance***

Choose or randomly determine your inheritance from among the possibilities in the table below. Work with your DM to come up with details: Why is your inheritance so important, and what is its full story? You might prefer for the DM to invent these details as part of the game, allowing you to learn more about your inheritance as your character does.

The DM is free to use your inheritance as a story hook, sending you on quests to learn more about its history or true nature, or confronting you with foes who want to claim it for themselves or prevent you from learning what you seek. The DM also determines the properties of your inheritance and how they figure into the item's history and importance. For instance, the object might be a minor magic item, or one that begins with a modest ability and increases in potency with the passage of time. Or, the true nature of your inheritance might not be apparent at first and is revealed only when certain conditions are met.

When you begin your adventuring career, you can decide whether to tell your companions about your inheritance right away. Rather than attracting attention to yourself, you might want to keep your inheritance a secret until you learn more about what it means to you and what it can do for you.

 2-3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8

## Investigator

You are responsible for solving crimes after the fact. Though such folk are seldom found in rural areas, nearly every settlement of decent size has at least one or two watch members who have the skill to investigate crime scenes and track down criminals.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Investigation, Insight

**Tool Proficiencies:** None

**Languages:** Two of your choice

**Equipment:** A uniform in the style of your unit and indicative of your rank, a horn with which to summon help, a set of manacles, and a pouch containing 10gp

***Watcher's Eye***

Your experience in enforcing the law, and dealing with lawbreakers, gives you a feel for local laws and criminals. You can easily find the local outpost of the watch or a similar organization, and just as easily pick out the dens of criminal activity in a community, although you're more likely to be welcome in the former locations rather than the latter.

## Janitor

You've cleaned for a large portion of your life, since you were born or since you reached adulthood. Perhaps it was a habit which you grew into, rather than something that ill-circumstances forced you into. You may have tended to a structure or building in several ways: cleaning, repairs, occasionally guarding, and so forth. Maybe you were employed by evildoers to clean up their dirty work, or maybe you overheard conversations within the imperial halls where you've worked. This kind of special environment may have been a starting point for your sense of adventure; but at heart, you simply began by being the local handyman.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Persuasion, Investigation

**Tool Proficiencies:** Two sets of artisan's tools, or one set of artisan's tools and a gaming set

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A sponge, a mop, a jar of homemade cleaning fluid, a sketch of the site you worked at, two sets of artisan's tools or one set of artisan's tools and a set of bone dice or deck of cards, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp.

***Leave No Trace***

With your experience as a janitor, you can make a messy room or area look absolutely clean, as if no one has been in that area before. You can spend an hour in a room or area cleaning blood and stains, removing bodies and other suspicious objects, closing and re-locking containers, basically doing anything to make the room look undisturbed. Your DM might rule that some things are impossible to clean or fix, or might increase the time you'll spend if the area is extremely messy.

## Knight

A knighthood is among the lowest noble titles in most societies, but it can be a path to higher status.

As an emblem of chivalry and the ideals of courtly love, you might include among your equipment a banner or other token from a noble lord or lady to whom you have given your heart – in a chaste sort of devotion. (This person could be your bond.)

**Skill Proficiencies:** History, Persuasion

**Tool Proficiencies:** One type of gaming set

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** A set of fine clothes, a signet ring, a scroll of pedigree, and a purse containing 25gp

***Retainers***

You have the service of three retainers loyal to your family. These retainers can be noble who serves as your squire, aiding you in exchange for training on his or her own path to knighthood. Your two remaining retainers might include a groom to care for your horse and a servant who polishes your armor (and even helps you put it on). They do not fight for you, will not follow you into obviously dangerous areas (such as dungeons), and will leave if they are frequently endangered or abused.

## Lone Survivor

You were a sole survivor of a major life-threatening event. Maybe your village or city was attacked by some great evil, or maybe you were tricked by some greater power. No matter the details, everyone other than you died, and you survived. Where were you when it happened? What age? Were you a small child, or a young adult? What attacked you? Was it one thing, or a group? What effect did this have on you? Were you traumatized, or were you strengthened by it? Did you run away, or did you fight it? Are there any remnants you kept or anything left, or was it all destroyed?

Whatever the case may be, you walk on, carrying the weight of those who died. You might even be able to "hear" the voices of the people who died. They might be angry with you, or they might be forgiving. Maybe you lost a loved one or a childhood sweetheart, and maybe they also survived, or maybe they died. If they died, have they forgiven you? If they lived, do you seek to find them and them you? Regardless, you carry on without anyone but your memories of the ones you'd lost. You are a survivor; the lone survivor.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Survival, Perception.

**Tool Proficiencies:** Artisan's tools (one of your choice), or vehicles (water).

**Languages:** Any one.

**Equipment:** A trinket of your past (a necklace, ring, sword, severed finger or hair, etc.), a set of worn travelers clothes, the set of tools you are proficient in, a scroll detailing your life up to this point, a backpack, and a belt pouch with 15 gp in it.

***Survival Instincts***

Having survived for some years, you are able to make simple survival necessities. You can make fires, craft shelters, cook food, etc. without having to make a Survival check. Also, you may know several townspeople, hunters, and shop owners from your travels alone. Landmarks and places of interest may also be familiar to you.

## Loyal Priest

You are no simple initiate or acolyte. You are a priest, one already higher up in the religious hierarchy of the institution you preach in. None can claim fealty as much as you when it comes to faith in the god, the leader of this religious body. Your belief is unshakeable and your loyalty is not to be questioned. You know the artifacts and magics of your deity inside and out, as your intense faith amplifies your knowledge. Your peers know of your intense dedication and respect you for your life's work and contributions. However, this territory can mean trouble when confronted with those of opposing sects or religions, as your stalwart faith is an affront to them.

When making a loyal priest, keep in mind that you always answer to some higher power. You may not necessarily be a constant sycophant of a deity. Perhaps your loyalty is to a king, who has a divine mandate, or even simply to the head of a religious body, like a pope. Also, consider how you scaled this hierarchy to become a priest or even a high priest. Were you just a bright-eyed initiate too? Are you traveling to preach of your religious views or lead a divine purge on nonbelievers?

**Skill Proficiencies:** Religion, Arcana

**Tool Proficiencies:** Calligrapher's Supplies

**Languages:** One language associated with your deity (so if you worshipped a god of nature, you would know Sylvan, where a god of light would maybe grant you a Celestial tongue, etc.)

**Equipment:** religious vestments of your sect (fine clothes), a censer and a block of incense, a prayer book with a holy symbol on it, and a pouch with 10 gp

***Divine Favorite***

As a priest, you command greater respect of your followers than some neophyte initiate. You and your companions can expect to receive free healing and care at a temple, shrine, or other established presence of your faith. You may have a residence or station of office within the establishment of your faith, reserved for higher-ups in the institutional hierarchy. You also can call upon other priests of your religion when you are in the temple to provide assistance, granted that it is not hazardous.

## Mage Hunter

You worked for (or were raised by) an organization which specialized in tracking, investigating, and apprehending beings that had magical powers. Perhaps your organization was a school of wizards and sorcerers that had a distaste for students who practice magic outside their teachings, or for a government that had a hatred of those who dabble in the dark arts. You enforced the rules of magic - whether for a public or private interest. Work with your DM to determine what organization you were a part of and the reason you left. Perhaps you accidentally killed an innocent civilian that wasn't a magic practitioner at all, maybe you were forced into retirement, or maybe you discovered that your organization's intentions were corrupt and evil.

If you prefer a less foundational backstory, maybe you were the sole survivor of a horrific magical event which hardened your heart against magic and all its users. You strive to destroy magic and those who use it, seeing it as a force none ought to wield due to its destructive potential. Work with your DM to discuss what possible historical event or recurring phenomena involving magic could have tempered a hatred towards the arcane. Perhaps your home was ransacked by an infamous band of bloodthirsty wizards, or maybe someone dear to you was used as a sacrifice in the name of magical research.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Arcana and Investigation

**Tool Proficiencies:** Vehicles (land)

**Languages:** Any one

**Equipment:** A set of traveler's clothes, a pocket book entitled *Field Guide To Auras, Nodes and Residuals*, a quill, 5 parchments, and a pouch containing 10 gp.

***Reputation***

Your occupation has gained you infamy across the magical community whether you like it or not. All mages you encounter now believe talking to you implicates them as a target of your organization. When you are in a civilized settlement, you can invoke your position to exert influence over mages to gain information. This might include secret hideouts, meetings, pieces of lore, locations of dark artifacts, or the whereabouts of someone you might be searching for.

## Marine

you were trained for battle on sandy beaches and rocky shores. You have launched midnight raids from swift ships whose names evoke terror in the hearts of your adversaries. The water is your second home, the rain your shelter, and the crashing waves your battle cry.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Survival

**Tool Proficiencies:** Vehicles (land & water)

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A dagger that belonged to a fallen comrade, a folded rag emblazoned with the symbol of your ship or company, a set of traveler's clothes, and a pouch containing 10gp

***Steady***

You can move twice the normal amount of time (up to 16 hours) each day before being subject to the effect of a forced march (see "Travel Pace" in chapter 8 of the Player's Handbook). Additionally, you can automatically find a safe route to land a boat on shore, provided such a route exists.

## Mercenary Veteran

As a sell-sword who fought battles for coin, you're well acquainted with risking life and limb for a chance at a share of treasure. Now, you look forward to fighting foes and reaping even greater rewards as an adventurer. Your experience makes you familiar with the ins and outs of mercenary life, and you likely have harrowing stories of events on the battlefield.

Now you're looking for something else, perhaps greater reward for the risks you take, or the freedom to choose your own activities. For whatever reason, you're leaving behind the life of a soldier for hire, but your skills are undeniably suited for battle, so now you fight on in a different way.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Persuasion

**Tool Proficiencies:** One type of gaming set, vehicles (land)

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A uniform of your company (traveler's clothes in quality), an insignia of your rank, a gaming set of your choice, and a pouch containing the remainder of your last wages (10gp)

***Mercenary Life***

You know the mercenary life as only someone who has experienced it can. You are able to identify mercenary companies by their emblems, and you know a little about any such company, including the names and reputations of its commanders and leaders, and who has hired them recently. You can find the taverns and festhalls where mercenaries abide in any area, as long as you speak the language. You can find mercenary work between adventures sufficient to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

## Monster Hunter

Monster hunter is a title you take as a humble hunter of the plethora of things outside the normal range of beasts. The world has more than just bears and owls and basic creatures. There are horrid and fantastical things that require more training and expertise to trap and kill, and that is when those with your skills are called upon. You are not a hero of any special kind. You could just be some average joe doing their job like an exterminator. Sometimes the job may call for you to go elsewhere to pursue the quarry. Some monster hunters are grown from traditional practices, making them skilled in knowing how to use parts of monsters themselves to fashion things like weapons or even harvest their poisons for use.

**kill Proficiencies:** Survival and Nature

**Languages:** You know one additional language of your choice, preferably one to speak with races that deal with monsters a lot or even monstrous races themselves like orc and goblin.

**Tool Proficiencies:** Poisoner's Kit, Herbalism Kit

**Equipment:** A set of traveler's clothes, a herbalism kit, a trophy from a monster you've killed (horn, claw fragment, etc.), 5 days of rations, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp.

***Poison Purveyor***

Long have you immersed yourself in the meticulous study of the vile humors extracted from monsters of every stripe, and in so doing, have learned both how to carefully preserve and transport the quantities you obtain, and how to peddle your wares to the most interested and higher-paying clientele. You can readily recall the names and types of poisons and admixtures that can be created from the varieties of monster you hunt, and what quantities of given fluids and powders are needed to create such items.

***Trophy Taker (Varient Feature)***

You know how to get the most out of your prey and know what parts you can sell for money and how to collect them (meat, pelts, antlers, heads, claws, teeth, venom, special components, and so on), as well as who would most interested in buying them, allowing you to sell them for twice their normal value. You also know how to harvest and preserve any of these parts from a creatures corpse.

***Hunter Senses (Varient Feature)***

You are well adapted with your senses to pick up the traces of quarry, be it through their scat or tracks. You know the general signatures of monsters nearby, like the territorial claw marks of an owlbear, or the slime trails of oozes. You also have a knowledge of what traps go well with catching which kinds of monsters.

## Noble

You understand wealth, power, and privilege. You carry a noble title, and your family owns land, collects taxes, and wields significant political influence. You might be a pampered aristocrat unfamiliar with work or discomfort, a former merchant just elevated to the nobility, or a disinherited scoundrel with a disproportionate sense of entitlement. Or you could be an honest, hard-working landowner who cares deeply about the people who live and work on your land, keenly aware of your responsibility to them.

Work with your DM to come up with an appropriate title and determine how much authority that title carries. A noble title doesn't stand on its own-it's connected to an entire family, and whatever title you hold, you will pass it down to your own children. Not only do you need to determine your noble title, but you should also work with the DM to describe your family and their influence on you.

Is your family old and established, or was your title only recently bestowed? How much influence do they wield, and over what area? What kind of reputation does your family have among the other aristocrats of the region? How do the common people regard them?

What's your position in the family? Are you the heir to the head of the family? Have you already inherited the title? How do you feel about that responsibility? Or are you so far down the line of inheritance that no one cares what you do, as long as you don't embarrass the family? How does the head of your family feel about your adventuring career? Are you in your family's good graces, or shunned by the rest of your family?

Does your family have a coat of arms? An insignia you might wear on a signet ring? Particular colors you wear all the time? An animal you regard as a symbol of your line or even a spiritual member of the family?

**Skill Proficiencies:** History, Persuasion

**Tool Proficiencies:** One type of gaming set

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** A set of fine clothes, a signet ring, a scroll of pedigree, and a purse containing 25gp

***Position of Privilege***

Thanks to your noble birth, people are inclined to think the best of you. You are welcome in high society, and people assume you have the right to be wherever you are. The common folk make every effort to accommodate you and avoid your displeasure, and other people of high birth treat you as a member of the same social sphere. You can secure an audience with a local noble if you need to.

## Outlander

You grew up in the wilds, far from civilization and the comforts of town and technology. You've witnessed the migration of herds larger than forests, survived weather more extreme than any city-dweller could comprehend, and enjoyed the solitude of being the only thinking creature for miles in any direction. The wilds are in your blood, whether you were a nomad, an explorer, a recluse, a hunter-gatherer, or even a marauder. Even in places where you don't know the specific features of the terrain, you know the ways of the wild.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Survival

**Tool Proficiencies:** One type of musical instrument

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** A staff, a hunting trap, a trophy from an animal you killed, a set of traveler's clothes, and a pouch containing 10gp

***Wanderer***

You have an excellent memory for maps and geography, and you can always recall the general layout of terrain, settlements, and other features around you. In addition, you can find food and fresh water for yourself and up to five other people each day, provided that the land offers berries, small game, water, and so forth.

## Pirate

You spent your youth under the sway of a dread pirate, a ruthless cutthroat who taught you how to survive in a world of sharks and savages. You've indulged in larceny on the high seas and sent more than one deserving soul to a briny grave. Fear and bloodshed are no strangers to you, and you've garnered a somewhat unsavory reputation in many a port town.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Perception

**Tool Proficiencies:** Navigator's tools, vehicles (water)

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A belaying pin (club), 50 feet of silk rope, a lucky charm such as a rabbit foot or a small stone with a hole in the center (or you may roll for a random trinket on the Trinkets table in chapter 5), a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10gp

***Bad Reputation***

No matter where you go, people are afraid of you due to your reputation. When you are in a civilized settlement, you can get away with minor criminal offenses, such as refusing to pay for food at a tavern or breaking down doors at a local shop, since most people will not report your activity to the authorities.

## Sage

You spent years learning the lore of the multiverse. You scoured manuscripts, studied scrolls, and listened to the greatest experts on the subjects that interest you. Your efforts have made you a master in your fields of study.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Arcana, History

**Tool Proficiencies:** None

**Languages:** Two of your choice

**Equipment:** A bottle of ink, a quill, a small knife, a letter from a dead colleague posing a question you have not yet been able to answer, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10gp

***Researcher***

When you attempt to learn or recall a piece of lore, if you do not know that information, you often know where and from whom you can obtain it. Usually, this information comes from a library, scriptorium, university, or a sage or other learned person or creature. Your DM might rule that the knowledge you seek is secreted away in an almost inaccessible place, or that it simply cannot be found. Unearthing the deepest secrets of the multiverse can require an adventure or even a whole campaign.

## Sailor

You sailed on a seagoing vessel for years. In that time, you faced down mighty storms, monsters of the deep, and those who wanted to sink your craft to the bottomless depths. Your first love is the distant line of the horizon, but the time has come to try your hand at something new.

Discuss the nature of the ship you previously sailed with your DM. Was it a merchant ship, a naval vessel, a ship of discovery, or a pirate ship? How famous (or infamous) is it? Is it widely traveled? Is it still sailing, or is it missing and presumed lost with all hands?

What were your duties on board – boatswain, captain, navigator, cook, or some other position? Who were the captain and first mate? Did you leave your ship on good terms with your fellows, or on the run?

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Perception

**Tool Proficiencies:** Navigator's tools, vehicles (water)

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A belaying pin (club), 50 feet of silk rope, a lucky charm such as a rabbit foot or a small stone with a hole in the center (or you may roll for a random trinket on the Trinkets table in chapter 5), a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10gp

***Ship's Passage***

When you need to, you can secure free passage on a sailing ship for yourself and your adventuring companions. You might sail on the ship you served on, or another ship you have good relations with (perhaps one captained by a former crewmate). Because you're calling in a favor, you can't be certain of a schedule or route that will meet your every need. Your DM will determine how long it takes to get where you need to go. In return for your free passage, you and your companions are expected to assist the crew during the voyage.

## Shipwright

You have sailed into war on the decks of great ships, patching their hulls with soup bowls and prayers. You once helped build a fishing vessel that single-handedly saved a town from starvation. You have seen a majestic prow in your dreams that you have not been able to replicate in wood. Since childhood, you have loved the water and have been captivated by the many vessels that travel on it.

**Skill Proficiencies:** History, Perception

**Tool Proficiencies:** Carpenter's tools, Vehicles (water)

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A set of well-loved carpenter's tools, a blank book, 1 ounce of ink, an ink pen, a set of traveler's clothes, and a leather pouch with 10 gp

***I'll patch it!***

Provided you have carpenter's tools and wood, you can perform repairs on a water vehicle. When you use this ability, you restore a number of hit points to the hull of a water vehicle equal to 5 × your proficiency modifier. A vehicle cannot be patched by you in this way again until after it has been pulled ashore and fully repaired.

## Slave

For some significant portion of your life, you have been someone else's property. This part of your life happened either by abduction, as punishment for a crime, sworn to a debt of life, or you were born into it. How did you become a slave? Are you a slave or a freeman? Who was your master and where are they? What were the conditions of your slavery? What did you do as a slave? Were you treated well, or were you abused? How much privilege or freedom did you experience, and was this granted to you, or taken by you? How would you treat your master after your servitude? Can you ever *really* leave your background behind you? Do you really even need to escape, or will you remain a slave for the rest of your journey? Do you have the willpower to create slavery-free actions, or has your background tainted your history and the actions that you can take later in your career? What would you do with your slaves?

**Skill Proficiencies:** Performance, or Survival

**Tool Proficiencies:** You have proficiency with any one tool entry with a value no greater than 15gp.

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** One tool you are proficient with, or one simple melee weapon, a set of clothes appropriate to your master's status and your slave purpose, and a small pouch containing 1gp.

***The Hard Road***

Slaves face great difficulty everywhere they go. Escaped slaves are often on the run if not from their former owners, then certainly from the law. Few are educated or have any practical experience to make a way for themselves. Most have limited social skills which give away their social status. Slavers may notice freemen as "unclaimed property" and try to "claim" them as slaves. People sense a sort of "inferiority" about slaves and freemen, and they will likely either ignore you or boss you around. Many freemen turn to crime to make ends meet and so anyone who doesn't assume you a slave immediately, will likely assume that you are a criminal. If you can ever really leave the slavery mindset knowing what it's like to be a slave, then you can pose as a slave with little difficulty and without raising much suspicion. People seem to do things in front of you that they would normally only do when they are alone.

## Sleuth

An eye for mystery, an ear for trouble and a nose to sniff out the answers. Those are the most touted traits of any good sleuth. They are like detectives, but with a penchant for the more unsavory kinds of investigation. Sleuthing originally was a term for animals who had a nose for scents. Nowadays, it means people trying to figure things out. But sleuths do still have that connotation of a lesser kind of investigator, compared to the often state-sanctioned detective. Sleuths are scrappier and work at their own leisure, much like private eyes or private hires, rather than policeman detectives.

When making a character of this background, keep in mind the key feature: curiosity. Sleuths rarely have a good sense of privacy. They'll peep and pry to get down to the bottom of things like sharks to blood. Their own lives are often second to an investigation, meaning many of them are quite reckless and meet some ill-fated end. However, that is not to say all sleuths follow their noses without a brain. Sleuths are best known for their deductive thinking capabilities and questioning faculties, which is what keeps the wheels turning and the plot thickening. Mysteries are their daily bread and butter.

When making a sleuth character, ask yourself these questions: What prompted your character down this path of investigation? Justice? Pure curiosity? What was the biggest discovery your character ever made in their career? Or is this just some side hobby to amuse their boredom? Do you dive straight into a good story, or do you like to take a step back and wait for more clues to appear? Do you even care if you're peeping in a bath or snooping in someone else's house?

**Skill Proficiencies:** Investigation, Insight

**Tool Proficiencies:** Forgery kit or disguise kit

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** Belt pouch with 10gp, a magnifying glass, and a set of traveler's clothes

***Cozy With The Law***

Your work often brings you within close proximity of the authorities. Maybe you were nearly mistaken for an illegal trespasser yourself or you helped with an investigation as part of a hired gig. One way or another, some people in law enforcement can foresee your involvement in cases and are possibly friendly to you. Discuss with your DM the nature of this relationship. Perhaps you have a contact within the law that sends you small bits of information or gossip in exchange for help on their own matter. Or, maybe there are particularly close eyes on your activities from the local guards. These relationships are only slightly interventionist and they will not intervene on your behalf if it will endanger their own skin.

***Blackmail (Varient Feature)***

One day, you stumbled upon someone's dark secret. To this day, you have kept your mouth shut, but not for free. This person whom you have dirt on is your reliable patsy. They are willing to put you and your allies up with room and board as well as pay for expenses. However, they may not be so inclined to save your skin if it means they can get rid of you.

## Smuggler

On a rickety barge, you carried a hundred longswords in fish barrels right past the dock master's oblivious lackeys. You have paddled a riverboat filled with stolen elven wine under the gaze of the moon and sold it for twice its value in the morning. In your more charitable times, you have transported innocents out of war zones or helped guide herd animals to safety on the banks of a burning river.

**Skill Proficiencies** Athletics, Deception

**Tool Proficiencies** Vehicles (water)

**Languages:** None

**Equipment** A fancy leather vest or a pair of leather boots, a set of common clothes, and a leather pouch with 15 gp

***Down Low***

You are acquainted with a network of smugglers who are willing to help you out of tight situations. While in a particular town, city, or other similarly sized community (DM's discretion), you and your companions can stay for free in safe houses. Safe houses provide a poor lifestyle. While staying at a safe house, you can choose to keep your presence (and that of your companions) a secret.

## Soldier

War has been your life for as long as you care to remember. You trained as a youth, studied the use of weapons and armor, learned basic survival techniques, including how to stay alive on the battlefield. You might have been part of a standing national army or a mercenary company, or perhaps a member of a local militia who rose to prominence during a recent war.

When you choose this background, work with your DM to determine which military organization you were a part of, how far through its ranks you progressed, and what kind of experiences you had during your military career. Was it a standing army, a town guard, or a village militia? Or it might have been a noble's or merchant's private army, or a mercenary company.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Intimidation

**Tool Proficiencies:** One type of gaming set, vehicles (land)

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** An insignia of rank, a trophy taken from a fallen enemy (a dagger, broken blade, or piece of a banner), a set of bone dice or a deck of cards, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10gp

***Military Rank***

You have a military rank from your career as a soldier. Soldiers loyal to your former military organization still recognize your authority and influence, and they defer to you if they are of a lower rank. You can invoke your rank to exert influence over other soldiers and requisition simple equipment or horses for temporary use. You can also usually gain access to friendly military encampments and fortresses where your rank is recognized.

## Spy

Although your capabilities are not much different from those of a burglar or smuggler, you learned and practiced them in a very different context: as an espionage agent. You might have been an officially sanctioned agent of the crown, or perhaps you sold the secrets you uncovered to the highest bidder.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Deception, Stealth

**Tool Proficiencies:** One type of gaming set, thieves' tools

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A crowbar, a set of dark common clothes including a hood, and a pouch containing 15gp

***Criminal Contact***

You have a reliable and trustworthy contact who acts as your liaison to a network of other criminals. You know how to get messages to and from your contact, even over great distances; specifically, you know the local messengers, corrupt caravan masters, and seedy sailors who can deliver messages for you.

## Squire

You were the shield-bearer for a knight, and in training to become a knight yourself. You carried out various tasks for your liege, such as saddling his horse, carrying weapons and armor, or holding his flag in battle. As a page-boy or girl you had already received an education that may have included horse-riding, hunting, hawking, combat, music and board games. At the age of 15 you were sworn in as a squire, accompanied your liege on his duties, and received further training in the chivalric code, mounted combat and the history of royalty and nobles.

You should decide on some details of your liege, particularly his or her name and personality. What were his virtues; was he honourable, brave, or kind? What were his failings; was he cruel, or lazy, or arrogant? Did he give you a chance to prove yourself in combat? Was he lenient with you, or did he give you an excessive workload? Were you satisfied with your duties, or did you become disillusioned with the life of a knight?

How did your life as a squire end? You may have been dubbed into knighthood; your liege may have been killed or murdered; or did you abandon your duties?

**Skill Proficiencies:** Animal Handling, Athletics

**Tool Proficiencies:** Dragonchess set, one type of musical instrument

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** a set of livery clothes, a pot of metal polish, a set of traveller's clothes, a belt pouch with 10 gp

***Arma Patrina***

Despite all your training, you did not qualify for knighthood. Perhaps you never proved yourself, or grew too old, or could not afford the expenses of knighthood. However, your upbringing is still recognized by the courts of your nation: you are called "arma patrina". You are allowed to wear your livery clothes, carry a shield displaying your escutcheon, and bear arms exclusive to knights (typically a lance).

In addition, you have courtly savoir faire and know the conventions of life at a castle: graceful greetings, dining etiquette, rules of tournaments, where to find the blacksmith, and so forth.

***Quest (Varient Feature)***

You completed your training and received your accolade of knighthood. However, either by your own will, or by that of the sovereign, you have not been awarded land. As a result, you are unlanded nobility, with no estate to speak of, making you a Knight- (or Dame-) Errant. In order to be awarded your estate, you must complete a grand quest. This quest may be any number of things, such as finding an ancient holy relic, slaying a powerful monster, leading forces to victory in a war, winning the heart of a nobleman's heir...

Work out what the quest is with your DM. Determine just how long it should take to accomplish. The longer the quest, the greater the reward should be. This reward of land is made in the place of other typical material rewards, and should be of approximately equal worth to what would have been earned otherwise. Knights-Errant do not normally stop doing what they do. Once one quest is completed, it is typically followed up by yet another glorious mission, sometimes even to the surprise of the Knight.

## Tribe Member

Though you might have only recently arrived in civilized lands, you are no stranger to the values of cooperation and group effort when striving for supremacy. You might have grown up in one of the tribes that had decided to settle down, and now that they have abandoned that path, you find yourself adrift

Your people have always tried to hold to the old ways. Tradition and taboo have kept the Uthgardt strong while the kingdoms of others have collapsed into chaos and ruin. But for the last few generations, some bands among the tribes were tempted to settle, make peace, trade, and even to build towns.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Survival

**Tool Proficiencies:** One type of musical instrument or artisan's tools

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** A hunting trap, a totemic token or set of tattoos marking your loyalty to your tribal totem, a set of traveler's clothes, and a pouch containing 10gp

***Tribal Heritage***

You have an excellent knowledge of not only your tribe's territory, but also the terrain and natural resources. You are familiar enough with any wilderness area that you find twice as much food and water as you normally would when you forage there.

Additionally, you can call upon the hospitality of your people, and those folk allied with your tribe, often including members of druid circles, tribes of nomadic elves, the Harpers, and the priesthoods devoted to the gods of the First Circle.

## Unknown

Your background is unknown to you because you suffered some trauma that has inflicted you with amnesia. You woke one day, not knowing who you are or how you got here. Your origin and family are a mystery to you. You are not sure if you have allies or enemies from your past. If you have skills beyond what your class training details, you struggle to recall them.

Who looked after you while you recuperated? Were your class skills taught to you after your trauma, or are you slowly recalling them from your past? Do you have flashbacks or dreams hinting at your ordeal?

**Proficiencies and Languages:** *Special*. Whenever you attempt a skill, use a tool or try to comprehend a language you are not already proficient with, roll a d20. On a natural 20, you have recalled one of your pre-trauma talents and gain that proficiency; otherwise you must finish a long rest before you can make this check for the same proficiency again. Once you have recalled five proficiencies with this feature, you no longer make this check.

**Equipment:** Just the clothes on your back, 1 gp in your boot.

***Gradual Recall***

Each time you meet a new NPC or visit a new location, once per character level, you can decide that they feel familiar. This place or person is somehow related to your life leading up to the trauma that caused your amnesia. This will not divulge much information, but will provide some further clue. You should work with your DM to fit this new element into your background, aiming to give full disclosure by the middle of the third tier.

* Level 1–4:
	+ The NPC incidentally recognizes you but doesn't know you. They remember you performing some act, such as speaking to a mysterious figure (and overhearing a few words), buying an item from a store, or being involved in a fight.
	+ Locations might be places you visited but once, or passed through on your way to somewhere else.

* Level 5–8:
	+ The NPC knows you only by a *nom de guerre* and a little about what happened to you, but is evasive in giving you information. If forced to speak, they give only one clue before circumstances end the interrogation (he simply escapes, or he's in a position of power, or a vicious storm rocks the boat...)
	+ Locations might be taverns or dungeons that you frequented.

* Level 9–12:
	+ The NPC was directly involved with your trauma, and knows your real identity. Some conflict must be resolved before their relationship to you is fully understood: this could be a combat encounter or fulfilling a request made by them.
	+ A location might be your family home, your place of work, your secret hideout, or some other place very personal to you that will reveal your identity through investigation.

This feature may drag you into involvement with secret societies, nobility, evil armies, hidden temples, and other intrigues. Once you have total recall about your life and your trauma, one of these story elements can be used to create a new background feature to replace Gradual Recall.

## Urban Bounty Hunter

Before you became an adventurer, your life was already full of conflict and excitement, because you made a living tracking down people for pay. Unlike some people who collect bounties, though, you aren't a savage who follows quarry into or through the wilderness. You're involved in a lucrative trade, in the place where you live, that routinely tests your skills and survival instincts. What's more, you aren't alone, as a bounty hunter in the wild would be: you routinely interact with both the criminal subculture and other bounty hunters, maintaining contacts in both areas to help you succeed.

You might be a cunning thief-catcher, prowling the rooftops to catch one of the myriad burglars of the city. Perhaps you are someone who has your ear to the street, aware of the doings of thieves' guilds and street gangs. You might be a "velvet mask" bounty hunter, one who blends in with high society and noble circles in order to catch the criminals that prey on the rich, whether pickpockets or con artists.

As a member of an adventuring party, you might find it more difficult to pursue a personal agenda that doesn't fit with the group's objectives – but on the other hand, you can take down much more formidable targets with the help of your companions.

**Skill Proficiencies:** Choose two from among Deception, Insight, Persuasion, and Stealth

**Tool Proficiencies:** Choose two from among one type of gaming set, one musical instrument, and thieves' tools

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A set of clothes appropriate to your duties and a pouch containing 20gp

***Ear to the Ground***

You are in frequent contact with people in the segment of society that your chosen quarries move through. These people might be associated with the criminal underworld, the rough-and-tumble folk of the streets, or members of high society. This connection comes in the form of a contact in any city you visit, a person who provides information about the people and places of the local area.

## Urchin

You grew up on the streets alone, orphaned, and poor, You had no one to watch over you or to provide for you, so you learned to provide for yourself. You fought fiercely over food and kept a constant watch out for other desperate souls who might steal from you. You slept on rooftops and in alleyways, exposed to the elements, and endured sickness without the advantage of medicine or a place to recuperate. You've survived despite all odds, and did so through cunning, strength, speed, or some combination of each.

You begin your adventuring career with enough money to live modestly but securely for at least ten days. How did you come by that money? What allowed you to break free of your desperate circumstances and embark on a better life?

**Skill Proficiencies:** Sleight of Hand, Stealth

**Tool Proficiencies:** Disguise kit, thieves' tools

**Languages:** None

**Equipment:** A small knife, a map of the city you grew up in, a pet mouse, a token to remember your parents by, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10gp

***City Secrets***

You know the secret patterns and flow to cities and can find passages through the urban sprawl that others would miss. When you are not in combat, you (and companions you lead) can travel between any two locations in the city twice as fast as your speed would normally allow.

## Wronged Hero

You saved them. You helped them. They turned and bared their teeth at you, eyes in incredulous fury; fury over what you had not done, but they believed you to be the perpetrator. How had it all gone so wrong? Those whom you trusted have turned their backs on you, perhaps even betrayed you and left you to the wolves. The ones you sought to save now see you as an enemy, savior no longer. Forced from your spot in the limelight, you fled persecution for unjust condemnation and have hidden for the last few years maybe. No longer are you a revered hero. To them, you are a thug, or worse maybe. But you know the truth. You were a hero wronged.

A wronged hero does not have to be some major savior of a nation who was tricked by some masterful plot by his archnemesis and thrown into an unfavorable view. They can be the uncelebrated folk who patrol towns and help with the small things that matter in daily life. Perhaps the local guard was framed for sleeping with the town master's wife to cover up an affair. The local medicine lady was accused of being a witch despite her clean and pristine record of saving the ill. These figures are all wronged heroes, though perhaps unsung, but heroes nonetheless.

When making a wronged hero character, consider their current life in contrast to their previous one. Were they ousted and sent packing by mobs? Do they now live in squalor under some forgettable alias, dreaming of the old days? Or do they stay still, amid hostile persecution, enduring the unjust punishment and choking on bitter tears? Do they plot for revenge or only rue their fall?

**Skill Proficiencies:** Intimidation, Insight

**Tool Proficiencies:** Disguise Kit or Forgery Kit.

**Languages:** One of your choice, preferably of the people who betrayed you

**Equipment:** A journal from your days of glory past, a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch with your savings of 20 gp

***Hero No More***

Your previous alias was better known in varying degrees. To escape persecution, you made yourself a back-up identity to avoid rousing a ruckus and slipped into a quieter, more common life. You blend in very well with virtually any commoner in a given town, assuming they are of a similar race to you.