Backgrounds

Every story has a beginning. Your characters background reveals where they came from, what job they had before the world went to shit, and your place in the world. Your **Butcher** might have been a successful *Chef*. Your **Medic** might have been the best *Doctor* in whatever city you grew up in. Your **Scavenger** might have been Homeless and living on the streets before the world ended.

Choosing a Background provides you with important story cues about your character's identity. The most important thing to ask yourself about your Background is why? Why did you become a *Police Officer* or *Military Soldier*? Where did you go to school to get the training you needed to get that job? What, if anything, sets you apart from ordinary people who share your Background?

The sample Backgrounds provided on their respective pages both concrete benefits (features, proficiencies, and sometimes languages) and roleplaying suggestions.

### **Proficiencies**

Each Background gives a character proficiency in two skills. In addition, some Backgrounds give characters proficiency in one or more tools.

If a character would gain the same proficiency from two different sources, he or she can choose a different proficiency of the same kind (skill or tool) instead. Alternatively, he or she can choose to add double the proficiency bonus to the roll of any check they make with the skill or tool.

### **Languages**

Some Backgrounds allow characters to learn additional languages beyond those given by Lineages or Random Traits.

### **Equipment**

Each Background provides a package of Starting Equipment in addition to those gained by whatever class he or she chose.

### **Personal Characteristics**

Fleshing out your character's personality - the array of traits, mannerisms, habits, beliefs, and flaws that give a person a unique identity - will help you bring him or her to life as you play the game. Four categories of characteristics are presented here: Personality Traits, Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws. Beyond those categories, think about your character's favorite words or phrases, tics and habitual gestures, vices and pet peeves, fears and insecurities, and whatever else you can imagine.

Each Background includes suggested characteristics you can use to spark your imagination. You're not bound to those options, but they're a good starting point. You can pick characteristics, roll dice to determine them randomly, or use the suggestions as inspiration for characteristics of your own creation.

#### **Personality Traits**

Give your character two personality traits. Personality traits are small, simple ways to help you set your character apart from every other character. Your personality traits should tell you something interesting or fun about your character. They should be self-descriptions that are specific about what makes your character stand out. "I'm smart" is not a good trait, because it describes a lot of characters. "I've read every book in my local library" tells you something specific about your characters interests and disposition.

Personality traits might describe the things your character likes, his or her past accomplishments, things your character dislikes or fears, your characters self-attitude or mannerisms, or the influence of his or her ability scores. A useful place to start thinking about personality traits is to look at your highest and lowest ability scores and define one trait related to each. Either one could be positive or negative: you might work hard to overcome a low score, for example, or be cocky about your high score.

#### **Ideals**

Describe one Ideal that drives your character. Your ideals are the things that you believe in most strongly, the fundamental moral and ethical principles that compel you to act as you do. Ideals encompass everything from your life goals to your core belief system.

Ideals might answer any of these questions: What are the principles that you will never betray? What would prompt you to make sacrifices? What drives you to act and guides your goals and ambitions? What is the single most important thing you strive for?

You can choose any ideals you like, but your characters alignment is a good place to start defining them. Each background includes six suggested ideals. Five of them are linked to aspects of alignment: law, chaos, good, evil, and neutrality. The last one has to do with the particular background than with moral or ethical perspectives.

#### **Bonds**

Create at least one Bond for your character. Bonds represent a character's connections to people, places, and events in the world. They tie you to things from your background. They might inspire you to heights of heroism, or lead you to act against your own best interests if they are threatened. They can work very much like ideals, driving a characters motivations and goals.

Bonds might answer any of these questions: Whom do you care most about? To what place do you feel a special connection? What is your most treasured possession?

Your Bonds might be tied to your class, your background, or some other aspect of your characters history or personality. You might also gain new bonds over the course of the game.

#### **Flaws**

Finally, choose one or two Flaws for your character. Your character's flaw represents some vice, compulsion, fear or weakness - in particular, anything that someone else could exploit to bring you to ruin or cause you to act against your own best interests.

More significant than negative personality traits, a flaw might answer any of these questions: What enrages you? What is the one person, concept, or event that you are terrified of? What are your vices or pet peeves?

## **Customizing a Background**

You might want to tweak some of the features of a Background so that it better suits your character. 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. Only do this at the GM's discretion.

Finally, choose two personality traits, one ideal, at least one Bond, and one or two Flaws. If you can't find a feature that works with your desired Background, work with your GM to create one.