Backgrounds

A character's background describes the sort of life they lived before they began adventuring. Every background gives a small list of features, typically 2 to 3 Skill Proficiencies, 0 to 2 Languages, and 0 to 2 Tool Proficiencies. In addition to this, each background gives a +1 to one of your Ability Scores from a list appropriate for the background, and each gives a primarily roleplay-oriented feature. In general, a background is designed to be only minorly impactful to a character, as to make it non-detrimental to choose based on character backstory over mechanical priorities.   Each of the backgrounds below are sorted by their source, and they include a short description of the background to make choosing easy.

• Acolyte. You were raised in a religious sense, often within a temple, doing menial chores and learning the faith.
• Archeologist. You are interested in the past, and have explored ruins and similar to learn about it.
• Athlete. You performed in shows of strength, agility, or something else.
• Charlatan. You made your living off the gullible or otherwise easily fooled with your rigged games of chance, scams, or other means.
• Courtier. You were a personage of some significance in a noble court of bureaucratic organization.
• Criminal. You survived off illicit activities, earning ill-gotten gains under the nose of the law.
• Entertainer. You performed for people, seeking to bring smiles and cheers from all.
• Fisher. You lived on the sea or the coast, surviving by harvesting the ocean's bounty.
• Folk Hero. You're a hometown legend, having accomplished some deed to get the attention of those you lived among.
• Gladiator. Similar to an Entertainer, you performed live for people, though this time in the sport of combat.
• Guild Artisan. You are part of a crafting guild, and in return for your guild fees, you have access to a large organization.
• Haunted One. You are haunted by a creature, experience, or something else, and it dictates much of your life.
• Hermit. You lived in seclusion—either in a sheltered community such as a monastery, or entirely alone.
• Knight. You are among the lowest rank of nobility. You may be a horseman of Cetandar, a samurai of Lungao, or something else entirely.
• Mercenary Veteran. You are an ex-member of one of the many mercenary companies of Elaris.
• Noble. You are a member of the upper crust of society, above common folk and knights.
• Outlander. You grew up in the wilds, far from civilization and the comforts of town and technology.
• 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.
• Sage. You spent years learning the lore of the universe. You scoured manuscripts, studied scrolls, and listed to the greatest experts on the subjects that interest you.
• 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.
• Shipwright. You have sailed into war on the decks of great ships, patching their hulls with soup bowls and prayers.
• 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.
• 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.

• Bandit Defector. Once, you lived outside the law, surviving by preying on the weak and taking what you wanted.
• Courier. Swift feet, sharp wits, and unwavering determination define your past.
• Cultist. You are or were once part of a secretive and often fanatical order devoted to a higher power.
• Duelist. You are no mere brawler or street fighter; you are a practitioner of the art of single combat, where skill, honor, and precision determine victory.
• Executioner. You were the hand of justice, the blade that severed the guilty from the living.
• Exile. You were cast out from your homeland, forced to leave behind everything you knew.
• Gravekeeper. You have spent your life tending the dead and ensuring they remain undisturbed.
• Guild Enforcer. You were the strong arm of an organization that needed muscle to ensure its rules were followed, debts were paid, and orders were obeyed.
• Hunter. The wilderness has always been your domain, where the laws of nature dictate survival.
• Inquisitor. You were once an agent of a powerful religious order, royal court, or secretive faction tasked with rooting out heresy, corruption, and hidden threats.
• Locksmith. You have spent years mastering the art of locks, whether crafting intricate mechanisms, securing valuables, or finding ways to bypass barriers.
• Marauder. You once lived by the law of the blade, taking what you wanted and leaving nothing but ruin in your wake.
• Rat Catcher. You made a living crawling through the filth of the world, rooting out vermin where others dared not tread.
• Relic Seeker.You have dedicated your life to the pursuit of ancient artifacts, lost knowledge, and forgotten treasures.
• Runaway. You left behind a life that was not your own, fleeing from an oppressive master, a cruel family, an arranged fate, or a dark past.
• Vigilante. You took justice into your own hands, operating outside the law to punish criminals, protect the weak, or enforce your own ideals.

• Archfey's Courtier. You are a courtier in the majestic courts of a powerful archfey, such as Prince Embermane, the Duchess of Thirteen Teacups, the Laughing King, or another archfey of your choice.
• Debtbearer. At some point, you accepted something from another—a favor, a meal, protection, a treasured possession, a secret, or perhaps something as simple as a kind word during a moment of need.
• Storykeeper. Stories shape the world. Long before books were common, before kingdoms rose and fell, knowledge passed from one generation to the next through the spoken word.
• Tale-Lost. Once, you belonged to a story. Whatever your role, it should have defined the course of your life. Instead, something went wrong.

Backgrounds may give a choice of several ability scores, and so a single background may show up in two or more categories here.