5th Edition Background Anthology

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<div class='cover-header'>5th Edition Background Anthology</div>

<div class='cover-footer'>Collection of all homebrew and official backgrounds and changes to them</div>

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# Contents
###

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- ### [<span>3</span><span>Backgrounds</span>](##Backgrounds)
  - [<span>3</span><span>Acolyte</span>](###Acoylte)
  - [<span>4</span><span>Adventurer</span>](###Adventurer)
  - [<span>5</span><span>Anthropologist</span>](###Anthropologist)
  - [<span>6</span><span>Archaeologist</span>](###Archaeologist)
  - [<span>7</span><span>Athlete</span>](###Athlete)
  - [<span>8</span><span>Barkeep</span>](###Barkeep)
  - [<span>9</span><span>Cartographer</span>](###Cartographer)
  - [<span>10</span><span>Charlatan</span>](###Charlatan)
  - [<span>11</span><span>City Watch</span>](###City_Watch/Investigator)
    - [<span>12</span><span>Ivestigator</span>](###City_Watch/Investigator)
  - [<span>12</span><span>Clan Crafter</span>](###Clan_Crafter)
  - [<span>13</span><span>Cloistered Scholar</span>](###Cloistered_Scholar)
  - [<span>14</span><span>Courtier</span>](###Courtier)
  - [<span>15</span><span>Criminal</span>](###Criminal/Spy)
    - [<span>16</span><span>Spy</span>](###Criminal/Spy)
  - [<span>16</span><span>Doctor</span>](###Doctor)
  - [<span>17</span><span>Entertainer</span>](###Entertainer)
    - [<span>18</span><span>Gladiator</span>](###Gladiator)
  - [<span>18</span><span>Faction Agent</span>](###Faction_Agent)
  - [<span>19</span><span>Farmer</span>](###Farmer)
  - [<span>20</span><span>Far Traveler</span>](###Far_Traveler)
  - [<span>21</span><span>Fisher</span>](###Fisher)
  - [<span>22</span><span>Folk Hero</span>](###Folk_Hero)
  - [<span>23</span><span>Guild Artisan</span>](###Guild_Artisan/Guild_Merchant)
    - [<span>25</span><span>Guild Merchant</span>](###Haunted_One)
  - [<span>25</span><span>Haunted One</span>](###Haunted_One)
  - [<span>26</span><span>Hermit</span>](###Hermit)
  - [<span>27</span><span>Inheritor</span>](###Inheritor)
  - [<span>29</span><span>Marine</span>](###Marine)
  - [<span>30</span><span>Mercenary Veteran</span>](#Mercenary_Veteran)
  - [<span>31</span><span>Noble</span>](###Noble)
    - [<span>32</span><span>Knight</span>](###Knight)
  - [<span>32</span><span>Outlander</span>](###Outlander)
  - [<span>33</span><span>Sage</span>](###Sage)
  - [<span>34</span><span>Sailor</span>](###Sailor)
    - [<span>35</span><span>Pirate</span>](###Pirate)
  - [<span>35</span><span>Shipwright</span>](###Shipwright)
  - [<span>37</span><span>Smuggler</span>](###Smuggler)
  - [<span>38</span><span>Soldier</span>](###Soldier)
  - [<span>39</span><span>Tribe Member</span>](###Tribe_Member)
  - [<span>40</span><span>Urban Bounty Hunter</span>](###Urban_Bounty_Hunter)
  - [<span>41</span><span>Urching</span>](###Urchin)

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## Backgrounds
Every story has a beginning. Your character’s background reveals where you came from, how you became an adventurer, and your place in the world. Your fighter might have been a courageous knight or a grizzled soldier. Your wizard could have been a sage or an artisan. Your rogue might have gotten by as a guild thief or commanded audiences as a jester.

Choosing a background provides you with important story cues about your character’s identity. The most important question to ask about your background is what changed? Why did you stop doing whatever your background describes and start adventuring? Where did you get the money to purchase your starting gear, or, if you come from a wealthy background, why don’t you have more money? How did you learn the skills of your class? What sets you apart from ordinary people who share your background?

The sample backgrounds in this chapter provide both concrete benefits (features, proficiencies, and languages) and roleplaying suggestions.

#### Ability Score Improvement
Each background give a character an increase in one of three ability scores representing the the time and effort exerted in their life before becoming the adventurer they are now.

#### Proficiencies
Each background gives a character proficiency in two skills (described in chapter 7, "Using Ability Scores").

In addition, most backgrounds give a character proficiency with one or more tools (detailed in chapter 5, "Equipment").

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.

#### Additional Languages
Some backgrounds also allow characters to learn additional languages beyond those given by race. See “Languages” earlier in this chapter.

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

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

#### Customizing a Background
You might want to tweak some of the features of a background so it better fits your character or the campaign setting. To customize a background, you can replace one feature with any other one, choose any two skills, and choose a total of two tool proficiencies or languages from the sample backgrounds. You can either use the equipment package from your background or spend coin on gear as described in chapter 5. (If you spend coin, you can’t also take the equipment package suggested for your class.) Finally, choose

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two personality traits, one ideal, one bond, and one flaw. If you can’t find a feature that matches your desired background, work with your DM to create one.

### 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 from among those listed in appendix B or those specified by your DM, 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Constitution, Intelligence, or Wisdom

**Skill Proficiencies:** Insight, Religion

**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 15 gp

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Acolytes are shaped by their experience in temples or other religious communities. Their study of the history and tenets of their faith and their relationships to temples, shrines, or hierarchies affect their mannerisms and ideals. Their flaws might be some hidden hypocrisy or heretical idea, or an ideal or bond taken to an extreme.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------------- |
| 1 | I idolize a particular hero of my faith, and constantly refer to that person’s deeds and example. |
| 2 | I can find common ground between the fiercest enemies, empathizing with them and always working toward peace. |
| 3 | I see omens in every event and action. The gods try to speak to us, we just need to listen. |
| 4 | Nothing can shake my optimistic attitude. |
| 5 | I quote (or misquote) sacred texts and proverbs in almost every situation. |
| 6 | I am tolerant (or intolerant) of other faiths and respect (or condemn) the worship of other gods. |
| 7 | I’ve enjoyed fine food, drink, and high society among my temple’s elite. Rough living grates on me. |
| 8 | I’ve spent so long in the temple that I have little practical experience dealing with people in the outside world. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Tradition.** The ancient traditions of worship and sacrifice must be preserved and upheld. (Lawful) |
| 2 | **Charity.** I always try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good) |
| 3 | **Change.** We must help bring about the changes the gods are constantly working in the world. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Power.** I hope to one day rise to the top of my faith’s religious hierarchy. (Lawful) |
| 5 | **Faith.** I trust that my deity will guide my actions. I have faith that if I work hard, things will go well. (Lawful) |
| 6 | **Aspiration.** I seek to prove myself worthy of my god’s favor by matching my actions against his or her teachings. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I would die to recover an ancient relic of my faith that was lost long ago. |
| 2 | I will someday get revenge on the corrupt temple hierarchy who branded me a heretic. |
| 3 | I owe my life to the priest who took me in when my parents died. |
| 4 | Everything I do is for the common people. |
| 5 | I will do anything to protect the temple where I served. |
| 6 | I seek to preserve a sacred text that my enemies consider heretical and seek to destroy. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I judge others harshly, and myself even more severely. |
| 2 | I put too much trust in those who wield power within my temple’s hierarchy. |
| 3 | My piety sometimes leads me to blindly trust those that profess faith in my god. |
| 4 | I am inflexible in my thinking. |
| 5 | I am suspicious of strangers and expect the worst of them. |
| 6 | Once I pick a goal, I become obsessed with it to the detriment of everything else in my life. |

### Adventurer
Adventuring is nothing new to you. Due to the circumstances of how you were raised, you have been involved with wandering heroes for most of your life. Maybe you were part of an adventuring band previously, but split with them after a disagreement or tragedy. Or, perhaps you worked around heroes in a lesser role for most of your younge life, and you are now ready to graduate to the front lines.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength , Dexterity, or Constitution

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Survival

**Tool Proficiencies:** Choose one from herbalism kit, navigator's tools, or thieves' tools

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** 50 feet of rope, a small knife, a common monster part (such as an orc tusk or kobold claw) engraved with the name of a fellow adventurer, a set of traveler's clothes, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp

#### Adventuring Origin
You have been part of the adventuring life since a very young age. Choose your history, or roll on the table below.

| d6 | Origin |
|:--:|:------ |
| 1 | My parents are famous adventurers who trained me to follow in their footsteps. |
| 2 | I was an apprentice at an adventurer's guild. |
| 3 | A group of adventurers found me when I was lost, abandoned child and they raised me as their own. |
| 4 | I was trained to be a professional monster hunter. |
| 5 | An adventuring party saved my life, so I swore my loyalty to them and followed them as a servant. |
| 6 | I set out in search of adventure when I was a bright-eyed, optimistic youngster and never looked back. |

#### Feature: Local Hero
Thanks to actions of you or your former adventuring party in the past, you are considered a local hero in a certain town, city, or region. While in this settlement, the locals will be willing to support you and your friends at a modest lifestyle, unless you have shown yourself to be a danger to them. They will help you in reasonable ways, but will not risk their lives for you.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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#### Suggested Characteristics
Adventurer are well adjusted to life on the road. They are often comfortable doing dangerous things, such as dungeoneering and fighting. They can stay level-headed in the face of danger, but may not be well adjusted to other parts of life.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---|:----------------- |
| 1 | I can't bring myself to ignore a cry for help. |
| 2 | I hold onto every mildly interesting item I find, in case it comes in handy someday. |
| 3 | After all the strange things I've seen in my travels, nothing can suprise me. |
| 4 | I spit and laugh in the face of danger. |
| 5 | Giving up is never an option for me. |
| 6 | I feel more at home in monster-infested dungeons than in civilized society. |
| 7 | I fill silence with wacky stories about my past misadventures, which may or may not be exaggerated. |
| 8 | My sense of humor is as dark and grim as the dungeons I explore. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Adventure.** All I want is to travel the world and see amazing things. (Any) |
| 2 | **Heroism.** I am dedicated to helping people in need. (Good) |
| 3 | **Order.** I use my power to save the world from the forces of chaos and create a better one in its place. (Lawful) |
| 4 | **Excitement.** An ordinary life is boring; I'd rather travel around and find trouble. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | **Power.** The more powerful enemies I defeat, the stronger I become (Neutral) |
| 6 | **Legacy.** I want to go down in history as a brave, powerful hero. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I have sworn to hunt down the monster or villain who killed my former adventuring party. |
| 2 | My adventuring party means the world to me. |
| 3 | I carry with me a strange artifact that I found in a dungeon, but I don't know what it's for. |
| 4 | I adventure in order to bring honor (or money) to my family. |
| 5 | There is a faraway place I've always wanted to visit, and I won't stop until I make it there. |
| 6 | All I want is to make the ones who trained me in the way of adventuring proud. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I default to solving problems with violence even when it's unwise or immoral. |
| 2 | I expect to be lavished with praise and attention whenever I do my job, and I become irate when no one acknowledges my heroism. |
| 3 | I could never trust a member of the evil races. |
| 4 | Waiting around makes me antsy. I'd rather do something stupid than do nothing at all. |
| 5 | My habit of looting dungeons makes me swipe things i shouldn't. |
| 6 | A monstrous enemy I faced in the past still leaves me quivering with fear. |

### 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 first-hand observation—by visiting far-flung settlements and exploring local histories and customs.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma

**Skill Proficiencies:** Insight, Religion

**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 10 gp

#### 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, or roll on the Adopted Culture table.

| d8 | Cultural Chameleon |
|:---|:----------------- |
| 1 | Goblin |
| 2 | Goliath |
| 3 | Kobold |
| 4 | Lizardfolk |

| d8 | Cultural Chameleon |
|:---|:----------------- |
| 5 | Minotaur |
| 6 | Orc |
| 7 | Tabaxi |
| 8 | Tortle |

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#### Feature 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.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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#### Suggested Characteristics
Anthropologists leave behind the societies into which they were born to discover what life is like in other parts of the world. They seek to see how other races and civilizations survive — or why they did not. Some anthropologists are driven by intellectual curiosity, while others want the fame and recognition that comes with being the first to discover a new people, a lost tribe, or the truth about an ancient empire’s downfall.

| d6 | Personality Trait |
|:---|:----------------- |
| 1 | I prefer the company of those who aren’t like me, including people of other races. |
| 2 | I’m a stickler when it comes to observing proper etiquette and local customs. |
| 3 | I would rather observe than meddle. |
| 4 | By living among violent people, I have become desensitized to violence. |
| 5 | I would risk life and limb to discover a new culture or unravel the secrets of a dead one. |
| 6 | When I arrive at a new settlement for the first time, I must learn all its customs. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:---|:----------------- |
| 1 | **Discovery.** I want to be the first person to discover a lost culture. (Any) |
| 2 | **Distance.** One must not interfere with the affairs of another culture—even one in need of aid. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Knowledge.** By understanding other races and cultures, we learn to understand ourselves. (Any) |
| 4 | **Power.** Common people crave strong leadership, and I do my utmost to provide it. (Lawful) |
| 5 | **Protection.** I must do everything possible to save a society facing extinction. (Good) |
| 6 | **Indifferent.** Life is cruel. What’s the point in saving people if they’re going to die anyway? (Chaotic) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | My mentor gave me a journal filled with lore and wisdom. Losing it would devastate me. |
| 2 | Having lived among the people of a primeval tribe or clan, I long to return and see how they are faring. |
| 3 | Years ago, tragedy struck the members of an isolated society I befriended, and I will honor them. |
| 4 | I want to learn more about a particular humanoid culture that fascinates me. |
| 5 | I seek to avenge a clan, tribe, kingdom, or empire that was wiped out. |
| 6 | I have a trinket that I believe is the key to finding a long-lost society. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | Boats make me seasick. |
| 2 | I talk to myself, and I don’t make friends easily. |
| 3 | I believe that I’m intellectually superior to people from other cultures and have much to teach them. |
| 4 | I’ve picked up some unpleasant habits living among goblins, lizardfolk, or orcs. |
| 5 | I complain about everything. |
| 6 | I wear a tribal mask and never take it off. |

### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Dexterity, Intelligence, or Wisdom

**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 25 gp

#### Dust Digger
Prior to becoming an adventurer, you spent most of your young life crawling around in the dust, pilfering relics of questionable value from crypts and ruins. Though you managed to sell a few of your discoveries and earn enough coin to buy proper adventuring gear, you have held onto an item that has great emotional value to you. Roll on the Signature Item table to see what you have, or choose an item from the table.

| d8 | Dust Digger |
|:---|:----------- |
| 1 | 10-foot pole |
| 2 | Crowbar |
| 3 | Hat |
| 4 | Hooded lantern |

| d8 | Dust Digger |
|:---|:----------- |
| 5 | Medallion |
| 6 | Shovel |
| 7 | Sledgehammer |
| 8 | Whip |

</div>

#### Feature: Historical Knowledge
When you enter a ruin or dungeon, you can correctly ascertain its original purpose and determine its builders, whether those were dwarves, elves, humans, yuan-ti, or some other known race. In addition, you can determine the monetary value of art objects more than a century old.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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#### Suggested Characteristics
Few archaeologists can resist the lure of an unexplored ruin or dungeon, particularly if such a site is the source of legends or is rumored to contain the treasures and relics of wizards, warlords, or royalty. Some archaeologists plunder for wealth or fame, while others consider it their calling to illuminate the past or keep the world’s greatest treasures from falling into the wrong hands. Whatever their motivations, archaeologists combine the qualities of a scrappy historian with the self-made heroism of a treasure-hunting scoundrel.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---|:----------- |
| 1 | I love a good puzzle or mystery. |
| 2 | I’m a pack rat who never throws anything away. |
| 3 | Fame is more important to me than money. |
| 4 | I have no qualms about stealing from the dead. |
| 5 | I’m happier in a dusty old tomb than I am in the centers of civilization. |
| 6 | Traps don’t make me nervous. Idiots who trigger traps make me nervous. |
| 7 | I might fail, but I will never give up. |
| 8 | You might think I’m a scholar, but I love a good brawl. These fists were made for punching. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:---|:----------------- |
| 1 | **Preservation.** That artifact belongs in a museum. (Good) |
| 2 | **Greed.** I won’t risk my life for nothing. I expect some kind of payment. (Any) |
| 3 | **Death Wish.** Nothing is more exhilarating than a narrow escape from the jaws of death. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Dignity.** The dead and their belongings deserve to be treated with respect. (Lawful) |
| 5 | **Immortality.** All my exploring is part of a plan to find the secret of everlasting life. (Any) |
| 6 | **Danger.** With every great discovery comes grave danger. The two walk hand in hand. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:----:|
| 1 | Ever since I was a child, I’ve heard stories about a lost city. I aim to find it, learn its secrets, and earn my place in the history books. |
| 2 | I want to find my mentor, who disappeared on an expedition some time ago. |
| 3 | I have a friendly rival. Only one of us can be the best, and I aim to prove it’s me. |
| 4 | I won’t sell an art object or other treasure that has historical significance or is one of a kind. |
| 5 | I’m secretly in love with the wealthy patron who sponsors my archaeological exploits. |
| 6 | I hope to bring prestige to a library, a museum, or a university. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:----:|
| 1 | I have a secret fear of some common wild animal—and in my work, I see them everywhere. |
| 2 | I can’t leave a room without searching it for secret doors. |
| 3 | When I’m not exploring dungeons or ruins, I get jittery and impatient. |
| 4 | I have no time for friends or family. I spend every waking moment thinking about and preparing for my next expedition. |
| 5 | When given the choice of going left or right, I always go left. |
| 6 | I can’t sleep except in total darkness. |

### 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.

Whether in one of the poleis, between them, or among the nonhuman peoples of Theros, physical contests and those who pursue them command respect bordering on reverence. Athletes arise from all walks of life and all cultures and quite often cross paths with one another.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution

**Skill Proficiencies:** Acrobatics, Athletics

**Tool Proficiencies:** Vehicles (Land)

**Languages:** One of your choice

**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

#### Favored Event
While many athletes practice various games and events, most excel at a single form of competition. Roll or choose from the options in the Favored Event table to determine the athletic event in which you excel.

| d8 | Athletic Competition |
|:---|:----------------- |
| 1 | Marathon |
| 2 | Long-distance running |
| 3 | Wrestling |
| 4 | Boxing |
| 5 | Chariot or horse race |

| d8 | Athletic Competition |
|:---|:----------------- |
| 6 | Pankration (mixed unarmed combat) |
| 7 | Hoplite race (racing in full armor with a unit) |
| 8 | Pentathlong (running, long jump, discus, javelin, wrestling) |

</div>

#### 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 or temporary shelter.

Between adventures, you might compete in athletic events sufficient enough to maintain a comfortable lifestyle, as per the work downtime activity in chapter 8.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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#### Suggested Characteristics
Competition can forge strong bonds between teammates and rivals or ignite bitter feuds that burn outside the arena. Athletes often apply lessons from their training to their lives in general.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---|:----------- |
| 1 | I feel most at peace during physical exertion, be it exercise or battle. |
| 2 | I don’t like to sit idle. |
| 3 | I have a daily exercise routine that I refuse to break. |
| 4 | Obstacles exist to be overcome. |
| 5 | When I see others struggling, I offer to help. |
| 6 | I love to trade banter and gibes. |
| 7 | Anything worth doing is worth doing best. |
| 8 | I get irritated if people praise someone else and not me. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:---|:----------------- |
| 1 | **Competition.** I strive to test myself in all things. (Chaotic) |
| 2 | **Triumph.** The best part of winning is seeing my rivals brought low. (Evil) |
| 3 | **Camaraderie.** The strongest bonds are forged through struggle. (Good) |
| 4 | **People.** I strive to inspire my spectators. (Neutral) |
| 5 | **Tradition.** Every game has rules, and the playing field must be level. (Lawful)  |
| 6 | **Growth.** Lessons hide in victory and defeat. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:----:|
| 1 | My teammates are my family. |
| 2 | I will overcome a rival and prove myself their better. |
| 3 | My mistake got someone hurt. I’ll never make that mistake again. |
| 4 | I will be the best for the honor and glory of my home. |
| 5 | The person who trained me is the most important person in my world. |
| 6 | I strive to live up to a specific hero’s example. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:----:|
| 1 | I indulge in a habit that threatens my reputation or my health. |
| 2 | I’ll do absolutely anything to win. |
| 3 | I ignore anyone who doesn’t compete and anyone who loses to me. |
| 4 | I have lingering pain from old injuries. |
| 5 | Any defeat or failure on my part is because my opponent cheated. |
| 6 | I must be the captain of any group I join. |

### Barkeep
Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came. As a barkeep, you're a charismatic fellow that knows how to deal with people. Whether you're the life of the party or simple an ear for someone who needs advice, people from all walks of life are drawn to your trustworthy nature.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Constitution, Wisdom, or Charisma

**Skill Proficiencies:** Insight, Persuasion

**Tool Proficiencies:** Brewer's supplies

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** Common clothes, brewer's supplies, and a belt pouch containing 15 gp

#### Feature: Social Lubricant
You have no trouble finding and getting into places that serve drinks. While drinking in a social establisment, strangers take a liking to you and feel comfortable enough to share gossip.

#### Suggested Characteristics
A barkeep's demeanor ranges from jovial to downright rude. Regardless, all barkeeps know how to take care of business, they break up fights, kick out drunk patrons, and offer honest counsel to people down on their luck.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------- |
| 1 | I'm always looking for a good time with good company. |
| 2 | I earnestly enjoy offering advice. |
| 3 | Even in a social atmosphere, I always feel alone. |
| 4 | I live vicariously through the people I meed and the stories I hear. |
| 5 | I'm everyone's outlet but sometimes I just want to punch them in their thoughtless faces. |
| 6 | If you're looking for a fight, I'll give you one. |
| 7 | I know how to calm down people just as much as I know how to rile them up. |
| 8 | It's not all fun and games. Business needs to run smoothly, whatever that might be. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Cheer.** Spreading joy is my passion. (Good) |
| 2 | **Guidance.** It's our duty to help others. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Legacy.** We have only one chance to write our story. Do what you will and make it count. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Manipulation.** Drunk people are the most vulnerable and can be easily taken advantage of. (Evil) |
| 5 | **People.** Its always good to meet and connect with new people. (Any) |
| 6 | **Honesty.** If I call you an asshole it means I like you. (Any) |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

\pagebreakNum

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | My tavern means everything to me. It brings back important memories from my past. |
| 2 | Brewing is my craft. My art brings people together. |
| 3 | The regular patrons of my tavern are like family to me. |
| 4 | I want to be successful, whatever it takes. |
| 5 | Alcohol is all I need, and sometimes all I want. |
| 6 | I've met so many people while staying in the same place. I need my own story to tell. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I can always go for another round. The gutter is my second home. |
| 2 | I judge people that don't drink to be antisocial and untrustworthy. |
| 3 | Party animals and depressed people make me feel bitter about my life. |
| 4 | Whenever life gets hard I drink my problems away. |
| 5 | I need to know everyone's story. |
| 6 | I curse more than a fucking sailor. |

### Cartographer
Governments, rebel groups, and merchant empires all need maps to exert control and influence. You bring order to uncharted lands by transcribing their detail with quill and parchment, thus offering creating a measure of power where there once was none. Perhaps you are drawn by the undiscovered, or you simply seek to bring order from chaos. Whatever your aims, a cartographer is an agent of discovery and control.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Intelligence, or Wisdom

**Skill Proficiencies:** Investigation, Perception

**Tool Proficiencies:** Cartographer's tools

**Languages:** One of your choice

**Equipment:** A set of traveler's clothes, cartographer's tools, a scrap of a map to a place you have never been, and a coin purse containing 10 gp

#### Feature: Surveyor's Eye
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, your eye can immediately determine with great accuracy a question of quantity, distance, or rate in your immediate environment.

\columnbreak

#### Suggested Characteristics
Cartographers are defined by their life of travel and discovery.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------- |
| 1 | I don't feel that I've truly understood something until I make a record of it. |
| 2 | I take great artistic pride in my work, often times preferring style and beauty over substance. |
| 3 | I'm driven by a wanderlust that led me away from my native land. |
| 4 | I am very passonite about my work. I once stabbed a man over an argument about proper map projection. |
| 5 | I've gained much perspective from my travels in faraway lands, and sometimes my native culture scarcely feels like home. |
| 6 | I like thorough definitions, sure things, and exacting clarity. |
| 7 | I'm not lost, I'm exploring. |
| 8 | Discovery and the use of resources for my people is of higher concern than people or creatures native to that land. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Awe.** The wide world holds many incredible and beautiful places, and I'm happy to share these places with others. (Good) |
| 2 | **Adventure.** I am driven to discovery by a desire for new experience and excitement. (Chaotic) |
| 3 | **Greed.** With discovery comes resources, and I stand to gain more than anybody. (Evil) |
| 4 | **Civilization.** Civilization and innovation propels us forward, and barbarism only holds us back. (Lawful) |
| 5 | **Excellence.** In all things, I take a certain pride in a job well done and mastery of one's work. (Any) |
| 6 | **Truth.** Thins must be represented the way they truly are, with no room for embellishment or obfuscation. (Neutral) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | My entire life has been spent looking for a place now lost to antiquity. |
| 2 | I once completed a set of maps which I will never give to the client who commissioned them. |
| 3 | I have a special love for the lands which I have surveyed, and I would fight for their preservation. |
| 4 | I am an established and respected member of my guild, and I value the esteem of my peers very highly. |
| 5 | I am obsessed with finding a new passage through the mountains or seas, and I have a few ideas about how to do it. |
| 6 | The marking of one location is absent from every map I make, because no one must learn of that place's true whereabouts. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

\pagebreakNum

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I tend to look at the bigger picture, and often overlook the small details. |
| 2 | I am easily distracted by the promise of information. |
| 3 | I am much more concerned with my legacy and prestige than the accuracy or quality of my work. |
| 4 | If I don't deem something important, I ignore it entirely. |
| 5 | I can't seem to put down roots, and I get anxious about being in one place for long. |
| 6 | I look down on people who have never traveled more than a few miles from where they were born. |

### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Dexterity, Wisdom, or Charisma

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

**Tool Proficiencies:** Disguise kit, Forgery kit

**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 15 gp

#### Favorite Schemes
Every charlatan has an angle he or she uses in preference to other schemes. Choose a favorite scam or roll on the table below.

| d6 | Favorite Schemes |
|:--:|:---------------- |
| 1 | I cheat at games of chance. |
| 2 | I shave coins or forge documents. |
| 3 | I insinuate myself into people’s lives to prey on their weakness and secure their fortunes. |
| 4 | I put on new identities like clothes. |
| 5 | I run sleight-of-hand cons on street corners. |
| 6 | I convince people that worthless junk is worth their hard-earned money. |

\columnbreak

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Charlatans are colorful characters who conceal their true selves behind the masks they construct. They reflect what people want to see, what they want to believe, and how they see the world. But their true selves are sometimes plagued by an uneasy conscience, an old enemy, or deep-seated trust issues.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------- |
| 1 | I fall in and out of love easily, and am always pursuing someone. |
| 2 | I have a joke for every occasion, especially occasions where humor is inappropriate. |
| 3 | Flattery is my preferred trick for getting what I want. |
| 4 | I’m a born gambler who can’t resist taking a risk for a potential payoff. |
| 5 | I lie about almost everything, even when there’s no good reason to. |
| 6 | Sarcasm and insults are my weapons of choice. |
| 7 | I keep multiple holy symbols on me and invoke whatever deity might come in useful at any given moment. |
| 8 | I pocket anything I see that might have some value. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Independence.** I am a free spirit—no one tells me what to do. (Chaotic) |
| 2 | **Fairness.** I never target people who can’t afford to lose a few coins. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Charity.** I distribute the money I acquire to the people who really need it. (Good)  |
| 4 | **Creativity.** I never run the same con twice. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | **Friendship.** Material goods come and go. Bonds of friendship last forever. (Good) |
| 6 | **Aspiration.** I’m determined to make something of myself. (Any) |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

\pagebreakNum

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I fleeced the wrong person and must work to ensure that this individual never crosses paths with me or those I care about. |
| 2 | I owe everything to my mentor—a horrible person who’s probably rotting in jail somewhere. |
| 3 | Somewhere out there, I have a child who doesn’t know me. I’m making the world better for him or her. |
| 4 | I come from a noble family, and one day I’ll reclaim my lands and title from those who stole them from me. |
| 5 | A powerful person killed someone I love. Some day soon, I’ll have my revenge. |
| 6 | I swindled and ruined a person who didn’t deserve it. I seek to atone for my misdeeds but might never be able to forgive myself. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I can’t resist a pretty face. |
| 2 | I’m always in debt. I spend my ill-gotten gains on decadent luxuries faster than I bring them in... |
| 3 | I’m convinced that no one could ever fool me the way I fool others. |
| 4 | I’m too greedy for my own good. I can’t resist taking a risk if there’s money involved. |
| 5 | I can’t resist swindling people who are more powerful than me. |
| 6 | I hate to admit it and will hate myself for it, but I’ll run and preserve my own hide if the going gets tough. |

### City Watch / Investigator
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.

You might have been part of the City Watch of Waterdeep, the baton-wielding police force of the City of Splendors, protecting the common folk from thieves and rowdy nobility alike. Or you might have been one of the valiant defenders of Silverymoon, a member of the Silverwatch or even one of the magic-wielding Spellguard.

Perhaps you hail from Neverwinter and have served as one of its Wintershield watchmen, the newly founded branch of guards who vow to keep safe the City of Skilled Hands.

Even if you’re not city-born or city-bred, this background can describe your early years as a member of law enforcement. Most settlements of any size have their own constables and police forces, and even smaller communities have sheriffs and bailiffs who stand ready to protect their community.

\columnbreak

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Constitution, or Wisdom

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Insight

**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 10 gp

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Use the tables for the soldier background below as the basis for your traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to suit your identity as a member of the city watch.

Your bond is likely associated with your fellow watch members or the watch organization itself and almost certainly concerns your community. Your ideal probably involves the fostering of peace and safety. An investigator is likely to have an ideal connected to achieving justice by successfully solving crimes.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------- |
| 1 | I’m always polite and respectful. |
| 2 | I’m haunted by memories of war. I can’t get the images of violence out of my mind. |
| 3 | I’ve lost too many friends, and I’m slow to make new ones. |
| 4 | I’m full of inspiring and cautionary tales from my military experience relevant to almost every combat situation. |
| 5 | I can stare down a hell hound without flinching. |
| 6 | I enjoy being strong and like breaking things. |
| 7 | I have a crude sense of humor. |
| 8 | I face problems head-on. A simple, direct solution is the best path to success. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Greater Good.** Our lot is to lay down our lives in defense of others. (Good) |
| 2 | **Responsibility.** I do what I must and obey just authority. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Independence.** When people follow orders blindly, they embrace a kind of tyranny. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Might.** In life as in war, the stronger force wins. (Evil) |
| 5 | **Live and Let Live.** Ideals aren’t worth killing over or going to war for. (Neutral) |
| 6 | **City.** My city, nation, or people are all that matter. (Any) |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

\pagebreakNum

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I would still lay down my life for the people I served with. |
| 2 | Someone saved my life. To this day, I will never leave a friend behind. |
| 3 | My honor is my life. |
| 4 | I’ll never forget the crushing defeat my company suffered or the enemies who dealt it. |
| 5 | Those who stand beside me are those worth dying for. |
| 6 | I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | The monstrous enemy we faced in battle still leaves me quivering with fear. |
| 2 | I have little respect for anyone who is not a proven warrior. |
| 3 | I made a terrible mistake in battle that cost many lives, and I would do anything to keep that mistake secret. |
| 4 | My hatred of my enemies is blind and unreasoning. |
| 5 | I obey the law, even if the law causes misery. |
| 6 | I’d rather eat my armor than admit when I’m wrong. |

#### Variant City Watch / Investigator: Investigator
Rarer than watch or patrol members are a community’s investigators, who 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. If your prior experience is as an investigator, you have proficiency in Investigation rather than Athletics, and you can choose to take an ability score improvement in Intelligence rather than Strength.

### 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 dwarf master of the craft, enduring long hours and dismissive, sour-tempered treatment in order to gain the fine skills you possess today.

You are most likely a dwarf, but not necessarily—particularly in the North, the shield dwarf clans learned long ago that only proud fools who are more concerned for their egos than their craft turn away promising apprentices, even those of other races. If you aren’t a dwarf, however, you have taken a solemn oath never to take on an apprentice in the craft: it is not for non-dwarves to pass on the skills of Moradin’s favored children. You would have no difficulty, however, finding a dwarf master who was willing to receive potential apprentices who came with your recommendation.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Dexterity, Intelligence, or Wisdom

**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 5 gp and a gem worth 10 gp

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Use the tables for the guild artisan background below as the basis for your traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to suit your identity as a clan crafter. (For instance, consider the words “guild” and “clan” to be interchangeable.)

Your bond is almost certainly related to the master or the clan that taught you, or else to the work that you produce. Your ideal might have to do with maintaining the high quality of your work or preserving the dwarven traditions of craftsmanship.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------- |
| 1 | I'm full of witty aphorisms and have a proverb for every occasion. |
| 2 | I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing right. I can’t help it—I’m a perfectionist. |
| 3 | I’m a snob who looks down on those who can’t appreciate fine art. |
| 4 | I always want to know how things work and what makes people tick. |
| 5 | I’m rude to people who lack my commitment to hard work and fair play. |
| 6 | I like to talk at length about my profession. |
| 7 | I don’t part with my money easily and will haggle tirelessly to get the best deal possible. |
| 8 | I’m well known for my work, and I want to make sure everyone appreciates it. I’m always taken aback when people haven’t heard of me. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Aspiration.** I work hard to be the best there is at my craft. (Any) |
| 2 | **Community.** It is the duty of all civilized people to strengthen the bonds of community and the security of civilization. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Generosity.** My talents were given to me so that I could use them to benefit the world. (Good) |
| 4 | **Freedom.** Everyone should be free to pursue his or her own livelihood. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | **Greed.** I’m only in it for the money. (Evil) |
| 6 | **People.** I’m committed to the people I care about, not to ideals. (Neutral) |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

\pagebreakNum

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | The workshop where I learned my trade is the most important place in the world to me. |
| 2 | I created a great work for someone, and then found them unworthy to receive it. I’m still looking for someone worthy. |
| 3 | I owe my guild a great debt for forging me into the person I am today. |
| 4 | I pursue wealth to secure someone’s love. |
| 5 | One day I will return to my guild and prove that I am the greatest artisan of them all. |
| 6 | I will get revenge on the evil forces that destroyed my place of business and ruined my livelihood. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I'm never satisfied with what I have― I always want more. |
| 2 | I’ll do anything to get my hands on something rare or priceless. |
| 3 | I’m quick to assume that someone is trying to cheat me. |
| 4 | No one must ever learn that I once stole money from guild coffers. |
| 5 | I would kill to acquire a noble title. |
| 6 | I’m horribly jealous of anyone who can outshine my handiwork. Everywhere I go, I’m surrounded by rivals. |

### 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.

The most well known of Faerûn’s fonts of knowledge is Candlekeep. The great library is always in need of workers and attendants, some of whom rise through the ranks to assume roles of greater responsibility and prominence. You might be one of Candlekeep’s own, dedicated to the curatorship of what is likely the most complete body of lore and history in all the world.

Perhaps instead you were taken in by the scholars of the Vault of the Sages or the Map House in Silverymoon, and now you have struck out to increase your knowledge and to make yourself available to help those in other places who seek your expertise. You might be one of the few who aid Herald’s Holdfast, helping to catalogue and maintain records of the information that arrives daily from across Faerûn.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Dexterity, Intelligence, or Wisdom

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

**Languages:** Two of your choice

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

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Use the tables for the sage background below as the basis for your traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to suit your identity as a cloistered scholar.

Your bond is almost certainly associated either with the place where you grew up or with the knowledge you hope to acquire through adventuring. Your ideal is no doubt related to how you view the quest for knowledge and truth—perhaps as a worthy goal in itself, or maybe as a means to a desirable end.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------- |
| 1 | I use polysyllabic words that convey the impression of great erudition. |
| 2 | I’ve read every book in the world’s greatest libraries—or I like to boast that I have. |
| 3 | I’m used to helping out those who aren’t as smart as I am, and I patiently explain anything and everything to others. |
| 4 | There’s nothing I like more than a good mystery. |
| 5 | I’m willing to listen to every side of an argument before I make my own judgment. |
| 6 | I . . . speak . . . slowly . . . when talking . . . to idiots, . . . which . . . almost . . . everyone . . . is . . . compared . . .to me. |
| 7 | I am horribly, horribly awkward in social situations. |
| 8 | I’m convinced that people are always trying to steal my secrets. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Knowledge.** The path to power and self-improvement is through knowledge. (Neutral) |
| 2 | **Beauty.** What is beautiful points us beyond itself toward what is true. (Good) |
| 3 | **Logic.** Emotions must not cloud our logical thinking. (Lawful) |
| 4 | **No Limits.** Nothing should fetter the infinite possibility inherent in all existence. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | **Power.** Knowledge is the path to power and domination. (Evil) |
| 6 | **Self-Improvement.** The goal of a life of study is the betterment of oneself. (Any) |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

\pagebreakNum

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | It is my duty to protect my students. |
| 2 | I have an ancient text that holds terrible secrets that must not fall into the wrong hands. |
| 3 | I work to preserve a library, university, scriptorium, or monastery. |
| 4 | My life’s work is a series of tomes related to a specific field of lore. |
| 5 | I’ve been searching my whole life for the answer to a certain question. |
| 6 | I sold my soul for knowledge. I hope to do great deeds and win it back. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I am easily distracted by the promise of information. |
| 2 | Most people scream and run when they see a demon. I stop and take notes on its anatomy. |
| 3 | Unlocking an ancient mystery is worth the price of a civilization. |
| 4 | I overlook obvious solutions in favor of complicated ones. |
| 5 | I speak without really thinking through my words, invariably insulting others. |
| 6 | I can’t keep a secret to save my life, or anyone else’s. |

### 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.

You might have been one of the many functionaries, attendants, and other hangers-on in the Court of Silverymoon, or perhaps you traveled in Waterdeep’s baroque and sometimes cutthroat conglomeration of guilds, nobles, adventurers, and secret societies. You might have been one of the behind-the-scenes law-keepers or functionaries in Baldur’s Gate or Neverwinter, or you might have grown up in and around the castle of Daggerford.

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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Constitution, Wisdom, or Charisma

**Skill Proficiencies:** Insight, Persuasion

**Languages:** Two of your choice

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

\columnbreak

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Use the tables for the guild artisan background in the Player’s Handbook as the basis for your traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to suit your identity as a courtier.

The noble court or bureaucratic organization where you got your start is directly or indirectly associated with your bond (which could pertain to certain individuals in the group, such as your sponsor or mentor). Your ideal might be concerned with the prevailing philosophy of your court or organization.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------- |
| 1 | I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing right. I can’t help it—I’m a perfectionist. |
| 2 | I’m a snob who looks down on those who can’t appreciate fine art. |
| 3 | I always want to know how things work and what makes people tick. |
| 4 | I’m full of witty aphorisms and have a proverb for every occasion. |
| 5 | I’m rude to people who lack my commitment to hard work and fair play. |
| 6 | I like to talk at length about my profession. |
| 7 | I don’t part with my money easily and will haggle tirelessly to get the best deal possible. |
| 8 | I’m well known for my work, and I want to make sure everyone appreciates it. I’m always taken aback when people haven’t heard of me. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Community.** It is the duty of all civilized people to strengthen the bonds of community and the security of civilization. (Lawful) |
| 2 | **Generosity.** My talents were given to me so that I could use them to benefit the world. (Good) |
| 3 | **Freedom.** Everyone should be free to pursue his or her own livelihood. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Greed.** I’m only in it for the money. (Evil) |
| 5 | **People.** I’m committed to the people I care about, not to ideals. (Neutral) |
| 6 | **Aspiration.** I work hard to be the best there is at my craft. (Any) |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

\pagebreakNum

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I’ll do anything to get my hands on something rare or priceless. |
| 2 | I’m quick to assume that someone is trying to cheat me. |
| 3 | No one must ever learn that I once stole money from guild coffers. |
| 4 | I’m never satisfied with what I have—I always want more. |
| 5 | I would kill to acquire a noble title. |
| 6 | I’m horribly jealous of anyone who can outshine my handiwork. Everywhere I go, I’m surrounded by rivals. |

### Criminal / Spy
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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Constitution, Dexterity or Charisma

**Skill Proficiencies:** Deception, Stealth

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

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

\columnbreak

#### Criminal Specialty
There are many kinds of criminals, and within a thieves’ guild or similar criminal organization, individual members have particular specialties. Even criminals who operate outside of such organizations have strong preferences for certain kinds of crimes over others. Choose the role you played in your criminal life, or roll on the table below.

| d8 | Specialty |
|:--:|:--------- |
| 1 | Blackmailer |
| 2 | Burglar |
| 3 | Enforcer |
| 4 | Fence |

| d8 | Specialty |
|:--:|:--------- |
| 5 | Highway robber |
| 6 | Hired killer |
| 7 | Pickpocket |
| 8 | Smuggler |

</div>

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Criminals might seem like villains on the surface, and many of them are villainous to the core. But some have an abundance of endearing, if not redeeming, characteristics. There might be honor among thieves, but criminals rarely show any respect for law or authority.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------- |
| 1 | I always have a plan for what to do when things go wrong. |
| 2 | I am always calm, no matter what the situation. I never raise my voice or let my emotions control me. |
| 3 | The first thing I do in a new place is note the locations of everything valuable—or where such things could be hidden. |
| 4 | I would rather make a new friend than a new enemy. |
| 5 | I am incredibly slow to trust. Those who seem the fairest often have the most to hide. |
| 6 | I don’t pay attention to the risks in a situation. Never tell me the odds. |
| 7 | The best way to get me to do something is to tell me I can’t do it. |
| 8 | I blow up at the slightest insult. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

\pagebreakNum

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Honor.** I don’t steal from others in the trade. (Lawful) |
| 2 | **Freedom.** Chains are meant to be broken, as are those who would forge them. (Chaotic) |
| 3 | **Charity.** I steal from the wealthy so that I can help people in need. (Good) |
| 4 | **Greed.** I will do whatever it takes to become wealthy. (Evil) |
| 5 | **People.** I’m loyal to my friends, not to any ideals, and everyone else can take a trip down the Styx for all I care. (Neutral) |
| 6 | **Redemption.** There’s a spark of good in everyone. (Good) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I’m trying to pay off an old debt I owe to a generous benefactor. |
| 2 | My ill-gotten gains go to support my family. |
| 3 | Something important was taken from me, and I aim to steal it back. |
| 4 | I will become the greatest thief that ever lived. |
| 5 | I’m guilty of a terrible crime. I hope I can redeem myself for it. |
| 6 | Someone I loved died because of a mistake I made. That will never happen again. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | When I see something valuable, I can’t think about anything but how to steal it. |
| 2 | When faced with a choice between money and my friends, I usually choose the money. |
| 3 | If there’s a plan, I’ll forget it. If I don’t forget it, I’ll ignore it. |
| 4 | I have a “tell” that reveals when I’m lying. |
| 5 | I turn tail and run when things look bad. |
| 6 | An innocent person is in prison for a crime that I committed. I’m okay with that. |

#### Variant Criminal / Spy: 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.

\columnbreak

### Doctor
You are a well-trained and studied healer, sworn to cure the ailing and mend the wounded. Your talents may bring you fame and renown, or you might be regarded with suspicion by common people.

When you choose this background, work with your DM to determine the role and prominence of doctors in the world. Is medical knowledge of of your kind rare? Are there institutions that teach such healing, and if so where? Were you self-taught, apprenticed to a village healer, or educated in a medical academy?

**Ability Score Improvement:** Dexterity, Intelligence, or Wisdom

**Skill Proficiencies:** Medicine, and one from Arcana, Nature, or Religion

**Tool Proficiencies:** Healer's kit and herbalism kit

**Equipment:** A piece of doctor's equipment (such as a scalpel, pouch of aromatic herbs, or a small mirror), a healer's kit, a token of appreciation given to you by a patient, a set of traveler's clothes, and a belt pouch containing 15 gp

#### Specialty
As a doctor, you likely specialize in a particular field and manner of medicine. Choose one specialty, or roll on the table below.

| d10 | Specialty |
|:---:|:--------- |
| 1 | Apothecary |
| 2 | Battlfield medic |
| 3 | Dentist |
| 4 | Spiritual Healer |
| 5 | Medical Arcanist |

| d10 | Specialty |
|:---:|:--------- |
| 6 | Herbalist |
| 7 | Nurse |
| 8 | Surgeon |
| 9 | Veterinarian |
| 10 | Psychologist |

</div>

#### Feature: House Calls
Your talents make you highly sought after, particularly in regions or communities with little access to medicine. Those who recognize you as a doctor may request your services, and may offer you a reward in return should you choose to provide them. You might be able to receive free or discounted food and lodging, or gain access to normally off-limits locations by leveraging your position as a doctor if your services are needed.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Doctors are defined by their ability to give succor to the pained and strength to the wounded. All doctors are united by their desire to cure the ailing, although some view this ability as a means to and end instead of a gift in and of itself.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

\pagebreakNum

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------------- |
| 1 | I am sympathetic to anyone in pain. |
| 2 | I have a tendency to become focused on my work to the exclusion of everything else. |
| 3 | I like to explain my theories of medicine to anyone who will listen. |
| 4 | I have seen too much horror to be affected by scenes of suffering. |
| 5 | I am skeptical of magic, and instead I trust in the sciences. |
| 6 | When someone is injured, I will drop all other responsibilities to tend to them. |
| 7 | I am constantly taking note of potential signs and symptoms in the people I meet. |
| 8 | I take every opportunity I can get to wash my hands. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Empathy.** All I care about is the relief my skills bring to others. (Good) |
| 2 | **Change.** Those who seek to cure must be as adaptable as those who seek to harm. (Chaotic) |
| 3 | **Respect.** The sick and dying deserve to be treated with dignity. (Good) |
| 4 | **Greed.** Those in need of my services will pay through the nose to get them. (Evil) |
| 5 | **Efficiency.** I must not let my emotions cloud my ability to do my job. (Lawful) |
| 6 | **Preservation.** Life must be preserved by any means. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I’ll always remember the place where I learned my medical skills. |
| 2 | Nothing is more important than my patients. |
| 3 | I am working on a cure for the plague that decimated my home. |
| 4 | Someone I loved died of an illness. I want to spare others from the same fate. |
| 5 | I am compiling my medical discoveries in a series of tomes, which I hope will educate future generations. |
| 6 | I have a terminal disease and I am trying to find a cure before it’s too late |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I am haunted by the memories of every patient I could not save. |
| 2 | I use hard drink to numb myself to stress. |
| 3 | I am disgusted by the body’s potential for filth and disease. |
| 4 | I make more mistakes than I should, a fact that I hide from even myself. |
| 5 | I have a propensity to see my patients as opportunities instead of people. |
| 6 | I am hesitant to injure others, even in self-defense. |

### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Dexterity, or Charisma

**Skill Proficiencies:** Acrobatics, Performance

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

**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 15 gp.

#### Entertainer Routines
A good entertainer is versatile, spicing up every performance with a variety of different routines. Choose one to three routines or roll on the table below to define your expertise as an entertainer.

| d10 | Entertainer Routines |
|:---:|:-------------------- |
| 1 | Actor |
| 2 | Dancer |
| 3 | Fire-eater |
| 4 | Jester |
| 5 | Juggler |

| d10 | Entertainer |
|:---:|:----------- |
| 6 | Instrumentalist |
| 7 | Poet |
| 8 | Singer |
| 9 | Storyteller |
| 10 | Tumbler |

</div>

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Successful entertainers have to be able to capture and hold an audience’s attention, so they tend to have flamboyant or forceful personalities. They’re inclined toward the romantic and often cling to high-minded ideals about the practice of art and the appreciation of beauty.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

\pagebreakNum

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------------- |
| 1 | I know a story relevant to almost every situation. |
| 2 | Whenever I come to a new place, I collect local rumors and spread gossip. |
| 3 | I’m a hopeless romantic, always searching for that “special someone.” |
| 4 | Nobody stays angry at me or around me for long, since I can defuse any amount of tension. |
| 5 | I love a good insult, even one directed at me. |
| 6 | I get bitter if I’m not the center of attention. |
| 7 | I’ll settle for nothing less than perfection. |
| 8 | I change my mood or my mind as quickly as I change key in a song. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Beauty.** When I perform, I make the world better than it was. (Good) |
| 2 | **Tradition.** The stories, legends, and songs of the past must never be forgotten, for they teach us who we are. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Creativity.** The world is in need of new ideas and bold action. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Greed.** I’m only in it for the money and fame. (Evil) |
| 5 | **People.** I like seeing the smiles on people’s faces when I perform. That’s all that matters. (Neutral) |
| 6 | **Honesty.** Art should reflect the soul; it should come from within and reveal who we really are. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | My instrument is my most treasured possession, and it reminds me of someone I love. |
| 2 | Someone stole my precious instrument, and someday I’ll get it back. |
| 3 | I want to be famous, whatever it takes. |
| 4 | I idolize a hero of the old tales and measure my deeds against that person’s. |
| 5 | I will do anything to prove myself superior to my hated rival. |
| 6 | I would do anything for the other members of my old troupe. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I’ll do anything to win fame and renown. |
| 2 | I’m a sucker for a pretty face. |
| 3 | A scandal prevents me from ever going home again. That kind of trouble seems to follow me around. |
| 4 | I once satirized a noble who still wants my head. It was a mistake that I will likely repeat. |
| 5 | I have trouble keeping my true feelings hidden. My sharp tongue lands me in trouble. |
| 6 | Despite my best efforts, I am unreliable to my friends. |

#### Variant Entertainer: 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. You can replace the musical instrument in your equipment package with an inexpensive but unusual weapon, such as a trident or net. You can also choose to increase your Strength rather than Dexterity

### Faction Agent
Many organizations active in the North and across the face of Faerûn aren’t bound by strictures of geography. These factions pursue their agendas without regard for political boundaries, and their members operate anywhere the organization deems necessary. These groups employ listeners, rumormongers, smugglers, sellswords, cache-holders (people who guard caches of wealth or magic for use by the faction’s operatives), haven keepers, and message drop minders, to name a few. At the core of every faction are those who don’t merely fulfill a small function for that organization, but who serve as its hands, head, and heart.

As a prelude to your adventuring career (and in preparation for it), you served as an agent of a particular faction in Faerûn. You might have operated openly or secretly, depending on the faction and its goals, as well as how those goals mesh with your own. Becoming an adventurer doesn’t necessarily require you to relinquish membership in your faction (though you can choose to do so), and it might enhance your status in the faction.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Dexterity, Wisdom, or Charisma

**Skill Proficiencies:** Insight and one Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma skill of your choice, as appropriate to your faction

**Languages:** Two of your choice

**Equipment:** Badge or emblem of your faction, a copy of a seminal faction text (or a code-book for a covert faction), a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 15 gp

#### Feature: Safe Haven
As a faction agent, you have access to a secret network of supporters and operatives who can provide assistance on your adventures. You know a set of secret signs and passwords you can use to identify such operatives, who can provide you with access to a hidden safe house, free room and board, or assistance in finding information. These agents never risk their lives for you or risk revealing their true identities.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Use the tables for the acolyte background below as the basis for your traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to suit your identity as a faction agent. (For instance, consider the words “faith” and “faction” to be interchangeable.)

Your bond might be associated with other members of your faction, or a location or an object that is important to your faction. The ideal you strive for is probably in keeping with the tenets and principles of your faction, but might be more personal in nature.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

\pagebreakNum

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I idolize a particular hero of my faith, and constantly refer to that person’s deeds and example.|
| 2 | I can find common ground between the fiercest enemies, empathizing with them and always working toward peace. |
| 3 | I see omens in every event and action. The gods try to speak to us, we just need to listen. |
| 4 | Nothing can shake my optimistic attitude. |
| 5 | I quote (or misquote) sacred texts and proverbs in almost every situation. |
| 6 | I am tolerant (or intolerant) of other faiths and respect (or condemn) the worship of other gods. |
| 7 | I’ve enjoyed fine food, drink, and high society among my temple’s elite. Rough living grates on me. |
| 8 | I’ve spent so long in the temple that I have little practical experience dealing with people in the outside world. |

|d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | Tradition. The ancient traditions of worship and sacrifice must be preserved and upheld. (Lawful) |
| 2 | Charity. I always try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good) |
| 3 | Change. We must help bring about the changes the gods are constantly working in the world. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Power. I hope to one day rise to the top of my faith’s religious hierarchy. (Lawful) |
| 5 | Faith. I trust that my deity will guide my actions. I have faith that if I work hard, things will go well. (Lawful) |
| 6 | Aspiration. I seek to prove myself worthy of my god’s favor by matching my actions against his or her teachings. (Any) |

### Farmer
You are the most vital citizen in any land, the producer and grower of food. From a young age you learned to care for the land and do chores until dusk. From these humble origins you venture out into the world.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Constitution, or Wisdom

**Skill Proficiencies:** Animal Handling, Nature

**Tool Proficiencies:** One musical instrument of your choice and vehicles (land)

**Equipment:** A set of common clothes, a token given to you by your family when you left home, and a small pouch containing 5 gp.

#### Simple Folk
Farmers of all types work across the land. Work with your DM to determine the type of land and work you specialized in, or roll on the table below.

| d10 | Farming Type |
|:---:|:------------ |
| 1 | Grain Field |
| 2 | Rice Field |
| 3 | Vineyard |
| 4 | Cattle Ranch |
| 5 | Poultry Farm |

| d10 | Farming Type |
|:---:|:------------ |
| 6 | Fruit Orchard |
| 7 | Vegetable Field |
| 8 | Horse Ranch |
| 9 | Shepard's Field |
| 10 | Fisher's Coast |

</div>

#### Feature: Farmer's Almanac
Thanks to a lifetime growing food, you are able to discern simple information for your companions. You can accurately predict the weather in your area for the next week. You know what food is worth, and you can haggle for a better price for produce.

Additionally, when looking for shelter in farmlands, common folk are always willing to host you so long as you offer aid around the property. Your hosts will not shelter you from the law if it would bring harm to themselves.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Farmers are humble and hardy folk with simple values. They hold to a strong work ethic and emphasize communities.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

\pagebreakNum

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---:|:------------ |
| 1 | The wisdom of my ancestors gives me a unique outlook on life. |
| 2 | As a child, I played hero. Now that I’m of age, I’m determined to become one. |
| 3 | Nothing is more important than a job well done. |
| 4 | I’ve never backed down from a barnyard brawl. |
| 5 | I may not be the best thinker, but there’s a simple solution to everything. |
| 6 | I celebrate the little things in life because I don’t know when the hard times will hit. |
| 7 | I couldn’t wait to get out of my small life in the farmlands and into the broader world. |
| 8 | I’m hard to bore. There’s always something I can do to improve myself. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:---:|:------------ |
| 1 | **Diligence.** Don’t put off to tomorrow work that can be done today. Laziness is a vice. (Lawful) |
| 2 | **Preparation.** Like the seasons, life changes frequently. Prepare for change and you’ll come out on top. (Any) |
| 3 | **Generous Pride.** Watching another enjoy the fruits of your labor is one of life’s luxuries. (Good) |
| 4 | **Freedom.** The landlord can’t see everything that goes down in the stables. Enjoy life’s little opportunities to let loose and have fun. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | **Pecking Order.** Every animal has a social hierarchy. I’m the strongest, so what I say goes. (Evil) |
| 6 | **Fairness.** Everyone helps around the farm from a young age, favorite child or not. All people must do their part. (Lawful) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:---:|:------------ |
| 1 | I set out to earn riches for my family so they don’t have to live harvest to harvest. |
| 2 | I’ve worked the land, I love the land, and I will protect the land at any cost. |
| 3 | Bandits raped and pillaged my hometown. I will destroy those bandits one day. |
| 4 | My landlord is kind to his people. I will pay back that kindness and make him proud to be my liege. |
| 5 | I was born in bondage but earned my freedom. I will become rich enough to free my family. |
| 6 | I am in love with a friend. I will do anything to protect their perfect smile. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:---:|:------------ |
| 1 | I distrust and dislike new people. Most people just weren’t raised right. |
| 2 | I only know country manners, and I don’t know proper behavior in civilized settings. I ain’t no cosmopolitan. |
| 3 | I’m a gullible and naïve country person. It’s easy for people to con me. |
| 4 | I was born and raised a servant to my betters. I find it hard to stand up to authority figures. |
| 5 | I’m a bit too fond of alcohol, and I don’t hold my liquor well. |
| 6 | I got a girl pregnant, and ran from the wedding – a decision I regret. I’m prone to simply running from difficult situations instead of dealing with them. |

### Far Traveler
Almost all of the common people and other folk that one might encounter along the Sword Coast or in the North have one thing in common: they live out their lives without ever traveling more than a few miles from where they were born.

You aren’t one of those folk.

You are from a distant place, one so remote that few of the common folk in the North realize that it exists, and chances are good that even if some people you meet have heard of your homeland, they know merely the name and perhaps a few outrageous stories. You have come to this part of Faerûn for your own reasons, which you might or might not choose to share.

Although you will undoubtedly find some of this land’s ways to be strange and discomfiting, you can also be sure that some things its people take for granted will be to you new wonders that you’ve never laid eyes on before. By the same token, you’re a person of interest, for good or ill, to those around you almost anywhere you go.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Constitution, or Wisdom

**Skill Proficiencies:** Insight, Perception

**Tool Proficiencies:** Any one musical instrument or gaming set of your choice, likely something native to your homeland

**Languages:** Any one of your choice

**Equipment:** One set of traveler’s clothes, any one musical instrument or gaming set you are proficient with, poorly wrought maps from your homeland, a small piece of jewelry worth 10 gp in the style of your homeland’s craftsmanship, and a pouch containing 5 gp

#### Why Are You Here?
A far traveler might have set out on a journey for one of a number of reasons, and the departure from his or her homeland could have been voluntary or involuntary. To determine why you are so far from home, roll on the table below or choose from the options provided. The following section, discussing possible homelands, includes some suggested reasons that are appropriate for each location.

| d6 | Why Are You Here? |
|:--:|:----------------- |
| 1 | Emissary |
| 2 | Exile |
| 3 | Fugitive |

| d6 | Why Are You Here? |
|:--:|:----------------- |
| 4 | Pilgrim |
| 5 | Sightseer |
| 6 | Wanderer |

</div>

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

\pagebreakNum

#### Feature: All Eyes on You
Your accent, mannerisms, figures of speech, and perhaps even your appearance all mark you as foreign. Curious glances are directed your way wherever you go, which can be a nuisance, but you also gain the friendly interest of scholars and others intrigued by far-off lands, to say nothing of everyday folk who are eager to hear stories of your homeland.

You can parley this attention into access to people and places you might not otherwise have, for you and your traveling companions. Noble lords, scholars, and merchant princes, to name a few, might be interested in hearing about your distant homeland and people.

#### Suggested Characteristics
These are the suggested characteristics for Far Traveler.

| d6 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------------- |
| 1 | I have different assumptions from those around me concerning personal space, blithely invading others’ space in innocence, or reacting to ignorant invasion of my own. |
| 2 | I have my own ideas about what is and is not food, and I find the eating habits of those around me fascinating, confusing, or revolting. |
| 3 | I have a strong code of honor or sense of propriety that others don’t comprehend. |
| 4 | I express affection or contempt in ways that are unfamiliar to others. |
| 5 | I begin or end my day with small traditional rituals that are unfamiliar to those around me. |
| 6 | Sarcasm and insults are my weapons of choice. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Open.** I have much to learn from the kindly folk I meet along my way. (Good) |
| 2 | **Reserved.** As someone new to these strange lands, I am cautious and respectful in my dealings. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Adventure.** I’m far from home, and everything is strange and wonderful! (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Cunning.** Though I may not know their ways, neither do they know mine, which can be to my advantage. (Evil) |
| 5 | **Inquisitive.** Everything is new, but I have a thirst to learn. (Neutral) |
| 6 | **Suspicious.** I must be careful, for I have no way of telling friend from foe here. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | So long as I have this token from my homeland, I can face any adversity in this strange land. |
| 2 | The gods of my people are a comfort to me so far from home. |
| 3 | I hold no greater cause than my service to my people. |
| 4 |My freedom is my most precious possession. I’ll never let anyone take it from me again. |
| 5 | I’m fascinated by the beauty and wonder of this new land. |
| 6 | Though I had no choice, I lament having to leave my loved one(s) behind. I hope to see them again one day. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I am secretly (or not so secretly) convinced of the superiority of my own culture over that of this foreign land. |
| 2 | I pretend not to understand the local language in order to avoid interactions I would rather not have. |
| 3 | I have a weakness for the new intoxicants and other pleasures of this land. |
| 4 | I don’t take kindly to some of the actions and motivations of the people of this land, because these folk are different from me. |
| 5 | I consider the adherents of other gods to be deluded innocents at best, or ignorant fools at worst. |
| 6 | I have a weakness for the exotic beauty of the people of these lands. |

### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Constitution, or Wisdom

**Skill Proficiencies:** History, Survival

**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

#### 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. You can roll on the following table to help determine the theme of your tale or choose one that best fits your character. Alternatively, work with your DM to create your own fishing tale.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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| d8 | Fishing Tale |
|:--:|:------------ |
| 1 | Lobster Wrestling. You fought in hand-to-hand combat with an immense lobster. |
| 2 | It Dragged the Boat. You nearly caught a fish of monstrous size that pulled your boat for miles. |
| 3 | Fins of Pure Gold. You caught a sea animal whose fins were made of pure gold, but another fisher stole it. |
| 4 | Ghost Fish. You are haunted by a ghostly fish that only you can see. |
| 5 | Nemesis Clam. A large clam containing a pearl the size of your head claimed one of your fingers before jetting away; one day, you’ll find that clam. |
| 6 | It Swallowed the Sun. You once saw a fish leap from the water and turn day into night. |
| 7 | Dive into the Abyss. You found yourself in an underwater cave leading to the Abyss, and your luck has been sour ever since. |
| 8 | Love Story. You fell in love with a creature of pure water, but your brief romance ended tragically. |

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Fishers succeed only if they spend time at their jobs. As such, most fishers have a strong work ethic, and they admire others who earn their living honestly. Fishers tend to be superstitious, forming attachments to particular fishing lures or special fishing spots. They have a connection to the bodies of water in which they fish, and they think poorly of those whose actions adversely affect their livelihood.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:------------ |
| 1 | I am unmoved by the wrath of nature. |
| 2 | My friends are my crew; we sink or float together. |
| 3 | I need long stretches of quiet to clear my head. |
| 4 | Rich folk don’t know the satisfaction of hard work. |
| 5 | I laugh heartily, feel deeply, and fear nothing. |
| 6 | I work hard; nature offers no handouts. |
| 7 | I dislike bargaining; state your price and mean it. |
| 8 | Luck favors me, and I take risks others might not. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Camaraderie.** Good people make even the longest voyage bearable. (Good) |
| 2 | **Luck.** Our luck depends on respecting its rules — now throw this salt over your shoulder. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Daring.** The richest bounty goes to those who risk everything. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Plunder.** Take all that you can and leave nothing for the scavengers. (Evil) |
| 5 | **Balance.** Do not fish the same spot twice in a row; suppress your greed, and nature will reward you. (Neutral) |
| 6 | **Hard Work.** No wave can move a soul hard at work. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I lost something important in the deep sea, and I intend to find it. |
| 2 | Someone else’s greed destroyed my livelihood, and I will be compensated. |
| 3 | I will fish the many famous waters of this land. |
| 4 | The gods saved me during a terrible storm, and I will honor their gift.
| 5 | My destiny awaits me at the bottom of a particular pond in the Feywild. |
| 6 | I must repay my village’s debt. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I am judgmental, especially of those I deem homebodies or otherwise lazy. |
| 2 | I become depressed and anxious if I’m away from the sea too long. |
| 3 | I have lived a hard life and find it difficult to empathize with others. |
| 4 | I am inclined to tell long-winded stories at inopportune times. |
| 5 | I work hard, but I play harder. |
| 6 | I am obsessed with catching an elusive aquatic beast, often to the detriment of other pursuits. |

### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Wisdom, or Charisma

**Skill Proficiencies:** Animal Handling, Survival

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

**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 10 gp

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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#### Defining Event
You previously pursued a simple profession among the peasantry, perhaps as a farmer, miner, servant, shepherd, woodcutter, or gravedigger. But something happened that set you on a different path and marked you for greater things. Choose or randomly determine a defining event that marked you as a hero of the people.

| d10 | Defining Event |
|:---:|:-------------- |
| 1 | I stood up to a tyrant’s agents. |
| 2 | I saved people during a natural disaster. |
| 3 | I stood alone against a terrible monster. |
| 4 | I stole from a corrupt merchant to help the poor. |
| 5 | I led a militia to fight off an invading army. |
| 6 | I broke into a tyrant’s castle and stole weapons to arm the people. |
| 7 | I trained the peasantry to use farm implements as weapons against a tyrant’s soldiers. |
| 8 | A lord rescinded an unpopular decree after I led a symbolic act of protest against it. |
| 9 | A celestial, fey, or similar creature gave me a blessing or revealed my secret origin. |
| 10 | Recruited into a lord’s army, I rose to leadership and was commended for my heroism. |

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
A folk hero is one of the common people, for better or for worse. Most folk heroes look on their humble origins as a virtue, not a shortcoming, and their home communities remain very important to them.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | I judge people by their actions, not their words. |
| 2 | If someone is in trouble, I’m always ready to lend help. |
| 3 | When I set my mind to something, I follow through no matter what gets in my way. |
| 4 | I have a strong sense of fair play and always try to find the most equitable solution to arguments. |
| 5 | I’m confident in my own abilities and do what I can to instill confidence in others. |
| 6 | Thinking is for other people. I prefer action. |
| 7 | I misuse long words in an attempt to sound smarter. |
| 8 | I get bored easily. When am I going to get on with my destiny? |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | **Respect.** People deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. (Good) |
| 2 | **Fairness.** No one should get preferential treatment before the law, and no one is above the law. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Freedom.** Tyrants must not be allowed to oppress the people. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Might.** If I become strong, I can take what I want—what I deserve. (Evil) |
| 5 | **Sincerity.** There’s no good in pretending to be something I’m not. (Neutral) |
| 6 | **Destiny.** Nothing and no one can steer me away from my higher calling. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | I have a family, but I have no idea where they are. One day, I hope to see them again. |
| 2 | I worked the land, I love the land, and I will protect the land. |
| 3 | A proud noble once gave me a horrible beating, and I will take my revenge on any bully I encounter. |
| 4 | My tools are symbols of my past life, and I carry them so that I will never forget my roots. |
| 5 | I protect those who cannot protect themselves. |
| 6 | I wish my childhood sweetheart had come with me to pursue my destiny. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | The tyrant who rules my land will stop at nothing to see me killed. |
| 2 | I’m convinced of the significance of my destiny, and blind to my shortcomings and the risk of failure. |
| 3 | The people who knew me when I was young know my shameful secret, so I can never go home again. |
| 4 | I have a weakness for the vices of the city, especially hard drink. |
| 5 | Secretly, I believe that things would be better if I were a tyrant lording over the land. |
| 6 | I have trouble trusting in my allies. |

### Guild Artisan / Guild Merchant
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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Dexterity, Wisdom, or Charisma

**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 15 gp

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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#### Guild Business
Guilds are generally found in cities large enough to support several artisans practicing the same trade. However, your guild might instead be a loose network of artisans who each work in a different village within a larger realm. Work with your DM to determine the nature of your guild. You can select your guild business from the Guild Business table or roll randomly.

#### Feature: 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.

| d20 | Guild Business |
|:---:|:-------------- |
| 1 | Alchemists and apothecaries |
| 2 | Armorers, locksmiths, and finesmiths |
| 3 | Brewers, distillers, and vintners |
| 4 | Calligraphers, scribes, and scriveners |
| 5 | Carpenters, roofers, and plasterers |
| 6 | Cartographers, surveyors, and chart-makers |
| 7 | Cobblers and shoemakers |
| 8 | Cooks and bakers |
| 9 | Glassblowers and glaziers |
| 10 | Jewelers and gemcutters |
| 11 |Leatherworkers, skinners, and tanners |
| 12 | Masons and stonecutters |
| 13 | Painters, limners, and sign-makers |
| 14 | Potters and tile-makers |
| 15 | Shipwrights and sailmakers |
| 16 | Smiths and metal-forgers |
| 17 | Tinkers, pewterers, and casters |
| 18 | Wagon-makers and wheelwrights |
| 19 | Weavers and dyers |
| 20 | Woodcarvers, coopers, and bowyers |

\columnbreak

#### Suggested Characteristics
Guild artisans are among the most ordinary people in the world — until they set down their tools and take up an adventuring career. They understand the value of hard work and the importance of community, but they’re vulnerable to sins of greed and covetousness.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---:|:---------------- |
| 1 | I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing right. I can’t help it — I’m a perfectionist. |
| 2 | I’m a snob who looks down on those who can’t appreciate fine art. |
| 3 | I always want to know how things work and what makes people tick. |
| 4 | I’m full of witty aphorisms and have a proverb for every occasion. |
| 5 | I’m rude to people who lack my commitment to hard work and fair play. |
| 6 | I like to talk at length about my profession. |
| 7 | I don’t part with my money easily and will haggle tirelessly to get the best deal possible. |
| 8 | I’m well known for my work, and I want to make sure everyone appreciates it. I’m always taken aback when people haven’t heard of me. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:---:|:---- |
| 1 | **Community.** It is the duty of all civilized people to strengthen the bonds of community and the security of civilization. (Lawful) |
| 2 | **Generosity.** My talents were given to me so that I could use them to benefit the world. (Good) |
| 3 | **Freedom.** Everyone should be free to pursue his or her own livelihood. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Greed.** I’m only in it for the money. (Evil) |
| 5 | **People.** I’m committed to the people I care about, not to ideals. (Neutral) |
| 6 | **Aspiration.** I work hard to be the best there is at my craft. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | The workshop where I learned my trade is the most important place in the world to me. |
| 2 | I created a great work for someone, and then found them unworthy to receive it. I’m still looking for someone worthy. |
| 3 | I owe my guild a great debt for forging me into the person I am today. |
| 4 | I pursue wealth to secure someone’s love. |
| 5 | One day I will return to my guild and prove that I am the greatest artisan of them all. |
| 6 | I will get revenge on the evil forces that destroyed my place of business and ruined my livelihood. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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| d6 | Flaw |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | I’ll do anything to get my hands on something rare or priceless. |
| 2 | I’m quick to assume that someone is trying to cheat me. | 
| 3 | No one must ever learn that I once stole money from guild coffers. |
| 4 | I’m never satisfied with what I have — I always want more. |
| 5 | I would kill to acquire a noble title.|
| 6 | I’m horribly jealous of anyone who can outshine my handiwork. Everywhere I go, I’m surrounded by rivals. |

#### Variant Guild Artisan / Guild Merchant: Guild Merchant
Instead of an artisans’ guild, 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.

Rather than proficiency with artisan’s tools, you might be proficient with navigator’s tools or an additional language you also can increase your Intelligence rather than your Wisdom. And instead of artisan’s tools, you can start with a mule and a cart.

### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Constitution, Intelligence, or Wisdom

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

**Languages:** Choose two, one of which is exotic. (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 after this background). Also gain a set of common clothes and 1 sp.

#### Feature: 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.

#### Harrowing Event
Prior to becoming an adventurer, your path in life was defined by one dark moment, one fateful decision, or one tragedy. Now you feel a darkness threatening to consume you, and you fear there may be no hope of escape. Choose a harrowing event that haunts you, or roll one on the Harrowing Events table.

| d10 | Harrowing Event |
|:---:|:--------------- |
| 1 | A monster that slaughtered dozens of innocent people spared your life, and you don’t know why. |
| 2 | You were born under a dark star. You can feel it watching you, coldly and distantly. Sometimes it beckons you in the dead of night. |
| 3 | An apparition that has haunted your family for generations now haunts you. You don’t know what it wants, and it won’t leave you alone. |
| 4 | Your family has a history of practicing the dark arts. You dabbled once and felt something horrible clutch at your soul, whereupon you fled in terror. |
| 5 | An oni took your sibling one cold, dark night, and you were unable to stop it. |
| 6 | You were cursed with lycanthropy and later cured. You are now haunted by the innocents you slaughtered. |
| 7 | A hag kidnapped and raised you. You escaped, but the hag still has a magical hold over you and fills your mind with evil  thoughts. |
| 8 | You opened an eldritch tome and saw things unfit for a sane mind. You burned the book, but its words and images are burned into your psyche. |
| 9 | A fiend possessed you as a child. You were locked away but escaped. The fiend is still inside you, but now you try to keep it locked away. |
| 10 | You did terrible things to avenge the murder of someone you loved. You became a monster, and it haunts your waking dreams. |

#### Suggested Characteristics
You have learned to live with the terror that haunts you. You are a survivor, who can be very protective of those who bring light into your darkened life.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---:|:--------------- |
| 1 | I don’t run from evil. Evil runs from me. |
| 2 | I like to read and memorize poetry. It keeps me calm and brings me fleeting moments of happiness. |
| 3 | I spend money freely and live life to the fullest, knowing that tomorrow I might die. |
| 4 | I live for the thrill of the hunt. |
| 5 | I don’t talk about the thing that torments me. I’d rather not burden others with my curse. |
| 6 | I expect danger around every corner. |
| 7 | I refuse to become a victim, and I will not allow others to be victimized. |
| 8 | I put no trust in divine beings. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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| d6 | Ideal |
|:---:|:---- |
| 1 | **Preservation.** I try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good) |
| 2 | **Sacrifice.** I’ll stop the spirits that haunt me or die trying. (Any) |
| 3 | **Greater Good.** I kill monsters to make the world a safer place, and to exorcise my own demons. (Good) |
| 4 | **Freedom.** I have a dark calling that puts me above the law. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | **Knowledge.** I like to know my enemy’s capabilities and weaknesses before rushing into battle. (Lawful) |
| 6 | **Might.** I’m a monster that destroys other monsters, and anything else that gets in my way. (Evil) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | I keep my thoughts and discoveries in a journal. My journal is my legacy. |
| 2 | I would sacrifice my life and my soul to protect the innocent. |
| 3 | My torment drove away the person I love. I strive to win back the love I’ve lost. |
| 4 | A terrible guilt consumes me. I hope that I can find redemption through my actions. |
| 5 | There’s evil in me, I can feel it. It must never be set free. |
| 6 | I have a child to protect. I must make the world a safer place for him (or her). |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | I have certain rituals that I must follow every day. I can never break them. |
| 2 | I assume the worst in people. |
| 3 | I feel no compassion for the dead. They’re the lucky ones. |
| 4 | I have an addiction. |
| 5 | I am a purveyor of doom and gloom who lives in a world without hope. |
| 6 | I talk to spirits that no one else can see. |

### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Constitution, Intelligence, or Wisdom

**Skill Proficiencies:** Medicine, Religion

**Tool Proficiencies:** Harvesting kit or 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 5 gp

\columnbreak

#### Life of Seclusion
What was the reason for your isolation, and what changed to allow you to end your solitude? You can work with your DM to determine the exact nature of your seclusion, or you can choose or roll on the table below to determine the reason behind your seclusion.

| d8 | Life of Seclusion |
|:---:|:---------------- |
| 1 | I was searching for spiritual enlightenment. |
| 2 | I was partaking of communal living in accordance with the dictates of a religious order. |
| 3 | I was exiled for a crime I didn’t commit. |
| 4 | I retreated from society after a life-altering event. |
| 5 | I needed a quiet place to work on my art, literature, music, or manifesto. |
| 6 | I needed to commune with nature, far from civilization. |
| 7 | I was the caretaker of an ancient ruin or relic. |
| 8 | I was a pilgrim in search of a person, place, or relic of spiritual significance. |

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Some hermits are well suited to a life of seclusion, whereas others chafe against it and long for company. Whether they embrace solitude or long to escape it, the solitary life shapes their attitudes and ideals. A few are driven slightly mad by their years apart from society.

#### Other Hermits
This hermit background assumes a contemplative sort of seclusion that allows room for study and prayer. If you want to play a rugged wilderness recluse who lives off the land while shunning the company of other people, look at the outlander background. On the other hand, if you want to go in a more religious direction, the acolyte might be what you’re looking for. Or you could even be a charlatan, posing as a wise and holy person and letting pious fools support you.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---:|:---------------- |
| 1 | I’ve been isolated for so long that I rarely speak, preferring gestures and the occasional grunt. |
| 2 | I am utterly serene, even in the face of disaster. |
| 3 | The leader of my community had something wise to say on every topic, and I am eager to share that wisdom. |
| 4 | I feel tremendous empathy for all who suffer. |
| 5 | I’m oblivious to etiquette and social expectations. |
| 6 | I connect everything that happens to me to a grand, cosmic plan. |
| 7 | I often get lost in my own thoughts and contemplation, becoming oblivious to my surroundings. |
| 8 | I am working on a grand philosophical theory and love sharing my ideas. |

| d6 | Ideal | 
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | **Greater Good.** My gifts are meant to be shared with all, not used for my own benefit. (Good) |
| 2 | **Logic.** Emotions must not cloud our sense of what is right and true, or our logical thinking. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Free Thinking.** Inquiry and curiosity are the pillars of progress. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Power.** Solitude and contemplation are paths toward mystical or magical power. (Evil) |
| 5 | **Live and Let Live.** Meddling in the affairs of others only causes trouble. (Neutral) | 
| 6 | **Self-Knowledge.** If you know yourself, there’s nothing left to know. (Any) |

| d6| Bond |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | Nothing is more important than the other members of my hermitage, order, or association. |
| 2 | I entered seclusion to hide from the ones who might still be hunting me. I must someday confront them. |
| 3 | I’m still seeking the enlightenment I pursued in my seclusion, and it still eludes me. |
| 4 | I entered seclusion because I loved someone I could not have. |
| 5 | Should my discovery come to light, it could bring ruin to the world. |
| 6 | My isolation gave me great insight into a great evil that only I can destroy. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | Now that I’ve returned to the world, I enjoy its delights a little too much. |
| 2 | I harbor dark, bloodthirsty thoughts that my isolation and meditation failed to quell. |
| 3 | I am dogmatic in my thoughts and philosophy. |
| 4 | I let my need to win arguments overshadow friendships and harmony. |
| 5 | I’d risk too much to uncover a lost bit of knowledge. |
| 6 | I like keeping secrets and won’t share them with anyone. |

### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma

**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 15 gp

| d8 | Inheritance |
|:---:|:---------- |
| 1 | A document such as a map, a letter, or a journal |
| 2 | A trinket |
| 3 | A trinket |
| 4 | An article of clothing |
| 5 | A piece of jewelry |
| 6 | An arcane book or formulary |
| 7 | A written story, song, poem, or secret |
| 8 | A tattoo or other body marking |

#### Feature: Inheritance
Choose or randomly determine your inheritance from among the possibilities in the table below. Work with your Dungeon Master 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.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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The Dungeon Master 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Use the tables for the folk hero background below as the basis for your traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to suit your identity as an inheritor.

Your bond might be directly related to your inheritance, or to the person from whom you received it. Your ideal might be influenced by what you know about your inheritance, or by what you intend to do with your gift once you realize what it is capable of.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---:|:---------------- |
| 1 | I judge people by their actions, not their words. |
| 2 | If someone is in trouble, I’m always ready to lend help. |
| 3 | When I set my mind to something, I follow through no matter what gets in my way. |
| 4 | I have a strong sense of fair play and always try to find the most equitable solution to arguments. |
| 5 | I’m confident in my own abilities and do what I can to instill confidence in others. |
| 6 | Thinking is for other people. I prefer action. |
| 7 | I misuse long words in an attempt to sound smarter. |
| 8 | I get bored easily. When am I going to get on with my destiny? |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:---:|:---- |
| 1 | **Respect.** People deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. (Good) |
| 2 | **Fairness.** No one should get preferential treatment before the law, and no one is above the law. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Freedom.** Tyrants must not be allowed to oppress the people. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Might.** If I become strong, I can take what I want—what I deserve. (Evil) |
| 5 | **Sincerity.** There’s no good in pretending to be something I’m not. (Neutral) |
| 6 | **Destiny.** Nothing and no one can steer me away from my higher calling. (Any) |

|d6 | Bond |
|:---:|--- |
| 1 | I have a family, but I have no idea where they are. One day, I hope to see them again. |
| 2 | I worked the land, I love the land, and I will protect the land. |
| 3 | A proud noble once gave me a horrible beating, and I will take my revenge on any bully I encounter. |
| 4 | My tools are symbols of my past life, and I carry them so that I will never forget my roots. |
| 5 | I protect those who cannot protect themselves. |
| 6 | I wish my childhood sweetheart had come with me to pursue my destiny. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Constitution, or Wisdom

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Survival

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

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

#### Hardship Endured
Hardship in your past has forged you into an unstoppable living weapon. This hardship is essential to you and is at the heart of a personal philosophy or ethos that often guides your actions. You can roll on the following table to determine this hardship or choose one that best fits your character.

| d6 | Hardship Endured |
|:---:|:--------------- |
| 1 | Nearly Drowned. You hid underwater to avoid detection by enemies and held your breath for an extremely long time. Just before you would have died, you had a revelation about your existence. |
| 2 | Captured. You spent months enduring thirst, starvation, and torture at the hands of your enemy, but you never broke. |
| 3 | Sacrifice. You enabled the escape of your fellow soldiers, but at great cost to yourself. Some of your past comrades may think you’re dead. |
| 4 | Juggernaut. No reasonable explanation can explain how you survived a particular battle. Every arrow and bolt missed you. You slew scores of enemies single-handedly and led your comrades to victory. |
| 5 | Stowaway. For days, you hid in the bilge of an enemy ship, surviving on brackish water and foolhardy rats. At the right moment, you crept up to the deck and took over the ship on your own. |
| 6 | Leave None Behind. You carried an injured marine for miles to avoid capture and death. |

#### Feature: 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). Additionally, you can automatically find a safe route to land a boat on shore, provided such a route exists.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Marines are looked up to by other soldiers and respected by their superiors. They are veteran warriors who rarely lose composure on the battlefield. Marines who leave the service tend to work as mercenaries, but their combat experience also makes them excellent adventurers. Though they are self-reliant, marines tend to operate best in groups, valuing camaraderie and the companionship of like-minded individuals.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---:|:---------------- |
| 1 | I speak rarely but mean every word I say. |
| 2 | I laugh loudly and see the humor in stressful situations. |
| 3 | I prefer to solve problems without violence, but I finish fights decisively. |
| 4 | I enjoy being out in nature; poor weather never sours my mood. |
| 5 | I am dependable. |
| 6 | I am always working on some project or other. |
| 7 | I become cantankerous and quiet in the rain. |
| 8 | When the sea is within my sight, my mood is jovial and optimistic. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:---:|:---- |
| 1 | **Teamwork.** Success depends on cooperation and communication. (Good) |
| 2 | **Code.** The marines’ code provides a solution for every problem, and following it is imperative. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Embracing.** Life is messy. Throwing yourself into the worst of it is necessary to get the job done. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Might.** The strong train so that they might rule those who are weak. (Evil) |
| 5 | **Bravery.** To act when others quake in fear — this is the essence of the warrior. (Any) |
| 6 | **Perseverance.** No injury or obstacle can turn me from my goal. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | I face danger and evil to offset an unredeemable act in my past. |
| 2 | I. Will. Finish. The. Job. |
| 3 | I must set an example of hope for those who have given up. |
| 4 | I’m searching for a fellow marine captured by an elusive enemy. |
| 5 | Fear leads to tyranny, and both must be eradicated. |
| 6 | My commander betrayed my unit, and I will have revenge. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | I grow combative and unpredictable when I drink. |
| 2 | I find civilian life difficult and struggle to say the right thing in social situations. |
| 3 | My intensity can drive others away. |
| 4 | I hold grudges and have difficulty forgiving others. |
| 5 | I become irrational when innocent people are hurt. |
| 6 | I sometimes stay up all night listening to the ghosts of my fallen enemies. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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### 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. You might have served with a large outfit such as the Zhentarim or the soldiers of Mintarn, or a smaller band of sell-swords, maybe even more than one. (See the “Mercenaries of the North” sidebar for a collection of possibilities.)

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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Constitution, or Charisma

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Persuasion

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

**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 (10 gp)

#### Feature: 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 (see “Practicing a Profession” under “Downtime Activities” in chapter 8 ).

Your bond could be associated with the company you traveled with previously, or with some of the comrades you served with. The ideal you embrace largely depends on your worldview and your motivation for fighting.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---:|:---------------- |
| 1 | I’m always polite and respectful. |
| 2 | I’m haunted by memories of war. I can’t get the images of violence out of my mind. |
| 3 | I’ve lost too many friends, and I’m slow to make new ones. |
| 4 | I’m full of inspiring and cautionary tales from my military experience relevant to almost every combat situation. |
| 5 | I can stare down a hell hound without flinching. |
| 6 | I enjoy being strong and like breaking things. |
| 7 | I have a crude sense of humor. |
| 8 | I face problems head-on. A simple, direct solution is the best path to success. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | **Greater Good.** Our lot is to lay down our lives in defense of others. (Good) |
| 2 | **Responsibility.** I do what I must and obey just authority. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Independence.** When people follow orders blindly, they embrace a kind of tyranny. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Might.** In life as in war, the stronger force wins. (Evil) |
| 5 | **Live and Let Live.** Ideals aren’t worth killing over or going to war for. (Neutral) |
| 6 | **Nation.** My city, nation, or people are all that matter. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | I would still lay down my life for the people I served with. |
| 2 | Someone saved my life on the battlefield. To this day, I will never leave a friend behind. |
| 3 | My honor is my life. |
| 4 | I’ll never forget the crushing defeat my company suffered or the enemies who dealt it. |
| 5 | Those who fight beside me are those worth dying for. |
| 6 | I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | The monstrous enemy we faced in battle still leaves me quivering with fear. |
| 2 | I have little respect for anyone who is not a proven warrior. |
| 3 | I made a terrible mistake in battle that cost many lives, and I would do anything to keep that mistake secret. |
| 4 | My hatred of my enemies is blind and unreasoning. |
| 5 | I obey the law, even if the law causes misery. |
| 6 | I’d rather eat my armor than admit when I’m wrong. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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### 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?

These details help establish your family and your title as features of the world of the campaign.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Dexterity, Intelligence, or Charisma

**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 25 gp

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Nobles are born and raised to a very different lifestyle than most people ever experience, and their personalities reflect that upbringing. A noble title comes with a plethora of bonds—responsibilities to family, to other nobles (including the sovereign), to the people entrusted to the family’s care, or even to the title itself. But this responsibility is often a good way to undermine a noble.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---:|:---------------- |
| 1 | My eloquent flattery makes everyone I talk to feel like the most wonderful and important person in the world. |
| 2 | The common folk love me for my kindness and generosity. |
| 3 | No one could doubt by looking at my regal bearing that I am a cut above the unwashed masses. |
| 4 | I take great pains to always look my best and follow the latest fashions. |
| 5 | I don’t like to get my hands dirty, and I won’t be caught dead in unsuitable accommodations. |
| 6 | Despite my noble birth, I do not place myself above other folk. We all have the same blood. |
| 7 | My favor, once lost, is lost forever. |
| 8 | If you do me an injury, I will crush you, ruin your name, and salt your fields. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | **Respect.** Respect is due to me because of my position, but all people regardless of station deserve to be treated with dignity. (Good) |
| 2 | **Responsibility.** It is my duty to respect the authority of those above me, just as those below me must respect mine. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Independence.** I must prove that I can handle myself without the coddling of my family. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Power.** If I can attain more power, no one will tell me what to do. (Evil) |
| 5 | **Family.** Blood runs thicker than water. (Any) |
| 6 | **Noble Obligation.** It is my duty to protect and care for the people beneath me. (Good) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | I will face any challenge to win the approval of my family. |
| 2 | My house’s alliance with another noble family must be sustained at all costs. |
| 3 | Nothing is more important than the other members of my family. |
| 4 | I am in love with the heir of a family that my family despises. |
| 5 | My loyalty to my sovereign is unwavering. |
| 6 | The common folk must see me as a hero of the people. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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| d6 | Flaw |
|:---:|:------------------- |
| 1 | I secretly believe that everyone is beneath me |
| 2 | I hide a truly scandalous secret that could ruin my family forever. |
| 3 | I too often hear veiled insults and threats in every word addressed to me, and I’m quick to anger. |
| 4 | I have an insatiable desire for carnal pleasures. |
| 5 | In fact, the world does revolve around me. |
| 6 | By my words and actions, I often bring shame to my family. |

#### Variant Noble: Knight
A knighthood is among the lowest noble titles in most societies, but it can be a path to higher status. If you wish to be a knight, choose the Retainers feature (see the sidebar) instead of the Position of Privilege feature you can also choose to increase your Strength rather than Intelligence. One of your commoner retainers is replaced by a 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).

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.)

> ##### Variant Features: Retainers
> If your character has a noble background, you may select this background feature instead of Position of Privilege.
>
> You have the service of three retainers loyal to your family. These retainers can be attendants or messengers, and one might be a majordomo. Your retainers are commoners who can perform mundane tasks for you, but 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

### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, COnstitution, or Wisdom

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Survival

**Tool Proficiencies:** One type of musical instrument or Harvesting kit

**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 10 gp

#### Origin
You’ve been to strange places and seen things that others cannot begin to fathom. Consider some of the distant lands you have visited, and how they impacted you. You can roll on the following table to determine your occupation during your time in the wild, or choose one that best fits your character.

| d10 | Origin |
|:---:|:------ |
| 1 | Forester |
| 2 | Trapper |
| 3 | Homesteader |
| 4 | Guide |
| 5 | Exile or outcast |

| d10 | Origin |
|:---:|:------ |
| 6 | Bounty hunter |
| 7 | Pilgrim |
| 8 | Tribal nomad |
| 9 | Hunter-gatherer |
| 10 | Tribal marauder |

</div>

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Often considered rude and uncouth among civilized folk, outlanders have little respect for the niceties of life in the cities. The ties of tribe, clan, family, and the natural world of which they are a part are the most important bonds to most outlanders.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---:|:---------------- |
| 1 | I’m driven by a wanderlust that led me away from home. |
| 2 | I watch over my friends as if they were a litter of newborn pups. |
| 3 | I once ran twenty-five miles without stopping to warn to my clan of an approaching orc horde. I’d do it again if I had to. |
| 4 | I have a lesson for every situation, drawn from observing nature. |
| 5 | I place no stock in wealthy or well-mannered folk. Money and manners won’t save you from a hungry owlbear. |
| 6 | I’m always picking things up, absently fiddling with them, and sometimes accidentally breaking them. |
| 7 | I feel far more comfortable around animals than people. |
| 8 | I was, in fact, raised by wolves. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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| d6 | Ideal |
|:---:|:---- |
| 1 | **Change.** Life is like the seasons, in constant change, and we must change with it. (Chaotic) |
| 2 | **Greater Good.** It is each person’s responsibility to make the most happiness for the whole tribe. (Good) |
| 3 | **Honor.** If I dishonor myself, I dishonor my whole clan. (Lawful) |
| 4 | **Might.** The strongest are meant to rule. (Evil) |
| 5 | **Nature.** The natural world is more important than all the constructs of civilization. (Neutral) |
| 6 | **Glory.** I must earn glory in battle, for myself and my clan. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | My family, clan, or tribe is the most important thing in my life, even when they are far from me. |
| 2 | An injury to the unspoiled wilderness of my home is an injury to me. |
| 3 | I will bring terrible wrath down on the evildoers who destroyed my homeland. |
| 4 | I am the last of my tribe, and it is up to me to ensure their names enter legend. |
| 5 | I suffer awful visions of a coming disaster and will do anything to prevent it. |
| 6 | It is my duty to provide children to sustain my tribe. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | I am too enamored of ale, wine, and other intoxicants. |
| 2 | There’s no room for caution in a life lived to the fullest. |
| 3 | I remember every insult I’ve received and nurse a silent resentment toward anyone who’s ever wronged me. |
| 4 | I am slow to trust members of other races, tribes, and societies. |
| 5 | Violence is my answer to almost any challenge. |
| 6 | Don’t expect me to save those who can’t save themselves. It is nature’s way that the strong thrive and the weak perish. |

### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Constitution, Intelligence, or Wisdom

**Skill Proficiencies:** Arcana, History

**Languages:** Two of your choice

**Equipment:** A bottle of black 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 10 gp

\columnbreak

#### Specialty
To determine the nature of your scholarly training, roll a d8 or choose from the options in the table below.

| d8 | Specialty |
|:--:|:--------- |
| 1 | Alchemist |
| 2 | Astronomer |
| 3 | Discredited academic |
| 4 | Librarian |

| d8 | Specialty |
|:--:|:--------- |
| 5 | Professor |
| 6 | Researcher |
| 7 | Wizard’s apprentice |
| 8 | Scribe |

</div>

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Sages are defined by their extensive studies, and their characteristics reflect this life of study. Devoted to scholarly pursuits, a sage values knowledge highly—sometimes in its own right, sometimes as a means toward other ideals.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---:|:---------------- |
| 1 | I use polysyllabic words that convey the impression of great erudition. |
| 2 | I’ve read every book in the world’s greatest libraries—or I like to boast that I have. |
| 3 | I’m used to helping out those who aren’t as smart as I am, and I patiently explain anything and everything to others. |
| 4 | There’s nothing I like more than a good mystery. |
| 5 | I’m willing to listen to every side of an argument before I make my own judgment. |
| 6 | I … speak … slowly … when talking … to idiots, … which … almost … everyone … is … compared … to me. |
| 7 | I am horribly, horribly awkward in social situations. |
| 8 | I’m convinced that people are always trying to steal my secrets. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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| d6 | Ideal |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | **Knowledge.** The path to power and self-improvement is through knowledge. (Neutral) |
| 2 | **Beauty.** What is beautiful points us beyond itself toward what is true. (Good) |
| 3 | **Logic.** Emotions must not cloud our logical thinking. (Lawful) |
| 4 | **No Limits.** Nothing should fetter the infinite possibility inherent in all existence. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | **Power.** Knowledge is the path to power and domination. (Evil) |
| 6 | **Self-Improvement.** The goal of a life of study is the betterment of oneself. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | It is my duty to protect my students. |
| 2 | I have an ancient text that holds terrible secrets that must not fall into the wrong hands. |
| 3 | I work to preserve a library, university, scriptorium, or monastery. |
| 4 | My life’s work is a series of tomes related to a specific field of lore. |
| 5 | I’ve been searching my whole life for the answer to a certain question. |
| 6 | I sold my soul for knowledge. I hope to do great deeds and win it back. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | I am easily distracted by the promise of information. |
| 2 | Most people scream and run when they see a demon. I stop and take notes on its anatomy. |
| 3 | Unlocking an ancient mystery is worth the price of a civilization. |
| 4 | I overlook obvious solutions in favor of complicated ones. |
| 5 | I speak without really thinking through my words, invariably insulting others. |
| 6 | I can’t keep a secret to save my life, or anyone else’s. |

### 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 Dungeon Master. 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?

\columnbreak

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Constitution, or Wisdom

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Perception

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

**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 10 gp

#### Feature: 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 Dungeon Master 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Sailors can be a rough lot, but the responsibilities of life on a ship make them generally reliable as well. Life aboard a ship shapes their outlook and forms their most important attachments.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:---:|:---------------- |
| 1 | My friends know they can rely on me, no matter what. |
| 2 | I work hard so that I can play hard when the work is done. |
| 3 | I enjoy sailing into new ports and making new friends over a flagon of ale. |
| 4 | I stretch the truth for the sake of a good story. |
| 5 | To me, a tavern brawl is a nice way to get to know a new city. |
| 6 | I never pass up a friendly wager. |
| 7 | My language is as foul as an otyugh nest. |
| 8 | I like a job well done, especially if I can convince someone else to do it. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | Respect. The thing that keeps a ship together is mutual respect between captain and crew. (Good) |
| 2 | Fairness. We all do the work, so we all share in the rewards. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Freedom. The sea is freedom — the freedom to go anywhere and do anything. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Mastery. I’m a predator, and the other ships on the sea are my prey. (Evil) |
| 5 | People. I’m committed to my crewmates, not to ideals. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Aspiration. Someday I’ll own my own ship and chart my own destiny. (Any) |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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| d6 | Bond |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | I’m loyal to my captain first, everything else second. |
| 2 | The ship is most important — crewmates and captains come and go. |
| 3 | I’ll always remember my first ship. |
| 4 | In a harbor town, I have a paramour whose eyes nearly stole me from the sea. |
| 5 | I was cheated out of my fair share of the profits, and I want to get my due. |
| 6 | Ruthless pirates murdered my captain and crewmates, plundered our ship, and left me to die. Vengeance will be mine. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:---:|:--- |
| 1 | I follow orders, even if I think they’re wrong. |
| 2 | I’ll say anything to avoid having to do extra work. |
| 3 | Once someone questions my courage, I never back down no matter how dangerous the situation. |
| 4 | Once I start drinking, it’s hard for me to stop. |
| 5 | I can’t help but pocket loose coins and other trinkets I come across. |
| 6 | My pride will probably lead to my destruction. |

#### Variant Sailor: 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, you can choose to take an increase to Charisma instead of Wisdom.

> ##### Variant Feature: Bad Reputation
> If your character has a sailor background, you may select this background feature instead of Ship’s Passage.
>
> 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.

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### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Intelligence, or Wisdom

**Skill Proficiencies:** History, Perception

**Tool Proficiencies:** Carpenter’s tools, vehicles (water)

**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

#### Life at Sea
Your life at sea and in port has shaped you; you can roll on the following table to determine its impact or choose an element that best fits your character.

| d6 | Life at Sea |
|:--:|:----------- |
| 1 | **Grand Designs.** You are working on plans and schematics for a new, very fast ship. You must examine as many different kinds of vessels as possible to help ensure the success of your design. |
| 2 | **Solid and Sound.** You patched up a war galley and prevented it from sinking. The local navy regards you as a friend. |
| 3 | **Favored.** You insisted on thicker planking for a merchant vessel’s hull, which saved it from sinking when it smashed against a reef. You have a standing invitation to visit the merchant’s distant mansion. |
| 4 | **Master of Armaments.** You specialized in designing and mounting defenses for the navy. You easily recognize and determine the quality of such items. |
| 5 | **Low Places.** You have contacts in the smuggling outfits along the coast; you occasionally repair the criminals’ ships in exchange for coin and favors. |
| 6 | **Mysteries of the Deep.** You experienced an encounter with a possibly divine being while sailing alone. Work with your DM to determine the secret about the deep waters of the sea that this entity revealed to you. |

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Shipwrights are resourceful carpenters and designers. They often have a dedicated spot at the local tavern, since shipwrights are invaluable to coastal communities. Some travel with naval fleets and might serve as officers if their temperament suits it. Shipwrights have an affinity for working with their hands and often perform feats of carpentry that others might deem miraculous.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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| d8 |Personality Trait |
|:--:|:---------------- |
| 1 | I love talking and being heard more than I like to listen. |
| 2 | I’m extremely fond of puzzles. |
| 3 | I thrive under pressure. |
| 4 | I love sketching and designing objects, especially boats. |
| 5 | I’m not afraid of hard work — in fact, I prefer it. |
| 6 | A pipe, an ale, and the smell of the sea: paradise. |
| 7 | I have an endless supply of cautionary tales related to the sea. |
| 8 | I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. |

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|d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | **Crew.** If everyone on deck pitches in, we’ll never sink. (Good) |
| 2 | **Careful Lines.** A ship must be balanced according to the laws of the universe. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Invention.** Make what you need out of whatever is at hand. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Perfection.** To measure a being and find it lacking is the greatest disappointment. (Evil) |
| 5 | **Reflection.** Muddied water always clears in time. (Any) |
| 6 | **Hope.** The horizon at sea holds the greatest promise. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I must visit all the oceans of the world and behold the ships that sail there. |
| 2 | Much of the treasure I claim will be used to enrich my community. |
| 3 | I must find a kind of wood rumored to possess magical qualities. |
| 4 | I repair broken things to redeem what’s broken in myself. |
| 5 | I will craft a boat capable of sailing through the most dangerous of storms. |
| 6 | A kraken destroyed my masterpiece; its teeth shall adorn my hearth. |

| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I don’t know when to throw something away. You never know when it might be useful again. |
| 2 | I get frustrated to the point of distraction by shoddy craftsmanship. |
| 3 | Though I am an excellent crafter, my work tends to look as though it belongs on a ship. |
| 4 | I am so obsessed with sketching my ideas for elaborate inventions that I sometimes forget little thing like eating and sleeping. |
| 5 | I’m judgmental of those who are not skilled with tools of some kind. |
| 6 | I sometimes take things that don’t belong to me, especially if they are very well made. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Dexterity, or Charisma

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Deception

**Tool Proficiencies:** Vehicles (water)

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

#### Claim to fame
Every smuggler has that one tale that sets them apart from common criminals. By wits, sailing skill, or a silver tongue, you lived to tell the story — and you tell it often. You can roll on the following table to determine your claim or choose one that best fits your character.

| d6 |Claim to Fame |
|:--:|:------------ |
| 1 | **Spirit of the Whale.** You smuggled stolen dwarven spirits in the body of a dead whale being pulled behind a fishing boat. When you delivered the goods, the corpse suddenly exploded, sending whale meat and whiskey bottles for half a mile. |
| 2 | **Cart and Sword.** You drove a cart filled with stolen art through the middle of a battlefield while singing sea shanties to confuse the combatants. |
| 3 | **The Recruit.** You enlisted in another nation’s navy for the purpose of smuggling stolen jewels to a distant port. You attained a minor rank before disappearing from the navy and making your way here. |
| 4 | **River of Shadows.** Your riverboat accidentally slipped through the veil into the Shadowfell for several hours. While you were there, you sold some stolen dragonborn artifacts before returning to this plane and paddling home. |
| 5 | **Gold-Hearted.** You agreed to transport a family escaping a war. The baby began to cry at a checkpoint, and you gave the guards all your gold to let you pass. The family never found out about this gesture. |
| 6 | **Playing Both Sides.** You once smuggled crates of crossbow bolts and bundles of arrows, each destined for an opposing side in a regional war, at the same time. The buyers arrived within moments of each other but did not discover your trickery. |

#### Feature: 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.

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#### Suggested Characteristics
In general, smugglers value survival, and then profit, above other things. One could be a part of a larger organization, or might run a small smuggling vessel of their own. Smugglers live the lies they have told, and they have a natural ability to recall all the falsehoods and half-truths they have ever spouted.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------------- |
| 1 | I love being on the water but hate fishing. |
| 2 | I think of everything in terms of monetary value. |
| 3 | I never stop smiling. |
| 4 | Nothing rattles me; I have a lie for every occasion. |
| 5 | I love gold but won’t cheat a friend. |
| 6 | I enjoy doing things others believe to be impossible. |
| 7 | I become wistful when I see the sun rise over the ocean. |
| 8 | I am no common criminal; I am a mastermind. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Wealth.** Heaps of coins in a secure vault is all I dream of. (Any) |
| 2 | **Smuggler’s Code.** I uphold the unwritten rules of the smugglers, who do not cheat one another or directly harm innocents. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **All for a Coin.** I’ll do nearly anything if it means I turn a profit. (Evil) |
| 4 | **Peace and Prosperity.** I smuggle only to achieve a greater goal that benefits my community. (Good) |
| 5 | **People.** For all my many lies, I place a high value on friendship. (Any) |
| 6 | **Daring.** I am most happy when risking everything. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond | 
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | My vessel was stolen from me, and I burn with the desire to recover it. |
| 2 | I intend to become the leader of the network of smugglers that I belong to. |
| 3 | I owe a debt that cannot be repaid in gold. |
| 4 | After one last job, I will retire from the business. |
| 5 | I was tricked by a fellow smuggler who stole something precious from me. I will find that thief. |
| 6 | I give most of my profits to a charitable cause, and I don’t like to brag about it. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | Lying is reflexive, and I sometimes engage in it without realizing. |
| 2 | I tend to assess my relationships in terms of profit and loss. |
| 3 | I believe everyone has a price and am cynical toward those who present themselves as virtuous. |
| 4 | I struggle to trust the words of others. |
| 5 | Few people know the real me. |
| 6 | Though I act charming, I feel nothing for others and don’t know what friendship is. |

### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution

**Skill Proficiencies:** Athletics, Intimidation

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

**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 deck of cards, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp

#### Specialty
During your time as a soldier, you had a specific role to play in your unit or army. Roll a d8 or choose from the options in the table below to determine your role:

| d8 | Specialty |
|:--:|:--------- |
| 1 | Officer |
| 2 | Scout |
| 3 | Infantry |
| 4 | Cavalry |

| d8 | Specialty |
|:--:|:--------- |
| 5 | Healer |
| 6 | Quartermaster |
| 7 | Standard bearer |
| 8 | Support staff (cook, blacksmith, or the like) |

</div>

#### Feature: 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.

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#### Suggested Characteristics
The horrors of war combined with the rigid discipline of military service leave their mark on all soldiers, shaping their ideals, creating strong bonds, and often leaving them scarred and vulnerable to fear, shame, and hatred.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------------- |
| 1 | I’m always polite and respectful. |
| 2 | I’m haunted by memories of war. I can’t get the images of violence out of my mind. |
| 3 | I’ve lost too many friends, and I’m slow to make new ones. |
| 4 | I’m full of inspiring and cautionary tales from my military experience relevant to almost every combat situation. |
| 5 | I can stare down a hell hound without flinching. |
| 6 | I enjoy being strong and like breaking things. |
| 7 | I have a crude sense of humor. |
| 8 | I face problems head-on. A simple, direct solution is the best path to success. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Greater Good.** Our lot is to lay down our lives in defense of others. (Good) |
| 2 | **Responsibility.** I do what I must and obey just authority. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Independence.** When people follow orders blindly, they embrace a kind of tyranny. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Might.** In life as in war, the stronger force wins. (Evil) |
| 5 | **Live and Let Live.** Ideals aren’t worth killing over or going to war for. (Neutral) |
| 6 | **Nation.** My city, nation, or people are all that matter. (Any) |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I would still lay down my life for the people I served with. |
| 2 | Someone saved my life on the battlefield. To this day, I will never leave a friend behind. |
| 3 | My honor is my life. |
| 4 | I’ll never forget the crushing defeat my company suffered or the enemies who dealt it. |
| 5 | Those who fight beside me are those worth dying for. |
| 6 | I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. |

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| d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | The monstrous enemy we faced in battle still leaves me quivering with fear. |
| 2 | I have little respect for anyone who is not a proven warrior. |
| 3 | I made a terrible mistake in battle that cost many lives—and I would do anything to keep that mistake secret. |
| 4 | My hatred of my enemies is blind and unreasoning. |
| 5 | I obey the law, even if the law causes misery. |
| 6 | I’d rather eat my armor than admit when I’m wrong. |

### 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 learned these principles, and much more, as a member of an Uthgardt tribe.

Your people have always tried to hold to the old ways. Tradition and taboo have kept the your tribe 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. Perhaps this is why the wilds chose to raise up the totems among the people as living embodiments of thier power. Perhaps they needed a reminder of who they were and from whence they came.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Constitution, or Wisdom

**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 the tribe and your tribal totem, a set of traveler’s clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp

#### Feature: Tribal Heritage
You have an excellent knowledge of not only your tribe’s territory, but also the terrain and natural resources of the rest of the wilds. 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Even if you have left your tribe behind (at least for now), you hold to the traditions of your people. You will never cut down a still-living tree, and you may not countenance such an act being done in your presence. The ancestral mounds—great hills where the totem spirits were defeated and where the heroes of the tribes are interred—are sacred to you.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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### 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.

**Ability Score Improvement:** Strength, Dexterity, or Charisma

**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

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

#### Feature: 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.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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#### Suggested Characteristics
Use the tables for the criminal background below as the basis for your bounty hunter’s traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to suit your identity as a bounty hunter.

For instance, your bond might involve other bounty hunters or the organizations or individuals that employ you. Your ideal could be associated with your determination always to catch your quarry or your desire to maintain your reputation for being dependable.

| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------------- |
| 1 | I always have a plan for what to do when things go wrong. |
| 2 | I am always calm, no matter what the situation. I never raise my voice or let my emotions control me. |
| 3 | The first thing I do in a new place is note the locations of everything valuable—or where such things could be hidden. |
| 4 | I would rather make a new friend than a new enemy. |
| 5 | I am incredibly slow to trust. Those who seem the fairest often have the most to hide. |
| 6 | I don’t pay attention to the risks in a situation. Never tell me the odds. |
| 7 | The best way to get me to do something is to tell me I can’t do it. |
| 8 | I blow up at the slightest insult. |

| d6 | Bond | 
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | I’m trying to pay off an old debt I owe to a generous benefactor. |
| 2 | My ill-gotten gains go to support my family. 
| 3 | Something important was taken from me, and I aim to steal it back. |
| 4 | I will become the greatest thief that ever lived. |
| 5 | I’m guilty of a terrible crime. I hope I can redeem myself for it. |
| 6 | Someone I loved died because of a mistake I made. That will never happen again. |

### 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?

**Ability Score Improvement:** Dexterity, Constitution, or Charisma

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

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

**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 10 gp

#### Feature: 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.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Urchins are shaped by lives of desperate poverty, for good and for ill. They tend to be driven either by a commitment to the people with whom they shared life on the street or by a burning desire to find a better life — and maybe get some payback on all the rich people who treated them badly.

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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| d8 | Personality Trait |
|:--:|:----------------- |
| 1 | I hide scraps of food and trinkets away in my pockets. |
| 2 | I ask a lot of questions. |
| 3 | I like to squeeze into small places where no one else can get to me. |
| 4 | I sleep with my back to a wall or tree, with everything I own wrapped in a bundle in my arms. |
| 5 | I eat like a pig and have bad manners. |
| 6 | I think anyone who’s nice to me is hiding evil intent. |
| 7 | I don’t like to bathe. |
| 8 | I bluntly say what other people are hinting at or hiding. |

| d6 | Ideal |
|:--:|:----- |
| 1 | **Respect.** All people, rich or poor, deserve respect. (Good) |
| 2 | **Community.** We have to take care of each other, because no one else is going to do it. (Lawful) |
| 3 | **Change.** The low are lifted up, and the high and mighty are brought down. Change is the nature of things. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | **Retribution.** The rich need to be shown what life and death are like in the gutters. (Evil) |
| 5 | **People.** I help the people who help me — that’s what keeps us alive. (Neutral) |
| 6 | **Aspiration.** I’m going to prove that I’m worthy of a better life. |

| d6 | Bond |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | My town or city is my home, and I’ll fight to defend it. |
| 2 | I sponsor an orphanage to keep others from enduring what I was forced to endure. |
| 3 | I owe my survival to another urchin who taught me to live on the streets. |
| 4 | I owe a debt I can never repay to the person who took pity on me. |
| 5 | I escaped my life of poverty by robbing an important person, and I’m wanted for it. |
| 6 | No one else should have to endure the hardships I’ve been through. |

|d6 | Flaw |
|:--:|:---- |
| 1 | If I’m outnumbered, I will run away from a fight. |
| 2 | Gold seems like a lot of money to me, and I’ll do just about anything for more of it. |
| 3 | I will never fully trust anyone other than myself. |
| 4 | I’d rather kill someone in their sleep than fight fair. |
| 5 | It’s not stealing if I need it more than someone else. |
| 6 | People who can’t take care of themselves get what they deserve. |

<div class='footnote'>Part 1 | Personality and Background</div>

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