SRD5:Background
|
This article is about Background, from the SRD. |
| For other uses of Background, see Background (disambiguation). |
| This material from the 5th edition (2014) SRD v5.1 is published under the OGL and CC-BY |
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 background presented here provides both concrete benefits (features, proficiencies, and languages) and roleplaying suggestions.
Contents
Proficiencies
Each background gives a character proficiency in two skills (described in “Using Ability Scores”). In addition, most backgrounds give a character proficiency with one or more tools (detailed in “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.
Languages
Some backgrounds also allow characters to learn additional languages beyond those given by race. See “Languages.”
Equipment
Each background provides a package of starting equipment. If you use the optional rule 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 the equipment section. (If you spend coin, you can’t also take the equipment package suggested for your class.) Finally, choose two personality traits, one ideal, one bond, and one flaw. If you can’t find a feature that matches your desired background, work with your GM to create one.
List of Backgrounds
(52 official and unofficial backgrounds).
| Divine Domain | Summary | Feature | Skills | Tools | Languages | Specialty | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acolyte | Person of the cloth | Shelter of the Faithful | Two of your choice | SRD-CC v5.1, SRD-OGL v5.1 | |||
| Antiquarian | Adventurer-historians who collect forgotten lore and lost relics | It Belongs in a Museum | Calligrapher's supplies | One of your choice | Dracomortis | ||
| Apothecary | Individuals who make a living diagnosing and treating medical ailments...or causing them | Medical Professional | Herbalism kit, Poisoner’s Kit | Dracomortis | |||
| Athlete Background | Famous Athlete | Echoes of Victory | Vehicles (land) | One of your choice | Favored Event | Mythic Odysseys of Theros | |
| Urban Bounty Hunter | Bounty Hunter of cities and towns | Ear to the Ground | Choose two from among one type of gaming set, musical instrument, and thieves' tools | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide | |||
| Charlatan | Con man, someone who pretends to be someone else. | False Identity | Disguise Kit, Forgery Kit | Favorite Schemes | Player's Handbook (5e) | ||
| City Watch | Duly ordaned keeper of the peace | Watcher's Eye | Two of your choice | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide | |||
| Clan Crafter | Apprentice of a Dwarven Master Artisan | Respect of the Stout Folk | One type of Artisan's Tools | Dwarvish or one of your choice if you already know it. | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide | ||
| Cloistered Scholar | Librarian | Library Access | Two of your choice | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide | |||
| Courtier | Court of Nobles Bureaucrat | Court Functionary | Two of your choice | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide | |||
| Criminal | Thief, thug, hired killer, con-man | Criminal Contact | One type of Gaming Set, Thieves' Tools | Criminal Specialty | Player's Handbook (5e) | ||
| Drow Scarred | A fitting sacrifice | Cooking, Mining or Cleaning | Undercommon or Drow Sign Language | Dingobabee | |||
| Entertainer | Actor, dancer, musician, poet | By Popular Demand | Disguise Kit, one type of musical instrument | Entertainer Routines | Player's Handbook (5e) | ||
| Faction Agent | You belong to an ideological organization and sought to advance its goals | Save Haven | Two of your choice | Factions of the Sword Coast | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide | ||
| Far Traveler | You hail from a place far, far away | All Eyes on You | Musical Instrument | One of your choice | Why you are Here | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide | |
| Feylost | You have lived in the Feywild. | Feywild Connection | One type of musical instrument. | One of your choice of Elvish, Gnomish, Goblin, or Sylvan | Feywild Visitor | The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | |
| Folk Hero | Local Hero | Rustic Hospitality | One type of Artisan's Tools, Vehicles (Land) | Defining Event | Player's Handbook (5e) | ||
| Gate Warden | Your background includes significant time near a gate to another plane. | Planar Infusion | Two of your choice (Abyssal, Celestial, or Infernal recommended) | UA 2022 Wonders of the Multiverse | |||
| Giant Foundling | You were adopted by giants. | Strike of the Giants | Two of your choice | Origin Stories | UA 2022 Wonders of the Multiverse | ||
| Gladiator | You fight for an audience | By Popular Demand | Disguise Kit, one type of musical instrument | Player's Handbook (5e) | |||
| Guild Artisan | Member of an artisan guild | Guild Membership | One type of Artisan's Tools | One of your Choice | Guild Business | Player's Handbook (5e) | |
| Guild Merchant | Seller of an artisan guild's goods | Guild Membership | One set of Navigator's Tools | One of your Choice | Guild Business | Player's Handbook (5e) | |
| Haunted One | Encountered the supernatural at a young age and survived | Heart of Darkness | Choose one exotic language (Abyssal, Celestial, Deep Speech, Draconic, Infernal, Primordial, Sylvan, or Undercommon) | Harrowing Event | Curse of Strahd | ||
| Hermit | You have separated yourself from others | Discovery | Herbalism Kit | One of your choice | Life of Seclusion | Player's Handbook (5e) | |
| Inheritor | An item of legacy was entrusted to you | Inheritance | Your choice of Gaming Set or a Musical Instrument | Any one of your choice | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide | ||
| Investigator | Police detective | Watcher's Eye | Two of your choice | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide | |||
| Gothic Investigator | Investigator in a Gothic setting | Official Inquiry | Disguise Kit, Thieves' Tools | Path to Mystery | Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft | ||
| Knight | Background: Knight, lowest of nobility | Retainers | One type of Gaming Set | One of your Choice | Player's Handbook (5e) | ||
| Knight of Solamnia | Background — Honorable knight of Solamina | Squire of Solamnia | Two of your choice | UA 2022 Heroes of Krynn Revisited | |||
| Knight of the Order | Background: Knight of the Order | Knightly Regard | One type of gaming set or musical instrument. | One of your Choice | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide | ||
| Lorehold Student | Student of the Lorehold College | Lorehold Initiate | Two of your choice | Strixhaven | |||
| Mage of High Sorcery | Background - a member of the Mages of High Sorcery | Initiate of High Sorcery | Two of your choice | UA 2022 Heroes of Krynn Revisited | |||
| Mercenary Veteran | Soldier of Fortune | Mercenary Life | One type of gaming set, vehicles (land). | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide | |||
| Noble | Background: Member of nobility | Position of Privilege | One type of Gaming Set | One of your Choice | Player's Handbook (5e) | ||
| Waterdhavian Noble | You are the offspring of a noble of Waterdeep | Kept in Style | One type of Gaming Set or Musical Instrument | One of your choice | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide | ||
| Outlander | You have lived outside civilization | Wanderer | One type of musical instrument. | One of your choice | Origin | Player's Handbook (5e) | |
| Pirate (5e)/Background | You have served aboard a pirate ship | Bad Reputation | Navigator’s Tools, Vehicles (water) | Player's Handbook (5e) | |||
| Planar Philosopher | Your philosophy of the nature and working of the planes dominated your pre-adventurer life. | Conviction | Two of your choice | UA 2022 Wonders of the Multiverse | |||
| Prismari Student | Student of the Prismari College | Prismari Initiate | One type of musical instrument or artisan's tools | One of your choice | Strixhaven | ||
| Quandrix Student | Strixhaven student of the Quandrix College | Quandrix Initiate | One type of artisan's tools | One of your choice | Strixhaven | ||
| Rakdos Cultist | You are or were a member of the Cult of Rakdos. | Fearsome Reputation | Choose either Abyssal or Giant | A Flair for the Dramatic | Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica | ||
| Rune Carver | You were a carver of runes. | Rune Carver Apprentice | Giant and one other language of your choice | Rune Styles | UA 2022 Wonders of the Multiverse | ||
| Sage | You have studied lore. | Reseacher | Two of your choice | Specialty | Player's Handbook (5e) | ||
| Sailor | You have earned a living onboard a ship | Ship's Passage | Navigator’s Tools, Vehicles (water) | Player's Handbook (5e) | |||
| Silverquill Student | Strixhaven student of the Silverquill college. | Silverquill Initiate | Two of your choice | Strixhaven | |||
| Soldier | Enlisted Soldier | Military Rank | One type of gaming set, vehicles (land). | Specialty | Player's Handbook (5e) | ||
| Spy Background | Infiltrator, private investigator, spy | Criminal Contact | One type of Gaming Set, Thieves' Tools | Criminal Specialty | Player's Handbook (5e) | ||
| Urchin | You grew up on the streets | City Secrets | Disguise Kit, thieves' tools | Player's Handbook (5e) | |||
| Uthgardt Tribe Member | You grew up in a tribe of Uthgardt | Uthgardt Heritage | One type of Musical Instrument or Artisan Tools | One of your choice | Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide | ||
| Witchlight Hand | You have been a part of the Witchlight Carnival | Carnival Fixture | Disguise kit or one type of musical instrument | One of your choice | Carnival Companion | The Wild Beyond the Witchlight | |
| Witherbloom Student | Strixhaven student of the Witherbloom college. | Witherbloom Initiate | Herbalism Kit | One of your choice | Strixhaven | ||
| Wounded | You've been crippled, but you have worked around your weakness. | Wound | One of your choice | Eiji-kun |
Sources
- SRD-OGL v5.1 - 5th edition SRD
Related Articles
- Canon:5e Background List - list of published backgrounds
- 5e Backgrounds - homebrew backgrounds
 |
This is part of the Revised (v.5.1) System Reference Document. It is covered by the Open Game License v1.0a and Creative Commons CC-BY license, rather than the Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike License. To distinguish it, these items will have this notice. If you see any page that contains SRD5 material and does not show this license statement, please contact an admin so that this license statement can be added. It is our intent to work within this license in good faith. | |
