Summary
- Character creation in D&D includes choosing a background, which adds depth to a character's past and skills.
- Some backgrounds, like Caravan Specialist or Fisher, come with unique skills and abilities useful in specific scenarios.
- The success of Baldur's Gate 3 has expanded interest in D&D, leading to new fans and adaptations in other media.
The Dungeons & Dragons IP changed the history of gaming when it took role-playing to another level and continues to include a myriad of options when it comes to building a unique character. After your new character has determined their race, class, and ability scores, it's time to choose yet another crucial part of their story, a Background.
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The Background helps fill out a character's past, including childhood experiences, early training, previous exploits, and other factors that depend on location, class, or the adventuring module. Every Background is unique, but some have better features and abilities than others depending on the character the player is building.
It's advisable to keep a d10, a d8, and a d6 handy for this part of the process because rolling these dice will determine certain aspects, such as Ideals, Flaws, and Personality Traits. It should also be noted that some modules have variations of these Backgrounds. Both the player and the Dungeon Master need to get the details right depending on the adventure.
Updated on November 19th, 2024, by Kristy Ambrose: The world of Dungeons & Dragons keeps expanding to include more adventures, gear, magical items, unique settings, and options for character Backgrounds. The literature and materials required to play are currently available in digital form, effectively removing the need for hard copies of anything, even dice. The success of Baldur's Gate 3 enticed many new fans to try tabletop games, and other development studios are anxious to capitalize on the same popularity and success.
24 Caravan Specialist
Source: Princes Of The Apocolypse
- Skills: Animal Handling, Survival
- Special Ability: Wagon Master
The Caravan Specialist is a dedicated, seasoned traveler. The Wagon Master skill ensures they know all the routes, roads, pathways, and shortcuts across the land and how and when to move across them, as well as the best places to make camp. This is an ideal background for virtually any class provided they're in an environment that requires extensive travel. How useful it is will depend on the exact module being played.
Skills included with the Caravan Specialist are Animal Handling and Survival, which make sense for a life spent on the road and in the wilderness. Characters with this background should have a high Wisdom score and start with a whip, a map, a tent for two people, a set of traveler's clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gold pieces.
23 Folk Hero
Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Skills: Animal Handling, Survival
- Special Ability: Rustic Hospitality
A nice callback to old CRPGs, for players who enjoyed classic games like Quest For Glory, the Folk Hero is just that; a hero. This character came from a dull, even humble family, but they were always destined for something greater. Wisdom is the stat connected with the skills granted by the Folk Hero Background.
The Rustic Hospitality feature included with this D&D Background guarantees an inherent connection with the common people and is a strong ability for any adventure. The Folk Hero has already made a name for themselves and often has skills related to wilderness survival, martial knowledge, or leadership positions in the local community.
The first step in choosing this Background is to roll a d10 to find out exactly how this character made a name for themselves if the player doesn't have a story in mind already. Perhaps they stood up to a gang of roving bandits, slew a troublesome local monster, or led the lord's army to victory.
22 Fisher
Source: Ghosts of Saltmarsh
- Skills: History, Survival
- Special Abilities: Harvest The Water and Fishing Tale
Imagine a Background similar to Caravan Specialist, but for the water instead of the land, and this is the Fisher. The Fisher background might be situational, but it's useful for any adventure that takes place in a setting that includes a coastline, islands, lakes, or even a swamp.
Harvest the Water gives the Fisher an enhanced ability to make and use fishing tackle and bait no matter where they are, and should they be near a body of water, they also can make a modest living and feed a party of up to ten other adventurers. Should the Fisher want to entertain their friends, or make other characters more friendly toward them, they can spin a Fishing Tale about wrestling a giant lobster or chasing a ghost fish.
21 Charlatan
Source: The Player's Handbook
- Skills: Deception, Sleight of Hand
- Special Abilities: Favorite Schemes and False Identities
Here is a popular Background for Rogues who seem to be either Criminals or Charlatans, one famous example being Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3. The Charlatan tends to mingle with the higher classes and prefers to talk their victims out of their riches, as opposed to picking their pockets or breaking a window as a Criminal would do.
The Charlatan's special ability of Favorite Schemes is chosen using a 1d6 and can include specific grifts, like cheating at cards or forging documents. The Falde Identity ability ensures that the Charlatan always has another identity on hand in case they need to disappear at a moment's notice.
A D&D character build for a spy, a crooked politician, or a high-class courtesan who moonlights as a jewel thief are all examples of Charlatans. These skills depend on one's character's Charisma and Dexterity score, so Rogues are an obvious choice, but classes like Bards and Monks also make good Charlatans.
20 Dimir Operative
Source: Guildmaster's Guide To Ravnica
- Skills: Deception, Stealth
- Special Abilities: False Identity and Dimir Guild Spells
As the name implies, The Guildmaster's Guild To Ravnica is all about guilds, and this Background makes the character a covert operative for the House of Dimir. Ideal for any class that likes to hide in the shadows, with a special nod to Rogues, characters with this Background masquerade as a member of a rival house while doing dirty work from the inside.
The exact details of this False Identity and how it relates to the party activities are something that has to be coordinated with the rest of the plot and storyline. The Dimir Operative can use its Dimir Guild Spells to steal secrets from minds and hearts just as easily as from a locked room or an enchanted diary using magical means.
These are powers that Bards and Rogues normally have but are taken to a higher, more powerful level. Missions could include all kinds of sabotage and subterfuge, and the stakes are high should the player blow their cover.
19 Athlete
Source: Mystic Odysseus Of Theros
- Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics
- Special Abilities: Favored Event and Echoes of Victory
Inspired by the Olympic traditions that make up the aesthetic of a module inspired by ancient Greek culture, the Athlete combines several ideal features that a character can use in a variety of situations. It's a great way to get started on a Fighter, Monk, Rogue, or any class that focuses on dealing physical damage.
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Rolling a d8 will determine the character's Favored Sport and athletic Ideal, among other traits, and Echoes of Victory ensures that admirers or fans in nearby towns can offer the Athlete food and shelter. Is this person more dedicated to the camaraderie of the activity, or is their spirit more of a competitive type?
Regardless of these other details, choosing this Background grants a character proficiency with any kind of land vehicle and a bonus to Acrobatics and Athletic skill checks. That's a huge advantage when traversing the world of any campaign.
18 Outlander
Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Skills: Athletics, Survival
- Special Abilities: Origin and Wanderer
One of the classic D&D Backgrounds from the original Player's Handbook, the Outlander is still one of the most useful and powerful backgrounds. It's especially apt if this character is a Wanderer traveling through the wilderness or has chosen a class like Druid or Barbarian that's naturally connected to the outdoors.
Proficiencies for the Outlander include Survival and Athletics, which are determined by the Wisdom and Strength stats and are constantly tested in virtually every D&D adventure. Players can choose an Origin for the character among options that include Homesteader, Trapper, Guide, or Tribal-Nomad.
17 Simic Scientist
Source: Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica
- Skills: Arcana, Medicine
- Special Abilities: Clades, Projects, and Simic Guild spells
Characters from this Background live and work in the laboratories of the Simic Combine, where biomancers, terraformers, and Simic scientists carry out their daring and often ethically challenged experiments. Mutants, super-soldiers, hybrids, and other creatures are often the product of the Simic Sceientist's work.
Every Simic Scientist is part of a Clade, which is a group of people with diverse talents working together towards a common goal or project, and this is determined by rolling a d6. Simic Guild spells are only available to classes with casting abilities or the Pact Magic feature, which means that most characters with this Background are Wizards, Warlocks, or Sorcerers, but Clerics and Rangers are also good choices.
16 Noble
Source: D&D Player's Handbook
- Skills: History, Persuasion
- Special Ability: Position of Privilege
The strength of the Noble Background is in its versatility, which can extend to several classes and not just those that rely on Charisma, Intelligence, or Stealth abilities. Noble Knights and Retainers are variants of this Background, and they serve the Noble in a variety of capacities that can include a path to high society.
Regardless of the class, this Background gives any character an ability called Position of Privilege, which is similar to getting a Charisma boost. This means the character has a higher social status, and the public is inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt, which could be the most valuable skill in D&D outside of combat.
15 Anthropologist
Source: Tomb Of Annihilation
- Skills: Insight, Religion
- Special Abilities: Adept Linguist and Cultural Chameleon
A versatile Background that's not specific to any class but can be utilized by any wanderer, student, or traveler, the Anthropologist specializes in knowing more about other cultures. This life-long learning can pertain to history, culture, politics, religions, and even local cuisine.
This knowledge could have been obtained by experience, study, or a combination of both, as it's reflected in high Wisdom and Intelligence stats. The details of this Background include being raised in a family of a different race, and they are often multilingual.
These are all handy skills that any adventuring party would be grateful to have, especially in a module like Tomb of Annihilation. An Anthropologist who is a member of the Digger's Union, for example, is all about gathering information and valuable items.