TEXT: Why Have a Background? 
   
  The Dungeons & Dragons role playing game is, essentially, a two-part 
  game. The first part, as everyone well knows, is centered on combat. Your 
  character can wield dual weapons, cast deadly spells, come flying out of the 
  shadows, and so on. This is the first part of the Dungeons & Dragons 
  experience. The second part is the role playing. Role playing is what your 
  character does when they are not in an encounter, be it fighting an orc, 
  solving an ancient puzzle, or disarming a trap. Role playing is what actually 
  gives your character personality. It breathes that little spark of life into them 
  that makes them more than a sheet full of numbers.  
   
  Consider your favorite fantasy novel. Now think about the main characters 
  involved in that novel. As the story unfolds, the characters do much more 
  than fight monsters. They explore their past, talk with each other, and 
  interact with the world around them. Were that novel to be nothing more 
  than back to back combat descriptions, it would probably get pretty boring. 
  You would know nothing about that character. What are their likes? What 
  are their dislikes? What do they do when they’re not in combat? What were 
  they like as children? Do they have any talents, aside from fighting? All 
  these things help make a character a memorable one. Instead of telling your 
  friends that your character can deliver 80 damage in one attack, you’ll be 
  able to tell them about how your character has overcome adversity in their 
  youth, worked their way up to the status of hero, and are recognized 
  wherever they go as someone who made a difference. 
   
  Presented here are a few different methods by which you can flesh out your 
  character. Some are no more than the player writing up a description of their 
  character’s past, while others go very in-depth into a character’s history, 
  allowing them to hand-pick their family, their interests, their fears, and so 
  on. Players and DMs alike are encouraged to use whatever methods work 
  best for their game. If background history has little bearing on your game, 
  then so be it. However, if having a virtually living, breathing character 
  sounds more interesting, then read on.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Method One: Freestyle 
   
  This method is often the one utilized by seasoned players. Those gamers 
  fortunate enough to have played several different editions of Dungeons & 
  Dragons already have a good idea of how their character acts and are seen 
  by the rest of the game world. Newer players might have trouble fully 
  immersing themselves in a role playing game without a few guidelines. This 
  method is for the former. For seasoned gamers, a background is often 
  created before the first die is rolled in character creation. They often already 
  have a good idea of what they want their characters to be like, regardless of 
  what class they choose or how hard they can hit with a sword. The following 
  six steps will help seasoned players to flesh out their characters. 
   
  Step one: Personality: What is my character like? Is he a brash, young punk? Is he a 
  grizzled war veteran? Is he the quiet one that sits in the corner, or the friendly one who 
  never meets a stranger? Your character’s personality is an essential part of any role 
  playing game. 
   
  Step Two: Family History: Was your family poor? Were they rich? Were they well 
  known in the community? Were they lonely farmers? Were they royalty with the respect 
  of an entire kingdom? A good family background can make for fantastic role playing 
  opportunities and plot-hooks as the game progresses. 
   
  Step Three: Knowledge: What did your character do before they became adventurers? 
  Were they blacksmiths? Were they scholars? Did they apprentice under a well-known 
  animal-trainer? What your character did before adventuring can be just as important as 
  what they know now. 
   
  Step Four: The Bad With the Good: Your character is not perfect. Perhaps they have a 
  few flaws that could hinder them at times. Does your character stutter? Do they have burn 
  scars? Do they have various phobias? Are they horribly indebted to someone? Mixing a 
  few bad things in with the good does more than make for good role playing opportunities; 
  it makes the character more believable. 
   
  Step Five: Reasons for Being: Why does your character travel? Why do they engage in 
  dangerous adventures? Why is it that they do what they do, possibly risking their lives? 
  Do they do it for fame and fortune? Do they do it for their own hidden reasons? Finding 
  out why your character chooses to adventure can lead to excellent role play opportunities. 
   
  Step Six: The Future: What are your character’s goals? Where do they see themselves 
  years down the line? Do they strive for greatness? Do they want to discover long-lost 
  artifacts? Do they seek the knowledge of the ages? Realizing what you want your 
  characters to become as they grow and age will often change the way your character 
  behaves in the present.   
   
  
  Method Two: Cherry Picking 
   
  While this method can produce very dynamic backgrounds, it is one that should be 
  approved by the DM after you’ve made your choices. Not every trait or knowledge might 
  be acceptable in you DMs current campaign. One piece of advice: be flexible. Just 
  because you want every available option to be at your character’s disposal, your DM 
  might not agree. Be willing to haggle or compromise with your DM about your 
  character’s background. Not only will this make for a smoother campaign, it will 
  eliminate any possible confusion later on in the campaign. 
   
  Presented here are many different background traits. Feel free to pick any you wish your 
  character to possess. One thing to think about, though: try to keep a bit of consistency 
  when picking your background traits. A character that came from an extremely poor 
  family will probably not a have an advanced background in scholastic matters. Formal 
  schooling was, for the most part, for the elite and wealthy of society. A peasant farmer 
  had little hope of providing his children any kind of formal education. If, however, you 
  can come up with a plausible, thought-out explanation for any inconsistencies, your DM 
  will take them under advisement and make his or her ruling based on it. 
   
  Crafting: cooking 
   
   
  Crafting: artwork 
  Crafting: stonework 
  Crafting: woodwork 
  Crafting: metalwork           
   
  Performing: speaking 
  Performing: music 
  Performing: acting 
  Performing: dancing 
  Performing: singing 
   
  Outdoors: navigating/sea 
  Outdoors: navigating/land 
  Outdoors: hunting 
  Outdoors: fishing 
  Outdoors: farming 
   
   
   
  Family: destitute 
  Family: poor 
  Family: middle-class 
  Family: rich 
  Family: wealthy 
   
  Popularity: unheard of 
  Popularity: heard of 
  Popularity: famous 
  Popularity: well known 
  Popularity: known 
   
  Education: little to none 
  Education: knowledgeable 
  Education: basic schooling 
  Education: well-learned 
  Education: scholarly 
   
  The above background traits are, of course, only examples. Feel free to create any of your own, and pass 
  them by your DM for review. You as the player are the reason for the game, after all. Your input is not 
  only invited, it is necessary to ensure the game is fun for everyone. Whatever DM you have, or whatever 
  world you play in, if you’re not having fun, it’s no longer a game. 
   
   
   
   
  
   
  Method Three: Point – Buy 
   
  Perhaps the easiest, most fair method for newer players, the Point-Buy system incorporates all of the 
  background traits listed in the Cherry Picking method, but assigns them a point value and allows players 
  to “purchase” them. This way, no one character can have a vastly more outstanding background than 
  another, but allows plenty of flexibility to allow for rich, flavorful histories for your characters. 
   
  To begin with, all players have 16 points in which to purchase background traits. The first option for 
  players is to pick flaws if they choose to have them. By picking flaws, players can earn more points to 
  spend on positive background traits. This kind of give-and-take system can create some very dynamic 
  character backgrounds. Not only does it showcase the character’s positive traits, it brings to light some 
  things the character might not want known to others. This can lead to good role play opportunities and 
  possible campaign plot-hooks throughout the game. It is suggested that DMs not allow players to select 
  too many flaws simply to gain points to use on positive traits. If a player selects flaws, they are expected 
  to role play them, for good or bad. 
   
  Character Flaws: 
   
  Phobias: arachnophobia (spiders), necrophobia (dead), acrophobia (heights), 
  claustrophobia (enclosed spaces), agoraphobia (crowds), hemaphobia (blood), 
  noctiphobia (night), phasmophobia (ghosts), ultraphobia (magic) 
   
  Physical Flaws: warts, scars, stuttering, excessive body hair, extra digit on either a hand 
  or foot, bad body odor 
   
  Family Flaws: murderer in the family, insanity in the family, criminal in the family 
   
  Behavioral Flaws: excessively neat, excessively sloppy, extremely sarcastic or cynical, 
  extremely quiet, extremely loud, excessively rude/crude, sexist, racist, bullying 
   
  Trait:  
   
   
   
   
     Point value: 
   
  Acrophobia: the fear of heights 
   
   
  2 
  Agoraphobia: the fear of large crowds 
   
  2 
  Arachnophobia: the fear of spiders 
   
   
  1 
  Claustrophobia: the fear of enclosed places  
  2 
  Hemaphobia: the fear of seeing blood 
   
  1 
  Necrophobia: the fear of the dead 
   
   
  1 
  Noctiphobia: the fear of the dark 
   
   
  2 
  Phasmophobia: the fear of ghosts 
   
   
  1 
  Ultraphobia: the fear of magic 
   
   
  2 
   
  Warts: excessive, unsightly body warts 
   
  1 
  Scars: cuts, burns, or other large scars 
   
  1 
  Stuttering: usually when speaking to strangers 
  1 
  Excessive Body Hair  
   
   
   
  1 
  Extra Finger or Toe 
   
   
   
   
  1 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  Trait:  
   
   
   
                Point Value: 
   
  Murderer in the family 
   
   
   
  1 
  Insanity in the family  
   
   
   
  1 
  Criminal in the family  
   
   
   
  1 
   
  Excessively neat 
   
   
   
   
  1 
  Excessively sloppy 
   
   
   
   
  1 
  Extremely sarcastic or cynical 
   
   
  1 
  Extremely quiet 
   
   
   
   
  1 
  Extremely loud 
   
   
   
   
  1 
  Excessively rude or crude 
   
   
   
  1 
  Sexist  
   
   
   
   
   
  1 
  Racist  
   
   
   
   
   
  1 
  Bullying  
   
   
   
   
   
  1 
   
  The next step is to calculate how many points you now have to purchase background traits with. Add the 
  original 16 points to however many points you have accumulated through picking your character’s 
  flaws. This is the total number of points you can use to purchase background traits.  
   
  Example: I picked the flaws Excessively Sloppy, �ecrophobia, and Scars. That gave me an additional 3 
  points. Added to my original 16 points, I now have 19 points to spend on my other Background Traits. 
   
  The first set of Background Traits to purchase from is known as Background Knowledge traits. They 
  include three separate categories: Crafting, Performing, and Outdoor. These three categories include five 
  traits each. The player is to choose a trait, then select a level of knowledge in that trait from 1: 
  knowledgeable, to 5: masterful. The knowledge level picked equals how many points that trait costs.  
   
  1- Knowledgeable 
   
  4-  Professional 
  2- Trained 
   
   
  5-  Masterful 
  3- Skilled 
   
  Background Knowledge: 
   
  Crafting: cooking 
  Crafting: artwork 
  Crafting: stonework 
  Crafting: woodwork 
  Crafting: metalwork 
   
  Performing: speaking 
  Performing: music 
  Performing: acting 
  Performing: dancing 
  Performing: singing 
  Outdoors: navigating/land 
  Outdoors: navigating/sea 
  Outdoors: farming 
  Outdoors: hunting 
  Outdoors: fishing 
  
   
   
    Trait:                                     Details of Background Knowledge: 
   
  Cooking:  
  1- You know how to cook meat without burning it, but little more. 
   
   
  2- You know how to be self-sufficient when it comes to cooking. 
   
   
  3- You can prepare several-coarse meals with little trouble. 
   
   
  4- You are known by many as an excellent cook. 
   
   
  5- You are a master chef. You could own your own restaurant. 
   
  Artwork: 
  1- You can make simple drawings, such as crude maps and figures. 
   
   
  2- You can paint a simple landscape, or sketch a diagram. 
   
   
  3- You can create realistic but simple works of art. 
   
   
  4- You could paint portraits for a living. 
   
   
  5- You create masterpieces. Your work is held as treasures. 
   
  Stonework: 
  1- You can create crude sculptures, or perform basic masonry work. 
   
   
  2- You could be employed as a stone or brick mason. 
   
   
  3- You could sculpt a realistic statue, or build a stone house. 
   
   
  4- You could create realistic statues for a living. 
   
   
  5- You are a master sculptor or a master stone or block mason. 
   
  Woodwork: 
  1- You could create a simple box. 
   
   
  2- You could create bookcases and shelving. 
   
   
  3- You can create well-made furniture. 
   
   
  4- You could build your own house and furnish it with your own works. 
   
   
  5- Your works could sell well enough to keep you happily employed. 
   
  Metalwork: 
  1- You could make simplistic metal sculptures. 
   
   
  2- You can make simple knives, arrow-heads, and so on. 
   
   
  3- You could make your own sword, given enough time. 
   
   
  4- You can create armor and weapons with great skill. 
   
   
  5- Your works are masterful and commissioned from very wealthy clients. 
   
  Speaking: 
  1- You could read a letter to a small crowd without being nervous. 
   
   
  2- You could act as a trained messenger. 
   
   
  3- You could give a speech to an interested crowd. 
   
   
  4- Your speaking is charismatic, and people earnestly listen to you. 
   
   
  5- You could rally troops with your powerful speeches. 
   
  Music:  
  1- You have the basic understanding of a musical instrument. 
   
   
  2- You can play an instrument with a level of skill. 
   
   
  3- You could play in a travelling musical band for a living. 
   
   
  4- You are talented with several different instruments. 
   
   
  5- You could hold your own concerts for hundreds of fans. 
   
   
  Acting: 
  1- You can act small parts in plays believably. 
   
   
  2- You could star in a major part in a play. 
   
   
  3- You could do improvisational theater. 
   
   
  4- You captivate audiences with your performances. 
   
   
  5- You could headline an all-star performance. 
  
   
  Dancing: 
  1- You know some folk dances. 
   
   
  2- You could couples-dance well. 
   
   
  3- You could do a solo dance performance. 
   
   
  4- You could dance professionally. 
   
   
  5- Royalty requests you dance for them. 
   
  Singing: 
  1- You have a pleasant singing voice. 
   
   
  2- You could perform well for a crowd. 
   
   
  3- You are asked to sing at events. 
   
   
  4- You could sing for royalty and be well received. 
   
   
  5- You can move people to tears with the beauty of your voice. 
   
  Navigating 
  1- You can easily identify which direction you’re going. 
  Land:  
  2- You can pick easier routes to places without direction. 
   
   
  3- You could lead an expedition easily. 
   
   
  4- You seldom need a map to assist you. 
   
   
  5- You can navigate by the stars and without a map. 
   
  Navigating 
  1- You can easily identify which direction you’re going. 
  Sea: 
   
  2- You know helpful currents and trade routes from memory. 
   
   
  3- You could captain a vessel. 
   
   
  4- You seldom need a map for referencing your position. 
   
   
  5- You could navigate a terrible storm with ease. 
   
  Farming: 
  1- You know the basics of agriculture. 
   
   
  2- You could easily grow a small garden. 
   
   
  3- You could manage acres of crops with ease. 
   
   
  4- You manage to grow things others cannot. 
   
   
  5- You could probably grow crops in a desert. 
   
  Hunting: 
  1- You are a casual game hunter. 
   
   
  2- You could set a simple snare. 
   
   
  3- You could hunt very elusive game with ease. 
   
   
  4- You can set complicated traps and snares. 
   
   
  5- The blend with nature and the animals never know you’re there. 
   
  Fishing: 
  1- You know all the basics of simple fishing. 
   
   
  2- You know what species of fish are native to the area you’re in. 
   
   
  3- You can easily catch enough fish to feed your group. 
   
   
  4- You manage to catch fish when others cannot. 
   
   
  5- You could probably catch a fish in a mud-puddle. 
   
   
   
  The second set of background traits you may pick from is called your Inherent 
  Background. These traits are background information on your family status, your 
  popularity, and your former education. Unlike with Background Knowledge traits, 
  Inherent traits are ranked on a simpler scale. While it is still a 1 – 5 range for point-
  spending, the options are spelled out for you. 
   
  
   
   
  Inherent Background: 
   
  1) Family: destitute 
  2) Family: poor 
  3) Family: middle-class 
  4) Family: wealthy 
  5) Family: rich 
   
  1) Popularity: unheard of 
  2) Popularity: heard of 
  3) Popularity: known 
  4) Popularity: well known 
  5) Popularity: famous 
   
  1) Education: little to none 
  2) Education: basic schooling 
  3) Education: knowledgeable 
  4) Education: well-learned 
  5) Education: scholarly 
   
   
  Your family background explains the financial status of your family. It denotes how 
  wealthy (or poor) your family was before you left to begin adventuring. 
   
  Your popularity background explains how well-known you were. It denotes how much 
  social status you had before leaving to start adventuring. 
   
  Your education background explains how much formal education you had. It denotes 
  how versed you were in scholastic matters before leaving to start adventuring. 
   
  After You’ve Picked: 
   
  Now that you have picked your flaws, background knowledge traits, and inherent 
  background traits, it’s time to put them in a way that can be utilized in the game. 
  Presented on the next page is a sample Background Page that can be added to your 
  character’s portfolio.  
   
  Example: I picked the flaws Excessively Sloppy, �ecrophobia, and Scars. That gave me an additional 3 
  points. Added to my original 16 points, I now have 19 points to spend on my other Background Traits. I 
  chose to spend 3 points in Metalwork, 2 points in Music, 2 points in �avigating/Land, 2 points in 
  �avigating/Sea, 3 points in Family, 3 points in Popularity, and 4 points in Education. That used all 19 
  of my points. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  Character Name____________________________________ Player Name:_________________________ 
   
  Background Knowledge 
   
  Trait:_______________________________ Value:________ Notes:_______________________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
  Trait:_______________________________ Value:________ Notes:_______________________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
  Trait:_______________________________ Value:________ Notes:_______________________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
  Trait:_______________________________ Value:________ Notes:_______________________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
  Trait:_______________________________ Value:________ Notes:_______________________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
   
  Inherent Background 
   
  Family Status:________________________ Value:________ Notes:_______________________________ 
  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
  ________________________________________________________________________ 
   
  Popularity:___________________________ Value:________ Notes:______________________________ 
  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
  ________________________________________________________________________ 
   
  Education:___________________________ Value:________ Notes:_______________________________ 
  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
  ________________________________________________________________________ 
   
  Character Flaws 
   
  Phobia:______________________ Value:_______ Notes:_______________________________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
  Phobia:______________________ Value:_______ Notes:_______________________________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
  Physical Flaw:________________________ Value:________ Notes:_______________________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
  Physical Flaw:________________________ Value:________ Notes:_______________________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
  Family Flaw:____________________________________ Value:________ Notes:____________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
  Family Flaw:____________________________________ Value:________ Notes:____________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
  Behavioral Flaw:_________________________________ Value:________ Notes:____________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
  Behavioral Flaw:_________________________________ Value:________ Notes:____________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
   
  Other Background Information 
   
  Reasons for Adventuring:_________________________________________________________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
  Future Plans:___________________________________________________________________________ 
  ______________________________________________________________________________________ 
  Other Notes:____________________________________________________________________________ 
   
   
   
   
  
   
  Using Background Traits In-Game: 
   
   
  The background traits presented can make for good role-playing opportunities. However, without a solid base to 
  work off of, the traits mean little more than good conversation topics. Presented here are the methods to use your 
  background knowledge traits on a regular basis while adventuring. 
   
   
   
  Knowledge Trait:                              Related 
  Skill: 
  Cooking  
   
   
  Nature  
  Artwork  
   
   
  Bluff 
   
  Stonework 
   
   
  Endurance 
  Woodwork 
   
   
  Endurance 
  Metalwork 
   
   
  Endurance 
  Speaking 
   
   
  Diplomacy 
  Music 
   
   
   
  Bluff 
  Acting  
   
   
  Diplomacy 
  Dancing  
   
   
  Acrobatics 
  Singing  
   
   
  Bluff 
  Navigating Land  
   
  Nature 
  Navigating Sea 
   
   
  Nature 
  Farming  
   
   
  Nature 
  Hunting  
   
   
  Nature 
  Fishing  
   
   
  Nature 
   
  On all of the above traits, simply add the 
  trait score you have to the related skill check 
  whenever an attempt is made to utilize your 
  selected trait. For example, if I have the 
  Dancing trait with a score of 4, I will have to 
  make a Diplomacy check with a +4 bonus 
  whenever I attempt to dance for the duke to 
  gain his favor. 
   
  Making Armor and Weapons: 
   
  If you have the Metalworking background 
  trait, you can make your own metal armor 
  and weapons. The kind of armor and 
  weapons you can make will be based on 
  your level, as explained by the following 
  table. 
   
  Level:  
  Weapon Type: 
   
   
  1-10 
   
  Simple Melee / Simple Ranged 
  11-20 
   
  Military Melee / Military 
  Ranged 
  21-30 
   
  Superior Melee / Superior 
  Ranged 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Level:  
  Armor Type: 
  1-5 
   
  Shields / Chainmail 
  6-10 
   
  Scale Armor 
  11-15 
   
  Plate Armor 
  16-20 
   
  Masterwork Chainmail 
  21-25 
   
  Masterwork Scale Armor 
  26-30 
   
  Masterwork Plate Armor 
   
  Inherent Background Traits 
   
  Like Background Knowledge traits, Inherent 
  Background traits can play a constant part in 
  your campaign. Consult the following table 
  to determine how to apply your Inherent 
  traits. 
   
   
  Inherent Trait: 
   
   
  Related 
  Skill: 
  Family Background 
   
  Bluff 
  Popularity Background 
   
  Diplomacy 
  Education Background 
   
  History 
   
  Inherent background traits add permanent 
  bonus points to the related skills they are 
  associated with. The catch is, the bonus only 
  applies to the area where you are originally 
  from, or the area where you have lived since 
  obtaining the Inherent traits.  
   
  For example: I am from the city of Burden’s 
  Peak. I come from a middle-class family, am 
  well-known, and have a scholarly education. 
  The +3 Bluff bonus I get from being middle-
  class only applies when I am encountering 
  individuals from Burden’s Peak and the 
  immediate surrounding areas, within 25 
  miles. The same applies to the +4 
  Diplomacy bonus I receive for being well-
  known in my area. The +5 History bonus I 
  receive for having a Scholarly education 
  only applies to the history of Burden’s Peak 
  and the surrounding areas, up to 50 miles. 
   
   
   
  
  Phobias and Flaws: 
   
  Just as the various background traits add 
  bonuses to different skill checks, phobias 
  and flaws add penalties to other skill checks. 
   
  Phobias impose a penalty to any skill 
  checks made when presented with whatever 
  phobia you happen to have until you are no 
  longer in the presence of it. The penalty is 
  equal to the point value of the flaw. 
   
  For example: I have acrophobia, or a fear of 
  heights. While my character is making his 
  way across a high, narrow rope-bridge, I 
  will have a -2 penalty to all skill checks 
  made while on the rope bridge. When I am 
  away from the bridge, my skill checks return 
  to normal. 
   
  Physical flaws also impose penalties to 
  certain skill checks. Whenever you make a 
  skill check that requires Diplomacy or Bluff, 
  your flaws impose a -1 penalty for each 
  flaw. 
   
  Family flaws impose a -1 penalty to 
  Diplomacy, but only if you are within the 
  area you live or the surrounding areas (25 
  miles). 
   
  Behavioral flaws impose a -1 penalty to any 
  Charisma-based encounter checks (does not 
  apply to weapon and attack abilities that rely 
  on Charisma). 
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/3rd Party/4th Edition/Implement Games/Background Assistant.pdf