Background in the Foreground: Let's Build Some Characters

[croftstr]

Hi friends,

I am always looking for some creative exercises for character building and thought it would be fun to focus on backgrounds. Here's the idea I have. We go through every major background in the PHB, starting with acolyte. We then roll for personal decisions (via Xanathar's guide), traits, ideals, bonds, flaws, and race. After these random descriptions, we then build the character out to level 10 using any published (ie hardback) book.

To make sure we don't pass too quickly to the next background, let's wait for 5 proposed builds before moving on. Feel free, however, to keep proposing builds for previous background sets. Perhaps if we get through them all, we can vote on our favorites and I can write some detailed fluff concerning them.

[croftstr]

Reserved for future posts.

[JNAProductions]

What's the personal decision guide in Xanathar's? I don't own that yet.

Acolyte (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?544909-Background-In-The-Foreground-Dice-Rolls&p=22669765#post22669765)

Personality Traits
I idolize a hero of my faith, and constantly refer to that person's deed and example.
Nothing can shake my optimistic attitude.

Ideal
We must help bring about the changes the gods are bringing about in this world.

Bond
I will do anything to protect the temple where I served.

Flaw
I judge others harshly, and myself even more severely.

[croftstr]

I will get us started with acolyte:

Race: 1d25
Decision: 1d6
Trait: 1d8
Ideal: 1d6
Bond: 1d6
Flaw: 1d6

[croftstr]

I will get us started with acolyte:

Race: 1d25
Decision: 1d6
Trait: 1d8
Ideal: 1d6
Bond: 1d6
Flaw: 1d6

Hmm, I might have to assign race to 100. I will post the race table soon.

[JNAProductions]

You can't roll in this forum. Only in the PbP forum.

[Potato_Priest]

I will get us started with acolyte:

Race: 1d25
Decision: 1d6
Trait: 1d8
Ideal: 1d6
Bond: 1d6
Flaw: 1d6

Dice might not work on this forum, or you may need to use all caps.

[Nifft]

Dice might not work on this forum, or you may need to use all caps. I think it's the whole forum.

Easy enough to test caps though:

1d20: 1D20 -or- 1d20

[croftstr]

What's the personal decision guide in Xanathar's? I don't own that yet.

Acolyte (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?544909-Background-In-The-Foreground-Dice-Rolls&p=22669765#post22669765)

Personality Traits
I idolize a hero of my faith, and constantly refer to that person's deed and example.
Nothing can shake my optimistic attitude.

Ideal
We must help bring about the changes the gods are bringing about in this world.

Bond
I will do anything to protect the temple where I served.

Flaw
I judge others harshly, and myself even more severely.

Ah, I didn't know that...oh well, I guess we can just post the results of the rolls. In any case, let's work with what you have JNA. Yes, decisions are from Xanathar's and I am also using races from Volo's. So let's add those two things to what you have:

Decision: I became an acolyte because I followed a childhood friend, respected acquintance, or someone I loved into religious service.

Race: Half-elf

[croftstr]

I am imagining this character as the younger brother of a well-known cleric. Perhaps the brother is full elf. In any case, this character finds their own way to serve through song and becomes a bard in behalf of the temple.

I am torn between either full 10th lv lore bard or life cleric 1/ lore bard 9. Either way, I am thinking as in Cha and the inspiring leader feat. I will post Fuller build tomorrow.

[MxKit]

I went ahead and rolled for literally every single possible thing I could roll for for Charlatan, whether the book asked me to or not!


Charlatan

I became a charlatan because...
I took up with a confidence artist, from whom I learned my craft.

"Tools of the con of your choice"
A signet ring of an imaginary duke.

Favorite Scam
I put on new identities like clothes.

Personality Traits
I fall in and out of love easily, and am always pursuing someone.
I keep multiple holy symbols on me and invoke whatever deity might come in useful at any given moment.

Ideal
Fairness. I never target people who can't afford to lose a few coins.

Bond
I owe everything to my mentor—a horrible person who's probably rotting in jail somewhere.

Flaw
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.


This seems to me to be a character who pretends to be many different people, depending on the place they're in, but who often prefers to pretend to be a holy figure of some sort, and possibly nobility (or serving nobility, so somewhat higher in status) on top of that. From the personality traits and ideal, I figure this character has or at least had a very romantic view of their background, preferring to see themself as a principled, dashing figure rather than an actually bad criminal. They might have realized after a time that their mentor was horrible, and see themself/try to be totally different, or they might still be clueless about how bad their mentor actually was.

First instinct for a charlatan or criminal is a Rogue, and some of the Rogue subclasses could fit really well; Thief potentially, Assassin for the 9th and 13th level archetype features, and maybe best of all, Mastermind for the Master of Intrigue feature especially. Of course, a Bard could also be very good at these sorts of confidence games and playing-at-nobility, could maybe even play at being a Cleric. That's made especially easy with Lore Bard, but Glamour Bard would also be very good.

(Also, some not necessary but just-for-fun random rolls: gender got rolled as neither man nor woman, alignment—whatever the character would like to think—is True Neutral, which doesn't necessarily match up with their ideal but could work given the background as a whole and their flaw.

Random rolls if Bard: Defining Work is "The Pirates of Luskan," your firsthand account of being kidnapped by sea reavers as a child (which may or may not have actually happened); Instrument is a mithral horn made by elves; Embarrassment is the time when your comedic song, "Big Tom's Hijinks—which, by the way, you thought was brilliant—did not go over well with Big Tom; Muse is Love.

Random rolls if Rogue: Guilty Pleasures are the finest food and drink; Adversary is the proprieter of an illegal pit fighting arena where you once took bets; Benefactor is the Beggar King, as he has hidden you from your pursuers many times, in return for future considerations.)

I don't know what you're using to roll for race, though, so I didn't do that. Wanna cover that one for me, croftstr?

(ETA: Swashbuckler Rogue could also appeal to the romantic in them! Also possibly a very shameless Tomelock or Wizard? There are definitely other class options than just Bard or Rogue, here.)

[croftstr]

I went ahead and rolled for literally every single possible thing I could roll for for Charlatan, whether the book asked me to or not!


Charlatan

I became a charlatan because...
I took up with a confidence artist, from whom I learned my craft.

"Tools of the con of your choice"
A signet ring of an imaginary duke.

Favorite Scam
I put on new identities like clothes.

Personality Traits
I fall in and out of love easily, and am always pursuing someone.
I keep multiple holy symbols on me and invoke whatever deity might come in useful at any given moment.

Ideal
Fairness. I never target people who can't afford to lose a few coins.

Bond
I owe everything to my mentor—a horrible person who's probably rotting in jail somewhere.

Flaw
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.


This seems to me to be a character who pretends to be many different people, depending on the place they're in, but who often prefers to pretend to be a holy figure of some sort, and possibly nobility (or serving nobility, so somewhat higher in status) on top of that. From the personality traits and ideal, I figure this character has or at least had a very romantic view of their background, preferring to see themself as a principled, dashing figure rather than an actually bad criminal. They might have realized after a time that their mentor was horrible, and see themself/try to be totally different, or they might still be clueless about how bad their mentor actually was.

First instinct for a charlatan or criminal is a Rogue, and some of the Rogue subclasses could fit really well; Thief potentially, Assassin for the 9th and 13th level archetype features, and maybe best of all, Mastermind for the Master of Intrigue feature especially. Of course, a Bard could also be very good at these sorts of confidence games and playing-at-nobility, could maybe even play at being a Cleric. That's made especially easy with Lore Bard, but Glamour Bard would also be very good.

(Also, some not necessary but just-for-fun random rolls: gender got rolled as neither man nor woman, alignment—whatever the character would like to think—is True Neutral, which doesn't necessarily match up with their ideal but could work given the background as a whole and their flaw.

Random rolls if Bard: Defining Work is "The Pirates of Luskan," your firsthand account of being kidnapped by sea reavers as a child (which may or may not have actually happened); Instrument is a mithral horn made by elves; Embarrassment is the time when your comedic song, "Big Tom's Hijinks—which, by the way, you thought was brilliant—did not go over well with Big Tom; Muse is Love.

Random rolls if Rogue: Guilty Pleasures are the finest food and drink; Adversary is the proprieter of an illegal pit fighting arena where you once took bets; Benefactor is the Beggar King, as he has hidden you from your pursuers many times, in return for future considerations.)

I don't know what you're using to roll for race, though, so I didn't do that. Wanna cover that one for me, croftstr?

(ETA: Swashbuckler Rogue could also appeal to the romantic in them! Also possibly a very shameless Tomelock or Wizard? There are definitely other class options than just Bard or Rogue, here.)

A few ideas come to mind. One idea would be a straightforward rogue like Loch Lomora, who makes his way in the world by duping nobles and getting precious information. Another version could be based off Vin in the Mistborn series. I would opt for arcane trickster for that.

Another option is more heroic, functioning like Zorro. I could see going fighter 2/ swashbuckler 8 to pick up action surge and still get two asi or fighter 3 for battle manuevers.

Or if you really wanted to focus on being a master of disguise, I would opt for hexblade 2/rogue 8 (maybe swashbuckler?) for the invocation that grants disguise self at will.

I rolled for race and got yuan ti pureblood, so warlock might be good. They also fit for someone hiding identities.