Background Features

[Expected]

Assuming all sourcebooks are available, what are the most useful background features? Are there any thematic combinations between background features and proficiencies (e.g. Cartographer's Tools and Wanderer)?

[Anderlith]

Ravnica are the strongest

[Samayu]

Looking through the PH, they all seem kinda dependent on the kind of campaign you're playing. My first choice would be Outlander-Wanderer: if there is food to be found, you find it. But even so, how often are you stuck in the wilderness without rations or a Ranger? Situational: Travel across town quickly. Free passage on a ship. Know lore.

A few of them provide shelter or healing. That would be more reliably useful, but still only occasional.

[Tanarii]

Know lore.
Researcher is actually: if you fail to know lore, you still know where to find it.

[Luccan]

Ravnica are the strongest

Yep, because free spells. This makes them the strongest backgrounds by far (for casters, at least), but are the bonus spells the "Background Feature" or just a thing the background also provides? I don't actually own Ravnica, I just know it tosses out free spells.

I'll mostly be discussing the PHB since that's what I'm most familiar with, but I think these are genuinely solid options regardless of the game (even in Ravnica, they can at least serve as solid backgrounds for Barbarians, non-EK Fighters, Monks, and Non-AT Rogues). I'll mostly list features I think are likely to come up at multiple levels of play: free lodgings won't matter past the first few levels if you make anywhere close to WBL or just get in friendly with the right people.

Outlander's Wanderer feature obviates the need to gather food for small enough parties and helps you navigate better. Any game with wilderness exploration is made significantly easier with this background alone and it really pushes into the Ranger's niche or anyone else who takes the Survival skill, which as backgrounds go actually makes it kinda broken. I've considered changing it before.

Knight (the alternate to noble) gives you retainers, which could be handy if your DM actually requires you to keep track of stuff you can't carry around all the time.
Pirate (alternate to Sailor) lets you commit petty crimes for free. A player who routinely threatens shopkeepers, vandalizes, and is an all around jerk to the NPCs without resorting to outright grandtheft, murder, kidnapping etc. could really get some use out of it.
A particular reading of Criminal lets you potentially contact anyone through the criminal underbelly, but even if you can't you get a free NPC in your backpocket that owes you a favor. If nothing else you have a fallguy. Spy might be even better, since it's implied you have a network to draw on (admittedly, probably more limited favors, but seems more useful for information gathering).
Charlatan gives you a second identity. This is a 9th level subclass feature for Assassin, you just got it at level 1. Admittedly, readings of both indicate the Assassin's rouse is nigh-on perfect and effortless, whereas yours requires at least some effort to pull off, but you start with the tools and skills necessary to do so.


Honorable Mention:
In a game that starts out with no or minimal equipment, Gladiator (alternate to Entertainer) gives you free weapons.

Dishonorable mention:
Guild Artisan (and Merchant) are the only backgrounds whose features require you to really give anything up. It's only 5 gold a month, but this is probably why the background feature gives lodging, food, legal assistance, and social access. The problem is, the first two are generally easy to come by, the third is rarely necessary, and the last is achievable via in-game action. All this and it costs you money.

Also, Hermit. Your background feature is Plot Hook and even then, only if the DM is really interested.

[Lord Vukodlak]

It so depends on the campaign, In a Game of Thrones style campaign the Noble feature would be a great background the feature could be pointless.

Say in the next campaign I'm running the feature would be almost useless as most of the region has suffered three centuries of civil war and unstable government. The Current Warlord of the town probably won't care about your noble linage, a few might want to pretend to be more respectable and host a 'real' noble.

Researcher will only help if your character has the free time to go to what ever library has the lore you need. If all the events of the campaign take place in and around Neverwinter, you might not be able to take a break and go a thousand miles to Candlekeep for that bit of lore.



Yep, because free spells. This makes them the strongest backgrounds by far (for casters, at least), but are the bonus spells the "Background Feature" or just a thing the background also provides? I don't actually own Ravnica, I just know it tosses out free spells.
Its what "the guild provides" the features are separate and completely tied to the setting.
If you aren't a part of the guild anymore you lose access to both the feature and the spells. So SURE take a Ravnica background in a non-Ravnica campaign and enjoy having no feature and no spells because the guild isn't around to grant them to you.