Background Customization: How the Crap Does It Work?

[aadder]

Hello everyone,

I'm starting some new characters for a new campaign, and I'd like some help on how backgrounds are supposed to work. I often find the the backgrounds in the PHB only fit for a select few builds; obviously Criminal is great, but a lot of them are weird combinations of skills and many skills can't be found at all in backgrounds.

There's a section that explains that you can create your own background by combining established archetypes with 2 skills and a tool, plus some other traits, but I have no idea how to do that in a way that is universally tolerated. I am a big believer in making characters that I can set down at any table, so I don't like to have any "ask your DM!" kind of content. The fact that so many DM's won't let you use Tasha's or Volo's is incredibly infuriating to me, but it is what it is.

So, TL;DR, how can i make custom backgrounds that are simple and balanced enough that nobody would object to them? Eg. Would anyone care if I took Criminal but just replaced Deception with Acrobatics, versus all the way up to and including Anything I Goddamn Well Want.

[Kane0]

My rule of thumb is:

Any two skills
Any two tools and/or languages
X group of people generally react well to you in social settings (under usual circumstances) OR you know Y special piece of lore
Dont forget a travel pack of your choice, a handful of coins and a trinket!

That generally gets me by in about 90% of games.

[JackPhoenix]

Pick a background feature for any existing background.
Pick any two skills
Pick any two tools/languages
Pick a set of equipment from any existing background, if you aren't rolling for gold instead.

That's it.

[Chronos]

Yeah, that's what the book explicitly describes as possible, not even in "ask your DM" territory (of course, as with anything, the DM can overrule that, but the default expectation is that they won't).

Once you do ask your DM, of course, you can potentially go beyond that, and do things like create entirely new background traits.

[aadder]

Thanks everyone, I feel like I over-thought this one a bit. Just to be clear, this kinda thing is fine?

Hermit (pickin' a kind of person)
Stealth and Athletics (2 skills)
Thieves' Tools and Gaming Kit (2 proficiencies)

[Foolwise]

You also have a feature you can pull from any other background if you don't want the Hermit's Discovery feature. The Far Traveler's All Eyes On You feature would be a good swap if your hermit has been so long away from civilization they have trouble acclimating themselves back into society. Or the Outlander's Wanderer feature would work for a hermit who has learned to live off the land in their seclusion.

[Anonymouswizard]

Bare in mind that some skills and tools are not valued than others, I'd be wary of any background giving Athletics, Perception, and Thieve's tools for example. But yeah, in general just swap as desired, one I've been itching to do for literal years is to Folk Hero and swallowing the proficiencies to represent a wandering doctor/herbalist (or if you want to be an apothecary build off Guild Artisan).