Any backgrounds with overly odd/useful abilities?

[Odessa333]

Hello!

So I admit, I don't have that many books, and only just learned of 'new' (don't know HOW new) backgrounds that add spells to a character. That seems crazy powerful to me. I'm wondering if there are other backgrounds I don't have access to that might have useful new powers/abilities/quirks/etc people here could suggest I look into. Thank you for your time!

[RogueJK]

The Ravnica and Strixhaven backgrounds you're referring to are each specific to one setting. So not all DMs allow them in their games. (I have yet to play with any that do, in fact... Because as you noted, they're noticeably more powerful than the "standard" backgrounds. Same with the Dragonmarked variant races, which are similarly specific to one setting, and noticeably more powerful than their standard race equivalents.)


So to answer your question, from the "normal" backgrounds, the Outlander background's Wanderer ability can come in really handy, in the right campaign. The ability to easily navigate and recall directions and geography, coupled with the ability to be able to reliably locate food and water to support yourself and up to 5 others each day, can take a gritty wilderness survival sandbox hex crawl and turn it into a cakewalk. (Almost as easily as bringing someone with access to Goodberry!)

[Dimers]

IIRC the Ravnica backgrounds don't add spells directly to a character, just to their class lists for any class. So a sorcerer would have to pick them, a wizard would have to scribe them into a spellbook, that kind of thing. I've never read Strixhaven but it seems likely the same applies there.

Most backgrounds have (besides skill/language/tool proficiencies) some social and/or informational benefit in certain settings, or maybe having one group of people help with your monthly upkeep. Exceptions include:

Far Traveler in SCAG differs in that it's not restricted to one clean category of people -- instead, you get its benefit with anyone who might take an interest in someone clearly out-of-place.
Inheritor in SCAG doesn't have any direct social or informational benefit at all, and is even likely to come with drawbacks, but it might get you some object or property later in a campaign. (It also comes with superior starting equipment: "any items with which you are proficient". Hello full plate at 1st level!)
Like Outlander in the PHB, Uthgardt Heritage in SCAG and Gruul Anarch in Ravnica ease certain wilderness problems.
Urchin in PHB also has an atypical benefit, allowing faster travel within cities.


I only own the PHB and SCAG myself, so I'm sure there are more I'm missing.

[Veldrenor]

The quasi-official state of the source keeps it from being readily accessible in many cases, but the Gambler background from the Acq Inc book has a feature called "Never Tell Me the Odds" that can be pretty useful. Whenever you engage in a game of chance or are figuring the odds on a plan, you get a solid sense of which choice is best. In one of the games where I'm a player, our DM basically treats it as Augury without the chance of a random reading.

[JackPhoenix]

Inheritor in SCAG doesn't have any direct social or informational benefit at all, and is even likely to come with drawbacks, but it might get you some object or property later in a campaign. (It also comes with superior starting equipment: "any items with which you are proficient". Hello full plate at 1st level!)

It does not. Inheritor only gives a tool you're proficient with, not armor, weapon or anything else of note.

[Dimers]

It does not. Inheritor only gives a tool you're proficient with, not armor, weapon or anything else of note.

Is that errata or something? 'Cuz I quoted directly from the book -- First Printing, apparently.

[Amnestic]

Is that errata or something? 'Cuz I quoted directly from the book -- First Printing, apparently.

It was errata'd, yeah.
https://media.wizards.com/2021/dnd/downloads/SCAG-Errata.pdf


Chapter 5
Inheritor (p. 150). In the Equipment entry, “any items with which you are proficient” has been changed to “the tool you choose for this background’s tool proficiency.”

Which is probably good because strictly the original isn't also limited by being mundane items either. You could start with a full complement of magic items you're proficient in the use of.

Not that a DM would ever let that slide, mind you. But either way, it was a good errata choice.

[Dimers]

strictly the original isn't also limited by being mundane items either. You could start with a full complement of magic items you're proficient in the use of.

I wasn't gonna bring that up :smallwink:

Thanks for the link. Next time I borrow library copies of the other books, I'll check the site for errata to those, too.

[elyktsorb]

Shout out to the Charlatan background for having a ridiculously good ability.

Get a free alternate identity, already established as soon as your character is created.

Also the 2nd part straight up makes it so you don't need the forgery kit for documents.

[Silpharon]

It does not. Inheritor only gives a tool you're proficient with, not armor, weapon or anything else of note.

I'm glad you pointed that out, I'm running an inheritor now, and I was like, "holy crap, I can have plate mail now!?". :P

For what it's worth, my DM let me have my inherited "arcane formulary" be the Atlas of Endless Horizons, though it won't be revealed as such until some point later in the campaign (at the DM's discretion). So it's a good background if there's a specific magic item you'd like to pursue from the beginning.

[ZenBear]

I don't find this one broken, but I do think it's rather potent in theory and in the right campaign context, though I haven't played it yet. It comes from the City Watch background:

Watcher's Eye
Your experience in enforcing the law, and dealing with lawbreakers, gives you a feel for local laws and criminals. You can easily find the local outpost of the watch or a similar organization, and just as easily pick out the dens of criminal activity in a community, although you're more likely to be welcome in the former locations rather than the latter.

Put this on a Rogue granting you Thieves' Cant with Expertise in Investigation and Insight and you have the ultimate criminal investigator. If you're not in an urban campaign or regularly dealing with the criminal element it isn't useful at all, but as I said above in the right context it can be very potent.

[JackPhoenix]

I like Sage, personally, but that's partially because as a GM, I love telling players about the world they are in, and Sage helps with that, and even helps provide quest hooks if they want hard-to-find information.

[Kane0]

Inheritor in SCAG doesn't have any direct social or informational benefit at all, and is even likely to come with drawbacks, but it might get you some object or property later in a campaign. (It also comes with superior starting equipment: "any items with which you are proficient". Hello full plate at 1st level!)


It does not. Inheritor only gives a tool you're proficient with, not armor, weapon or anything else of note.
If your DM would allow full-plate before the errata, try nabbing land or water vehicle prof somehow and ask if you can start with a wagon or ship :smallwink:

[animorte]

Outlander is very good if you remember you have it. It stands out exceptionally when you don't have a druid/ranger/etc.

You have an excellent memory for maps and geography, and you can always recall the general layout of terrain, settlements, and other features around you. In addition, you can find food and fresh water for yourself and up to five other people each day, provided that the land offers berries, small game, water, and so forth.

You essentially find it difficult to get lost or run out of replenishment for your entire party.

[sandmote]

If your DM would allow full-plate before the errata, try nabbing land or water vehicle prof somehow and ask if you can start with a wagon or ship :smallwink:

If you really want a land vehicle I'd go with the Guild Merchant, which also gets a mule to pull it:


Rather than proficiency with artisan's tools, you might be proficient with navigator's tools or an additional language. And instead of artisan's tools, you can start with a mule and a cart.

[sambojin]

Pirate is funny. "You get away with minor crimes and property damage, because no-one reports it, *because people know you're a pirate*." Sounds like half the law enforcement/ investigator backgrounds wouldn't like that.
"We know it was you, we were literally watching you do it, but.... You can go. Keep the flag flying me matey!"

Tickleberry Nomad from CoS isn't bad. "You find shelter in the wilderness, unless they're magically looking for you, or really trying to". Great for survival campaigns alongside another wilderness background. Free food from them, and a pseudo Leo hut from you for camping out in dangerous territory.

[Hairfish]

Shout out to the Charlatan background for having a ridiculously good ability.

Get a free alternate identity, already established as soon as your character is created.

Also the 2nd part straight up makes it so you don't need the forgery kit for documents.

The requirement it removes is needing an example on hand of the document/handwriting you're trying to forge, not the forgery kit. You just need to have seen the example before.

[Arcomage]

I've had good results out of the Noble background's variant feature Retainers. You get three attendants/messengers who are generally not combatants and won't follow you into dangerous territory, but are completely loyal and will perform mundane tasks unless repeatedly endangered.

This gives your party some extra manpower without too much hassle. They won't go in the dungeon, but they can maintain and guard the camp outside it, go on shopping trips with the party money while PCs are doing other things, carry messages while the PCs are engaged in time-critical tasks and generally provide all the benefits of delegation so long as you don't abuse them. And of course, you have three entire custom NPCs to play with (within reason), which can be very useful for a number of character concepts. Just make sure that downtime doesn't devolve into you talking to yourself a lot - or at least make sure the rest of the party is on board with that.

[RogueJK]

I've had good results out of the Noble background's variant feature Retainers. You get three attendants/messengers who are generally not combatants and won't follow you into dangerous territory, but are completely loyal and will perform mundane tasks unless repeatedly endangered.

I've had fun with a Fairy Swarmkeeper Ranger with this background. She's a Fey Princess celebrity with an entourage of three Sprite servants and a swam of adoring Pixie fans.

[KorvinStarmast]

I have used Criminal background (usually the Spy variant) for various of my:
Bards(2), Monks(4), Rangers(2), Paladin(1)
Proficiency with thieves tools is handy, and very few parties I've been in have had a rogue.
Also, having contacts is an interesting way to engage with the DM on a bit of world building and placing the PC into the world.