Part 2: Backgrounds ☰
An adventurer’s background is an important part of their life prior to becoming an adventurer; it was their life until they decided to take up the sword and spend their days on the road. For character development, your character’s background should give you a starting point on their journey, their story, their arc; it is a springboard from which their tale launches at the start of their adventures.
When coming up with your character’s background, consider what drove them from their past life to their current one, why they have taken up a life of adventure, what drives them to do the things they do; consider how the life they used to live affects how they react to the things they encounter in their travels. In short, think carefully about how it shaped them as a person. Mechanically, your background will give you a small boost to your stats, extra proficiencies in a handful of skills, and a single Classless Feat.
Though the framework given is rather barren of flavorful details or narratively enriching elements, this is intended to give you that much more freedom in creating your perfect character without restriction. Ideally, your character can come from any walk of life, and the bonuses you give them using this framework should reflect their life up to this point. If you are having trouble coming up with your character’s life story, the following two chapters can be used to help guide and inspire you into crafting a noteworthy and fleshed-out life for your character.