You have served the community where you grew up,
standing as its fi rst line of defense against crime. You
a ren't a soldier, directing your gaze outwa rd at possible
enemies. Instead, your service to your hometown was
to help police its populace, protecting the citizenry from
lawbreakers and malefactors of every stripe.
You might have been part of the City Watch of Water-
deep, the baton-wielding police force of the City of Splen-
dors, protecting the common folk from thieves and rowdy
nobility alike. Or you might have been one of the valiant
defenders of Silverymoon, a member of the Silverwatch or
even one of the magic-wielding Spellguard.
Perhaps you hail from Neverwinter and have served
as one of its Wintershield watchmen, the newly fo unded
branch of gua rds who vow to keep safe the City of
Skilled Hands.
Even if you're not city-born or city-bred, this back-
ground can describe your early years as a member of
law enforcement. Most settlements of any size have
their own constables and police forces, and even smaller
communities have sheriffs and bailiffs who stand ready
to protect their community.
- Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Insight
- Languages: Two of your choice
- Equipment: A uniform in the style of your unit and
indicative of your rank, a horn with which to summon
help, a set of manacles, and a pouch containing 10 gp
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 simila r 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.
Suggested Characteristics
Use the tables for the soldier background in the Player's
Handbook as the basis for your traits and motivations,
modifying the entries when appropriate to suit your
identity as a member of the city watch.
Your bond is likely associated with your fellow watch
members or the watch organization itself and almost
certa inly concerns your community. Your ideal probably
involves the fostering of peace and safety. An investi-
gator is likely to have an ideal connected to achieving
justice by successfully solving crimes.
Rarer than watch or patrol members are a community's
investigators, who are responsible for solving crimes
after the fact. Though such folk a re seldom found in
rural areas, nea rly every settlement of decent size has
at least one or two watch members who have the skill to
investigate crime scenes and track down criminals. If
your prior experience is as an investigator, you have pro-
ficiency in Investigation rather than Athletics.
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