This is a Warforged-exclusive background.
You may have been built for the front lines, but military deployment wasn't in the cards for you. Perhaps your realm has maintained peace, and thus has no use for a mechanical militia; maybe you had a few screws loose and weren't fit for service. Unable to be a soldier, you were forced to use your military skill set in unorthodox ways to make a living; the local thieves' guild may have valued your covert ops programming, the healer your medical training, a pirate ship your cartography, the librarian your perfect memory, the barkeep your intimidating guard, and so on.
When you choose this background, work with your DM and consider the nature of your offbeat life. Where or by whom were you employed? Have you achieved a level of personal freedom, or are your employers your new "commanding officers"? Is it rare in your community for Warforged to pick up a trade, or are you one of many? Are you fulfilled by your work, or do you crave the war that you were originally designed for?
- Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Insight
- Tool Proficiencies: One type of artisan’s tools
- Languages: One of your choice
- Equipment: A memento from your intended military role (an insignia, letter, or piece of a uniform), a set of artisan’s tools (one of your choice), a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp
Instead of performing military service, you learned a specific craft or worked odd jobs. Roll a d20 or choose from the options in the table below to determine what trade group you worked with:
| d20 | Employ |
|---|---|
| 1 | Alchemists and apothecaries |
| 2 | Armorers, locksmiths, and finesmiths |
| 3 | Brewers, distillers, and vintners |
| 4 | Calligraphers, scribes, and scriveners |
| 5 | Carpenters, roofers, and plasterers |
| 6 | Cartographers, surveyors, and chart-makers |
| 7 | Cobblers and shoemakers |
| 8 | Cooks and bakers |
| 9 | Glassblowers and glaziers |
| 10 | Jewelers and gemcutters |
| 11 | Leatherworkers, skinners, and tanners |
| 12 | Masons and stonecutters |
| 13 | Painters, limners, and sign-makers |
| 14 | Potters and tile-makers |
| 15 | Shipwrights and sailmakers |
| 16 | Smiths and metal-forgers |
| 17 | Tinkers, pewterers, and casters |
| 18 | Wagon-makers and wheelwrights |
| 19 | Weavers and dyers |
| 20 | Woodcarvers, coopers, and bowyers |
People are generally inclined to think of Warforged as excellent workers, having been created to follow orders with the utmost precision. This common perception paired with your useful skill set makes you the ideal employee in the eyes of most. You can usually find work in towns, cities, or other settlements where an artisan, merchant, or noble would find use of your services. While employed, you receive 2gp per day of work, as well as any other accommodations your employer may provide in exchange for your help (e.g., room and board, ship's passage, etc.)
Suggested Characteristics
Decommissioned are as varied as the trades they've learned. Some embrace their new lives, while others resent their dismissal from service. The defects that prevented them from becoming soldiers often manifest in their personalities, giving them odd quirks, mannerisms, or attitudes. Compared to their militant brethren, Decommissioned usually have a thoroughly developed perspective on life, having experienced the world outside of war.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I’m always respectful, to the point of treating all others like my superiors. |
| 2 | I like to talk at length about my programming. |
| 3 | I want to craft something that nobody has ever seen before. |
| 4 | I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing right. I can't help it – I'm a perfectionist. |
| 5 | I don't understand emotions. |
| 6 | I enjoy being strong and like breaking things. |
| 7 | I work hard to distance my past purpose from my new one. |
| 8 | I face problems head-on. A simple, direct solution is the best path to success. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Greater Good. Our lot is to lay down our lives in defense of others. (Good) |
| 2 | Responsibility. I do what I must and obey just authority. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Independence. When people follow orders blindly, they embrace a kind of tyranny. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Might. In life as in war, the stronger force wins. (Evil) |
| 5 | Live and Let Live. Ideals aren’t worth killing over or going to war for. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Nation. My city, nation, or people are all that matter. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I'm a pacifist and resent my original purpose. |
| 2 | Someone mentored me in my craft when I was struggling. I owe everything to them. |
| 3 | I will do anything to rejoin the Warforged ranks. |
| 4 | I want to prove myself in spite of the people who deemed me unfit to serve. |
| 5 | My friends are my true brothers-in-arms. I would lay down my life for them. |
| 6 | I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I'm dependent on others for directives or commands. I don't often think for myself. |
| 2 | I'm a coward at heart. I could never take a stand the way Warforged are expected to. |
| 3 | Every interaction is a battle that I must win. |
| 4 | My hatred of my enemies is programmed into my being. |
| 5 | My first instinct is always to obey, even if I have objections. |
| 6 | I believe that I am inferior to other Warforged. |
Contrary to the circumstances of most Decommissioned, you saw combat and had a military rank. You were removed from service as a result of your misdeeds while deployed, not because of a preliminary defect or a time of peace. You carry the stigma that surrounds intentionally "defective" Warforged; you are a machine who had an opportunity to carry out its objective and failed to do so. Consider the severity and nature of the crime you committed, and how your expulsion shaped your personality. Do you see your new life as a punishment, or a gift?
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