Mage of War

Unlike ordinary mages you do not sit behind a desk or hide away in a library, not to say you don’t enjoy doing so on the odd occasion. Instead, whether from a distance or on the frontlines, you’ve been embroiled more heavily in war and combat than many other mages.

You may have lived the life of a soldier on the front lines, a mercenary skilled in ranged destruction, an adventurer adept in the healing arts or even a bandit greedily plying your spells for ill intent. You have experienced any combination of lives in the field of combat and these possibilities have left you with a proficiency in spellcasting in the heat of the moment.

When you choose this background, work with your DM to determine what faction or group, if any, you were a part of. Decide what you experienced and what sort of influences those experiences have had upon you and possibly the group you were a part of. Use this information to decide what effect this will have on the feature of this background.

Skill Proficiencies: Arcana, plus your choice of one from among Acrobatics, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, and Survival

Tool Proficiencies: One type of gaming set, vehicles (land)

Equipment: A bottle of black ink, a quill, a small knife, an insignia of your rank, a gaming set of your choice, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 15 gp

Suggested Characteristics

A Mage of War's interest varies greatly from one to the next. Look at other backgrounds that correspond with how you're involved in combat, such as soldier, knight, criminal, or even sage for those more in touch with their magic side and use those.