Custom background is available using the 2014 rules. I imagine it will be available for the 2024 rules when the new DMG comes out.
This. We've been told that the rules for customizing backgrounds were moved to the DMG, so this feature won't be unlocked in DDB for another six weeks or so. I recommend being patient.
I just wish there were a few more to choose from in the core rules.
I must be missing something. You can write your own background. Like, you literally have the power to create any background you choose.
Do you not?
Yes, you are missing something: There is no statement in the 2024 rules that states you can create your own Background.
It is assumed, currently, that the 2024 DMG might include optional rules for customised Backgrounds but, as it stands, the 16 Backgrounds presented in the 2024 PHB is all we have. New players have no guidance to do otherwise.
A group could choose to house rule for themselves and, to be sure, the notion of simply grouping a few Ability bonuses with an Origin feat and some extra proficiencies under a Background moniker is not difficult, but this is not an official rule and Players would need to negotiate with a DM to do this. Moreover, it may be part of the design to have restricted Background choices in order to give Human characters more inherent flexibility than other Species.
I just wish there were a few more to choose from in the core rules.
I must be missing something. You can write your own background. Like, you literally have the power to create any background you choose.
Do you not?
Yes, you are missing something: There is no statement in the 2024 rules that states you can create your own Background.
It is assumed, currently, that the 2024 DMG might include optional rules for customised Backgrounds but, as it stands, the 16 Backgrounds presented in the 2024 PHB is all we have. New players have no guidance to do otherwise.
A group could choose to house rule for themselves and, to be sure, the notion of simply grouping a few Ability bonuses with an Origin feat and some extra proficiencies under a Background moniker is not difficult, but this is not an official rule and Players would need to negotiate with a DM to do this. Moreover, it may be part of the design to have restricted Background choices in order to give Human characters more inherent flexibility than other Species.
You allow too much impact and give too much clout to the concept of "official" rules of the game. This game is just another DM's house rules for D&D at absolute best. Grant it the house rules are made by professional designers but that just means they are well written and thought out, it hardly makes them better than anything you can come up with or even good. The object of D&D is not to buy a rulebook and then follow the rules. The point of the players handbook is to give creative options to creative people who will add/remove and bend every word.
Take Backgrounds. I think they did a great job with it. They gave us list, showed us how to make them. Now .. just make your own. Pretty simple. Not really much reason to discuss the list, I mean, its just a list. You can make 1,000 backgrounds and that would also just be a list.
Two words: Organized play. Not all people have a home game. DDAL does not allow for any kind of homebrewing. For most people, this doesn’t matter but there is a nominal contingent of players who can’t just make shit up. TrippyHippyEcho may be one of them. Even if they’re not, there are others.
I just wish there were a few more to choose from in the core rules.
I must be missing something. You can write your own background. Like, you literally have the power to create any background you choose.
Do you not?
Yes, you are missing something: There is no statement in the 2024 rules that states you can create your own Background.
It is assumed, currently, that the 2024 DMG might include optional rules for customised Backgrounds but, as it stands, the 16 Backgrounds presented in the 2024 PHB is all we have. New players have no guidance to do otherwise.
A group could choose to house rule for themselves and, to be sure, the notion of simply grouping a few Ability bonuses with an Origin feat and some extra proficiencies under a Background moniker is not difficult, but this is not an official rule and Players would need to negotiate with a DM to do this. Moreover, it may be part of the design to have restricted Background choices in order to give Human characters more inherent flexibility than other Species.
Except chosing a 2014 background lets you completely customize it. Idk why anyone wouldn't just choose a 2014 background.
Two words: Organized play. Not all people have a home game. DDAL does not allow for any kind of homebrewing. For most people, this doesn’t matter but there is a nominal contingent of players who can’t just make shit up. TrippyHippyEcho may be one of them. Even if they’re not, there are others.
Fair enough.
@TrippyHippyEcho are you asking because you are in an organized play and they don't allow house rules and that is why you are asking?
Because I don't see it mentioned anywhere and I would think if that was the actual reason, that it would be mentioned, as it wasn't, I have serious doubts about it. I think this is a player reading the rules and treating them as gospel and I think even if you asked the game designers they would do everything in their power to discourage that sort of approach to the game.
Two words: Organized play. Not all people have a home game. DDAL does not allow for any kind of homebrewing. For most people, this doesn’t matter but there is a nominal contingent of players who can’t just make shit up. TrippyHippyEcho may be one of them. Even if they’re not, there are others.
Fair enough.
@TrippyHippyEcho are you asking because you are in an organized play and they don't allow house rules and that is why you are asking?
Because I don't see it mentioned anywhere and I would think if that was the actual reason, that it would be mentioned, as it wasn't, I have serious doubts about it. I think this is a player reading the rules and treating them as gospel and I think even if you asked the game designers they would do everything in their power to discourage that sort of approach to the game.
Could been have a strict DM who is going to say no house rules. Always safe to assume the DM is going to say no to houserules.
I don't think new players will find a problem with the material presented. They're new. There is enough variance that they can just choose something.
Until they play for a while they won't want or need to make something like a custom background.
I disagree. If anyone competent is teaching you the game or you have a brain, it's not going to take long to figure out Alert and lucky are way more useful than skilled. In fact skilled will become a poor choice in session 1.
Except chosing a 2014 background lets you completely customize it. Idk why anyone wouldn't just choose a 2014 background.
Because you might not own the 2014 rulebooks?(!)
These are the current core rules with no expectation that new players need any other book. Telling people that they should choose 2014 backgrounds is ignoring the issue highlighted in these books.
@TrippyHippyEcho are you asking because you are in an organized play and they don't allow house rules and that is why you are asking?
Because I don't see it mentioned anywhere and I would think if that was the actual reason, that it would be mentioned, as it wasn't, I have serious doubts about it. I think this is a player reading the rules and treating them as gospel and I think even if you asked the game designers they would do everything in their power to discourage that sort of approach to the game.
I am saying that there shouldn’t be any onus on a DM to have to make rulings on house rules in this way. If the Backgrounds choices were ample from the core rules there wouldn’t any need for potential conflict or debate.
I don't think new players will find a problem with the material presented. They're new. There is enough variance that they can just choose something.
Until they play for a while they won't want or need to make something like a custom background.
I disagree. If anyone competent is teaching you the game or you have a brain, it's not going to take long to figure out Alert and lucky are way more useful than skilled. In fact skilled will become a poor choice in session 1.
That is some pretty harsh language you're throwing around.
You mean to say any GM that doesn't force their players to make certain choices is incompetent? Glad I never have to play with you.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
I don't think new players will find a problem with the material presented. They're new. There is enough variance that they can just choose something.
Until they play for a while they won't want or need to make something like a custom background.
I disagree. If anyone competent is teaching you the game or you have a brain, it's not going to take long to figure out Alert and lucky are way more useful than skilled. In fact skilled will become a poor choice in session 1.
The value of feats, especially origin feats, to most players is less how strong they are, and more how they individualize the character. If you want to know things, particularly things out of scope of your class, skilled is what you want. Is it suboptimal? Perhaps, but the new player will never really notice. (And really, how suboptimal depends a lot on how common skill checks are in their game, which is a variable that you cannot calculate.)
Which is why I don't like the feats fixed to backgrounds, because, while it makes it easier for beginners, it allows for less uniqueness when your background choice is also your feat choice. A subset with a suggestion would've been a better choice if they felt a need to constrain it.
No secret that they lost their minds on the 2024 background system...
But since everyone was so happy to see that backgrounds (and the feats assoc with them) could be customized...
Are we able to customize backgrounds in dnd beyond? Change the origin feat? Use an old template and add origin feats, bonus stats, etc?
Thanks.
Custom background is available using the 2014 rules. I imagine it will be available for the 2024 rules when the new DMG comes out.
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I just wish there were a few more to choose from in the core rules.
Talk to your DM. Many background options - skills, feats, tools - can be manually edited on your character sheet.
I must be missing something. You can write your own background. Like, you literally have the power to create any background you choose.
Do you not?
This. We've been told that the rules for customizing backgrounds were moved to the DMG, so this feature won't be unlocked in DDB for another six weeks or so. I recommend being patient.
That's using the 2014 custom background function. There will be a way to customize the 2024 backgrounds in the DMG.
Yes, you are missing something: There is no statement in the 2024 rules that states you can create your own Background.
It is assumed, currently, that the 2024 DMG might include optional rules for customised Backgrounds but, as it stands, the 16 Backgrounds presented in the 2024 PHB is all we have. New players have no guidance to do otherwise.
A group could choose to house rule for themselves and, to be sure, the notion of simply grouping a few Ability bonuses with an Origin feat and some extra proficiencies under a Background moniker is not difficult, but this is not an official rule and Players would need to negotiate with a DM to do this. Moreover, it may be part of the design to have restricted Background choices in order to give Human characters more inherent flexibility than other Species.
You allow too much impact and give too much clout to the concept of "official" rules of the game. This game is just another DM's house rules for D&D at absolute best. Grant it the house rules are made by professional designers but that just means they are well written and thought out, it hardly makes them better than anything you can come up with or even good. The object of D&D is not to buy a rulebook and then follow the rules. The point of the players handbook is to give creative options to creative people who will add/remove and bend every word.
Take Backgrounds. I think they did a great job with it. They gave us list, showed us how to make them. Now .. just make your own. Pretty simple. Not really much reason to discuss the list, I mean, its just a list. You can make 1,000 backgrounds and that would also just be a list.
Two words: Organized play. Not all people have a home game. DDAL does not allow for any kind of homebrewing. For most people, this doesn’t matter but there is a nominal contingent of players who can’t just make shit up. TrippyHippyEcho may be one of them. Even if they’re not, there are others.
Except chosing a 2014 background lets you completely customize it. Idk why anyone wouldn't just choose a 2014 background.
Do you think you need the book’s permission to make a house rule?
Fair enough.
@TrippyHippyEcho are you asking because you are in an organized play and they don't allow house rules and that is why you are asking?
Because I don't see it mentioned anywhere and I would think if that was the actual reason, that it would be mentioned, as it wasn't, I have serious doubts about it. I think this is a player reading the rules and treating them as gospel and I think even if you asked the game designers they would do everything in their power to discourage that sort of approach to the game.
I don't think new players will find a problem with the material presented. They're new. There is enough variance that they can just choose something.
Until they play for a while they won't want or need to make something like a custom background.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Could been have a strict DM who is going to say no house rules. Always safe to assume the DM is going to say no to houserules.
I disagree. If anyone competent is teaching you the game or you have a brain, it's not going to take long to figure out Alert and lucky are way more useful than skilled. In fact skilled will become a poor choice in session 1.
Because you might not own the 2014 rulebooks?(!)
These are the current core rules with no expectation that new players need any other book. Telling people that they should choose 2014 backgrounds is ignoring the issue highlighted in these books.
I am saying that there shouldn’t be any onus on a DM to have to make rulings on house rules in this way. If the Backgrounds choices were ample from the core rules there wouldn’t any need for potential conflict or debate.
That is some pretty harsh language you're throwing around.
You mean to say any GM that doesn't force their players to make certain choices is incompetent? Glad I never have to play with you.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
The value of feats, especially origin feats, to most players is less how strong they are, and more how they individualize the character. If you want to know things, particularly things out of scope of your class, skilled is what you want. Is it suboptimal? Perhaps, but the new player will never really notice. (And really, how suboptimal depends a lot on how common skill checks are in their game, which is a variable that you cannot calculate.)
Which is why I don't like the feats fixed to backgrounds, because, while it makes it easier for beginners, it allows for less uniqueness when your background choice is also your feat choice. A subset with a suggestion would've been a better choice if they felt a need to constrain it.
What is it about the backgrounds you don’t like?
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