I'm having background paralysis regarding a character concept, and am trying to weigh the stronger elements between "Urchin" and "Folk Hero".
My character is a half-drow of a neutral good alignment, who was born to a certain drow mercenary and human woman. Alas, upon the sickly mother's death, our young half-drow was forced to live in the sewers of Waterdeep to avoid the scrutiny of his drow-like appearance.
Anyway, he basically knows the sewers of Waterdeep, and will traverse rooftops at night to avoid people being frightened by him when he wants to "get out for a while". He particularly enjoys listening to music and stories from the bards in the public districts, and becomes fascinated by the legends of heroes.
He essentially wishes to become like these heroes, and so takes up the mantle of a College of Swords bard, with a dash of Paladin. He becomes a vigilante by night; protecting the people of Waterdeep from the various criminal elements.
Now, "Urchin" gives some useful features...the ability to traverse urban terrain in half the normal time would make sense, considering his knowledge of the sewers and his midnight parkour. Add thieves tool proficiency, and his disguise kit to mask his drow heritage...I'm THIS close to just picking that background.
"Folk Hero", however, is what he aspires to be...the belief that it is his destiny to be a hero, despite his appearance, is a strong motivator. Plus, he takes "Cooking Tools" as his proficiency, if choosing this background, as he has a surprising knack for making meals out of odd ingredients he...ah..."procures" from around the city.
Anyway. Was wondering if anyone had strong feelings about the "Urchin" or "Folk Hero" backgrounds. Help me bite the bullet and choose one.
Also, maybe share your character backstories you've made with these particular backgrounds!
I don't really see a basis for your character to take Folk Hero as a background. There would have to have been some specific event or something where he saved the day, despite having previously being spurned by the community he belongs to. He goes from a nobody to everyone's hero over the course of a sequence of events in rapid succession. It just doesn't work with the existing backstory you have established, particularly the part where he actively avoids engaging with that community.
As you've written the backstory, Urchin fits it to a T, for all the reasons you've described. It's a natural fit and a great compliment to where you seem to want to take the character.
That said, you could tweak the backstory to make Folk Hero fit much more naturally. You'd just have to devise a minor disaster of some sort or other, that he happened to resolve, and that's what gave him the final push he needed to take up adventuring in order to fulfill his dream of being a hero.
Greetings all!
I'm having background paralysis regarding a character concept, and am trying to weigh the stronger elements between "Urchin" and "Folk Hero".
My character is a half-drow of a neutral good alignment, who was born to a certain drow mercenary and human woman. Alas, upon the sickly mother's death, our young half-drow was forced to live in the sewers of Waterdeep to avoid the scrutiny of his drow-like appearance.
Anyway, he basically knows the sewers of Waterdeep, and will traverse rooftops at night to avoid people being frightened by him when he wants to "get out for a while". He particularly enjoys listening to music and stories from the bards in the public districts, and becomes fascinated by the legends of heroes.
He essentially wishes to become like these heroes, and so takes up the mantle of a College of Swords bard, with a dash of Paladin. He becomes a vigilante by night; protecting the people of Waterdeep from the various criminal elements.
Now, "Urchin" gives some useful features...the ability to traverse urban terrain in half the normal time would make sense, considering his knowledge of the sewers and his midnight parkour. Add thieves tool proficiency, and his disguise kit to mask his drow heritage...I'm THIS close to just picking that background.
"Folk Hero", however, is what he aspires to be...the belief that it is his destiny to be a hero, despite his appearance, is a strong motivator. Plus, he takes "Cooking Tools" as his proficiency, if choosing this background, as he has a surprising knack for making meals out of odd ingredients he...ah..."procures" from around the city.
Anyway. Was wondering if anyone had strong feelings about the "Urchin" or "Folk Hero" backgrounds. Help me bite the bullet and choose one.
Also, maybe share your character backstories you've made with these particular backgrounds!
His description is pure urchin. You’d have to stretch to make folk hero fit since he’s not known anywhere.
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I don't really see a basis for your character to take Folk Hero as a background. There would have to have been some specific event or something where he saved the day, despite having previously being spurned by the community he belongs to. He goes from a nobody to everyone's hero over the course of a sequence of events in rapid succession. It just doesn't work with the existing backstory you have established, particularly the part where he actively avoids engaging with that community.
As you've written the backstory, Urchin fits it to a T, for all the reasons you've described. It's a natural fit and a great compliment to where you seem to want to take the character.
That said, you could tweak the backstory to make Folk Hero fit much more naturally. You'd just have to devise a minor disaster of some sort or other, that he happened to resolve, and that's what gave him the final push he needed to take up adventuring in order to fulfill his dream of being a hero.
I'd have to agree with you!
While there is an event that instigated his drive to be a hero, it isn't enough to gain the popularity associated with "Folk Hero".