The "Inheritor" background is one of those Backgrounds that simply intrigues me.
It's one of those vague backgrounds that involves a bit from your DM, and provides some academic proficiencies, and duplicates the "Folk Hero" background...except that instead of being someone who accomplished some minor deed for a bit of a famous reputation...you're someone who's basically just started your adventure.
The Inheritor background centers around you, and something that was left to you by a family member, friend, mentor, or some figure of reputation.
One of the suggested traits is that you pick a "trinket" from the Player's Handbook; and this becomes your inheritance.
Now, this is actually pretty neat...the list of trinkets in the Player's Handbook can be pretty creative and interesting, and a BIG number of them could have all sorts of stories attached to them. Some have descriptions that are intentionally left vague, giving them a hint of mystery that YOU, the player character, could be itching to solve.
...and one of the trinkets is literally a pair of socks.
So maybe not ALL of them can be epic.
But still...there are a few trinkets on this list that gave me all sorts of ideas for character ideas...giving the player a reason to go adventuring.
I thought I'd share a few ideas from just a couple trinkets, and maybe see how others have used this background for their characters.
A small idol depicting a nightmarish creature that gives you unsettling dreams when you sleep near it
...this could easily be a Lovecraftian-styled character, who becomes obsessed by this monstrous idol that is seemingly affecting their mind. Did it drive a relative to madness, before being passed on to you? What is the creature the idol depicts? Is it some entity from beyond the stars? An aberration from some other plane?
Maybe this idol is worshipped by members of a murderous cult, and now they are targeting YOU because you possess it.
An old divination card bearing your likeness
The first thing I wonder is: if this is a divination card bearing your likeness...where are the other cards? Who are on them? Why?
Is the purpose of the card magical in nature? Who can you speak to in order to get answers? A fortune teller? A wizard?
A glass orb filled with moving smoke
Perhaps the orb contains an air elemental or djinn.
A glass jar containing a weird bit of flesh floating in pickling fluid
Was a member of your family performing a bizarre experiment? Is this the material component of the "Clone" spell? Or the beginning's of a flesh golem?
A hilt from a broken sword
Was your family member some kind of warrior, or adventurer, and have left you this sword? Is it the remains of a powerful blade, like a Luck Blade? How did it break? Where are the other pieces? Can it be re-forged?
A sheet of parchment upon which is drawn a complex mechanical contraption
Perhaps this is the inspiration for an Artificer. Maybe it is the schematics for a shield guardian or some other kind of mechanical construct you can build...in time.
An invitation to a party where a murder happened
They never did find the murderer...oh, dear gods, did your relative commit the dark deed? Is the killer still at large? Are you a target?!
A purple handkerchief embroidered with the name of a powerful archmage
Who is this mage? How did they know your relative? Do you seek them out? Do you wish to learn from magic from them?
An iron holy symbol devoted to an unknown god
Is this a holy symbol from which you derive your Cleric spells? Do you seek to reveal what god relates to this symbol? Through you, are you giving a sort of existence to this deity? Are the enemies of this deity tracking you down because they view the god of this symbol as a threat?
---and so on and so forth.
There's a hundred of these trinkets; and "most" of them can be used to create an interesting backstory for your D&D character.
What have been some of your ideas for characters using the "Inheritor" background?
Am I able to take Sun blade or Bracers of Defense as my Inheritance if I'm starting as a monk, chosen worthy of embettering this world and/or others by taking on cruel tasks & challenges?
As part of the Inheritor background feature? Absolutely not. Referencing the Inheritor background, the "Inheritance" feature of the background offers nothing on the scale of rare magic items. The inheritance is a background feature to assist in giving the character an interesting story, not a power up before you even start playing.
I can maybe see this sort of proposition stemming from "arcane book or formulary" as an option suggested under inheritance; but even if a generous DM includes some spells in that option, they could only be utilized if the character was the sort who could cast from a spell or ritual book, and then only useable in accordance with that character's spell casting class feature.
The trinkets are just that: "trinkets" ... keep sakes that have some sort of personal, not mechanical, significance (note how the OP shows how that can be done in their post, it's just for story). A sun blade or bracers of defense or any wondrous item of that mechanical power, are not on any trinket list in the books that offer them.
Now, that said, you might be able to negotiate with your DM for your trinket to unlock into such an item down the line, but that's entirely up to the DM and should be used in place of a comparable reward as a part of the campaign, not in addition to. And this is entirely dependent on the DM being willing to give the idea the greenlight.
So I was gonna go with a Kenku Wizard and use this background making the thing he inherited a spell book his mentor left behind that would unlock as my character levels up.(This allows my character to copy the spells to his own spellbook) and if I could I would ask for 1 extra spell as long as it's in the later parts of the story and the DM permits such a thing if not it's fine as it would add some flavor.
So I was gonna go with a Kenku Wizard and use this background making the thing he inherited a spell book his mentor left behind that would unlock as my character levels up.(This allows my character to copy the spells to his own spellbook) and if I could I would ask for 1 extra spell as long as it's in the later parts of the story and the DM permits such a thing if not it's fine as it would add some flavor.
It can’t hurt to ask, but you’re stretching “flavor” when you get a tangible mechanical benefit from it.
I'd allow it, if it were the flavour for the initial 6 spells a Wizard learns and the two additional spells per level that. It wouldn't gain you anything you're not already.getting, but it's a cool explanation for why you're getting these spells.
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The "Inheritor" background is one of those Backgrounds that simply intrigues me.
It's one of those vague backgrounds that involves a bit from your DM, and provides some academic proficiencies, and duplicates the "Folk Hero" background...except that instead of being someone who accomplished some minor deed for a bit of a famous reputation...you're someone who's basically just started your adventure.
The Inheritor background centers around you, and something that was left to you by a family member, friend, mentor, or some figure of reputation.
One of the suggested traits is that you pick a "trinket" from the Player's Handbook; and this becomes your inheritance.
Now, this is actually pretty neat...the list of trinkets in the Player's Handbook can be pretty creative and interesting, and a BIG number of them could have all sorts of stories attached to them. Some have descriptions that are intentionally left vague, giving them a hint of mystery that YOU, the player character, could be itching to solve.
...and one of the trinkets is literally a pair of socks.
So maybe not ALL of them can be epic.
But still...there are a few trinkets on this list that gave me all sorts of ideas for character ideas...giving the player a reason to go adventuring.
I thought I'd share a few ideas from just a couple trinkets, and maybe see how others have used this background for their characters.
A small idol depicting a nightmarish creature that gives you unsettling dreams when you sleep near it
...this could easily be a Lovecraftian-styled character, who becomes obsessed by this monstrous idol that is seemingly affecting their mind. Did it drive a relative to madness, before being passed on to you? What is the creature the idol depicts? Is it some entity from beyond the stars? An aberration from some other plane?
Maybe this idol is worshipped by members of a murderous cult, and now they are targeting YOU because you possess it.
An old divination card bearing your likeness
The first thing I wonder is: if this is a divination card bearing your likeness...where are the other cards? Who are on them? Why?
Is the purpose of the card magical in nature? Who can you speak to in order to get answers? A fortune teller? A wizard?
A glass orb filled with moving smoke
Perhaps the orb contains an air elemental or djinn.
A glass jar containing a weird bit of flesh floating in pickling fluid
Was a member of your family performing a bizarre experiment? Is this the material component of the "Clone" spell? Or the beginning's of a flesh golem?
A hilt from a broken sword
Was your family member some kind of warrior, or adventurer, and have left you this sword? Is it the remains of a powerful blade, like a Luck Blade? How did it break? Where are the other pieces? Can it be re-forged?
A sheet of parchment upon which is drawn a complex mechanical contraption
Perhaps this is the inspiration for an Artificer. Maybe it is the schematics for a shield guardian or some other kind of mechanical construct you can build...in time.
An invitation to a party where a murder happened
They never did find the murderer...oh, dear gods, did your relative commit the dark deed? Is the killer still at large? Are you a target?!
A purple handkerchief embroidered with the name of a powerful archmage
Who is this mage? How did they know your relative? Do you seek them out? Do you wish to learn from magic from them?
An iron holy symbol devoted to an unknown god
Is this a holy symbol from which you derive your Cleric spells? Do you seek to reveal what god relates to this symbol? Through you, are you giving a sort of existence to this deity? Are the enemies of this deity tracking you down because they view the god of this symbol as a threat?
---and so on and so forth.
There's a hundred of these trinkets; and "most" of them can be used to create an interesting backstory for your D&D character.
What have been some of your ideas for characters using the "Inheritor" background?
Share below!
Am I able to take Sun blade or Bracers of Defense as my Inheritance if I'm starting as a monk, chosen worthy of embettering this world and/or others by taking on cruel tasks & challenges?
As part of the Inheritor background feature? Absolutely not. Referencing the Inheritor background, the "Inheritance" feature of the background offers nothing on the scale of rare magic items. The inheritance is a background feature to assist in giving the character an interesting story, not a power up before you even start playing.
I can maybe see this sort of proposition stemming from "arcane book or formulary" as an option suggested under inheritance; but even if a generous DM includes some spells in that option, they could only be utilized if the character was the sort who could cast from a spell or ritual book, and then only useable in accordance with that character's spell casting class feature.
The trinkets are just that: "trinkets" ... keep sakes that have some sort of personal, not mechanical, significance (note how the OP shows how that can be done in their post, it's just for story). A sun blade or bracers of defense or any wondrous item of that mechanical power, are not on any trinket list in the books that offer them.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Now, that said, you might be able to negotiate with your DM for your trinket to unlock into such an item down the line, but that's entirely up to the DM and should be used in place of a comparable reward as a part of the campaign, not in addition to. And this is entirely dependent on the DM being willing to give the idea the greenlight.
So I was gonna go with a Kenku Wizard and use this background making the thing he inherited a spell book his mentor left behind that would unlock as my character levels up.(This allows my character to copy the spells to his own spellbook) and if I could I would ask for 1 extra spell as long as it's in the later parts of the story and the DM permits such a thing if not it's fine as it would add some flavor.
It can’t hurt to ask, but you’re stretching “flavor” when you get a tangible mechanical benefit from it.
I'd allow it, if it were the flavour for the initial 6 spells a Wizard learns and the two additional spells per level that. It wouldn't gain you anything you're not already.getting, but it's a cool explanation for why you're getting these spells.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.