In the setting I've created, slavery is a very real thing. So, I decided to allow my players to have the option of having the background of Former Slave. Maybe you were born into slavery, maybe you were made a slave, maybe you served as a slave to pay a debt. But one way or another, that life is over now. Maybe you escaped, maybe your master freed you for some reason, maybe you were plucked off the auction block when your masters found out you had some special skills, etc. I can already say that being a former slave could give you bonuses to constitution and survival, and you'd be able to speak the language of your former masters. Anything else or any unique items that you'd add to the list?
Slavery has existed throughout all of recorded history. It is found in every culture, even nation, and every continent on the planet. It is currently considered entirely evil and should never even be mentioned in polite company. People get so offended that the statues of people formerly considered to be great heroes get torn down. I wouldn't suggest using this Background at all.
I would not advice creating a Background like Former Slave. Someone is sure to take offence, if not at your own "table", then at someone else's. It is a perfectly viable Background and could be fun to roleplay, but problems it could cause far outweigh the fun.
Well, except the language, you can also be proficient with some tools.Other than that, Greek slaves in the Roman empire were often highly educated and served as a teachers or scribes, so you might want to allow some of the intelligence/wisdom related skills.
Edit: for a household slave, you might have also overheard your master's meetings with important people, so you might have some important information about them or some "dirt".
In the setting I've created, slavery is a very real thing. So, I decided to allow my players to have the option of having the background of Former Slave. Maybe you were born into slavery, maybe you were made a slave, maybe you served as a slave to pay a debt. But one way or another, that life is over now. Maybe you escaped, maybe your master freed you for some reason, maybe you were plucked off the auction block when your masters found out you had some special skills, etc. I can already say that being a former slave could give you bonuses to constitution and survival, and you'd be able to speak the language of your former masters. Anything else or any unique items that you'd add to the list?
I would not advice creating a Background like Former Slave. Someone is sure to take offence, if not at your own "table", then at someone else's. It is a perfectly viable Background and could be fun to roleplay, but problems it could cause far outweigh the fun.
As Geann has said, I would be careful about including sensitive topics in your games. Just as you would not flirt and curse openly at church, you might want to take a step back and think about who the players are at your table. If you do not feel comfortable talking to them about a particular issue one on one, then I would keep that particular issue out of the game. If you do not feel comfortable talking about your sex life, then leave sex out of the game. If you do not feel comfortable talking about slavery and police brutality, then leave it out the game. Depending on the audience, you can probably still casually mention things like the town square is having a public hanging of cultists, rapists, slavers, and other criminals, but if you are new to DMing or if you are not close to your players, I recommend avoiding sensitive topics altogether as a precaution.
If you know your players well, and are all close friends with whom you can yell obscenities together and grab each other by the crotch, feel free to play whatever game you guys want and drop the formalities. Nobody cares if you enslave NPCs or commit fictional genocide behind closed doors, just do not bring it out into the public.
In the setting I've created, slavery is a very real thing. So, I decided to allow my players to have the option of having the background of Former Slave. Maybe you were born into slavery, maybe you were made a slave, maybe you served as a slave to pay a debt. But one way or another, that life is over now. Maybe you escaped, maybe your master freed you for some reason, maybe you were plucked off the auction block when your masters found out you had some special skills, etc. I can already say that being a former slave could give you bonuses to constitution and survival, and you'd be able to speak the language of your former masters. Anything else or any unique items that you'd add to the list?
I would not advice creating a Background like Former Slave. Someone is sure to take offence, if not at your own "table", then at someone else's. It is a perfectly viable Background and could be fun to roleplay, but problems it could cause far outweigh the fun.
As Geann has said, I would be careful about including sensitive topics in your games. Just as you would not flirt and curse openly at church, you might want to take a step back and think about who the players are at your table. If you do not feel comfortable talking to them about a particular issue one on one, then I would keep that particular issue out of the game. If you do not feel comfortable talking about your sex life, then leave sex out of the game. If you do not feel comfortable talking about slavery and police brutality, then leave it out the game. Depending on the audience, you can probably still casually mention things like the town square is having a public hanging of cultists, rapists, slavers, and other criminals, but if you are new to DMing or if you are not close to your players, I recommend avoiding sensitive topics altogether as a precaution.
If you know your players well, and are all close friends with whom you can yell obscenities together and grab each other by the crotch, feel free to play whatever game you guys want and drop the formalities. Nobody cares if you enslave NPCs or commit fictional genocide behind closed doors, just do not bring it out into the public.
Well I don't do public games. I always do private ones. But I can bring up descretion warnings for new players, even if their ones I know.
Well, except the language, you can also be proficient with some tools.Other than that, Greek slaves in the Roman empire were often highly educated and served as a teachers or scribes, so you might want to allow some of the intelligence/wisdom related skills.
Edit: for a household slave, you might have also overheard your master's meetings with important people, so you might have some important information about them or some "dirt".
I suppose i'll have to write options of what their former duties were. Teachers and scribes, but also nannies and caretakers, farmers, cooks and brewers, stable workers and servants, architects and miners, test subjects, etc.
That said, backgrounds do not give ability score bonuses, so stay away from con. PHB has recommendations for making a background. Following those, you’re a good way toward one. you give them a language and a tool proficiency (you could, in this case, just let the player pick one that works with their story). Then you pick two skills. I don’t know if survival is right, that’s more about being out in the wilderness. But really, just find two that work with how you depict slavery in your world. And, you need some kind of little special narrative/rp power. Tough to help with this without knowing details of your world.
Beyond the sensitive nature of the subject, "former slave" is too broad category to be appropriate for a Background.
A background establishes what a character did before they became a hero. It gives you skills, plus some sort of background-based benefit. But there are so many different forms of slavery that you really can't choose skills that would be universal to all of them: a rower on a galley isn't going to have much in common with a field worker on a plantation, or a nanny in a noble's house except possibly for the collection of lash scars they have on their backs. Similarly, what benefit could you truly have as part of your background for being an ex-slave? I think it would be better to choose an existing background based on what your character's role was and leave the slavery as fluff if you truly feel you need to include it.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
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In the setting I've created, slavery is a very real thing. So, I decided to allow my players to have the option of having the background of Former Slave. Maybe you were born into slavery, maybe you were made a slave, maybe you served as a slave to pay a debt. But one way or another, that life is over now. Maybe you escaped, maybe your master freed you for some reason, maybe you were plucked off the auction block when your masters found out you had some special skills, etc. I can already say that being a former slave could give you bonuses to constitution and survival, and you'd be able to speak the language of your former masters. Anything else or any unique items that you'd add to the list?
Slavery has existed throughout all of recorded history. It is found in every culture, even nation, and every continent on the planet. It is currently considered entirely evil and should never even be mentioned in polite company. People get so offended that the statues of people formerly considered to be great heroes get torn down. I wouldn't suggest using this Background at all.
I would not advice creating a Background like Former Slave. Someone is sure to take offence, if not at your own "table", then at someone else's. It is a perfectly viable Background and could be fun to roleplay, but problems it could cause far outweigh the fun.
<Insert clever signature here>
Well, except the language, you can also be proficient with some tools.Other than that, Greek slaves in the Roman empire were often highly educated and served as a teachers or scribes, so you might want to allow some of the intelligence/wisdom related skills.
Edit: for a household slave, you might have also overheard your master's meetings with important people, so you might have some important information about them or some "dirt".
As Geann has said, I would be careful about including sensitive topics in your games. Just as you would not flirt and curse openly at church, you might want to take a step back and think about who the players are at your table. If you do not feel comfortable talking to them about a particular issue one on one, then I would keep that particular issue out of the game. If you do not feel comfortable talking about your sex life, then leave sex out of the game. If you do not feel comfortable talking about slavery and police brutality, then leave it out the game. Depending on the audience, you can probably still casually mention things like the town square is having a public hanging of cultists, rapists, slavers, and other criminals, but if you are new to DMing or if you are not close to your players, I recommend avoiding sensitive topics altogether as a precaution.
If you know your players well, and are all close friends with whom you can yell obscenities together and grab each other by the crotch, feel free to play whatever game you guys want and drop the formalities. Nobody cares if you enslave NPCs or commit fictional genocide behind closed doors, just do not bring it out into the public.
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Well I don't do public games. I always do private ones. But I can bring up descretion warnings for new players, even if their ones I know.
I suppose i'll have to write options of what their former duties were. Teachers and scribes, but also nannies and caretakers, farmers, cooks and brewers, stable workers and servants, architects and miners, test subjects, etc.
As others said, tread lightly.
That said, backgrounds do not give ability score bonuses, so stay away from con.
PHB has recommendations for making a background. Following those, you’re a good way toward one. you give them a language and a tool proficiency (you could, in this case, just let the player pick one that works with their story). Then you pick two skills. I don’t know if survival is right, that’s more about being out in the wilderness. But really, just find two that work with how you depict slavery in your world.
And, you need some kind of little special narrative/rp power. Tough to help with this without knowing details of your world.
Beyond the sensitive nature of the subject, "former slave" is too broad category to be appropriate for a Background.
A background establishes what a character did before they became a hero. It gives you skills, plus some sort of background-based benefit. But there are so many different forms of slavery that you really can't choose skills that would be universal to all of them: a rower on a galley isn't going to have much in common with a field worker on a plantation, or a nanny in a noble's house except possibly for the collection of lash scars they have on their backs. Similarly, what benefit could you truly have as part of your background for being an ex-slave? I think it would be better to choose an existing background based on what your character's role was and leave the slavery as fluff if you truly feel you need to include it.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.