I've recently been thinking about Background features and how some of them seem poorly thought out, or nobody seems to have thought about them at all.
For example, Entertainer and Gladiator both have the same Feature, By Popular Demand. The feature description makes sense for the Entertainer background but next no sense for the Gladiator background. Gladiator should have its own feature that fits it better, officially, there are a few Homebrews that were posted (and possibly more that haven't left the table of some groups) on D&D Beyond. Even when you consider Gladiator is a listed variant for Entertainer, it still doesn't make much sense. Pirate is a variant of the Sailor background, and that is noticeably different from the base Sailor background. It would make more sense for Gladiator to either give the ability to know where to for sport fights or get little extra bonuses from people that know you from your time in the ring as either a past opponent or spectator to at any of your battles.
What are some Background features you noticed that don't seem to fit right or could be better? How do you think those features could be improved?
I am not sure I see the problem--the Gladiator version of "By Popular Demand" explicitly states that you know where to go to find fights: "You can always find a place to perform in any place that features combat for entertainment — perhaps a gladiatorial arena or secret pit fighting club." Additionally, it provides you bonuses in the form of free lodging, provided you perform your entertainment duties.
Gladiators, in history, were effectively performers--their methods of combat, while lethal, were designed to be as showy as possible rather than as deadly as possible. They were the superstars of their day (complete with literal billboards and endorsement deals), with successful gladiators being known for their showy performances.
Roman gladiators were certainly entertainers in a sense, and their fate could be determined by the opinion of the crowd. Obviously, most were enslaved, and thus not voluntarily given that role.
I've recently been thinking about Background features and how some of them seem poorly thought out, or nobody seems to have thought about them at all.
For example, Entertainer and Gladiator both have the same Feature, By Popular Demand. The feature description makes sense for the Entertainer background but next no sense for the Gladiator background. Gladiator should have its own feature that fits it better, officially, there are a few Homebrews that were posted (and possibly more that haven't left the table of some groups) on D&D Beyond. Even when you consider Gladiator is a listed variant for Entertainer, it still doesn't make much sense. Pirate is a variant of the Sailor background, and that is noticeably different from the base Sailor background. It would make more sense for Gladiator to either give the ability to know where to for sport fights or get little extra bonuses from people that know you from your time in the ring as either a past opponent or spectator to at any of your battles.
What are some Background features you noticed that don't seem to fit right or could be better? How do you think those features could be improved?
The Gladiator background is a reskinned performer. It is the example of how you can reskin a background to fit a concept. Criticising it for being a reskinned performer is a bit misguided.
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I've recently been thinking about Background features and how some of them seem poorly thought out, or nobody seems to have thought about them at all.
For example, Entertainer and Gladiator both have the same Feature, By Popular Demand. The feature description makes sense for the Entertainer background but next no sense for the Gladiator background. Gladiator should have its own feature that fits it better, officially, there are a few Homebrews that were posted (and possibly more that haven't left the table of some groups) on D&D Beyond. Even when you consider Gladiator is a listed variant for Entertainer, it still doesn't make much sense. Pirate is a variant of the Sailor background, and that is noticeably different from the base Sailor background. It would make more sense for Gladiator to either give the ability to know where to for sport fights or get little extra bonuses from people that know you from your time in the ring as either a past opponent or spectator to at any of your battles.
What are some Background features you noticed that don't seem to fit right or could be better? How do you think those features could be improved?
I am not sure I see the problem--the Gladiator version of "By Popular Demand" explicitly states that you know where to go to find fights: "You can always find a place to perform in any place that features combat for entertainment — perhaps a gladiatorial arena or secret pit fighting club." Additionally, it provides you bonuses in the form of free lodging, provided you perform your entertainment duties.
Gladiators, in history, were effectively performers--their methods of combat, while lethal, were designed to be as showy as possible rather than as deadly as possible. They were the superstars of their day (complete with literal billboards and endorsement deals), with successful gladiators being known for their showy performances.
Roman gladiators were certainly entertainers in a sense, and their fate could be determined by the opinion of the crowd. Obviously, most were enslaved, and thus not voluntarily given that role.
True, but even keeping something like that in mind, having the exact same feature as the base Entainer background still doesn't make much sense.
The Gladiator background is a reskinned performer. It is the example of how you can reskin a background to fit a concept. Criticising it for being a reskinned performer is a bit misguided.