So I was going around trying to choose a background for my character. It has the following story:
He served a king in a war as a general and was sent with his battalion to fight off an army of orcs. The battle ended as victory/draw with both armies destroying each other and my character being the only survivor, albeit losing his sword-arm and having his right eye gouged. (Gruesome, I know)
Upon his return with much effort to report to his king, he finds that the whole battle was a plot to get rid of him and his battalion because the noblemen had filled the king with the idea that he was out to usurp his throne and take over with his men. Upon his leave for battle, the noblemen had taken his family and (after having their way with them) had them sold as slaves. (A bit adult, but necessary to set the theme).
He thus was captured under pretense of having abandoned his men in order to survive in addition to false proof of his plans. Thus he was to be sent to a far away prison to be tortured for his remaining life. As he was being led out of the city, he was approached by the nobleman who had orchestrated this ordeal due to jealousy of not only his power, looks and achievements, but also because he had the love of his wife, the woman the nobleman had desired for so long.
Anger and hatred filled my character's heart as the nobleman bragged of the night he shared with his wife and daughter before selling them off to the slave dealers.
Some time later, in his cell in a far away island, he grieved and uttered that he would stop at nothing to avenge his family and curse those who would betray others. He was reached out by a patron at that point who offered the ability to do so in exchange for the service of chasing down people with black souls to send to the Abyss to be consumed.
Thus, his missing arm regrew into grotesque, carapaced, three fingered, clawed arm, a representation of the pact between the two. He killed his way out and now lurks the land, searching for those who commit the most heinous acts to feed to Beelzebub the Prince of Gluttony, while travelling ever closer to the kingdom of his origin to impact the vengeance he so desires. He also pays attention to slave markets, hoping by some chance to come across his family by fate.
I may have written a bit too much there, but the main point is that the Official backgrounds don't really apply to him... he's used to be a knight and soldier, but their features REALLY don't apply here as he is closer to a convict than anything else. He could've been a War Hero, but you would think the nobles would use all their power to vilify his name as a deserter. However, he is neither criminal nor spy and should not have knowledge of the criminal networks of cities. He might be a Haunted One, but both it's description and feature don't seem like ones the character would have since he is out for blood rather than an unspoken fear or dread.
So I thought I'd make the Betrayed background and see what comes of it... but I became stuck exactly on the thing the other Backgrounds have that doesn't convince me, the Feature.
Ignoring the whole Patron segment and strictly limiting yourself to a background of being betrayed by someone either an employer, friend, organization or even family and both surviving the ordeal and you knowing it... what Feature should this background give?
As he served as a soldier and then was vilified by the nobility, could he be a folk hero? Nothing keeps you from mixing and matching backgrounds, in fact it is suggested by the PHB. I understand the intent of this thread is to make a new background, but I like to find an official option before turning to homebrewing.
To the question of a feature: what connection to others remain? Do soldiers still see him as a general? Does the people he protected see him as valiant soldier? Did he keep in contact with the unsavory characters he met in prison? A background's feature is defined by human contacts they have, what remains after they were betrayed?
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
As he served as a soldier and then was vilified by the nobility, could he be a folk hero? Nothing keeps you from mixing and matching backgrounds, in fact it is suggested by the PHB. I understand the intent of this thread is to make a new background, but I like to find an official option before turning to homebrewing.
To the question of a feature: what connection to others remain? Do soldiers still see him as a general? Does the people he protected see him as valiant soldier? Did he keep in contact with the unsavory characters he met in prison? A background's feature is defined by human contacts they have, what remains after they were betrayed?
Let's see... he was in command of a battalion, but they all perished in battle. So he has no soldiers that directly worked under him.
He was charged with desertion which is a heavy crime in his kingdom, so any remaining soldier will definitely see him with anger.
Furthermore, the townfolk will believe the story of his desertion against the orcs, so they might see any future attacks by orcs as his fault.
Finally, he was in a out-of-the-way prison for top level threats or people nobles may want to suffer under the hands of ruthless prison guards and torturers. Adding to the fact he was grieving and filled with hatred, I don't think the amount of time he remained in prison before the patron interfered was enough to foster any kind of relationship with these potentially dangerous inmates...
Also, there are other features included amongst the official background that have no regard for human contact, such as: hermit having unknown knowledge, an archeologist being able to identify details of structure's past, anthropologist having knowledge on cultures of many lands, the inheritor's inheritance and the sage's memory.
As such, a feature can be based on past relations, skills practiced, knowledge learned or even objects. This makes it very open >_<
The only one I can truly think up is a sixth sense for detecting those with evil intent towards him (as a protection mechanism against being betrayed again).
Have you looked at the pirate background? Perhaps Bad Reputation may be what you're looking for. If not, begin with any general connections, then move to previous knowledge, I can see his tactical experience playing in.
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
I agree about looking at existing features and slightly modifying it to fit your character. Then your DM won't have to worry so much about the power of your feature and balance in the game.
The pirate background's feature may work as well as the Haunted One's feature which gives more positive reactions than negative. The City Watch feature "Watcher's Eye" makes it easy for your character to find and identify both guard posts and criminal dens. Maybe your background makes it easier for your character to root out corruption or slave traders, two things that he despises.
Overall, would you prefer a feature that has NPCs fear/help you, or one that gives information?
I suppose the best would be information, City Watch seems to be the best option considering what I've read. Though the character paid attention to slave markets after the ordeal, it is still within range of the background... I'll see if that one is fine by the group.
how about something like this concept with two options
Escapist:
you have broken out of prison on one or more situations, and depending on how you did this, you have multiple benefits
Quiet: with planned distraction feature
by spending one minute searching and focusing intently on security patrols, you can discern any pattern in patrols and find any possible opening to break through to wherever.
also by expending an item, possibly a coin or other mildly heavy object you can throw to cause a distraction causing a guard to go investigate
you can also fashion a makeshift lockpick with any thing similar to metal wire
Loud: unorthodox fighting feature
as a person who has broken out of prison like they had nothing left to live for, you have picked up a number of very strange fight tactics, select two of the following
. improvised weapon speciality: you can take an improvised weapon and gain proficiency in that and have 1d6 additional damage
. headbutt: you can use your action to incur 1d4 damage and have the target make a dex or con save, if they fail they take 1d6 damage and are stunned for one turn
. powder maneuver: if you have access to any powder (i.e. flour, sand, fine gravel, etc.) you can use it to blind the opponent for 1d4 rounds
this is just an idea for the feature, C&C welcome
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So I was going around trying to choose a background for my character. It has the following story:
He served a king in a war as a general and was sent with his battalion to fight off an army of orcs. The battle ended as victory/draw with both armies destroying each other and my character being the only survivor, albeit losing his sword-arm and having his right eye gouged. (Gruesome, I know)
Upon his return with much effort to report to his king, he finds that the whole battle was a plot to get rid of him and his battalion because the noblemen had filled the king with the idea that he was out to usurp his throne and take over with his men. Upon his leave for battle, the noblemen had taken his family and (after having their way with them) had them sold as slaves. (A bit adult, but necessary to set the theme).
He thus was captured under pretense of having abandoned his men in order to survive in addition to false proof of his plans. Thus he was to be sent to a far away prison to be tortured for his remaining life. As he was being led out of the city, he was approached by the nobleman who had orchestrated this ordeal due to jealousy of not only his power, looks and achievements, but also because he had the love of his wife, the woman the nobleman had desired for so long.
Anger and hatred filled my character's heart as the nobleman bragged of the night he shared with his wife and daughter before selling them off to the slave dealers.
Some time later, in his cell in a far away island, he grieved and uttered that he would stop at nothing to avenge his family and curse those who would betray others. He was reached out by a patron at that point who offered the ability to do so in exchange for the service of chasing down people with black souls to send to the Abyss to be consumed.
Thus, his missing arm regrew into grotesque, carapaced, three fingered, clawed arm, a representation of the pact between the two. He killed his way out and now lurks the land, searching for those who commit the most heinous acts to feed to Beelzebub the Prince of Gluttony, while travelling ever closer to the kingdom of his origin to impact the vengeance he so desires. He also pays attention to slave markets, hoping by some chance to come across his family by fate.
I may have written a bit too much there, but the main point is that the Official backgrounds don't really apply to him... he's used to be a knight and soldier, but their features REALLY don't apply here as he is closer to a convict than anything else. He could've been a War Hero, but you would think the nobles would use all their power to vilify his name as a deserter. However, he is neither criminal nor spy and should not have knowledge of the criminal networks of cities. He might be a Haunted One, but both it's description and feature don't seem like ones the character would have since he is out for blood rather than an unspoken fear or dread.
So I thought I'd make the Betrayed background and see what comes of it... but I became stuck exactly on the thing the other Backgrounds have that doesn't convince me, the Feature.
Ignoring the whole Patron segment and strictly limiting yourself to a background of being betrayed by someone either an employer, friend, organization or even family and both surviving the ordeal and you knowing it... what Feature should this background give?
Any ideas?
As he served as a soldier and then was vilified by the nobility, could he be a folk hero? Nothing keeps you from mixing and matching backgrounds, in fact it is suggested by the PHB. I understand the intent of this thread is to make a new background, but I like to find an official option before turning to homebrewing.
To the question of a feature: what connection to others remain? Do soldiers still see him as a general? Does the people he protected see him as valiant soldier? Did he keep in contact with the unsavory characters he met in prison? A background's feature is defined by human contacts they have, what remains after they were betrayed?
Tooltips | Snippet Code | How to Homebrew on D&D Beyond | Subclass Guide | Feature Roadmap
Astromancer's Homebrew Assembly
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
Let's see... he was in command of a battalion, but they all perished in battle. So he has no soldiers that directly worked under him.
He was charged with desertion which is a heavy crime in his kingdom, so any remaining soldier will definitely see him with anger.
Furthermore, the townfolk will believe the story of his desertion against the orcs, so they might see any future attacks by orcs as his fault.
Finally, he was in a out-of-the-way prison for top level threats or people nobles may want to suffer under the hands of ruthless prison guards and torturers. Adding to the fact he was grieving and filled with hatred, I don't think the amount of time he remained in prison before the patron interfered was enough to foster any kind of relationship with these potentially dangerous inmates...
Also, there are other features included amongst the official background that have no regard for human contact, such as: hermit having unknown knowledge, an archeologist being able to identify details of structure's past, anthropologist having knowledge on cultures of many lands, the inheritor's inheritance and the sage's memory.
As such, a feature can be based on past relations, skills practiced, knowledge learned or even objects. This makes it very open >_<
The only one I can truly think up is a sixth sense for detecting those with evil intent towards him (as a protection mechanism against being betrayed again).
Have you looked at the pirate background? Perhaps Bad Reputation may be what you're looking for. If not, begin with any general connections, then move to previous knowledge, I can see his tactical experience playing in.
Tooltips | Snippet Code | How to Homebrew on D&D Beyond | Subclass Guide | Feature Roadmap
Astromancer's Homebrew Assembly
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
I agree about looking at existing features and slightly modifying it to fit your character. Then your DM won't have to worry so much about the power of your feature and balance in the game.
The pirate background's feature may work as well as the Haunted One's feature which gives more positive reactions than negative. The City Watch feature "Watcher's Eye" makes it easy for your character to find and identify both guard posts and criminal dens. Maybe your background makes it easier for your character to root out corruption or slave traders, two things that he despises.
Overall, would you prefer a feature that has NPCs fear/help you, or one that gives information?
I suppose the best would be information, City Watch seems to be the best option considering what I've read. Though the character paid attention to slave markets after the ordeal, it is still within range of the background... I'll see if that one is fine by the group.
how about something like this concept with two options
Escapist:
you have broken out of prison on one or more situations, and depending on how you did this, you have multiple benefits
Quiet: with planned distraction feature
by spending one minute searching and focusing intently on security patrols, you can discern any pattern in patrols and find any possible opening to break through to wherever.
also by expending an item, possibly a coin or other mildly heavy object you can throw to cause a distraction causing a guard to go investigate
you can also fashion a makeshift lockpick with any thing similar to metal wire
Loud: unorthodox fighting feature
as a person who has broken out of prison like they had nothing left to live for, you have picked up a number of very strange fight tactics, select two of the following
. improvised weapon speciality: you can take an improvised weapon and gain proficiency in that and have 1d6 additional damage
. headbutt: you can use your action to incur 1d4 damage and have the target make a dex or con save, if they fail they take 1d6 damage and are stunned for one turn
. powder maneuver: if you have access to any powder (i.e. flour, sand, fine gravel, etc.) you can use it to blind the opponent for 1d4 rounds
this is just an idea for the feature, C&C welcome