In my game I am playing, I am running a celestial spellcasting warlock who is trying to redeem himself after deserting the military, if I'm to sum it up real fast. My question is, what should I do for a deserter background? Presumably I'd share proficiencies and all with the soldier background, but the feature of having friendly military bases or a rank is useless (in fact in the military knew my character was still alive, there would be hell to pay). What should I do for my feat? I have seen other deserter backgrounds, but they are all pretty much only useful in their own setting/world. Thoughts?
Either soldier or mercenary veteran could work as a great base for a tweaked background of a deserter. I'm personally a fan of taking features from other backgrounds if they'd work instead, before making my own.
The mercenary veteran is from the SCAG (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide) - but if you have it, its feature is definitely worth a read. You could copy it over to the base-background of soldier but tweak the feature to be based off of military companies rather than mercenaries.
You could alternatively look at charlatan's 'False Identity' feature if your deserter has been laying low and avoiding the law. Perhaps this is why the military don't think he's alive.
Finally you could base the feature from the class in a way - does his celestial patron represent any specific god withing the setting? If so, the acolyte background's 'Shelter of the Faithful' feature may be applicable.
The main thing to remember about features is they should encourage RP and offer leads to stories. If anything, they are as much of a tool for your DM as a player. They are usually based on finding something/travelling somewhere rather than giving you actual bonuses. Deserting itself doesn't offer a lot specifically - you're effectively just a soldier, with a flaw. If you do decide to make your own, perhaps your deserter could have a feature to do with having contacts to travel unnoticed.
I used this background for a player who had a similar issue. As VillainTheory mentioned the Mercenary Veteran background works well, which is why it inspired this one.
Ex-Military
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Survival Tool Proficiencies: One type of gaming set, vehicles (land) Equipment: A military uniform (traveler’s clothes in quality), a trophy taken from a fallen enemy (a dagger, broken blade, or piece of a banner), a gaming set of your choice, and a pouch containing the remainder of your last wages (10 gp)
Feature: Post-service Life - Your days of soldiering are over, but your time in service has made you keen on information about military functions. You are able to easily identify soldiers by their emblems and uniforms, and you know a little about any such company, including the names and reputations of its commanders and leaders, and what areas or regions they control. In most towns, you can find the taverns and festhalls where soldiers abide, as long as you speak the language. You can also usually gain access to friendly military encampments and fortresses where your previous rank is recognized.
Sorry guys, I left you hanging. Thanks for all the help. I ended up going False Identity from Charlatan, so good suggestion. I'll check out all this other stuff for later characters, though!
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In my game I am playing, I am running a celestial spellcasting warlock who is trying to redeem himself after deserting the military, if I'm to sum it up real fast. My question is, what should I do for a deserter background? Presumably I'd share proficiencies and all with the soldier background, but the feature of having friendly military bases or a rank is useless (in fact in the military knew my character was still alive, there would be hell to pay). What should I do for my feat? I have seen other deserter backgrounds, but they are all pretty much only useful in their own setting/world. Thoughts?
Either soldier or mercenary veteran could work as a great base for a tweaked background of a deserter. I'm personally a fan of taking features from other backgrounds if they'd work instead, before making my own.
The mercenary veteran is from the SCAG (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide) - but if you have it, its feature is definitely worth a read. You could copy it over to the base-background of soldier but tweak the feature to be based off of military companies rather than mercenaries.
You could alternatively look at charlatan's 'False Identity' feature if your deserter has been laying low and avoiding the law. Perhaps this is why the military don't think he's alive.
Finally you could base the feature from the class in a way - does his celestial patron represent any specific god withing the setting? If so, the acolyte background's 'Shelter of the Faithful' feature may be applicable.
The main thing to remember about features is they should encourage RP and offer leads to stories. If anything, they are as much of a tool for your DM as a player. They are usually based on finding something/travelling somewhere rather than giving you actual bonuses. Deserting itself doesn't offer a lot specifically - you're effectively just a soldier, with a flaw. If you do decide to make your own, perhaps your deserter could have a feature to do with having contacts to travel unnoticed.
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I used this background for a player who had a similar issue. As VillainTheory mentioned the Mercenary Veteran background works well, which is why it inspired this one.
Ex-Military
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Survival
Tool Proficiencies: One type of gaming set, vehicles (land)
Equipment: A military uniform (traveler’s clothes in quality), a trophy taken from a fallen enemy (a dagger, broken blade, or piece of a banner), a gaming set of your choice, and a pouch containing the remainder of your last wages (10 gp)
Feature: Post-service Life - Your days of soldiering are over, but your time in service has made you keen on information about military functions. You are able to easily identify soldiers by their emblems and uniforms, and you know a little about any such company, including the names and reputations of its commanders and leaders, and what areas or regions they control. In most towns, you can find the taverns and festhalls where soldiers abide, as long as you speak the language. You can also usually gain access to friendly military encampments and fortresses where your previous rank is recognized.
Sorry guys, I left you hanging. Thanks for all the help. I ended up going False Identity from Charlatan, so good suggestion. I'll check out all this other stuff for later characters, though!