Wizards are the end-all, be-all class for all things scholarly & arcane...so it stands to reason that their backstories usually involve how they came to be Wizards themselves, and gets woven into their Background somehow...
An "Urchin" uses magic from a spellbook he stole to crawl themselves out of poverty...
An "Investigator" uses their knack for divination or detection magic to solve crimes.
A "Haunted One" obsessively studies extraplanar knowledge or other worlds so they can track down a loved one who disappeared long ago...
A "Soldier" studied evocation magic to serve as artillery for their squad, bombarding the enemy with fireballs & lightning bolts...
An "Entertainer" delights and thrills their audience with Prestidigitation or illusion magic, or perhaps is a "Charlatan" who uses illusions to con people out of their money...
The charlatan and criminal backgrounds are perfect for illusionists or enchanters. I actually have a charlatan illusionist concept I hope to play at some point (sort of Gilderoy Lockhart crossed with Mysterio).
My gnome Minroe was a petty thief who snuck onto the grounds of a small magic school looking for stuff to nick. It was a beautiful day and class was being held outdoors, and she ended up watching from hiding. Intrigued, she followed along, and discovered a natural talent; but when she tried to apply to the school, she learned that they cared less about talent than the ability to pay tuition. Fueled by a newfound love of magic but even more by good old-fashioned spite, she set out to prove she can be a great wizard without any formal schooling.
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Jude, He/They
Former gnome evocation wizard and dhampir fey wanderer ranger, current simic hybrid aberrant mind sorcerer
My gnome Minroe was a petty thief who snuck onto the grounds of a small magic school looking for stuff to nick. It was a beautiful day and class was being held outdoors, and she ended up watching from hiding. Intrigued, she followed along, and discovered a natural talent; but when she tried to apply to the school, she learned that they cared less about talent than the ability to pay tuition. Fueled by a newfound love of magic but even more by good old-fashioned spite, she set out to prove she can be a great wizard without any formal schooling.
When you really think about it, all Wizards are mostly plagiarists, anyway. : )
I have an Enchantment Wizard with a Charlatan background who used to travel through the Underdark (he's a deep gnome) using his magic to get them give him their money and possibly kill his enemies in their sleep. He's pretty much Dr. Caligari.
I have a backup Hobgoblin War Wizard character who might be seeing play soon. He was too weak to be a good frontline soldier, so he studied magic. He didn't like the thought of being essentially magic artillery like an average Academy of Devastation mage, so he studied more deeply. Too bad the world got taken over by vampire drow.
My Bladesinger is a courtier. She's a noble who was chosen as a Bladesinging apprentice from an early age and learned the part and parlance of courts as a matter of both family tradition and to ensure her ability to maintain decorum while acting as a noble bodyguard.
My first wizard, Wesley, lived in a setting where only 5-6 people were sorcerers and all of them had been lost to time and myth. As part of his application to the premier wizarding college, Wesley tried to prove that anyone could cast magic from their own life force (instead of manipulating the external arcane weave) as the sorcerers of legend once did. This backfired horribly—his lifespan was cut in half and he was laughed out of the college. On top of that, he (and the rest of the party) were later afflicted with a curse that drains their life, as they learned when they met in quarantine. His is a story of saying "no" to fate, sometimes by stabbing it and sometimes with a poorly-conceived Disguise Self.
My current wizard, Cix, is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. They woke up in a very expensive vessel with no memories and no equipment save for a densely-encrypted spellbook. Because of the amnesia, we're slowly "discovering" their backstory. Most recently, we learned they're not the only one in their body—and the other presence doesn't seem to pleased at having a roommate.
My Bladesinger is a courtier. She's a noble who was chosen as a Bladesinging apprentice from an early age and learned the part and parlance of courts as a matter of both family tradition and to ensure her ability to maintain decorum while acting as a noble bodyguard.
I really dig this concept, and it pairs really well with Bladesingers...I had forgotten that some of them serve as noble bodyguards.
It sort of makes me wish that there was a "Court Wizard" or "Court Mage" background...someone who advises nobles on matters of the arcane...not just Wizards, but spellcasters in general...can you imagine a Warlock court mage...?
King: "By the gods, the enemy has declared war! We are vastly outnumbered! Warlock, what is your council...?!
Warlock: "Alright, picture this...we summon a devil..."
...anyway, about Bladesinger backgrounds...I had one who was kind of the opposite: they started with an apprenticeship, but things went...poorly. Their master died, and the apprentice was left to carry on the duty...but the fear of death shook them, and so they are a bit of a coward. They wander the countryside alone, unable to show their face to other Bladesingers, in shame.
It makes for an interesting character flaw...overcoming their fear (perhaps the odd Wisdom check or two). This character uses the "Entertainer" background (they play the fiddle at inns or taverns to help pay for spell / components). It helps put that "Performance" proficiency Bladesingers get to use.
Opposite of that, I considered a Bladesinger who is a bit like a samurai...and had a rather nasty encounter with a D&D oni when he was a kid...that's the "Haunted One" background.
He lost a friend to an oni, and never saw him or the monster ever again....and so, as he grew older, he took up the blade and studied magic, vowing to slay monsters in retribution.
He harbors a special hatred (and fear!) of oni...and judging from their abilities, that isn't difficult to see why!
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As stated above, lemme hear them! : ]
For specifics...
Wizards are the end-all, be-all class for all things scholarly & arcane...so it stands to reason that their backstories usually involve how they came to be Wizards themselves, and gets woven into their Background somehow...
An "Urchin" uses magic from a spellbook he stole to crawl themselves out of poverty...
An "Investigator" uses their knack for divination or detection magic to solve crimes.
A "Haunted One" obsessively studies extraplanar knowledge or other worlds so they can track down a loved one who disappeared long ago...
A "Soldier" studied evocation magic to serve as artillery for their squad, bombarding the enemy with fireballs & lightning bolts...
An "Entertainer" delights and thrills their audience with Prestidigitation or illusion magic, or perhaps is a "Charlatan" who uses illusions to con people out of their money...
...you get the picture.
Share your Wizard backstories below!
The charlatan and criminal backgrounds are perfect for illusionists or enchanters. I actually have a charlatan illusionist concept I hope to play at some point (sort of Gilderoy Lockhart crossed with Mysterio).
My gnome Minroe was a petty thief who snuck onto the grounds of a small magic school looking for stuff to nick. It was a beautiful day and class was being held outdoors, and she ended up watching from hiding. Intrigued, she followed along, and discovered a natural talent; but when she tried to apply to the school, she learned that they cared less about talent than the ability to pay tuition. Fueled by a newfound love of magic but even more by good old-fashioned spite, she set out to prove she can be a great wizard without any formal schooling.
Jude, He/They
Former gnome evocation wizard and dhampir fey wanderer ranger, current simic hybrid aberrant mind sorcerer
Rookie Call of Cthulhu Keeper
When you really think about it, all Wizards are mostly plagiarists, anyway. : )
I have an Enchantment Wizard with a Charlatan background who used to travel through the Underdark (he's a deep gnome) using his magic to get them give him their money and possibly kill his enemies in their sleep. He's pretty much Dr. Caligari.
I have a backup Hobgoblin War Wizard character who might be seeing play soon. He was too weak to be a good frontline soldier, so he studied magic. He didn't like the thought of being essentially magic artillery like an average Academy of Devastation mage, so he studied more deeply. Too bad the world got taken over by vampire drow.
Hombrew: Way of Wresting, Circle of Sacrifice
My Bladesinger is a courtier. She's a noble who was chosen as a Bladesinging apprentice from an early age and learned the part and parlance of courts as a matter of both family tradition and to ensure her ability to maintain decorum while acting as a noble bodyguard.
My first wizard, Wesley, lived in a setting where only 5-6 people were sorcerers and all of them had been lost to time and myth. As part of his application to the premier wizarding college, Wesley tried to prove that anyone could cast magic from their own life force (instead of manipulating the external arcane weave) as the sorcerers of legend once did. This backfired horribly—his lifespan was cut in half and he was laughed out of the college. On top of that, he (and the rest of the party) were later afflicted with a curse that drains their life, as they learned when they met in quarantine. His is a story of saying "no" to fate, sometimes by stabbing it and sometimes with a poorly-conceived Disguise Self.
My current wizard, Cix, is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. They woke up in a very expensive vessel with no memories and no equipment save for a densely-encrypted spellbook. Because of the amnesia, we're slowly "discovering" their backstory. Most recently, we learned they're not the only one in their body—and the other presence doesn't seem to pleased at having a roommate.
I really dig this concept, and it pairs really well with Bladesingers...I had forgotten that some of them serve as noble bodyguards.
It sort of makes me wish that there was a "Court Wizard" or "Court Mage" background...someone who advises nobles on matters of the arcane...not just Wizards, but spellcasters in general...can you imagine a Warlock court mage...?
King: "By the gods, the enemy has declared war! We are vastly outnumbered! Warlock, what is your council...?!
Warlock: "Alright, picture this...we summon a devil..."
...anyway, about Bladesinger backgrounds...I had one who was kind of the opposite: they started with an apprenticeship, but things went...poorly. Their master died, and the apprentice was left to carry on the duty...but the fear of death shook them, and so they are a bit of a coward. They wander the countryside alone, unable to show their face to other Bladesingers, in shame.
It makes for an interesting character flaw...overcoming their fear (perhaps the odd Wisdom check or two). This character uses the "Entertainer" background (they play the fiddle at inns or taverns to help pay for spell / components). It helps put that "Performance" proficiency Bladesingers get to use.
Opposite of that, I considered a Bladesinger who is a bit like a samurai...and had a rather nasty encounter with a D&D oni when he was a kid...that's the "Haunted One" background.
He lost a friend to an oni, and never saw him or the monster ever again....and so, as he grew older, he took up the blade and studied magic, vowing to slay monsters in retribution.
He harbors a special hatred (and fear!) of oni...and judging from their abilities, that isn't difficult to see why!