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Returning 35 results for 'run background 5e'.
Sailor
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
Learn More
Backgrounds
Player’s Handbook (2014)
board—boatswain, captain, navigator, cook, or some other position? Who were the captain and first mate? Did you leave your ship on good terms with your fellows, or on the run?
Skill
Reputation
If your character has a sailor background, you may select this background feature instead of Ship’s Passage.
No matter where you go, people are afraid of you due to your reputation. When
Backgrounds
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
, characters with this background are common.
You sailed on a seagoing vessel for years. In that time, you faced down mighty storms, monsters of the deep, and those who wanted to sink your craft to
fellows, or on the run?
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Perception
Tool Proficiencies: Navigator’s tools, vehicles (water)
Equipment: A belaying pin (club), 50 feet of silk rope, a lucky
Backgrounds
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
. In any case, characters with this background have a plan to hit the big time; all they need is audacity and a little time.
You have always had a way with people. You know what makes them tick, you
.
5
I run sleight-of-hand cons on street corners.
6
I convince people that worthless junk is worth their hard-earned money.
FEATURE: FALSE IDENTITY
You have created a second
Rogue
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
Learn More
Classes
Basic Rules (2014)
treasure. Creating a Rogue As you create your rogue character, consider the character’s relationship to the law. Do you have a criminal past—or present? Are you on the run from the law or from
Investigation or plan to take up the Arcane Trickster archetype. Choose Charisma instead if you plan to emphasize deception and social interaction. Second, choose the charlatan background. The Rogue Table
Backgrounds
Curse of Strahd: Character Options
You are haunted by something so terrible that you dare not speak of it. You’ve tried to bury it and run away from it, to no avail. Whatever this thing is that haunts you can’t be slain
mirror, a oil (flask);flask of oil, a tinderbox, and 3 torch; torches), one trinket of special significance (choose one or roll on the Horror Trinkets table after this background), a clothes
Backgrounds
Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
professional courtesy shown to a fellow scholar.
Suggested Characteristics
Use the tables for the sage background below as the basis for your traits and motivations, modifying the entries when
great deeds and win it back.
d6
Flaw
1
I am easily distracted by the promise of information.
2
Most people scream and run when they see a demon. I stop and take notes on
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sleeping Dragon’s Wake
information you need from that adventure to run Sleeping Dragon’s Wake is contained in the “Adventure Background” section.
can visit. The “Adventure Background” section describes the events leading up to the adventure and the main threats the characters will face. The “Welcome to Leilon” and “Exploring Leilon” sections
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragon Delves
Adventure Background A deadly heat wave bakes an unprepared pastoral land. Crops have failed, rivers have run dry, and prospects are grim. While the reason for the unprecedented heat is unclear, the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Forge of the Artificer
Inquisitive Characters A Sharn inquisitives campaign revolves around the idea of the characters as investigators who might work for an inquisitive agency at the start of the campaign but might run
: Rising from the Last War or Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything to give characters the benefits of this patronage. The Inquisitive background in chapter 2 is a good option for characters in this campaign, along with backgrounds from the Player’s Handbook such as Charlatan, Criminal, Guard, and Wayfarer.
Backgrounds
Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
criminal background below as the basis for your bounty hunter’s traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to suit your identity as a bounty hunter.
For instance, your
If there’s a plan, I’ll forget it. If I don’t forget it, I’ll ignore it.
4
I have a “tell” that reveals when I’m lying.
5
I turn tail and run when
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
Absent Players When one of your players is absent, what do you do with that player’s character? Consider the following options: Fading into the Background. Have the character simply fade into the
background. This requires everyone to step out of the game world a bit and suspend disbelief, but it might be the easiest solution. Act as if the character were absent, but don’t try to come up with any
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm King's Thunder
recommend that you read the entire adventure before attempting to run it. This introduction begins with an “Adventure Background” section that summarizes the events that set the adventure in motion. The
“Running the Adventure” section tells you everything you need to know to run the adventure smoothly. That section also presents guidelines for character level advancement, outlines the flow of the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lost Mine of Phandelver
wilderness and adventure. You don’t need to be a Forgotten Realms expert to run the adventure; everything you need to know about the setting is contained in this content. If this is your first time
running a D&D adventure, read “The Dungeon Master” section; it will help you better understand your role and responsibilities. The “Background” section tells you everything you need to know to set up the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
Missing Players How should you deal with the characters of missing players? Consider these options: Have another player run the missing player’s character. The player running the extra character
should strive to keep the character alive and use resources wisely. Run the character yourself. It’s an extra burden for you, but it can work. Decide the character isn’t there. Invent a good reason for
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
prove equally useful for burglars, grifters, and other criminals. Of particular note is the halfling-run criminal enterprise of the Boromar Clan, the most powerful crime syndicate in Breland. The
background, consider (with your DM) whether you have a connection to the Boromar Clan. You could be a freelance operative who occasionally gets jobs from a Boromar underboss. You might have a cousin in
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Forge of the Artificer
perception that dragonmarks run only in family lines. This book instead allows a character of any species to manifest any dragonmark. If you choose a dragonmark for your character, consider these four
determine to what extent you become drawn into house politics. Taking the background associated with your house (such as House Jorasco Heir) is the best way to build your character as a dragonmarked heir
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse
Background Elemental Evil is not a new threat in the world of Greyhawk. The Temple of Elemental Evil was built long ago and spawned hordes of bloodthirsty monsters that ravaged the lands between
sprawling surface ruins of the temple. Rivergard Keep lies on the bank of the nearby Imeryds Run. The missing delegation that serves as the adventure’s initial spur to action instead hails from the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron
influence can be felt across the nation and even in the distant city of Stormreach. If you decide to play a halfling rogue—or any character with a criminal or charlatan background—you should decide if you
, who occasionally pulls you into their problems. Or you could even be the reluctant heir of a powerful Boromar leader; you’ve gone on the run rather than taking your place in this criminal empire, but someday your past may catch up with you.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd
that are represented by a special card reading detailed in chapter 1, “Into the Mists.” Before you run the adventure, you need to conduct that reading to determine the location of several items that
realm of Barovia. If the characters are 1st level, the character background in appendix A is available to them, and consider starting their time in Barovia with the mini-adventure “Death House” in
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tales from the Yawning Portal
broad range of levels. With a little work, you can run a complete campaign using only this book. Starting with The Sunless Citadel, guide your players through the adventures in the order that they are
them to the next adventure. Perhaps a friendly NPC drawn from the upcoming adventure visits the tavern in search of help, or some element of a character’s background pushes the group down the proper road. In any case, these dungeons are designed to be easily portable to any campaign setting.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd
Appendix B: Death House You can run Curse of Strahd for 1st-level characters with the help of this optional mini-adventure, which is designed to advance characters to 3rd level. Players creating 1st
-level characters can use the haunted one character background in appendix A, or they can pick backgrounds from the Player’s Handbook as normal. Before the characters can explore the haunted townhouse
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh
with a dozen modest rooms to rent in the back. The tavern is run by council member Skeldruff Plenk, who brews a much-lauded lager called Plenk’s Plenk. If the characters ask about Philpert in Uskarn
for the adventure, the following details about prominent people and other background information might come in handy.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
adventure includes a pregenerated scenario with the maps, NPCs, monsters, and treasures you need to run it. An example of a published adventure appears in the D&D Starter Set. You can make adjustments
your campaign, or add something to the background of the adventure so that it involves your players’ characters in ways that the adventure’s designer never could have imagined. A published adventure
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
sideways, sometimes innocents get unwillingly caught in the action. The common artisan who hired the party to find her missing partner might find herself and her hired inquisitives on the run when
becomes a fixture in the campaign. A perfectly ordinary background such as guild artisan or folk hero often work well with this character, who otherwise needs no specific proficiencies or
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
player character”) to accompany the party. This is a rewarding way for you to roleplay with your friends while they’re exploring your world, but keep in mind that you’ll have to run this NPC in combat
characters (NPCs) to the adventuring party. Use the NPC stat blocks in the Monster Manual to represent these supporting characters. If you don’t want to run these NPCs yourself, invite one or more of your
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron
heretical beliefs. A variation of this is that you’re hiding. As a devout cleric or paladin, you may have made enemies of the corrupt authorities in the local churches. If you use the haunted one background
, you may have seen something in the upper wards that has driven you into the darkness. Any character could have run afoul of the Sharn Watch, a powerful noble, or a sinister conspiracy; if you leave
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Character and Party Creation Each player has options when it comes to choosing a character race, class, and background, though you may restrict certain options that are deemed unsuitable for the
adventurers and also include roleplaying hooks in the form of ideals, bonds, and flaws—things you ought to know. For example, if a player chooses the criminal background, one of the options for the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
these steps: Step 1. Focus on the story of the adventure. Read or reread the adventure’s introduction and background information. Create a bulleted list of key plot points to make sure a coherent
story unfolds. Step 2. Identify the encounters you want to run, then figure out how likely it is each encounter will get played, categorizing each one as “definite,” “possible,” or “unlikely.” Step 3
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Darklord? Don’t get bogged down with the particulars of a working society. It doesn’t matter how a village in a domain of endless night grows crops, but it does matter that the supplies are about to run
out. These details can fade into the background as your adventures focus on more exciting threats, or you can highlight the cosmic dread that declares, yes, this place doesn’t make sense at all, yet it
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos
tavern’s kitchen. Chef Curtie, her braided hair flapping wildly, emerges at a run, shouting and waving her arms.
“The steam! It’s too spicy!” she cries. “It’s trying to kill us! Someone, please help
, describe their friends and fellow students working in the background alongside them to help clear the bugs out of the kitchen. As soon as the mephits are dispatched, the magic flaring up in the kitchen fades
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron
and other wondrous devices operational. In the City of Sigil, artificers share discoveries from throughout the cosmos, and one in particular—the gnome inventor Vi—has run a multiverse-spanning business
or Dexterity. Second, choose the guild artisan background. Optional Rule: Multiclassing If your group uses the optional rule on multiclassing in the Player’s Handbook, here’s what you need to know if
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
Creating a Rogue As you create your rogue character, consider the character’s relationship to the law. Do you have a criminal past — or present? Are you on the run from the law or from an angry
Arcane Trickster archetype. Choose Charisma instead if you plan to emphasize deception and social interaction. Second, choose the charlatan background. Level
Proficiency
Bonus
Sneak
Attack
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
these steps: Step 1. Focus on the story of the adventure. Read or reread the adventure’s introduction and background information. Create a bulleted list of key plot points to make sure a coherent
story unfolds. Step 2. Identify the encounters you want to run, then figure out how likely it is each encounter will get played, categorizing each one as “definite,” “possible,” or “unlikely.” Step 3
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
on board — boatswain, captain, navigator, cook, or some other position? Who were the captain and first mate? Did you leave your ship on good terms with your fellows, or on the run? Skill Proficiencies
the Bad Reputation feature (see sidebar) instead of the Ship’s Passage feature. Variant Feature: Bad Reputation
If your character has a sailor background, you may select this background feature
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm Lord’s Wrath
Adventure Background As the settlers of Leilon bend their backs to the arduous task of creating a defensible settlement in the dangerous wilds of the Sword Coast, even larger threats loom all around
are about to become embroiled. LEILON AS A HOME BASE
If you run Storm Lord’s Wrath, Sleeping Dragon’s Wake, and Divine Contention as a full campaign, the town of Leilon should become an important