Remathilis
Legend
They are shadar-kai. They traded carnivals with an eladrin (Isode) and both carnivals travel from the Prime to their respective planes.
D&D (2024) Learning to Love the Background System
- Thread starter Kobold Stew
- Start date
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Thanks, I misremembered.
They are elves in the adventure, that is the point.
"Wierd ones" should be supported by the rules. If I want to play a "wierd" Orc or Tiefling or Dwarf or Elf like Mr. Witch, I should be allowed to.
I will point out that middle aged is not something that can be avoided unless everyone of a certain race/species dies young. Middle Aged elves must exist or else all elves must die at a young age.
Bacon Bits
Legend
I think what mostly aggravates me about the new backgrounds is that they made a pretty significant design decision and did not float it in the playtest like this at all. It really feels like a blindsiding change. It's not how the game has ever worked and they did nothing to allow us to have feedback about it. Well, WTF was the point of the playtest WotC? Why did you walk back some things because you "ran out of time" and then you just did this out of the blue?
Remathilis
Legend
I think the issue was the feedback they got was "ASI tied to background is fine" which was said when floating ASI was still part of the plan and backgrounds were suggestions rather than hardwired. At some point, they changed the idea that background was going to be default customizable to fixed, and their compromise was to allow limited float among half the ability scores per background, which would be fine if they hadn't spent so much effort undoing prof mod per day in favor of ability mod per rest and making high ability scores more important, not less.
Daztur
Hero
Waaaaaait...so with the online system it doesn't even allow your DM to homebrew naughty word and override the basic rules to put in any combination of stats and skills and feats you want? Really? That sounds horrible.
Personally, as a DM, I love the new background system. "Custom Background" default just means a lot of players will have haphazard collections of features as a background instead of one that has a story or theme uniting them, and when I used the new system to make characters with my party (we redid their characters for our ongoing campaign) what happened is the players made interesting story choices to get access to some of the things they wanted, which led to them having a background they didn't originally envision but have embraced. It has informed some of their choices in-game now.
That being said, I do agree that 16 isn't enough for backgrounds. When the Custom Background rules come out, I will be using it to make background options that are missing in the game (no option for a Str/Wis/Cha or Dex/Int/Cha background? Now there will be) and for more combinations between existing options. Or to rewrite some backgrounds they haven't updated.
That being said, I do agree that 16 isn't enough for backgrounds. When the Custom Background rules come out, I will be using it to make background options that are missing in the game (no option for a Str/Wis/Cha or Dex/Int/Cha background? Now there will be) and for more combinations between existing options. Or to rewrite some backgrounds they haven't updated.
Parmandur
Book-Friend, he/him
Seems pretty clear that including new Backgrounds in future products will be the way they go, for Adventures as well as Setting products. Maybe a lot of new Backgroujds per book: I could see a while boatload for Eberron, for example.
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It can also work the opposite way. If forced to take Wayfarer to get Lucky, I have to explain why my fairy has Stealth and thieves tools proficiencies. Okay. Some of my fairy’s friend were into role play, so he learned some breaking and entering techniques which included getting past locked doors and hiding behind curtains before encountering his friend. Glad we went there.
rmcoen
Adventurer
TL;DR = Just realized everything I say below is "I hate ASI being in Background."
I feel like Class+Race is the core of your character; Background should be an extra layer of bonus goodness, not a key part of your optimization. For example, in the old MechWarrior RPG, you could purchase the trait "Natural", which super-enhanced one of your skills. I think like half-cost advancement, and some "be creative" options. BUT you couldn't pick the skill - otherwise everyone would just be a Natural Gunner or a Natural Pilot. So you build your character, and if you chose "Natural", then you roll to see what you were a natural at - might be Gunnery, might be Tech, might be Stealth, might be Politics!
In D&D, then, if you want to be a rogue or monk or fighter, you build that character. If you choose your narrative, then layer on a Background that matches; or take a random narrative. And the effects of the narrative should be "flavor enhancing", not mandatory. Being a Sailor Monk or a Sage Rogue or a Soldier Wizard should be interesting and flavorful, and in no way gimped compared to being a Thug/Pugilist Monk, Criminal Rogue, or Sage Wizard.
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And, completely against what I just said, my other thought was that when backgrounds and classes overlap, there could be a minor additional bonus, like +1. A Sage Rogue has more skills at his disposal, but the Criminal Rogue is just a touch better at Sleight of Hand because of the double-whammy at character creation. Does +1 on a skill invalidate the benefit of proficiency in an extra skill? Depends on the campaign, but I'll go out on a limb and say "no". I'd rather be proficient (+2 to +6 bonus) in more skills, than give that up for a single +1 to my main skill.
I feel like Class+Race is the core of your character; Background should be an extra layer of bonus goodness, not a key part of your optimization. For example, in the old MechWarrior RPG, you could purchase the trait "Natural", which super-enhanced one of your skills. I think like half-cost advancement, and some "be creative" options. BUT you couldn't pick the skill - otherwise everyone would just be a Natural Gunner or a Natural Pilot. So you build your character, and if you chose "Natural", then you roll to see what you were a natural at - might be Gunnery, might be Tech, might be Stealth, might be Politics!
In D&D, then, if you want to be a rogue or monk or fighter, you build that character. If you choose your narrative, then layer on a Background that matches; or take a random narrative. And the effects of the narrative should be "flavor enhancing", not mandatory. Being a Sailor Monk or a Sage Rogue or a Soldier Wizard should be interesting and flavorful, and in no way gimped compared to being a Thug/Pugilist Monk, Criminal Rogue, or Sage Wizard.
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And, completely against what I just said, my other thought was that when backgrounds and classes overlap, there could be a minor additional bonus, like +1. A Sage Rogue has more skills at his disposal, but the Criminal Rogue is just a touch better at Sleight of Hand because of the double-whammy at character creation. Does +1 on a skill invalidate the benefit of proficiency in an extra skill? Depends on the campaign, but I'll go out on a limb and say "no". I'd rather be proficient (+2 to +6 bonus) in more skills, than give that up for a single +1 to my main skill.
