D&D 5E Official complete background list!

[Tormyr]

There are still all of the backgrounds from the last playtest as well. Just select only four items between skills, tools and languages, generally no more than two of any one category, any corresponding tools, and an appropriate feature. Work with your DM on it, and it should be fairly straightforward. That way you could still do the old bounter hunter or similar background.

 

[tuxgeo]

To their defense, we haven't really lost the character concepts because those who have apparently disappeared have been simply merged together.

What we have lost, is some of the "features", since after merging they share the same feature. For example, it's likely that the Outlander will have the same feature as the old Guide, but the Bounty Hunter merged with it and lost its unique "Bounty Board" feature. Same probably happened to the Jester, as Entertainer is more likely to re-use the Minstrel feature instead.

If Bounty Hunter lost its feature in the merge, but also lost all of the proficiencies it used to give, then I would say that that is no kind of "merge" at all. The Bounty Hunter background may simply be gone. If that's the case, then that means (to me) that the Outlander is the new name for the Guide.

In looking back at the playtest packet of last fall, Guide gave Athletics, Nature, and Survival, while Bounty Hunter gave Perception, Search, and Stealth for skill proficiencies. They had nothing in common there. Both of those backgrounds also gave proficiency in Mounts (Land), but others did as well: Commoner, Noble, Soldier, and Thug also gave Mounts (Land), so that's more coincidence that significance; and aside from Mounts (Land), BH gave two Languages, but Guide gave two Tool proficiencies.

There just doesn't seem to be any possible real merging of Bounty Hunter and Guide.

 

[Remathilis]

If Bounty Hunter lost its feature in the merge, but also lost all of the proficiencies it used to give, then I would say that that is no kind of "merge" at all. The Bounty Hunter background may simply be gone. If that's the case, then that means (to me) that the Outlander is the new name for the Guide.

In looking back at the playtest packet of last fall, Guide gave Athletics, Nature, and Survival, while Bounty Hunter gave Perception, Search, and Stealth for skill proficiencies. They had nothing in common there. Both of those backgrounds also gave proficiency in Mounts (Land), but others did as well: Commoner, Noble, Soldier, and Thug also gave Mounts (Land), so that's more coincidence that significance; and aside from Mounts (Land), BH gave two Languages, but Guide gave two Tool proficiencies.

There just doesn't seem to be any possible real merging of Bounty Hunter and Guide.

If anything, it appears Bounty Hunter merged with criminal (or could be refluff of it like Spy is)

 

[jadrax]

If Bounty Hunter lost its feature in the merge, but also lost all of the proficiencies it used to give, then I would say that that is no kind of "merge" at all. The Bounty Hunter background may simply be gone. If that's the case, then that means (to me) that the Outlander is the new name for the Guide.

In looking back at the playtest packet of last fall, Guide gave Athletics, Nature, and Survival, while Bounty Hunter gave Perception, Search, and Stealth for skill proficiencies. They had nothing in common there. Both of those backgrounds also gave proficiency in Mounts (Land), but others did as well: Commoner, Noble, Soldier, and Thug also gave Mounts (Land), so that's more coincidence that significance; and aside from Mounts (Land), BH gave two Languages, but Guide gave two Tool proficiencies.

There just doesn't seem to be any possible real merging of Bounty Hunter and Guide.

What if Outlander gets Survival, Stealth, a Tool Proficiency an a Language?

 

[Li Shenron]

In looking back at the playtest packet of last fall, Guide gave Athletics, Nature, and Survival, while Bounty Hunter gave Perception, Search, and Stealth for skill proficiencies. They had nothing in common there.

That's true. And I don't have any better idea of where it might have been merged to then.

 

[Scotley]

To be honest that is a pretty disappointingly short list. There is a real lack of common character types missing too, ie Peasant/Farmer ~ 90% of the population in a medieval milieu, the standard for D&D and FR, the standard campaign. And no, Folk Hero is not the same.

Merchant? Herder?

Backgrounds are a cool thing for 5E but that is a crappily short list IMO

They are saving them for the inevitable splat-books. Players' Guide to Peasants, Farmers and Shepherds. The Complete book of Lawyers, Doctors and Politicians. As power-creep grows the Metagamer's Bible of Murder Hobos!

 

[mach1.9pants]

LOL I'd buy those, backgrounds (and I know you can make your own) are one of the coolest thing in 5E. I'd like to see far more of them. I was expecting double that number, TBH. But then I wouldn't have given them the massive space for each one that the PHB appears to give.

 

[jadrax]

Looks like there is hope for Merchant. From twitter:

Daniel Stolp ‏@Danny2Chins 3h
@mikemearls I hope you night went well, I have another question for you. Will there be a merchant background in the PHB?

Mike Mearls ‏@mikemearls
@Danny2Chins I think that one of the backgrounds includes it

 

[Gradine]

To be honest that is a pretty disappointingly short list. There is a real lack of common character types missing too, ie Peasant/Farmer ~ 90% of the population in a medieval milieu, the standard for D&D and FR, the standard campaign. And no, Folk Hero is not the same.

Merchant? Herder?

Backgrounds are a cool thing for 5E but that is a crappily short list IMO

The idea, which has been posited before, is that 90% of the population in a medieval milieu are not adventurers. Peasants, farmers, merchants, herders... these people typically just don't up and leave their lives for a life of adventure. There is always some inciting incident.

The background represents not a profession, but the inciting incident.

That's kind of the idea of Folk Hero, but most of the presented Backgrounds work as inciting incidents for peasants or farmers or merchants. Drafted into service (Soldier), followed a higher calling (Acoylte), accused of a crime you didn't (or did) commit and forced to live on the run (Criminal), dropped everything for a life of quiet contemplation (Hermit). These are great Backgrounds, because they all signify the inciting incident of your character's adventuring career. They're evocative. Farmer, peasant, herder; are not.

Farmer isn't your Background. What caused you to your trade your plowshare for a sword? That is your Background.

The biggest duds on the list, for me, are the two newest additions: Sailor and Guild Artisan. I appreciate Guild Artisan quite a bit more than I would Merchant, because it at least makes explicit a connection to an organization that could have reason to send you on adventures, but it doesn't really imply any inciting incident beyond "it's your job." Sailor is too broad, too dull. It's Peasent, but of the sea. I'd have gone with Privateer or Corsair myself (some ideas for some homebrew backgrounds for my Eberron campaign I'd been kicking around while waiting for the full list). They're a bit more specific but at least they're more evocative. Yes, it's a issue of pure semantics, but I think that's relevant when talking about Backgrounds.

 

[mach1.9pants]

So how is becoming a Hermit the same as becoming an adventurer? Unless you're doing solo adventures!

IMO Background is your background (the key is in the name), what you did before you came an adventurer and there need to be more