D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook Reveal: Feats/Backgrounds/Species

[Yaarel]

Weirdly, I can see people use it more if it is in the DMG.

How do you figure there will be more custom backgrounds?

I hope you are right.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

My friends and family, God love 'em, couldn't min-max their way out of a paper bag. It'snot because they are saints, they juat aren'tengaged that way. So, I suppose experiences can play a big role in perception here.

Yeah but we've seen your group is exceptional in a number of ways (most of them positive). It probably won't be you I'm laughing at though!

The rule might still apply that if a background skill is redundant with a class skill (or species skill?), the background can grant an other skill of the players choice. In that case, a player wants to pick backgrounds that are redundant with classes.

Yeah it'll be interesting to see which way they leap with that.

One thing I think is particularly obnoxious is that every background essentially rules out a whole bunch of classes - like if you don't have INT or CHA are a pick, you'll basically never see a Wizard, Warlock or Bard picking that, no matter how thematically appropriate. Again real groups will overrule this, but it'll be a point of contention forever.

 

[Parmandur]

How do you figure there will be more custom backgrounds?

I hope you are right.

Because people literally skip over it and miss it in the PHB chapter currently. Have for a decade. If it is made more front and center and explained as a prominent t example in the DMG...might get more memetic traction.

 

[Yaarel]

One thing I think is particularly obnoxious is that every background essentially rules out a whole bunch of classes - like if you don't have INT or CHA are a pick, you'll basically never see a Wizard, Warlock or Bard picking that, no matter how thematically appropriate. Again real groups will overrule this, but it'll be a point of contention forever.

You arent wrong. But I prefer this problem move to 2024 background experience ... rather than remain in 2014 race.

 

[Yaarel]

Because people literally skip over it and miss it in the PHB chapter currently. Have for a decade. If it is made more front and center and explained as a prominent t example in the DMG...might get more memetic traction.

Hopefully. Maybe the idea that it is part of worldbuilding will add to the traction.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Weirdly, I can see people use it more if it is in the DMG.

I don't think so. Partly because so many people use digital stuff - 13 million registered on Beyond for example.

Right now, with Beyond you create a character, "Custom Background" is literally the first one presented to you. After this, we can assume it's not even an option available to players by default, but will probably have to be enabled in some way, if it's even available!

So players are naturally creating custom characters, and are used to picking what skills they actually want and so on. They're particularly used to picking just the "right" stats that they want.

We're going to see a lot of pretty casual players whose only optimization is "correct primary stat" even get angry about this because they'll have a concept where the background just doesn't allow the stat they want. I predict we get to argue about this real soon once the actual list comes out somehow.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

You arent wrong. But I prefer this problem move to 2024 background experience ... rather than remain in 2014 race.

Absolutely false dichotomy.

Tasha's. We can't pretend people aren't using it. But 2024 is trying to, for insane reasons.

 

[Parmandur]

Right now, with Beyond you create a character, "Custom Background" is literally the first one presented to you. After this, we can assume it's not even an option available to players by default, but will probably have to be enabled in some way, if it's even available!

See, I wouldn't necessarily assume that (though I have no plans to use Beyond). We already know that they designed these to be customizable (they already did two years ago!) and thst the designers consider the six abilities to be interchangeable...ao it wouldn't surprise me if Beyond highlighted it as an option, still.

 

[Yaarel]

Most of the Elf traditions across the D&D editions are now 2024 backgrounds.

For example.

LOLTH CLERIC
Ability Scores: Dexterity, Wisdom, Charisma
Skill Proficiency: Religion, Intimidation
Tool Proficiency: Poisoner
Feat: ...


Thinking about custom background in this way can increase popularity.

 

[Ashrym]

The idea that all guards have perception is hilarious and counter-reality.

We're Playing D&D; not "Rules&Reality". Just saying.

Also... ACAB ;-)

Again, you're resorting to weird corner-case situations and demanding players do bizarre-as-hell things, and all this does is prove my point.

What evidence do you have that these are corner cases? Loaded statements where you claim the equivalents of one-offs or outliers without demonstrating such doesn't prove your point.