D&D (2024) Is anyone going to use the new 2024 backgrounds?

[ECMO3]

yeah, that is not how that works, at all... I guess that is our main disagreement

Sorry but they are all Sailors. That is how it works.

I am sure that if you asked them what they are doing, they would not call themselves sailors, unless at the barest surface level, despite being employed on a ship. A helicopter pilot is not a sailor, even if the helicopter takes off from a ship

Yeah they would. A Naval Aviator (a pilot flying a helicopter off a Destroyer) is absolutely 100% a sailor in the same fashion as someone in the Army flying a helicopter out of an Army base is a soldier.

I was in the Navy. Specifically I was a Naval Flight Officer, I flew EA-6Bs off multiple U.S. aircraft carriers (and land bases) and I was a Sailor. So was the Captain of the carrier (also an Aviator) so were the other 2000 or so members of the airwing deployed on the carrier with me.

As a Naval Flight Officer I went through 2 years of training, most of it specific to the U.S. Navy. This includes water survival, extensive swimming, shipboard firefighting and damage control, skipper B sailing qualification, and other courses that pilots who are not in the Navy, and not stationed on and flying off of ships do not do.

 

[ECMO3]

yes, I see no problem with that, If it bothers you, then do not be a sailor. I have no idea why you insist on being one in the first place, you never gave any reason. If all background are the same anyway (i.e. whatever stats and feats you want, regardless of what you call the package), why even have any

Because I want to play a specific background, with a specific backstory. Just like before Tasha's I wanted to play an Elf.

The PHB should not be throwing barriers in my way to doing that.

 

[ECMO3]

Yes but to be honest no one is going to play a sage who then turned into a barbarian, you have specifically picked a combination. That doesn't work thematically or mechanically on purpose just so you could try to say you are right.

What works thematically is what the character wants for a story and there is no reason at all that Sage does not work with Barbarian thematically. The story is the PCs and if the PC comes up with a good story with his barbarian being a Sage there should be no problem with that. There is no reason that does not work thematically.

In the 5E rules I played a Kender Paladin with the Initiate of High Sorcery background with the Adept of the Black Robes feat. This combo was much more "off brand" than a generic Sage Barbarian would be and it worked great through the Shadow of the Dragon Queen campaign.

You are right that it does not work mechanically (or at least not well) and that is the problem.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Customizing is the whole point. If that is allowed this is entirely moot. If you are customizing a background though then you are not using one of the PHB backgrounds.



But your backstory does matter and that is thematically tied to your background. Your starting class certainly does because there are story elements to it. Your Wizard did not have a spellbook just pop into his hands, your Warlock made a pact of some sort and your fighter learned to use weapons some how.

Sure. Tell your own story about that, or use Level Up's origin system and use the Culture metric to let your past has mechanical implications on your future class.

Are you expecting to play Adventurer's League 2024 5.5e only? If so, you have my sympathies, but otherwise no one is forcing you to choose from a limited number of backgrounds that don't quite fit your vision for your PC.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Because I want to play a specific background, with a specific backstory. Just like before Tasha's I wanted to play an Elf.

The PHB should not be throwing barriers in my way to doing that.

I just don't see how it is, unless what you really care about is getting that +3.

 

[ECMO3]

And even then, you could easily pick 2 cantrips and a 1st level spell, that is useful for a barbarian.

Lets say:

Cantrips:
Mending
Prestidigitation

I will point out that those Cantrips would be pretty darn useful for a sailor too.

In the day of sail you would be hard pressed to come up with a reason for a Sage to use Mending or Prestidigitation before a sailor would use those. Lines and sails were constantly parting, this was a regular problem on sailing vessels, and then for prestidigitation cleaning (swabbing) the deck and careening the hull.

I would put Find Familiar on there too as more useful for a sailor. Not sure what that familiar would actually do for a Sage, but a sailor; tons of uses - Fly your crow up to the top of the mast (or even higher above the ship) and look out through his eyes instead of someone climbing to the crows nest for a lower vantage. Send the Quipper under the ship to see what is fouling the anchor and then maybe even summon a crab to clean it off.

But I bet that is not an option on the Sailor background.

 

[Micah Sweet]

In the 5E rules I played a Kender Paladin with the Initiate of High Sorcery background with the Adept of the Black Robes feat. This combo was much more "off brand" than a generic Sage Barbarian would be and it worked great through the Shadow of the Dragon Queen campaign.

You are right that it does not work mechanically (or at least not well) and that is the problem.

I know what you meant here, but I am deeply amused by the phrase, "generic sage barbarian".

 

[mamba]

Customizing is the whole point. If that is allowed this is entirely moot. If you are customizing a background though then you are not using one of the PHB backgrounds.

and? why is that a problem?

 

[mamba]

Yeah they would. A Naval Aviator (a pilot flying a helicopter off a Destroyer) is absolutely 100% a sailor in the same fashion as someone in the Army flying a helicopter out of an Army base is a soldier.

pretty sure you would not just let any sailor fly a helicopter... specific beats generic

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

True, but species now have fewer mechanics tied to them and class is the definition of your character.

Also to be clear, I am against fencing things behind a specific class. I hate the idea that I can't get Paladin, Ranger or now Warlock spells with Magic Initiate.



Well based on the link, RAW you can use an old 2014 background and arbitrarily pick new any ability bonuses and any Origin feat. If this is true then why tie those things to the 2024 backgrounds in explicit ways.

Maybe because this book is also written for the brand new players who are picking it up for the first time (maybe without a veteran to walk them through it), and the background packages are designed to narratively and mechanically make sense for those new players. Veterans have a sidebar that let them know they can still use the old ways if they want, and new players can also investigate those same insights if they want to do it that way too.

The book needs to be written to have interesting narrative and story aspects, not just rules objects without context.