Unearthed Arcana WOTC still can't get the backgrounds right in the new FR book.

[Kinematics]

That said, why have the background tied to mechanics at all then? If I can play an Acolyte with +1 Wisdom, +2 Dexterity and the Tavern Brawler feat then why even have a sailor with those printed feats and ASIs?

It turns abstract numbers into a concrete idea that people can grasp. It provides a word and description that can be used to help shape an idea for a character. Lacking that, it can be very hard for some (some more than others) to actually build a character of their own (in the story sense, rather than the mechanical sense). The background descriptions and names provide a starting point for those who have difficulty with that.

 

[WanderingMystic]

Considering that I'm typically the DM? Probably not. I think that character customization and choices should be player-facing.

Because I think that character customization should be in the book that has the rules for creating characters.

So to me to see backgrounds as world building more than just character building. The examples of backgrounds in the ohb are generic. After looking at one of those if none really work for your character concept to go to your DM and talk to them about how your soldier was trained in a mixture of magic and combat. The DM goes I have a great idea for a magical militaristic academy your characters could have studied at. At this point the dm says here is what ai think they would grant as a background.

You as the player have had some input into what is being made, the DM had made sure that it fits the concept of their world and game. By doing this you might not get exactly what you wanted but you get something that is very close and that the dm feels comfortable with.

 

[Minigiant]

There's no real problem with prepackaged backgrounds.

The issue is that WOTC only at first offered a limited set of backgrounds based on backwards compatibility and forced the ASI and feats to fit.

 

[Azzy]

So to me to see backgrounds as world building more than just character building. The examples of backgrounds in the ohb are generic. After looking at one of those if none really work for your character concept to go to your DM and talk to them about how your soldier was trained in a mixture of magic and combat. The DM goes I have a great idea for a magical militaristic academy your characters could have studied at. At this point the dm says here is what ai think they would grant as a background.

You as the player have had some input into what is being made, the DM had made sure that it fits the concept of their world and game. By doing this you might not get exactly what you wanted but you get something that is very close and that the dm feels comfortable with.

What breaks if the player can make their own background?

 

[Rainbow Scissors]

The changes to backgrounds are my least liked think about 5e24.

 

[Maxperson]

Well that is an interpretation, although I am not sure many tables will allow it.

That said, why have the background tied to mechanics at all then? If I can play an Acolyte with +1 Wisdom, +2 Dexterity and the Tavern Brawler feat then why even have a sailor with those printed feats and ASIs?

Beeecause your PC is a Sailor and not an Acolyte?

 

[Older Beholder]

The fact that the best Background for Monks is Sailor says all that needs to be said about how absurd the Background system currently is.

I guess I don't understand why it's so absurd to have a line in your backstory about spending time on a boat?

-I grew up on a boat until it sank and I was rescued by some monks in a fishing boat.
-I grew up in a monastery that did missionary work in Chult which meant spending years on a boat as a youth going back and forth along the sword coast.

 

[Marandahir]

I guess I don't understand why it's so absurd to have a line in your backstory about spending time on a boat?

-I grew up on a boat until it sank and I was rescued by some monks in a fishing boat.
-I grew up in a monastery that did missionary work in Chult which meant spending years on a boat as a youth going back and forth along the sword coast.

The issue is that they don't want that in their backstory, but they want the features otherwise.

I don't think that's unreasonable, but I also don't think the features are so dwarfing of the competition that it's not worth taking Acolyte or whatnot instead.

The nice thing with tying 1st Level ASIs to Backgrounds is that it helps guide players during ability score assignment so that it naturally flows from the character they want to play. It's a tool to help you go from the character in your mind to something statted out on the sheets.

I don't think the intention is to run it the other way and choose your background based on the best ASI / Skill / Feat layout for your chosen species and class.

But it's totally okay to do that too – it's just that if you're doing that and aren't happy with the options available, you may be the target audience for custom background building.

Now whether that should have been in the PHB or the DMG, that's a separate debate. I think customizing anything with house rules should be DM-facing, but there are legit arguments to make for putting the Custom tools in the PHB too. WotC took the former approach this time, but the latter approach back in 2014 (when the Background carried less heft).