Background benefits?

[Turtlejay]

Right, that +2 isn't a big deal, but when you leverage your racial bonuses, prime skill, background, training, focus, familiar, etc to make your check almost unfailable.

I am guilty of trying to do this. I feel dirty.

Jay

 

[Amaroq]

Wow, most of my characters have used their Background to pick up an extra skill as a class skill so that they can train it. Perception is a favorite for melee types, and my paladin decided Nature fit her character background best.

 

[fba827]

I've found the background benefits that are "prepackaged" (that includes the FRPG ones, the ones in DDI that were made for some adventure, etc) to be out of line with the general established baseline as presented in PHB2.

While we don't use the "titles" presented in PHB2, our campaign has stuck to the baseline a) +2 to any skill b) add a class skill to your list of available class skills c) a bonus language; and this has worked well -- everyone (as far as I know) enjoys their choice. It's not necessarily 'huge' but it offers that tweak of insight to flesh out where this PC came from before and what he might have done then (i.e used to climb a lot of trees as a child, or raised by a monk, etc) - in my experience it offers more roleplay hooks and background than any statistical flipping of ability score on hp usually has ...

 

[DracoSuave]

The difference is, in realistic terms, around 8 or so hit points. For most characters it's less.

8 hps will not make or break your game at high levels... and the background can never put your character into a 'I have huge hitpoints compared to everyone else' level.

Is it good? For some characters, yes. Is it gonna break the game? No. Taking this can never cause you to have so many hitpoints that you're out of the acceptable range for first level characters.

And at high levels, it's a drop in the bucket.

 

[fba827]

By the way -- if all your players have the same background, try and find a way to tie it in to a plot/story.

How is it that they are all born under a bad sign... perhaps cosmic forces brought them together for a reason, etc.


As DracoSuave said, sure, it won't break the game since we're talking roughly equivalent to slightly more than a toughness feat. But at the same time, if someone chooses a skill-benefit background, they get less than skill focus would give them (also a feat) so getting a background benefit that is better than toughness (also a feat) is slightly (although not detremintally so) stronger than the other choices.
I personally just find it plain boring though.

 

[Flipguarder]

Or a much simpler way to do things is to add into the background benefit text "Maximum 5"

 

[DracoSuave]

The difference is that toughness can get you over the 37 hps mark, this background can -never- do that. And toughness is WAY better than it can -ever- be once you hit 11th level.

 

[Benlo]

By the way -- if all your players have the same background, try and find a way to tie it in to a plot/story.

How is it that they are all born under a bad sign... perhaps cosmic forces brought them together for a reason, etc.


As DracoSuave said, sure, it won't break the game since we're talking roughly equivalent to slightly more than a toughness feat. But at the same time, if someone chooses a skill-benefit background, they get less than skill focus would give them (also a feat) so getting a background benefit that is better than toughness (also a feat) is slightly (although not detremintally so) stronger than the other choices.
I personally just find it plain boring though.

Granted, I don't have the book in front of me, but doesn't Toughness increase to 10 at Paragon, and 15 at Epic? Granted, that won't make any difference at Heroic, but taking that into account, it doesn't seem terribly powerful to me. A good choice, but not THE choice, you know?

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Its also worth noting that to get maximum benefit from these, a character may use their con as a dump stat - which, unless they are a strength build, will likely mean that their fort defence is very, very poor. No reason why as a DM you shouldn't take advantage of that.

 

[Destil]

Backgrounds are, IMHO, a bad example of everything needing to have a rule. I hate the idea of digging through them until I find the skill I want. Sometimes it works (I have an urban detective paladin who wanted streetwise), but a better rule would be:
Choose a skill that fits your background, subject to DM approval.

I promise I won't not buy books, WotC, if you just had the flavor text for backgrounds and one single, better, rule for them all.