D&D 5E Drudge, a magical laborer background - advice sought

[Mind of tempest]

Right now, probably just the Folk Hero

Yes

so if the mage right is like an office worker or a trade worker this is like the janitor or a burger flipper?

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Right now, probably just the Folk Hero

Yes

OK. Would the Drudge have the same Background Feature as the Folk Hero?

If you have a society where magic is that commonplace, perhaps allow any background to swap a skill and a tool/language for a cantrip that they can cast as if first level. - I can see other backgrounds like Guild Artisan also using that sort of thing.

 

[DEFCON 1]

A laborer background should include a choice of tool, in my opinion. 1 tool / 1 cantrip is more appropriate than 2 cantrips.

If certain race options can only give you 1 cantrip as part of it... no background should be able to give you more than that. Especially considering a feat also gives you two cantrips, and those are much bigger in scope than a simple background.

 

[bedir than]

Would the Drudge have the same Background Feature as the Folk Hero?

The eventual design goal is that every one of the 40 Backgrounds I'm working on will have unique descriptions, skill allocation, features, personalities.

 

[Blackrat]

Midwife (I'm still searching for a gender neutral name on this one)

There isn’t one in english. Barber Surgeon or Feldsher would be closest propably.

Yeah, sorry, nothing to contribute to what you actually asked for, but this jumped at me and I decided to give some help here...

 

[bedir than]

@Blackrat As an al-Qadim fan I will, of course, have a Barber, but they are not part of the subset with cantrips.

 

[bedir than]

Especially considering a feat also gives you two cantrips, and those are much bigger in scope than a simple background

A Feat can give you 3 skills, or a skill, a tool, and a language with something getting a bump to expertise.

Feats basically are on par with Backgrounds in power if you consider that power is limited to combat.

 

[DEFCON 1]

A Feat can give you 3 skills, or a skill, a tool, and a language with something getting a bump to expertise.

Feats basically are on par with Backgrounds in power if you consider that power is limited to combat.

The worst feats are on par with backgrounds in terms of power. You are giving a background power that is much higher up on the feat scale.

If you want to do that, that's cool, your table your rules... but if you are asking whether it is balanced or not, my opinion is that it's not. At 1st level feats and class features are the only way to get two cantrips at once and if it was me, I'd personally keep it that way.

 

[bedir than]

The worst feats are on par with backgrounds in terms of power. You are giving a background power that is much higher up on the feat scale.

If you want to do that, that's cool, your table your rules... but if you are asking whether it is balanced or not, my opinion is that it's not. At 1st level feats and class features are the only way to get two cantrips at once and if it was me, I'd personally keep it that way.

You have equated "power" with combat, which is fine to do, but ignores the design of 5th edition.

Again, the question was about tools, and which type to include. If someone asks about X and your answer is about Y, are you helping answer the question?

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

The worst feats are on par with backgrounds in terms of power. You are giving a background power that is much higher up on the feat scale.

If you want to do that, that's cool, your table your rules... but if you are asking whether it is balanced or not, my opinion is that it's not. At 1st level feats and class features are the only way to get two cantrips at once and if it was me, I'd personally keep it that way.

I don't think that Bedir Than is suggesting that gaining a cantrip in place of the social-only Background Feature.

But yes, a cantrip of choice is very much more powerful than a single skill.

You have equated "power" with combat, which is fine to do, but ignores the design of 5th edition.

Again, the question was about tools, and which type to include. If someone asks about X and your answer is about Y, are you helping answer the question?

Most backgrounds grant two skills, two of tools/languages, and a Background Feature.
("Tool" can include artisan tool, vehicle, gaming set, musical instrument etc.)

I think a background that grants one skill, one tool, a non-scaling cantrip from an non-optimal list, and a Background Feature would probably be fine.
So yes, having Drudge include a tool would be fine.