Dragon Did something like what your talking about. I have the artical and I made a few of my own that look simeler but differnt then theres here it is.
Backgrounds
By Rick Moscatello
One of many cool things about Arcanum is the ability to give your character a background. This background represents a part of your character’s history, or a personal quirk that affects your abilities. Backgrounds are different from feats or class- and race-based special abilities because they aren’t completely beneficial. Such histories serve to further differentiate characters, as well as provide more opportunities for roleplaying.
Raising a Proper Adventurer
Naturally, a background should be chosen only when you create a new character, and a character should have only one background. These backgrounds are fairly balanced, but some are going to be more useful or powerful than others. DMs should carefully consider each before allowing characters to have one, and DMs might want to require interested players to pick a background instead of an initial feat.
Born Under a sign Hydrophobic
Your birth was marked by a peculiar astrological event, or possibly a volcanic eruption. For whatever reason, you tend to score critical hits less often, but they are more spectacular.
Benefit: Whenever you score a successful critical hit, roll a d6. On a roll of 1-3 the hit is instead treated as a normal hit, and damage is resolved normally. On a roll of 4-6 the multiplier is increased by 1. For example, if a critical hit would deal x2 damage, it deals x3 damage instead
Note: If your campaign includes critical failures, a character with this background should similarly affect them. You are deathly afraid of water. A lifetime of making up excuses and explanations for avoiding anything to do with water has made you a skillful liar.
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to Bluff checks. Your character will never willingly go into water (or other liquids), nor will he ride a boat if he can avoid it. When in or on water, your character suffers a -4 morale penalty to Dexterity, Intelligence, and Will saves but gains a +2 morale bonus to Strength out of sheer terror.
Lady’s Man Raised By Snake Handlers
You have a gift for dealing with members of the opposite gender. Alas, persons of the same gender tend to view you with suspicion and jealousy.
Benefit: In any Charisma-based skill check involving a person of opposite gender, you gain a +4 circumstance bonus to the roll. If the check involves a person of the same gender, you suffer a –4 circumstance penalty to the roll. You were raised by a family of snake handlers.
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to Fortitude saves versus poison. Unfortunately, all the bite scars on your body give you a –2 modifier to any Charisma-based skill check.
Night Mage Day Mage
Your spellcasting seems to be attuned to the moon; it is more powerful during the night and weaker during the day.
Benefit: Add +3 to the Difficulty Class of the saving throws of your spells cast at night. Your spells cast during the day suffer a –3 penalty to the DC of their saving throws. Your spellcasting seems to be attuned to the sun; it is more powerful during the day and weaker during the night.
Benefit: Add +3 to the Difficulty Class of the saving throws of your spells cast during the day. Your spells cast at night suffer a –3 penalty to the DC of their saving throws.
Raised by Wolves Sheltered Child
You were raised by animals. Seriously.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to both Strength and Constitution. You also suffer a –2 penalty to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma, and you are illiterate, as per the Barbarian class Your character was coddled and protected as a child. Such soft treatment and isolation did nothing for you physically, and you don’t deal with people well, but your parents spared nothing on your education, giving you an agile mind.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to Intelligence and Wisdom. You also suffer a –2 penalty to Strength, Constitution, and Charisma.
These backgrounds are just the beginning. A good DM, with the help of her players, should have little trouble working out more. Because there is a negative aspect to them, and because characters are limited to one, backgrounds can be somewhat better than feats. Still, you should be careful to keep things balanced, especially if abilities scores are modified (the chart on page 24 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide is very helpful in such cases).
Hears some of my own.
By Lawrence Shipman
Season Mage (Summer) Season Mage (Fall)
Your Spellcasing seems to be attuned to a season; it is more powerful during the summer and weaker during the rest of the year.
Benefit: Add +1 to the Difficulty Class of the saving throws of your spells cast during the summer. Your spells cast the rest of the year suffers a –1 penalty to the DC of there saving throws.
Note: Druids are more likely to be season mages but it’s not uncommon in the other spell casting classes. Your Spellcasing seems to be attuned to a season; it is more powerful during the fall and weaker during the rest of the year.
Benefit: Add +1 to the Difficulty Class of the saving throws of your spells cast during the fall. Your spells cast the rest of the year suffers a –1 penalty to the DC of there saving throws.
Note: Druids are more likely to be season mages but it’s not uncommon in the other spell casting classes.
Season Mage (Winter) Season Mage (Spring)
Your Spellcasing seems to be attuned to a season; it is more powerful during the winter and weaker during the rest of the year.
Benefit: Add +1 to the Difficulty Class of the saving throws of your spells cast during the winter. Your spells cast the rest of the year suffers a –1 penalty to the DC of there saving throws.
Note: Druids are more likely to be season mages but it’s not uncommon in the other spell casting classes. Your Spellcasing seems to be attuned to a season; it is more powerful during the spring and weaker during the rest of the year.
Benefit: Add +1 to the Difficulty Class of the saving throws of your spells cast during the spring. Your spells cast the rest of the year suffers a –1 penalty to the DC of there saving throws.
Note: Druids are more likely to be season mages but it’s not uncommon in the other spell casting classes.
Raised by Body Builders Fast and Nimble
Being raised in a family that spent most of its time lifting waits has made you stronger but at a price you react much slower then you would other wise.
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to all Strength checks and a –4 penalty to all Dexterity checks. This includes skills. You’ve always been fast and flexible but not as strong as your peers have bean. As well as being more accurate shot then they were.
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to all Dexterity checks and a –4 penalty to all Strength checks. This includes skills.
Raised by Gun Experts Hero in the Family
Your parents were famous gun masters but other weapons that you learned you where discouraged to learn.
Benefit: you get a +1 attack bonus with firearms and a –1 with all other weapons. One of your relatives was a famous hero thus you try to follow in there footsteps.
Benefits: Your critical rang is doubled but is not as high of critical by 1. For example, if a critical hit would deal x3 damage, it deals x2 damage instead. It can’t go below x2 thou.
Strange Luck Will Fate
You’ve always had luck in ether of the extremes of good and bad.
Benefit: Before you role initiative role a d6, in a 1 after you role for your initiative cut it in half (rounded down of cores), on a 2-5 it acts normally, and on a 6 you initiative after you role it is doubled. When you do a attack role when you hit then role a d6 on a 1 you miss your target, on a 2-5 you hit normally on a 6 it’s a critical hit (this replaces a normal critical hit).
Note: If your campaign includes failures this is how it acts. When you miss role a d6 on a 1-5 it’s a normal miss, and on a 6 it’s a normal hit. You’ve bean able to will off bad things that happen to you. But other things seem harder for you.
Benefit: You get a +2 to your will save but a –4 to all craft checks.
Sorrry if there not nice and neet but you can figer what goes to what I think.
