Primal Power Backgrounds

[Jhaelen]

I think backgrounds are a great tool to get a player's imagination started if she has trouble coming up with a good character concept.

I particularly liked the backgrounds in the Eberron Player's Guide. They worked very well to communicate the idea what the setting is all about.

 

[Garthanos]

Mechanics-wise, you only get one.

But world-building-wise?

From the DM's perspect .... that's all well and good but for the player, where's the beef.

 

[RyvenCedrylle]

Gotta run with Garthanos on this. Most backgrounds seem.. petty. On the one hand, I get that in D&D your character is coming into his or her prime as the adventure starts, not before. Still, if I'm going to write a background, I'd like a mechanic to actively leverage that background to my advantage, even if only once every couple sessions.

F'rinstance, if I spent my early life on the streets stealing to survive, I should be able to steal something - no check required - from time to time because that's what my character does. Not the MacGuffin, obviously, but maybe the merchant's contact list or the key to the cell my friend is being held in. Or if I'm from a noble family I should be able to say (as a player) "My family is famous. That guy recognizes me and is nice to us." I'm not asking for an "I win" button, but at least a reliable gimmick of sorts as an homage to that background.

 

[Klaus]

Gotta run with Garthanos on this. Most backgrounds seem.. petty. On the one hand, I get that in D&D your character is coming into his or her prime as the adventure starts, not before. Still, if I'm going to write a background, I'd like a mechanic to actively leverage that background to my advantage, even if only once every couple sessions.

F'rinstance, if I spent my early life on the streets stealing to survive, I should be able to steal something - no check required - from time to time because that's what my character does. Not the MacGuffin, obviously, but maybe the merchant's contact list or the key to the cell my friend is being held in. Or if I'm from a noble family I should be able to say (as a player) "My family is famous. That guy recognizes me and is nice to us." I'm not asking for an "I win" button, but at least a reliable gimmick of sorts as an homage to that background.

That's where you get Thievery or Diplomacy as a class skill, or if you already have them, you take the +2 bonus.

 

[Garthanos]

That's where you get Thievery or Diplomacy as a class skill, or if you already have them, you take the +2 bonus.

I dont call that mix and match then... I feel a little like the game presents some interesting backgrounds and than yank... but you cant really have those ... heres some fluff ones where you get a token benefit about 1/3 what we presented..phb2 and just to make sure we really think you shouldnt use the ones with meat on their bones we are going to keep throwing out ones that are generic stone soup.

 

[RyvenCedrylle]

But it's a +2. Look at it this way - a +2 bonus to a skill is the noncombat equivalent of Sure Strike. There's nothing wrong with Sure Strike. Sometimes you just want to fracking hit, sometimes you just want a better skill modifier. Perfectly good and effective. But isn't Tide of Iron also a nice ability? How about Footwork Lure? These powers let you grab the combat story for a second and do something with it. I guess that's what I'd like to see - background Powers. The Skill Powers were a good start, but not quite far enough for my taste.

Actually, the closest thing so far to meeting my satisfaction are the sample Martial Practices or Martial Rituals. Getting access to one of those in the way that the Dragonmark guys get access to specific rituals without the Ritual Caster feat would be sweet.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

To make backgrounds really interesting to me there should be something like "associated feats" and "associated powers". Either the feats or powers in question require the background, or the feats and powers in question are suggested to fit the background.
I would like a background-based feat/power system independent of the class system.

And I would have preferred if they had been core rule elements from the start. But since they are not, any such mechanics will always either feel as a power-up or force choices between combat and non-combat stuff. Or an unlucky combination of both.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I really tried hard not to be anit-background in the OP, but I'll feel free to be so here.


I just do not like this kind of random, senseless power-up for characters who go here. It just encourages nonsensical character backgrounds for a minor benefit. Like in FR you would get characters who, from 0th to 1st level somehow traveled halfway across Faern to get a nice background feat or ability, and still be in the campaign area. It was silly, and I wish 4E were not perpetuating the whole mess. Sample background for flavor are great, but should have no mechanical benefit.

 

[Hellzon]

And I would have preferred if they had been core rule elements from the start. But since they are not, any such mechanics will always either feel as a power-up or force choices between combat and non-combat stuff. Or an unlucky combination of both.

There was epic whining on the WOTC boards when the Scales of War backgrounds came out, since it was a powerup. Blah.

 

[Klaus]

I dont call that mix and match then... I feel a little like the game presents some interesting backgrounds and than yank... but you cant really have those ... heres some fluff ones where you get a token benefit about 1/3 what we presented..phb2 and just to make sure we really think you shouldnt use the ones with meat on their bones we are going to keep throwing out ones that are generic stone soup.

You misunderstood me. When I said "mix-n-match", I was referring to the background themselves, not the mechanical aspects. It's like the old 2e World Builder's Guidebook (oh how I love it), where you could roll the dice three or four times and see what kind of campaign world it generated. It is an exercise in creativity to take three seeming disparate backgrounds and turn them into a single origin, and possibly using it to flesh out an aspect of the campaign world (so the Goliaths raised a noble from the lowland humans, eh?).