D&D (2024) Real Character Generation in 2024 PHB

[guachi]

Yeah, the little "affect the story/world fiction" was the best thing about them (though I believe @Oofta disagrees). They didn't have a straight quantifiable mechanical benefit, but could be used to create story threads that could either abbreviate a sequence (finding an inn, finding food, locating the black market) or initiate one, depending on how the player and DM wanted to RP it.

Early on in a 5e campaign that began in 2017 one of the players seemed upset I didn't have the NPCs react a certain way and said "but I'm a Pirate". I immediately changed the reaction of the NPCs and I think it added a lot without it being mechanically powerful. Just something for the players to hang their hats on when playing their PC. I loved that backgrounds weren't just a simple pile of numbers.

 

[Mistwell]

Yeah I liked the fluff part of backgrounds as well. If I play a Farmer Goliath Barbarian Zealot, you can bet the Farmer part will come up often enough. There is a story there in each of those four elements.

 

[Will Brandiman]

So no one's taking issue with these features being gratuitous?

The fluff part of the background is the only valuable part. Characters already get ASIs, feats, proficiencies, and gear from classes.

5e Backgrounds have always offered additional skills, tools and/or languages. No problem with that. It's the fact they have now tied in ability scores and origin feats all into one big feature that I take issue with, especially as the features are rigid with no option for customisation.

 

[GMMichael]

5e Backgrounds have always offered additional skills, tools and/or languages. No problem with that. It's the fact they have now tied in ability scores and origin feats all into one big feature that I take issue with, especially as the features are rigid with no option for customisation.

Touche'. They've bloated out a bit. I thought someone upthread was saying that they're not rigid - you can just design your own background and grab a pre-made one if you're in a rush?

My new issue is this, after a bit of thought: with all the shtuff included in backgrounds, they're not actually backgrounds.

They're NPC classes. 0-level classes. Just call it what it is. I can write "farmer" on my sheet without the help of a "background."

 

[Oofta]

Touche'. They've bloated out a bit. I thought someone upthread was saying that they're not rigid - you can just design your own background and grab a pre-made one if you're in a rush?

My new issue is this, after a bit of thought: with all the shtuff included in backgrounds, they're not actually backgrounds.

They're NPC classes. 0-level classes. Just call it what it is. I can write "farmer" on my sheet without the help of a "background."

Presumably the build-your-own-background will be in the DMG. Personally I don't mind having extra flexibility with building a character and being able to get things I could not otherwise get without multi-class cheese dips. I just don't think grouping disparate things like ASIs, origin feats and tools into these tight bundles makes a lot of sense.

 

[Yaarel]

Presumably the build-your-own-background will be in the DMG. Personally I don't mind having extra flexibility with building a character and being able to get things I could not otherwise get without multi-class cheese dips. I just don't think grouping disparate things like ASIs, origin feats and tools into these tight bundles makes a lot of sense.

Actually, the custom background is already in the Players Handbook. It itemizes what a background comprises, and also mentions the DM might add other backgrounds.

 

[Yaarel]

They're NPC classes. 0-level classes. Just call it what it is. I can write "farmer" on my sheet without the help of a "background."

They need combat stats including hit points, but yes, a background is the new "level zero" character.

Possibly a way to swap around weapons, armor, and cantrips, would help. When gaining levels in a class, some Fighters might know a cantrip, and some Wizards might wield a longsword.

 

[Epic Meepo]

Actually, the custom background is already in the Players Handbook. It itemizes what a background comprises, and also mentions the DM might add other backgrounds.

No, there are no rules for creating custom backgrounds in the Player's Handbook. Your statement is potentially misleading to people who don't have the book yet.

"Itemizing what a background comprises" isn't a rule for creating custom backgrounds, just like itemizing what elements weapons have isn't a rule for creating laser guns.

Readers of the Player's Handbook can import custom backgrounds from the 2014 rules or reverse engineer them with house rules, but the Player's Handbook itself doesn't provide explicit rules for custom backgrounds.

 

[Yaarel]

No, there are no rules for creating custom backgrounds in the Player's Handbook. Your statement is potentially misleading to people who don't have the book yet.

"Itemizing what a background comprises" isn't a rule for creating custom backgrounds, just like itemizing what elements weapons have isn't a rule for creating laser guns.

Readers of the Player's Handbook can import custom backgrounds from the 2014 rules or reverse engineer them with house rules, but the Player's Handbook itself doesn't provide explicit rules for custom backgrounds.

The 2024 Players Handbook says:

"
Parts of a Background
Ability Scores.
Feat.
Skill Proficiencies.
Tool Proficiency.
Equipment.

"

And says:

"You can choose any of the backgrounds detailed in chapter 4, and your DM might offer additional backgrounds as options."


All the rules necessary for the DM to offer a Freeform Background are already here.

 

[Epic Meepo]

The 2024 Players Handbook says:

"
Parts of a Background
Ability Scores.
Feat.
Skill Proficiencies.
Tool Proficiency.
Equipment.

"

And says:

"You can choose any of the backgrounds detailed in chapter 4, and your DM might offer additional backgrounds as options."


All the rules necessary for the DM to offer a Freeform Background are already here.

Those aren't rules for creating custom backgrounds. Those are rules explaining how to apply what's written in a background description to a character you're creating, plus a statement saying a DM might provide you with more background options.

Compare that to the "Customizing a Background" section in the 2014 Player's Handbook: "To customize a background, you can replace one feature with any other one, choose any two skills, and choose a total of two tool proficiencies or languages from the sample backgrounds."

Read that part about tool proficiencies again. Now consult the 2024 PHB and tell me: What tool proficiencies are you allowed to pick from when creating a custom background? Does the restriction from the 2014 PHB still apply? You can't actually answer that without seeing the 2024 DMG.