D&D (2024) RIP, 2014 PHB backgrounds

[Gorck]

So far, in all my 5e campaigns, every player has chosen a premade background. Not one single player has made up their own background. I don't forbid it or anything, that's just how it's worked out so far.

Something about making your own background seems a little to much like "having your cake and eating it too." I've mentioned it in another thread, but I like there to be a little give-and-take in character creation; a little compromise between what we want and what we can live without. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that a lot of players will make their own background giving them proficiency in Perception & Stealth and the Lucky feat.

 

[Azzy]

Something about making your own background seems a little to much like "having your cake and eating it too." I've mentioned it in another thread, but I like there to be a little give-and-take in character creation; a little compromise between what we want and what we can live without.

Why? Choosing the "right" combinations is extremely metagamey and as opposed to simply choosing options that match with a player-designed concept.

 

[Gorck]

Why? Choosing the "right" combinations is extremely metagamey and as opposed to simply choosing options that match with a player-designed concept.

Because getting everything you want is boring and having to make difficult decisions makes those choices much more meaningful and intriguing. There's a reason that BIFT contains the "F" - nobody is perfect. There's a reason 3e used to have ASIs of +2/-1 instead of all plusses.

 

[shadowoflameth]

What? That is exactly what they did in the UA. They presented the default as make your own. The examples were just examples. Did you read the UA?

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I like this except that even though I play with feats, not everyone does. For backward compatibility, I recommend, 'If your game uses feats, choose one 1st level feat or alternatively, a one point increase to an ability that has not been increased by your lineage or one skill or tool proficiency, and one language. I don't think that every background needs a language or a feat to be a valid choice, and if everyone gets a 1st level feat, what will the variant human get?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Why? Choosing the "right" combinations is extremely metagamey and as opposed to simply choosing options that match with a player-designed concept.

Because getting everything you want is boring and having to make difficult decisions makes those choices much more meaningful and intriguing. There's a reason that BIFT contains the "F" - nobody is perfect. There's a reason 3e used to have ASIs of +2/-1 instead of all plusses.

This is a play style issue. Neither is a "correct" answer.

In my games (about 15 players overall, with some players only in one game, others in multiple), I have only one player who's interested in customized backgrounds, but they're also interested in customizing everything and are very focused on the math. Everyone else strongly prefers pre-fab options, even if they are otherwise high-crunch and high-customization type players (several of them are Pathfinder 1.0 players and DMs as well).

 

[Azzy]

Because getting everything you want is boring and having to make difficult decisions makes those choices much more meaningful and intriguing.

You're of the misconception that creating a character to concept is boring or doesn't include difficult decisions just because you don't have to fight the system. That's a false dichotomy. You can absolutely create meaningful and interesting character concepts without metagamey limitations—this happens in other RPGs (and novels) all the time.

There's a reason that BIFT contains the "F" - nobody is perfect. There's a reason 3e used to have ASIs of +2/-1 instead of all plusses.

With experience with other, non-D&D RPGS, I can safely say that no one requires the mechanics to impose artificial restrictions to create flawed or otherwise interesting characters—we just build that as part of the concept (just like the F, along with the others in the BIFT) is a roleplaying consideration, not a mechanical limitation.

 

[demonsquidgod]

I'm the lone person who didn't like the "RP focused" background abilities. I felt like they actually detracted from or negated otherwise interesting role-playing opportunities. If you're a sailor you could certainly try to use that background as justification that you could find allies or friends around a port, but you'd likely still need to play it out. There might be complications, like rivals, old debts, or perhaps the you're at a far flung port with different social and cultural rules. With the old backgrounds it just says that it happens and that kind of interesting stuff is transformed into the DM negating a clearly stated PC ability. I don't like published backgrounds dictating world building to us unless it's part of an existing setting.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I'm the lone person who didn't like the "RP focused" background abilities. I felt like they actually detracted from or negated otherwise interesting role-playing opportunities. If you're a sailor you could certainly try to use that background as justification that you could find allies or friends around a port, but you'd likely still need to play it out. There might be complications, like rivals, old debts, or perhaps the you're at a far flung port with different social and cultural rules. With the old backgrounds it just says that it happens and that kind of interesting stuff is transformed into the DM negating a clearly stated PC ability. I don't like published backgrounds dictating world building to us unless it's part of an existing setting.

No, you're not the only one. I quickly started thinking to myself "Yadda yadda. Yes, the DM should have NPCs treat your PC as if they are who they are. That's pretty obvious. There's nothing else here but that."

But you have a point, that it can even be detrimental to that idea, when we assume that all those things just happen without much RP and without any conflict.

 

[Micah Sweet]

So far, in all my 5e campaigns, every player has chosen a premade background. Not one single player has made up their own background. I don't forbid it or anything, that's just how it's worked out so far.

Something about making your own background seems a little to much like "having your cake and eating it too." I've mentioned it in another thread, but I like there to be a little give-and-take in character creation; a little compromise between what we want and what we can live without. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that a lot of players will make their own background giving them proficiency in Perception & Stealth and the Lucky feat.

Yeah, honestly I wish more compromise was necessary in character creation. Choosing a custom background feel a little samey and OP to me.

(Cue the villagers with pitchforks and torches come to run me out of town)

 

[Umbran]

(Cue the villagers with pitchforks and torches come to run me out of town)

Mod Note:
So, being dismissive of people before they've even said anything is self-fulfilling prophecy. You don't have a lot of space to claim being the victim when you are the one to start with the antagonistic stance.