D&D (2024) The New Custom Backgrounds Details

[Minigiant]

hell no.

or just make it simple:

1 feat
2 skills
1 tool, language or weapon

then you do no need 43200 backgrounds to cover all skill, feat and ASI combinations.

That isn't simple.

You are a D&D veteran.
The PHB has to have newbie options.

 

[Horwath]

That isn't simple.

You are a D&D veteran.
The PHB has to have newbie options.

Why is everyone, starting with wotc thinking that new players are bunch of complete idiots and not capable of reading or learning anything?

When did we become so condenscending?

And for newbie options, ok, have them, but give custom background as default and rest as guidelines.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Why is everyone, starting with wotc thinking that new players are bunch of complete idiots and not capable of reading or learning anything?

A teacher who believes people learn by having a text book plonked down in front of them is the complete idiot.

When did we become so condenscending?

Round about the same time people started having children.

NB, you spelled “condescending” wrong.

 

[Horwath]

And WotC are trying to put them in, because they need to remove the mechanics from species for sociological reasons. We are currently at the half way stage. Backgrounds are the new “race”.

Things were good with Tasha's and ASIs, why complicate things?

 

[Horwath]

A teacher who believes people learn by having a text book plonked down in front of them is the complete idiot.

Round about the same time people started having children.

NB, you spelled “condescending” wrong.

Hehe, depends on the subject.

Also why are we treatimg dnd players as children?

Dnd for kids is something completely different.

Dnd is for little older default customers, or atleast for those that feel like it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Things were good with Tasha's and ASIs, why complicate things?

You are free to use those if you prefer.

That's the thing, experienced players modify the rules to suit the game they want to play. So what it says in the PHB only matters to inexperienced players.

 

[Minigiant]

So that’s 43200 products you don’t get to sell people. Remind me not to go into business with you!

And you are viewing it completely mechanically. One of the most important functions of background is to help players get started with their backstories.

One of the reasons why there are so many middling selling RPGs is that many designers design for themselves and don't make product that have a strong customer base nor revenue stream.

WOTC Litterally playtested custom backgrounds. It flopped.

People want pre built backgrounds.

 

[mikeburke]

My sense is 99% of players who want to make custom backgrounds would just want to get access to the levers under the hood to optimize, and would ignore the flavor text. Which is fine, but we’ve lost any veneer of this being a “Background”.

If you keep it as a “custom background” it creates potential for DM awkwardness, having to review and sign-off or reject a player’s proposal and get into an argument. Fine if the group are all friends, but a different dynamic in other tables.

Seems it could all be resolved with words in the DMG saying “if your player is interested in proposing a custom background, work with them to do so, but keep an eye out for X,Y and Z”.

But - I don’t see why a DM needs written permission from Chris and James to do that. So I am not really, honestly, seeing the issue.

 

[Minigiant]

My sense is 99% of players who want to make custom backgrounds would just want to get access to the levers under the hood to optimize, and would ignore the flavor text. Which is fine, but we’ve lost any veneer of this being a “Background”.

Yeah. It Kinds feels like people who complained about the lack of PHB custom background just want to be able to optimize by default then either

1) Justify their PC's flavor and create a background after

Or

2) Paint anything on top of it with the "Flavor is free" mentally

"I made a DEX/CON/CHA paladin. Background? Ummm.. I'm a follower of the Earth Mother. And I made a pact with a faerie queen. Pact? Oh I'm multiclassing Warlock next level"

 

[Oofta]

I don’t know if you have to purchase the DMG or not. I just know that the 2024 custom background rules won’t be implemented on DDB until the DMG is released. It’s possible they will be added to the free basic rules, as those are going to be updated when both the DMG and the MM come out.

Even if they aren't, it's not hard to create a custom build-your-own background template.