<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=261794.msg12937174#msg12937174">Quote from: Arcannyx on 27-01-2017, 18:24:10</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Sadly I don't have that one.<br/><br/>Really didn't like the PHB options for Onyx; Guild Artisan was <em>close</em> but not perfect, and Acolyte was ok'ish, but also not a good fit. <br/></blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>Well, here's the SCAG backgrounds, and their flavor blurbs. Anything catches your eye, let me know.  ;D<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">City Watch</div><div class="spoiler_body">You have served the community where you grew up,<br/>standing as its first line of defense against crime. You<br/>aren't a soldier, directing your gaze outward at possible<br/>enemies. Instead, your service to your hometown was<br/>to help police its populace, protecting the citizenry from<br/>lawbreakers and malefactors of every stripe.<br/>You might have been part of the City Watch of Waterdeep,<br/>the baton-wielding police force of the City of Splendors,<br/>protecting the common folk from thieves and rowdy<br/>nobility alike. Or you might have been one of the valiant<br/>defenders of Silverymoon, a member of the Silverwatch or<br/>even one of the magic-wielding Spellguard.<br/>Perhaps you hail from Neverwinter and have served<br/>as one of its Winter shield watchmen, the newly founded<br/>branch of guards who vow to keep safe the City of<br/>S killed Hands.<br/>Even if you're not city-born or city-bred, this background<br/>can describe your early years as a member of<br/>law enforcement. Most settlements of any size have<br/>their own constables and police forces, and even smaller<br/>communities have sheriffs and bailiffs who stand ready<br/>to protect their community.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Clan Crafter</div><div class="spoiler_body">The Stout Folk a re well known for their artisanship<br/>and the worth of their handiworks, and you have been<br/>trained in that ancient tradition. For years you labored<br/>under a dwarf master of the craft, enduring long hours.<br/>and dismissive, sour-tempered treatment in order to<br/>gain the fin e s kills you possess today.<br/>You are most likely a dwarf, but not necessarily- particularly<br/>in the North, the shield dwarf clans learned<br/>long ago that only proud fools who are more concerned<br/>for their egos than their craft turn away promising<br/>apprentices, even those of other races. If you aren't a<br/>dwarf, however, you have taken a solemn oath never<br/>to take on an apprentice in the craft: it is not for nondwarves<br/>to pass on the s kills of Moradin's favored<br/>children. You would have no difficulty, however, finding<br/>a dwarf master who was willing to receive potential apprentices<br/>who came with your recommendation.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Cloistered Scholar</div><div class="spoiler_body">As a child, you were inquisitive when your playmates<br/>were possessive or raucous. In your formative years,<br/>you found your way to one of Faerum's great institutes<br/>of learning , where you were apprenticed and taught<br/>that knowledge is a more valuable treasure than gold<br/>or gems. Now you are ready to leave your home- not to<br/>abandon it, but to quest for new lore to add to its storehouse<br/>of knowledge.<br/>The most well known of Faerun's fonts of knowledge<br/>is Candlekeep. The great library is always in need of<br/>workers and attendants, some of whom rise through<br/>the ranks to assume roles of greater responsibility and<br/>prominence. You might be one of Candlekeep's own,<br/>dedicated to the curatorship of what is likely the most<br/>complete body of lore and history in all the world.<br/>Perhaps instead you were taken in by the scholars<br/>of the Vault of the Sages or the Map House in Silverymoon,<br/>and now you have struck out to increase your knowledge <br/>and to make yourself available to help those<br/>in other places who seek your expertise. You might be<br/>one of the few who aid Herald's Holdfast, helping to<br/>catalog and maintain records of the information that<br/>arrives daily from across Faerun.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Courtier</div><div class="spoiler_body">In your earlier days, you were a personage of some<br/>significance in a noble court or a bureaucratic organization.<br/>You might or might not come from an upper-class<br/>family; your talents, rather than the circumstances of<br/>your birth, could have secured you this position.<br/>You might have been one of the many functionaries,<br/>attendants, and other hangers-on in the Court of Silverymoon,<br/>or perhaps you traveled in Waterdeep's baroque<br/>and sometimes cutthroat conglomeration of guilds, nobles,<br/>adventurers, and secret societies. You might have<br/>been one of the behind-the-scenes law-keepers or functionaries<br/>in Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter, or you might<br/>have grown up in and around the castle of Daggerford.<br/>Even if you are no longer a full-ft edged member of the<br/>group that gave you your start in life, your relationships<br/>with your former fellows can be an advantage for you<br/>and your adventuring comrades. You might undertake<br/>missions with your new companions that further the<br/>interest of the organization that gave you your start<br/>in life. In any event, the abilities that you honed while<br/>serving as a courtier will stand you in good stead as an<br/>adventurer.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Faction Agent</div><div class="spoiler_body">Many organizations active in the North and across the<br/>face of Faerun aren't bound by strictures of geography.<br/>These factions pursue their agendas without regard<br/>for political boundaries, and their members operate<br/>anywhere the organization deems necessary. These<br/>groups employ listeners, rumormongers, smugglers,<br/>sellswords, cache-holders (people who guard caches of<br/>wealth or magic for use by the faction's operatives), haven<br/>keepers, and message drop minders, to name a few.<br/>At the core of every faction are those who don't merely<br/>fulfill a small function for that organization, but who<br/>serve as its hands, head, and heart.<br/>As a prelude to your adventuring career (and in preparation<br/>for it), you served as an agent of a particular<br/>faction in Faerun. You might have operated openly or<br/>secretly, depending on the faction and its goals, as well<br/>as how those goals mesh with your own. Becoming an<br/>adventurer doesn't necessarily require you to relinquish<br/>membership in your faction (though you can choose to<br/>do so), and it might enhance your status in the faction.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Far Traveler</div><div class="spoiler_body">Almost all of the common people and other folk that one<br/>might encounter along the Sword Coast or in the North<br/>have one thing in common: they live out their lives without<br/>ever traveling more than a few miles from where<br/>they were born.<br/>You aren't one of those folk.<br/>You are from a distant place, one so remote that few<br/>of the common folk in the North realize that it exists,<br/>and chances are good that even if some people you meet<br/>have heard of your homeland, they know merely the name <br/>and perhaps a few outrageous stories. You have<br/>come to this part of Faerun for your own reasons, which<br/>you might or might not choose to share.<br/>Although you will undoubtedly find some of this land's<br/>ways to be strange and discomfiting, you can also be<br/>sure that some things its people take for granted will be<br/>to you new wonders that you've never laid eyes on before.<br/>By the same token, you're a person of interest, for<br/>good or ill, to those around you almost anywhere you go.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Inheritor</div><div class="spoiler_body">You are the heir to something of great value- not mere<br/>coin or wealth, but an object that has been entrusted to<br/>you and you alone. Your inheritance might have come<br/>directly to you from a member of your family, by right<br/>of birth, or it could have been left to you by a friend, a<br/>mentor, a teacher, or someone else important in your<br/>life. The revelation of your inheritance changed your<br/>life, and might have set you on the path to adventure, but<br/>it could also come with many dangers, including those<br/>who covet your gift and want to take it from you- by<br/>force, if need be.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Knight of the Order</div><div class="spoiler_body">You belong to an order of knights who have sworn<br/>oaths to achieve a certain goal. The nature of this goal<br/>depends on the order you serve, but in your eyes it is<br/>without question a vital and honorable endeavor. Faerun<br/>has a wide variety of knightly orders, all of which have<br/>a similar outlook concerning their actions and responsibilities.<br/>Though the term "knight" conjures ideas of mounted,<br/>heavily armored warriors of noble blood, most knightly<br/>orders in Faerun don't restrict their membership to such<br/>individuals. The goals and philosophies of the order are<br/>more important than the gear and fighting style of its<br/>members, and so most of these orders aren't limited to<br/>fighting types, but are open to a ll sorts of folk who are<br/>willing to battle and die for the order's cause.<br/>The "Knightly Orders of Faerun" sidebar details<br/>several of the orders that are active at present and is designed<br/>to help inform your decision about which group<br/>you owe allegiance to.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Mercenary Veteran</div><div class="spoiler_body">As a sell-sword who fought battles for coin, you're well<br/>acquainted with risking life and limb for a chance at a<br/>share of treasure. Now, you look forward to fighting foes<br/>and reaping even greater rewards as an adventurer. Your<br/>experience makes you familiar with the ins and outs of<br/>mercenary life, and you likely have harrowing stories of<br/>events on the battlefield. You might have served with a<br/>large outfit such as the Zhentarim or the soldiers of Mintarn,<br/>or a smaller band of sell-swords, maybe even more<br/>than one. (See the "Mercenaries of the North" sidebar for<br/>a collection of possibilities.)<br/>Now you're looking for something else, perhaps<br/>greater reward for the risks you take, or the freedom to<br/>choose your own activities. For whatever reason, you're<br/>leaving behind the life of a soldier for hire, but your skills <br/>are undeniably suited for battle, so now you fight<br/>on in a different way.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Urban Bounty Hunter</div><div class="spoiler_body">Before you became an adventurer, your life was already<br/>full of conflict and excitement, because you made a living<br/>tracking down people for pay. Unlike some people<br/>who collect bounties, though, you aren't a savage who<br/>follows quarry into or through the wilderness. You're<br/>involved in a lucrative trade, in the place where you live,<br/>that routinely tests your skills and survival instincts.<br/>What's more, you aren't alone, as a bounty hunter in the<br/>wild would be: you routinely interact with both the criminal<br/>subculture and other bounty hunters, maintaining<br/>contacts in both areas to help you succeed.<br/>You might be a cunning thief-catcher, prowling the<br/>rooftops to catch one of the myriad burglars of the<br/>city. Perhaps you are someone who has your ear to the<br/>street, aware of the doings of thieves' guilds and street<br/>gangs. You might be a "velvet mask" bounty hunter, one<br/>who blends in with high society and noble circles in order<br/>to catch the criminals that prey on the rich, whether<br/>pickpockets or con artists. The community where you<br/>plied your trade might have been one of Faen1n's great<br/>metropolises, such as Waterdeep or Baldur's Gate, or a<br/>less populous location, perhaps Luskan or Yartar-any<br/>place that's large enough to have a steady supply of potential<br/>quarries.<br/>As a member of an adventuring party, you might find<br/>it more difficult to pursue a personal agenda that doesn't<br/>fit with the group's objectives- but on the other hand,<br/>you can take down much more formidable targets with<br/>the help of your companions.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Uthgardt Tribe Member</div><div class="spoiler_body">Though you might have only recently arrived in civilized<br/>lands, you are no stranger to the values of cooperation<br/>and group effort when striving for supremacy. You<br/>learned these principles, and much more, as a member<br/>of an Uthgardt tribe.<br/>Your people have always tried to hold to the old ways.<br/>Tradition and taboo have kept the Uthgardt strong<br/>while the kingdoms of others have collapsed into chaos<br/>and ruin. But for the last few generations, some bands<br/>among the tribes were tempted to settle, make peace,<br/>trade, and even to build towns. Perhaps this is why Uthgar<br/>chose to raise up the totems among the people as<br/>living embodiments of his power. Perhaps they needed a<br/>reminder of who they were and from whence they came.<br/>The Chosen of Uthgar led bands back to the old ways,<br/>and most of your people abandoned the soft ways of<br/>civilization. <br/>You might have grown up in one of the tribes that had<br/>decided to settle down, and now that they have abandoned<br/>that path, you find yourself adrift. Or you might<br/>come from a segment of the Uthgardt that adheres to<br/>tradition, but you seek to bring glory to your tribe by<br/>achieving great things as a formidable adventurer.<br/>See the "Uthgardt Lands" section of chapter 2 for details<br/>on each tribe's territory and its activities that will<br/>help you choose your affiliation.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Waterdhavian Noble</div><div class="spoiler_body">You are a scion of one of the great noble families of Waterdeep.<br/>Human families who jealously guard their privilege<br/>and place in the City of Splendors, Waterdhavian<br/>nobles have a reputation across Faerun for being eccentric,<br/>spoiled, venal, and, above all else, rich.<br/>Whether you are a shining example of the reason<br/>for this reputation or one who proves the rule by being<br/>an exception, people expect things of you when they<br/>know your surname and what it means. Your reasons<br/>for taking up adventuring likely involve your family in<br/>some way: Are you the family rebel, who prefers delving<br/>in filthy dungeons to sipping zzar at a ball? Or have<br/>you taken up sword or spell on your family's behalf,<br/>ensuring that they have someone of renown to see to<br/>their legacy?<br/>Work with your DM to come up with the family you<br/>are part of - there are around seventy-five lineages in<br/>Waterdeep, each with its own financial interests, specialties,<br/>and schemes. You might be part of the main line<br/>of your family, possibly in line to become its leader one<br/>day. Or you might be one of any number of cousins, with<br/>less prestige but also less responsibility.</div></div><br/><br/>Also, do we still have a Paladin in the group?