100 Character Backgrounds (DnD Other)

Character Backgrounds[edit]
Character backgrounds can be difficult to create, especially for players new to
creating their own characters. If you're new to the game, or have just been play
ing so long you think you've run out of ideas, then this is the place for you. [
Still a lot to add, feel free to add your own]
Destiny: You are destined for greatness. You seem to fulfill some ancient local,
or maybe even global, prophecy. You may not have been a noble, but either way y
ou lived a cherished life. People brought gifts and offerings to you hoping to e
ither be blessed with good fortune by the gods, or assist you in your quest some
how. You eventually left home to fulfill your supposed destiny.
Zealot: You were raised in a clergy, and a strict one at that. At some point you
began to believe that your religion is the true one, and everyone else is follo
wing the wrong path. So you've set out on a pilgrimage to convert others to your
religion.
The Royal: You're a noble, and you've left home having been struck by wanderlust
. Stranded in a far away land, you quickly spent your savings and now must lower
your standards to survive among the filthy common folk.
Unwanted Royalty: Your family is rich, and you're considered a noble or maybe ev
en a prince, but you don't want that. Maybe your large inheritance would tempt o
thers, but you want adventure. So you've left home in seek of it.
The Slave: You've always been dealt the short end of the straw. While others wer
e born the child of a merchant or noble, you were born a slave. You know little
of science and history, but you can fight well enough. So you've escaped your ow
ner to taste freedom for once.
Fiend Slave: The worst life imaginable. Your family were murdered by demons or d
evils, and you were taken as a slave. You've been forced to fend for your life i
n horrid and terrifying ways, but you survived. Maybe your evil temperament help
ed you survive such monstrosities, or perhaps the goodness in your soul was so p
ure that you found a way to manage yourself in the abyss. Either you've somehow
escaped your captors and arrived on the Material Plane, or you've become strande
d there for now, and intend to maintain contact with your fiendish master.
Warrior of Good: You were raised in a clergy or joined a temple at a young age,
and worked there for several years, but you've struggled with focusing on prayer
. While others die on the fields of war against evil, you were stuck there. Even
tually it became too much, and you left the clergy to eventually become a war pr
iest.
Elvish Raised: You've learned of other races from elvish teachings. Maybe you ar
e an elf that was raised in a closed off village, or maybe you were a human or h
alfling taken in by an elvish family. Either way, you are familiar with elven cu
stoms and their ways. You speak their tongue, and you use mannerisms used by elv
es (Calling dwarves "cave dwellers", etc)
The Guardian: You didn't want adventure, but someone you care for does. So what
could you do? You tag along with them, protecting them with your very life from
harm.
Kender Wanderlust: It's known that kenders suffer from an undeniable wanderlust
when they come of age. Many leave home and never return, lost in bewilderment by
the wanders of the world. Few know that even distant descendants carry on the w
anderlust. So even ordinary humans with no known kender ancestors can suffer fro
m this extreme wanderlust, and leave home.
Simple Peasant: You were a peasant. Your parents either farmers, clothiers, cler
gymen, or anything else that generally paid fairly little. You became an adventu
rer when your parents died, and you've been traveling ever since.
Unwanted Child/ Illegitimate birth: You might be a child of mixed heritage, such
as: A well-known Noble family member and a poor servant, or a connection betwee
n races such as being a half-elf. But after being disowned by said noble family
or sent away because you were not human or elf. So you decide to make your own l
ife decisions, regardless of what will follow.
Dark Past: Your character did something that has made a large group of people wa

nt to chase your character to the ends of the world just to put your character's
head on a spike. Whatever faction or factions your character harmed will attack
you on sight if they are aware of your identity and think they can win. If they
think they can not win, they will wait to strike or get reinforcements. Also, t
he faction(s) may send or hire assassins, bounty hunters, rangers, mercenaries e
tc. to track and kill your character, if capable of doing so. Lastly, civilians
may go out of their way to alert the appropriate authorities if they are present
and the civilian knows about a bounty or is any lawful alignment or any good al
ignment (and the harmed faction is not evil), or were personally affected by the
choice.
Maybe the character was a cook in the king's castle, falsely accused of poisonin
g the king, and escaped with his or her life. Maybe the character killed his or
her master at the monastery because he was a miserable, old fool. Maybe the char
acter eloped with the princess who was betrothed to a rival kingdom and war brok
e-out between the two states. Regardless, the character must be blamed, truly or
falsely, for something that caused great harm to a large faction of people.
The character doesn't necessarily have to be evil to have this flaw. A battle co
uld have gone wrong, civilians were slaughtered, and the blame was put solely on
the commanding officer (the PC) causing him or her to be declared a war crimina
l. In fact, NPC's only need to believe that the character did whatever terrible
act regardless of if he or she actually did it. Maybe he or she was falsely accu
sed or framed, for example.
The PC may go to great lengths to conceal his or her true identity and/or story
from the other PCs and NPCs. Eventually, the other PCs will find out the truth o
nce the flawed PC's past finally catches up with him or her. This may cause a sc
hism in the group, especially if one of the PCs is a member of the harmed factio
n. If the PC gains this flaw mid-campaign, he or she may have a lot of explainin
g to do to the other PCs and/or NPCs. Failure to persuade the other PCs may resu
lt in being shunned or exiled from the group at best, or attacked at worst.
The Lawbringer: Your character was raised among a savage tribe of killers, who s
layed innocent men, women and children for mere sport, but you were born with a
strong moral compass: you broke free from the tribe, and wander the world alone.
You did some unspeakable things in the past, for which you hate yourself deeply
and furtively. Above all else, you are physically unable to kill an innocent pe
rson: only the guilty can fall before you, those who deserve to die. You are alo
ne. You are angry. But know this: you are the law.
Survivor: Your character has been through some of the toughest events in recent
history. Whomever he knows may be dead, all of his /her followers could have bee
n lost, maybe even his/her entire city was wiped out. Nowadays, you choose the l
onely road for it's the only road you know; sometimes however, you stay with oth
ers whether they think your 'saving your own skin' or simply being of assistance
. Either way, company makes for quite the change.