Backgrounds For 1st Level Characters

Barbarian

Your mother moved to town two years ago when your father died. She works as a town guard and you make yourself useful by hunting for wild game to help feed the family. You’re still not comfortable being surrounded by people all the time. Your not so secret desire is to become a warrior of whom your father would be proud.

Bard

You’ve always had a talent for music. When you were thirteen, you inherited your grandfather’s harp. You devote at least a part of every day to practicing the harp. You would like to see the world and become a famous performer in some distant kingdom.

Cleric

Life is very serious. Your childhood friends just don’t understand  the importance of their immortal souls. You pray for them, in between sessions of studying the nature of the gods. You want to help your friends and family become better people and lead better lives.

Druid

You feel more comfortable during your long walks in the woods than you do around the people of the town. Animals seem friendlier to you than people. You feel as if you understand them and they understand you. You help out your family by gathering berries and herbs in the forest. You would like to live in the forest some day.

Fighter

The world is a dangerous place and a man has to protect the people he cares about. You plan to grow up to be that man. You’re already good enough that you can win a fight with any of the other kids in the town. Some day you’ll grow up to lead this town, or an even larger one, you know it in your heart.

Monk

This town is very distracting. You often feel the need to get away from it all, to draw your thoughts into yourself and experience peace. You don’t understand why the townspeople make life so complicated by making, selling, and buying so much stuff. You don’t need anything but the basic necessities of life and the peace and quiet to appreciate being alive.

Paladin

Your father is the captain of the town guard. He is a good man and everyone respects him. You yearn to live up to his example, to be as good as — or better than — your father. This isn’t often easy, but the easy path is seldom the right one. You look to the gods and to your own strength to help you persevere.

Ranger

You love the town and the people of the town, but you love the woods more. You spend all of your free time hunting small game and gathering edibles in the forest. You are skilled with your bow and can identify most forest creatures from their tracks.

Rogue

Your father was the leading locksmith of a much larger city before he was forced to leave town — in a hurry. You don’t much like small town life and you’re sure that you could make yourself wealthy if only you lived in a large city again. Some day you’ll show all these rubes what you’re really worth.

Sorcerer

You’re special. Your parents are afraid the townspeople will find out and not understand. You’ve been able to cast small since you were a child, but your mother and father forbid you from letting anyone see you do it. You long to get away from this town and live where you don’t have to worry about people discovering what you really are.

Wizard

The Universe is a place of endless mysteries, and you want to understand all of them. You spend every free moment studying. You’ve managed to secure an apprenticeship with the town wizard and she lets you use her library. She’s taught you several cantrips and you’ve just mastered your first real spell.