Backgrounds

Your Background represents what you have gained from your early life experiences — the influences your culture had on you, from growing up wherever you grew up.

The list presented here is far from exhaustive; there are countless cultures great and small throughout the Emerald and Ruby Planes (and beyond!), and we have presented only a handful. Players and GMs should feel free to modify these backgrounds to represent a specific character's unique origins (players require their GM's approval, of course).

None of these backgrounds should be taken to be exclusive to a given race; in general, a member of any race can grow up in any given culture, and thus have the appropriate background. It's entirely possible for an Ash Elf to grow up in the Dragonshire, or a Shifter to grow up in one of the Commonwealth's large cities. This is true not only of the common backgrounds, but also of the rarer, (seemingly) race-specific ones; it's entirely possible for a Human to grow up among Gnolls and Halflings in a trade-caravan, for example, or for a Gnoll to grow up in an Ash-Elven undercity.

What should be in a background

Most of the backgrounds give you 40CP of benefits, which represent the skills and resources that most members of your culture acquire.

Ranks in skills, traits, and items are common choices; these repesent the skills that every member of a culture would acquire, the abilities that people commonly learn, and the kinds of possessions that are common among them. Ranks in skills are usually a good place to start; you can branch out into traits and items if you can't come up with 40 CP of particularly unique or exciting ranks in skills. (There's no reason a background can't award a class or power, but in our opinion this makes a little less sense and is a little harder to balance, and so is often best avoided.)

Backgrounds usually shouldn't include things that it's impossible to acquire somewhere else, although this is mostly for game design and balance reasons; we find it very frustrating to force people into taking a particular background in order to have access to some trait or skill.

Common Backgrounds in the Commonwealth

The following list represents both common backgrounds in the Commonwealth, and generic backgrounds in general; they should make good starting-points for crafting backgrounds to represent specific cultures or regions.

Dragonshire

You were born in the former-Kingdom of the Dragonshire

10 ranks in Knowledge: History
10 ranks in Protocol
10 ranks in one Combat skill
10 ranks in one other Social skill (besides Protocol)
Common Races: Humans, Drakes
Common Languages: Rak, Weal, Royal

Haven Mountains

You were born in one of the subterranean communities that have taken up residence in the Haven Isles.

10 ranks in Knowledge (pick a field)
10 ranks in Profession (pick a field)
10 ranks in Control or Spellcraft (your choice)
a Sleight or Spell that you qualify for.
Common Races: Ash Elves, Dwarves, Kobolds
Common Languages: Islander

Manor Child

You were born in a manor in Heartland Province.

10 ranks in two Trade skills of your choice
one skill kit
one weapon or armor of Moderate cost.
the Tough trait
Common Races: Gnolls, Humans, Halflings, Ratfolk
Common Languages: Heartland Gnoll, Weal, regional languages

Professional

You are part of the nascent middle class of traders and professionals.

10 ranks in Protocol
10 ranks in two Technical skills
either two Skill Kits or one Shop
Common Races: Ash Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Humans, Kobolds, Ratfolk
Common Languages: Weal, Islander, Common

Tribesman

You are from one of the tribal or traditional societies that live in the vast forrest between Westward and Northland provinces.

10 ranks in Handle Animal
10 ranks in Survival
10 ranks in either Profession: Shepherd, Profession: Farmer or Profession: Hunter
the Ready Trait
Common Races: Shifters, (Wood) Elves, Herders, Gnolls, Humans, others
Common Languages: tribal languages (many tribes speak their own unique languages)

Urbanite

You are from one of the Commonwealth’s large urban centers.

one dot in Language: Common
one Skill Kit
10 ranks in Protocol
10 ranks each in two Social or Technical skills of your choice
Common Races: Kobolds, Humans, Ratfolk
Common Languages: Weal

Wayfarer

Wanderers, vagrants and transients by birth, choice or circumstance.

10 ranks in Survival
10 ranks in Medicine
1 dot in Common
1 Skill Kit
the Alert Trait
Common Races: any
Common Languages: any

Specific Commonwealth Communities

The following backgrounds represent specific communities or cultural groups within the Commonwealth.

Ash Elven Undercity

You hail from one of the Ash-Elven undercities beneath the low peaks of the Haven Isles.

10 ranks in Control
10 ranks in one Art field skill
10 ranks in one Technical skill
the Resilient trait

Caravan Guard

Continuing a way of life that stretches back more than 700 years, you travel with Halfling trade-caravans, serving as a guard, a bouncer, a hand, and a diplomat.

10 ranks in Intimidate
10 ranks in Perception
10 ranks in Persuasion
10 ranks in Survival

Caravaneer

10 ranks in Barter
10 ranks in one Technical skill
one Skill Kit
one Halfling Wagon
two horses

Clay-Man Community

The character hails from one of the Clay-Men's subterranean communities.

10 ranks in Control
10 ranks in Spellcraft
10 ranks in any Technical skill
A racial optional trait

Most members of Clay-Men Communities speak a local variant of Clay (CM). The Unique Outlook trait is common, usually for resistance to stress related to personal death.

Commonwealth Orcish Community

10 ranks in Protocol
10 ranks in one Combat skill
10 ranks in one Technical skill
1 weapon and 1 skill kit

Dragonshire Noble

You hail from a noble bloodline in the Dragonshire. Though actual rule now rests in the hands of the House of Commons, having the right ancestors is still useful.

10 ranks in Protocol
10 ranks on one other Social skill
10 ranks in one Combat skill
Either the Noble Class or the Officer Class. If you select the Officer Class, you must later purchase the Soldier class during character creation, to meet its prerequisites.

Dwarven Hold

You hail from a Dwarven Hold, either in the north of the Emerald Plane or one of the mountainous islands of the Haven Isles.

10 ranks in two Technical skills
10 ranks in Protocol
10 ranks in Barter

Gnomish Burrow

10 ranks in Craft: Alchemy
10 ranks in one other Technical skill
10 ranks in Stealth
one skill kit
one potion of Cost: Moderate, or 5 potions of Cost: Minor
the Unique Outlook neutral trait
Special: You do not receive one dot in Common for free, the way most characters do. Instead, you receive one dot in Worldspine Kobold (group DDK).

Herder Tribal Community

10 ranks in Fray
10 ranks in Ranged Weapons
10 ranks in one Social skill
10 ranks in Survival

Military Family

You hail from one of the many Gnollish military families.

10 ranks in Fray
10 ranks in two other Combat skills
the Soldier class

You are from a community of Mind-Sharing Dwarves.

the Mind-Sharing trait.
10 ranks in Control
10 ranks in Protocol
10 ranks in one Technical skill

Shambler Community

10 ranks in two Technical skills
10 ranks in Survival
one Skill Kit
one weapon (of Cost: Moderate)

Traditional Orcish Community

10 ranks in Intimidate
10 ranks in any two Combat skills
1 weapon and 1 shield

Wood Elf Tribal Commuity

You are from one of the ancient, pre-urban Elven cultures living to the west of the Worldspine.

10 ranks in Fray
10 ranks in Ranged Weapons
10 ranks in Stealth
10 ranks in Survival

Other Nations

Deep-Explorer Dwarf

You are a Drahrat—called a "Deep-Explorer" in the Commonwealth. You are from a member of a secretive culture that has vanished deep underground.

10 ranks in Ride
10 ranks in Survival
10 ranks in one Technical skill
a Survival skill-kit, specialized for caves.
one other skill-kit

The Cave-Eyes trait is very common, as are day-wraps.

Since the secrets of the Deep-Explorer Dwarves are left up to your GM, you should consult with them before deciding to play one; they may leave it up to you to describe the culture that your character is from, they might have plans for the Deep-Explorers that you will need to account for, or they may not allow you to play a Deep-Explorer at all.

Protectorate Mudskipper

You hail from a Mudskipper tribe that has joined the Raptor Protectorate.

10 ranks in one Knowledge skill of the player's choice
10 ranks in Survival or Athletics
10 ranks in Protocol
10 ranks in Art (pick a field)
The character does not gain a free dot in Commonwealth Standard. Instead, they gain a free dot in Protectorate Standard
Instead of picking a native language, you gain 3 dots in Mudskipper and 3 dots in Mudskipper Sign

Mudskipper Tribal

You hail from one of the independent Mudskipper tribes.

10 ranks in one Knowledge skill of the player's choice
10 ranks in Survival
10 ranks in Ranged Weapons
10 ranks in Knowledge: Wildlife or Knowledge: Ecology
The character does not gain a free dot in Commonwealth Standard. Instead, they gain a free dot in Protectorate Standard
Instead of picking a native language, you gain 3 dots in Mudskipper and 3 dots in Mudskipper Sign

Raptor Protectorate Ratfolk

The descendants of Ratfolk who fled Southward from their cousins, settled on the Raptor’s Plane and ultimately allied with the Raptors.
They settled on the coasts and inland jungles closest to their cousins, and continue to suffer heavy raiding.
Inland, they live in large, underground settlements, carved into the sides of rocky foothills.
On the shores, where burrowing is impractical, they live in a walled cities of a few thousand.
Still socially-inclined and natural traders, they have opened trade with the Commonwealth (and have been surprised to encounter their distant cousins in the Commonwealth’s fleets).
They still fish and trade along rivers and shores, although Shaded Sea piracy makes this dangerous.
10 Ranks in Protocol
10 Ranks in one Combat skill
10 Ranks in one Trade Skill
one weapon of Cost: Moderate
one Skill Kit
Special: Emerald Plane Ratfolk don’t gain 1 dot in Common the way most characters do; instead, they gain 1 dot in Protectorate Standard. They usually speak Protectorate Ratfolk as a native language.

Shade Elf Raider

You grew up among the most feared mounted raiders that the Emerald Plains has ever seen.

10 ranks in one Combat skill
10 ranks in Ride
10 ranks in Survival
one weapon (of Cost: Medium)
one Survival skill kit.
the Hardened (witnessing and performing cruelty) neutral trait.
Special: Shade Elves don't receive one dot in Common the way that most charactesr do. Instead, they receive one dot in Shaded Sea Common. They usually speak Keillou (Language Group HHED) natively.

Still-Water Skipper

Most Mudskippers avoid still or stagnant water, which is rumored to erode the mind and sicken the body. You hail from an unusual Mudskipper sub-culture that prefers still water.

10 ranks in one Knowledge skill of the player's choice
10 ranks in Survival
10 ranks in Control
the Improved Null and Disease-Resistant traits
the Social Stigma (Still-Water) trait
The character does not gain a free dot in Commonwealth Standard. Instead, they gain a free dot in Protectorate Standard
Instead of picking a native language, you gain 3 dots in Mudskipper and 3 dots in Mudskipper Sign

Warren Isles Sea-Rat

The more sophisticated of the Shaded Sea People, Ratfolk are the shipwrights and sailors of the alliance. They are still divided into Clan-oriented settlements, where each Clan consists of several family, each of which will maintain a warren and holdings. They are loosely confederated, amongst themselves and with Shade Elves.

10 ranks in Intimidate
10 ranks in Profession: Pirate, Profession: Sailer or Profession: Fisher
10 ranks in one combat skill
one weapon (of Cost: Moderate)
one Skill Kit
Special: Warren Isles Sea-Rats don’t receive one dot in Common the way most characters do. Instead, they receive one dot in Shaded Sea Common and one dot in Shaded. They commonly speak Warren Isles Ratfolk (language group GR) natively.

Renaissance