Creating a Custom Background

Found page 55 in the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide

A character's background represents what the character did prior to becoming an adventurer. Creating a unique background or customizing an existing one from the Player's Handbook can reflect the particular theme of your campaign or elements of your world. You can also create a background to help a player craft the story they have in mind for their character.

This section describes, step by step, how you can create backgrounds like the ones in the Player's Handbook, tailored for your world and the heroes in it.

1) Choose Abilities

Step One: Choose three abilities that seem appropriate for the background.

• Strength or Dexterity. These abilities are ideal for a background involving physical exertion.

• Constitution. This ability is ideal for a background that involves endurance or long hours of activity.

• Intelligence or Wisdom. One or both abilities are ideal for a background that focuses on cerebral or spiritual matters.

• Charisma. This ability is ideal for a background that involves performance or social interaction.

Step Two: From the three abilities, choose one to gain +2 in your ability score, and +1 to gain +1 in your ability score. You cannot gain increases in all three.

2) Choose a Feat

Choose one feat from the Origin category. See pages 201-202 in the 2024 Player's Handbook for the Origin feats list.

3) Choose Skill Proficiencies

Choose two skills appropriate for the background. There needn't be a relationship between the skill proficiencies a background grants and the ability score it increases.

4) Choose a Tool Proficiency

Choose one tool used in the the practice of the background or often associated with it.

5) Choose Equipment

Assemble a package of equipment worth 50 GP (including unspent gold). Don't include Martial weapons or armor, as characters get them from their class choices.