Character Background

When creating a new PC, players at first log in will be prompted to choose a character background as they enter the Nexus.

The backgrounds offered by this function grant the character two free Class Skills. If one of the character's Classes (now or later) grants those same class skills, the character instead receives a +2 bonus to those skills from that background.

For example, if you take the Burglar background (see table below), which grants Move Silently and Open Lock, while also taking the Rogue class, which also grants Move Silently and Open Lock, your PC will instead receive a +2 bonus on Move Silently and Open Lock from having the Burglar background.

You can only Select ONLY ONE (1) of these, during Character Creation ~ Choose wisely.

TYPE	DESCRIPTION	TYPICAL ALIGNMENT	BONUS CLASS SKILLS
FARMER	The farmer works his land to grow crops. Unlike a serf, farmers are landowners, giving them a certain level of status and protection in society. Ranchers and shepherds are also covered under this occupation as most farmers also keep animals. Farmers live away from urban areas and enjoy the freedom and solitude.	Any	Profession (Farming & Gardening) and Lore: Nature.
WOODSMAN	The woodsman is a forester that is generally engaged in providing lumber or firewood.	Any	Profession (Forestry) and Lore: Nature.
MINER	A miner spends most of their life beneath the earth, extracting valuable minerals.	Any	Profession (Mining) and Lore: Dungeoneering.
APPRENTICE	Apprentices are those learning a trade. This category is broadly defined, including blacksmiths, butchers, chandlers, or leather workers.	Any	Appraise and any one Craft skill.
LABORER	Laborers are the builders and movers of society. They work the docks, raise castle walls, and load and unload carts.	Any	Craft (Carving and Sculpting) and Lore: Architecture and Engineering.
ASTROLOGER	Astrologers study the movement of the stars and use them to attempt to understand cosmic forces and predict the future.	Lawful. Astrologers rely on celestial patterns to guide their lives.	Lore: Geography and Astrology and Lore: Religion.
SAILOR	Sailors make their living on the high seas, ferrying goods or passengers from port to port.	Chaotic. Sailors value the freedom to chart their own course away from the demands of society at large.	Athletics and Lore: Geography and Astrology.
ENGINEER	Engineers are studied in complex machines and systems, and use that knowledge to invent or design new technological solutions to problems.	Lawful or chaotic. Engineers are fascinated with complex structures, but they are also adaptable inventors good at thinking outside the box.	Craft (Engineering) and Lore: Architecture and Engineering.
COURTIER	The courtier is an attendant of the ruling authority. They are nobles that spend most of their time in the castle or palace of the ruler, where he can keep an eye on them and influence their families.	Lawful. Courtiers must understand and follow the rules of high society if they hope to maintain their standing.	Gather Information and Lore: Nobility and Royalty.
DIPLOMAT	The diplomat is a noble that specializes in negotiation.	Lawful. Diplomats must understand and follow the rules of courtesy if they hope to win influence.	Diplomacy and Lore: Nobility and Royalty.
LEADER	A leader understands people and how to direct them in ways that best make use of their talents.	Any	Diplomacy and Intimidate.
ACOLYTE	Acolytes are neophytes of a particular temple. In civilized lands, they live in dormitories and spend their days performing various mundane duties for their superiors. In more primitive or rural societies, they may be a single student of a mid or high level cleric.	Determined by the church and deity.	Concentration and Lore: Religion.
SCHOLAR	Scholars are researchers. They generally specialize in a particular field.	Any	Linguistics and Lore: History.
APOTHECARY	The apothecary is proficient in herbal remedies, poisons, and medical procedures. Apothecaries are most commonly found in rural areas, where clerics and temples are sparse. Many apothecaries choose to become druids.	Any	Heal and Lore: Nature.
SQUIRE	The squire is a noble warrior in training. He is assigned to a noble warrior and holds his extra weapons and shields. In return, the squire receives the training he needs to be a noble warrior one day.	Lawful. Squires must understand and follow the rules of high society if they hope to maintain their position.	Ride and Lore: Nobility and Royalty.
ATHLETE	Advanced societies can afford to sponsor athletic competitors for the benefit of the masses. Athletes are not gladiators; they compete in track and field games.	Any	Athletics and Acrobatics.
ACROBAT	The acrobat is skilled at finding faster and more unique ways to move around the world, such as free running and climbing.	Chaotic. Acrobats enjoy exploring and testing boundaries, often through places they aren't allowed to be at.	Acrobatics and Athletics.
BANDIT	Bandits are robbers that steal from their prey through intimidation. They are adept at surprising their opponents and catching them off-guard. While the rural highwayman is the traditional bandit archetype, this occupation also includes urban muggers.	Any evil except lawful. Bandits don't necessarily delight in cruelty, but they still cause pain and suffering to others for their own gain.	Hide and Intimidate.
PICKPOCKET	Pickpockets play a high stakes game of distraction and sleight of hand. Pickpockets can rob people in broad daylight, in the middle of a crowd, even while being watched.	Any non-lawful. Pickpockets are criminals, but their targets and motivations can be varied.	Bluff and Sleight of Hand.
BURGLAR	The burglar prefers to be where others aren't. Burglars enter homes in the dead of night and leave without a trace of their larceny.	Any non-lawful. Burglars are criminals, but their targets and motivations can be varied.	Move Silently and Open Lock.
HERMIT	The hermit lives apart from society. Unlike a nomad, the hermit has a place to call home, but it is often isolated. Adolescent hermits are either fugitives or children of established hermits. Students of druids or other reclusive spell casters are considered hermits.	Any. Some hermits are outsiders hiding from society, others might be deeply mystical and pursuing strict paths to inner harmony.	Survival and Hide.
HUNTER	Hunters primarily earn a living by hunting game animals. Unscrupulous hunters, known as poachers, hunt game on land owned by another.	Any	Survival and Move Silently.
NOMAD	The nomad is a wanderer, never staying in the same place for too long. He might be following a herd or simply hawking his talents or wares from village to village. The nomad only owns as much as he can carry.	Chaotic. Nomads are adaptable and prefer walking their own paths.	Survival and Ride.
COURTESAN	Courtesans are escorts or concubines of those that can afford their services. Courtesans are usually found as escorts of aristocrats or employees of a city brothel.	Neutral. The courtesan is a wearer of masks, skilled at being whoever their client wants them to be.	Diplomacy and Sense Motive.
BOUNTY HUNTER	The bounty hunter hunts people, not animals. Though they move around frequently, bounty hunters often have large social networks and contacts that help them find their targets.	Any. Bounty hunters can be agents of the law, killers for hire, or simple concerned citizens.	Gather Information and Lore: Local.
GLADIATOR	The gladiator represents any occupation that involves fighting as a spectator sport. While gladiators can be arena fighters, they are also bare-knuckle fighters and duelists.	Any	Acrobatics and Perform.
GUARD	Guards are protectors of castles, cities, and villages.	Lawful. Guards enforce the law of the land, whether just or unjust.	Spot and Sense Motive.
MERCENARY	The mercenary is a soldier for hire. Where a militia or peasant levy might only be raised in times of war, the mercenary travels from country to country, seeking conflict to earn their living.	Any	Parry and Lore: Geography and Astronomy.
SPY	Spies serve one organization to benefit another. A spy feeds information to their benefactor while working to sabotage the enemy from within.	Any Some spies are undercover agents of foreign governments, others are bought with coin or blackmailed into leaking information.	Disguise and Gather Information.
ENTERTAINER	Court jesters, tavern singers, circus jugglers, and stage actors have one thing in common; they want to entertain their audience.	Any	Perform and choice of Bluff (comedy), Disguise (acting), Acrobatics (dance), Linguistics (music, oration, or writing), or Sleight of Hand (street magic).
SCOUT	Scouts patrol the wilderness and make sure their employer's lands are secure. If they find an enemy, they trail them silently and report their movements.	Any	Hide and Spot.
SERVANT	The servant's job is to see to the needs of his master or patron, while remaining as out of the way as possible.	Any non-chaotic. Servants who act out quickly stop being servants.	Move Silently and Listen.
STABLEHAND	The stablehand grooms and takes care of horses for a lord or inn. Due to the comings and goings of horsemen, the stablehand learns a lot of information.	Any	Ride and Lore: Nature.
TAVERN WORKER	The tavern worker is the bartender or serving wench that provides food and drink to customers while sharing information.	Any	Diplomacy and Gather Information.
MERCHANT	The merchant is a buyer and seller of goods.	Any	Appraise and choice of Bluff or Sense Motive.
PIRATE	Pirates are the bandits of the seas. They take what they can and give nothing back.	Chaotic. Pirates prefer to live by their own rules, though some can be bought for a time to earn a ""legitimate"" living as privateers.	Intimidate and Athletics.
CON ARTIST	Con artists are criminals that steal from others using their social skills. They might run a rigged game or gain a person's confidence just to steal from him when his back is turned.	Any non-lawful Con artists are criminals, but their targets and motivations can be varied.	Appraise and Bluff.
BEGGAR	Beggars are common in any urban environment. Some of them are shunned due to their status or their health. Others are merely down on their luck. While beggars can be found in any age category, as a fantasy occupation it is assumed that the player character had to beg to survive in childhood.	Any	Bluff and Survival.
OUTLAW	The outlaw is a fugitive or exile on the run. While some are criminals, others were framed or forced out of their homes by unfair circumstances.	Any	Survival and Hide.
INVESTIGATOR	Despite the name, the investigator occupation includes magistrates, chancellors, and barristers as well as law enforcement investigators. Many feudal lords are also judges, and they may rely on subordinates to do the actual investigating for them. It is important to note that many ""investigators"" are more interested in extracting confessions rather than actually search for the truth.	Any	Gather Information and Sense Motive.
SOLDIER	The soldier is trained to fight and protect his homeland.	Any	Parry and Intimidate.
DEVOUT	The devout is a layman strongly committed to following the teachings of a god, divine patron, religion, or philosophy in their daily lives.	Determined by the deity the character follows.	Concentration and Lore: Religion.
CONFIDANT	The confidant knows precisely how to get people to trust them, though whether they use that for good or ill depends on the person.	Any neutral. The confidant's ability to present or feign empathy requires being able to understand the feelings of others even on matters one disagrees on.	Sense Motive and choice of Bluff or Diplomacy.
POLYGLOT	The polyglot knows many languages. They might have been a translator in the highest courts, a scribe deep in the tomes of a library, raised from two separate backgrounds, or simply traveled around a lot and met many different types of people.	Any.	Linguistics and one bonus language known.
SURVIVOR	The survivor has suffered trauma they haven't fully recovered from. Their instincts are hardened as a result, but they can be hypervigilant against the possibility of danger and betrayal.	Any	Choice of Hide and Survival and Spot or Listen.
TALENT	The talent is a shameless show-boater. They live for attention, fame, and the next great adventure.	Chaotic. Talents are usually self-motivated and can find it difficult to consider others before their own interests.	Bluff and Perform.
TALE TELLER	The tale teller can command attention and friendship with their tall tales. Sometimes truthful, but often exaggerated, the tale teller might be a braggart or comes from a culture with a tradition of oral history.	Any.	Choice of Bluff or Perform and Lore: Local or Lore: History.
TROUBLE MAKER	The troublemaker plays tricks on people out of boredom or malice. They can be very curious and impulsive.	Any.	Sleight of Hand and Craft (Engineering).
WILD CHILD	The wild child was a free spirit in their youth, often left to wander and explore on their own.	Chaotic. Wild children are defined by their free spirits.	Choice of Survival or Acrobatics and Hide or Move Silently.