Weapon Expertise
Benefit: Choose a weapon group. You gain a +1
bonus to attack rolls with any weapon power you use
with a weapon from that group. The bonus increases
to +2 at 15th level and +3 at 25th level.
Special: You can take this feat more than once.
Each time you select this feat, choose another weapon
group.
No Prerequisites, and it affects an entire weapon group. Also, the descriptions of the remaining nations and peoples should be done soon. After that, it's on to Part 2 of the Pantheon (For those it impacts, I'll figure out Deity-Specific Channel Divinity powers as necessary) and then a complete map, with settlements and equipment availability by region.
As that's coming along, I'd like you guys to come up with the essential elements of your character's background. Some elements may be more important in your characters background than in others, so make sure to only select elements that are important to your characters story. Keep in mind that a background can influence skill training just as easily as class, may provide bonuses on certain skills, and will likely impact what equipment you will have access to at start.
Geography:What was the basic geographical element of the region in which you were raised?
You were raised along the cliffs and beaches of the ocean, or among the islands. Did you and your family live on the bounty of the ocean, or were you threatened by its unpredictable storms and dangerous creatures? Was it a barrier that isolated you from the world, or did you swim and sail through it frequently? Did the mysteries beyond the endless blue entice you to a life of adventure, or did you leave its side only reluctantly?
You were raised in an arid wasteland, such as a sandy desert or rocky badlands. How did you and your family survive? Do you long for the simple life of the desert, or are you thankful to be free of its constant hardships? How do you cope with the overwhelming variety of sights and smells in other environments?
You were raised in a wooded region, such as a forest or a jungle. Did you survive by foraging, or were you and your family hunters? Do you feel at one with the forest, or is it merely a source of food to be harvested?
You were raised among the cold, craggy peaks, or hidden away in a valley within a mountain range. Were you mostly isolated from the lowlands, or did you visit them frequently as you were growing up? What brought you out of the mountains to become an adventurer?
You were raised in the wide open plains and gentle hills of the prairie. Did you live a life of calm and comfort in settled lands, or did you have to struggle to get by on the frontier? Were you happy to be where you were, or did you wonder what sorts of things lay beyond the horizon?
You were raised in a large city, far removed from the natural world. What part of the city did you grow up in? Did you stick to that area, or did you explore all the quarters of the city? Do you still have ties to your old friends and neighborhood, or are you happy to forget your childhood?
You were raised in a swamp, a river delta, or another marshy area. Which did you learn first—to walk or to swim? Do you distrust the feel of solid ground, or are you happy finally to have dry feet?
Which best fits your character's economic and social standing within their society?
You grew up without a steady income. Were your family members peasants, servants, or unskilled laborers? Did you and your family have to beg in the streets to stay fed? What was the biggest sacrifice you or your family had to make to survive? How did you come to own your starting possessions?
You grew up rich, never wanting for anything. What was the source of this wealth? Was it inherited, or did your family work for its riches? Was it obtained legitimately, or through underhanded methods? What kind of home did you live in? Was there ever a time when you knew what it was like to be hungry or desperate?
You are a member of the aristocracy. Does your family have a noble rank? Are you the heir to a title, and if so, how many people stand between you and that title? Under what circumstances did you become an adventurer?
Most children don't grow up expecting to be heroes. Before you became an adventurer, how did you earn your keep?
You had a skilled occupation dedicated to a particular craft, such as baking, blacksmithing, carpentry, or cobbling. What did you make? Did you enjoy your work, or was it only a means of supporting yourself? What was your finest creation, and what happened to that item?
You lived on the wrong side of the law. What sorts of crimes did you commit? Did you enter a life of crime by necessity or by choice? Did you belong to a gang? Do you still engage in occasional wrongdoing, or have you left that life behind? If the latter, what caused you to give up your criminal ways? Do you still have contacts among the criminal underworld? Do your former associates now consider you an enemy?
You were a dancer, a singer, an acrobat, a storyteller, or another kind of performer. Were you a solo entertainer, or did you perform as part of a group? Were you well known? If so, do you still encounter admirers?
You worked on a farm, learning the ways of the natural world. Did you raise livestock, crops, or both? Did your farm have a specialty? Did you or your family own the farm, or were you a hired hand? Do you miss those days, or were you eager to escape?
You worked aboard a ship. Was it a river boat or a sailing ship? Were you a deckhand, a pilot, a marine, or an officer? How extensively did you travel? Where did you go? Was your vessel a merchant craft, a pleasure yacht, a transport vessel, or a pirate ship?
You were engaged in the buying and selling of goods. What kinds of goods did you buy or sell? Were you an honest merchant, or did you take advantage of your customers? Did you or your family own the business, or did you work for someone else? Did you travel, or did you work at a shop or inn?
You served in a military organization, such as an army or a city guard. Were you conscripted, or did you volunteer? What was your rank? How did you leave the service? If you haven’t left, describe the circumstances under which you still serve while also adventuring.
Your life once revolved around knowledge. What area of scholarship was your domain? Were you a teacher or a scribe, an architect or an astrologer, a barrister or a sage? Did others respect your theories, or did they scoff at your ideas? Do you still seek to learn and to teach, or have you given up academia for a life of adventure?
Oftentimes, people who are inspired to be heroes are born under unusual circumstances. Did any mark your birth?
You were born among a race other than your own. Did you grow up among the trees of an elven forest, deep in a dwarven mountain hall, or cloistered in a goblin fortress? Did your family live among that race when you were born, or did some other circumstance bring you there?
You received a great blessing from a complete stranger when you were born. What type of person blessed you? Was he or she associated with a particular religion? If so, are you a member of that faith? Did you stay in contact with this person, or do you distrust the motives behind the blessing? How does the blessing affect you?
You received a dire curse from a complete stranger when you were born. What type of person cursed you, and why? Did you ever see the stranger again? Were you shunned because of the curse? Do you carry an obvious mark of it? How does the curse affect you?
Your birth was marked by an unusual occurrence—perhaps a great storm, an eclipse, or the start or end of a battle. What was the omen? How was it interpreted? Were others born under the same omen, and if so, do you have any special relationships with them?
You were not born in the world, but rather on another plane, such as the Feywild. What circumstances brought your ancestors to that plane? Were they natives of that plane, taken there against their will, or just visitors? When did you leave that plane, and what did you have to accomplish to escape it? Do you miss your birth plane, or do you dread returning to it?
Your birth was foretold in a prophecy. What does the prophecy say about you and about your future? Who, if anyone, believes the prophecy? Are you trying to fulfill the prophecy or to thwart it? The details of the prophecy might suggest further adventures to the DM.
Here are two examples created using these Background Elements:
Born and raised in the grimy streets of a large city, Neris developed a knack for getting others to follow her lead. Once she was old enough to help support her family, this talent enabled her to rise to the rank of sergeant in the city militia. With her parents and younger siblings taken care of and a little extra copper for herself, Nerys was more comfortable than she ever thought she would be. But when one of her childhood friends needed a favor, Nerys found herself on the wrong side of one of the city’s smuggling syndicates. On the run from a crime boss with a grudge, Nerys has fallen in with a band of adventurers and is putting her street smarts to good use.
DM Granted Bonus: +2 to Streetwise Skill, from his experience with the city underworld.
Jahan is the only child of a noble house and was his parents’ treasure from the day he was born. Indeed, at the moment of his birth, a pair of cranes appeared and circled the roof of his tower room three times. Jahan became a respected scholar while still young, focusing his studies on the history of his land. As dawn broke on the day when he would enter adulthood and become next in line for his family’s title, the rising sun revealed a terrible scene: thousands of dead cranes lay strewn over the countryside. Weeks later, their crops mysteriously failing and their wells gone dry, commoners have begun to whisper that Jahan is the cause. The time has come for him to abandon his books and search for answers in the outside world.
DM Granted Bonus: +2 History Skill from his scholarly studies.
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Topic: Virtual Tabletop Gaming Club (Read 21992 times)