Backgrounds F–H

This section contains backgrounds from Familiar Trainer through Highland Wanderer. Each entry presents the background as it is used in Eldareth, together with its published source and any setting-specific adaptation made for the campaign.

Familiar Trainer

Source: Arcana Unleashed

You learned to work closely with magical familiars, understanding how to care for them, communicate with them, and make effective use of the bond between a familiar and its companion.

Origin Feat: Familiar Friend

Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Arcana

Tool Proficiency: Choose one kind of Gaming Set

Equipment: Choose one:
A. Quarterstaff, Gaming Set of the chosen kind, Bedroll, Bell, String, Tinderbox, Traveler's Clothes, Waterskin, 44 GP
B. 50 GP

Farmer

Source: Player's Handbook (2024)

You grew up working the land and caring for the animals and crops that sustained your community. Years of physical labor and changing seasons taught you patience, endurance, and a practical understanding of the natural world.

Origin Feat: Tough

Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Nature

Tool Proficiency: Carpenter's Tools

Equipment: Choose one:
A. Sickle, Carpenter's Tools, Healer's Kit, Iron Pot, Shovel, Traveler's Clothes, 30 GP
B. 50 GP

Freebooter

Source: Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn (published as Chondathan Freebooter)

You made your living outside the structure of an established military or merchant service, taking work where opportunity carried you. Life among independent crews taught you to adapt quickly, handle yourself in a dangerous situation, and make use of whatever skills the next job required.

Origin Feat: Skilled

Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Sleight of Hand

Tool Proficiency: Weaver's Tools

Equipment: Choose one:
A. Dagger, Weaver's Tools, Backpack, Ball Bearings, Basket, Bedroll, Bucket, Rations (3 days), Rope, Signal Whistle, Traveler's Clothes, 38 GP
B. 50 GP

Genie Touched

Source: Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn

At some point in your life, you encountered the power of a genie. Whether through chance, a bargain, an unusual inheritance, or direct contact with such a being, the experience left a lasting trace of magic upon you.

Origin Feat: Magic Initiate (Wizard)

Skill Proficiencies: Perception, Persuasion

Tool Proficiency: Glassblower's Tools

Equipment: Choose one:
A. Light Hammer, Glassblower's Tools, Fine Clothes, Lamp, Oil (3 flasks), Waterskin, 2 GP
B. 50 GP

Grey Banner Mercenary

Source: Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn (published as Flaming Fist Mercenary)

You served with the Grey Banner Company, taking contracts that demanded discipline, resilience, and a willingness to face danger for pay. Whether you remained with the Company for years or only a few campaigns, the work taught you how to make an impression before a fight and endure when intimidation failed.

Origin Feat: Tough

Skill Proficiencies: Intimidation, Perception

Tool Proficiency: Smith's Tools

Equipment: Choose one:
A. Mace, Smith's Tools, Fine Clothes, Manacles, Portable Ram, 4 GP
B. 50 GP

Grove Pilgrim

Source: Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn (published as Moonwell Pilgrim)

You spent part of your life travelling between sacred natural places, learning the traditions surrounding them and the landscapes through which you passed. Those journeys left you with a strong connection to the natural world and a modest command of primal magic.

Origin Feat: Magic Initiate (Druid)

Skill Proficiencies: Nature, Performance

Tool Proficiency: Painter's Supplies

Equipment: Choose one:
A. Quarterstaff, Painter's Supplies, Bedroll, Bell, Pouch, Robe, String, Traveler's Clothes, Waterskin, 38 GP
B. 50 GP

Guard

Source: Player's Handbook (2024)

You spent part of your life protecting a settlement, gate, district, stronghold, or other place where vigilance mattered. Long watches taught you to notice trouble quickly and respond before a situation could get out of hand.

Origin Feat: Alert

Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Perception

Tool Proficiency: Choose one kind of Gaming Set

Equipment: Choose one:
A. Spear, Light Crossbow, 20 Bolts, Gaming Set of the chosen kind, Hooded Lantern, Manacles, Quiver, Traveler's Clothes, 12 GP
B. 50 GP

Guide

Source: Player's Handbook (2024)

You became accustomed to travelling beyond settled roads and helping others find their way through unfamiliar country. You learned to read the landscape, travel quietly, and rely on your own knowledge when civilization was far away.

Origin Feat: Magic Initiate (Druid)

Skill Proficiencies: Stealth, Survival

Tool Proficiency: Cartographer's Tools

Equipment: Choose one:
A. Shortbow, 20 Arrows, Cartographer's Tools, Bedroll, Quiver, Tent, Traveler's Clothes, 3 GP
B. 50 GP

Guild Agent

Source: Eberron: Forge of the Artificer (published as House Agent)

You worked on behalf of an established professional or commercial institution, handling business beyond its ordinary halls and workshops. Your duties may have involved negotiations, investigations, commissions, client relations, or representing the interests of the organization abroad.

Origin Feat: Lucky

Skill Proficiencies: Investigation, Persuasion

Tool Proficiency: Choose one kind of Artisan's Tools

Equipment: Choose one:
A. Artisan's Tools of the chosen kind, Fine Clothes, 20 GP
B. 50 GP

Guild Exile

Source: Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn (published as Shadowmasters Exile)

You were trained by a secretive criminal organization before being cast out or forced to leave. Whatever ended that relationship, you retained the reflexes, stealth, and practical skills the organization taught you.

Origin Feat: Savage Attacker

Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Stealth

Tool Proficiency: Thieves' Tools

Equipment: Choose one:
A. 2 Daggers, Thieves' Tools, Caltrops, Costume, Grappling Hook, Iron Spikes, Mirror, 2 Pouches, Rope, Traveler's Clothes, 3 GP
B. 50 GP

Haunted One

Source: Ravenloft: The Horrors Within

Something in your past left a mark that you still carry. It may have been a single terrible event or the accumulated weight of experiences you survived. Whatever happened, you learned to keep moving even when fear and memory threatened to stop you.

Origin Feat: Survivor

Skill Proficiencies: Arcana, Survival

Tool Proficiency: Choose one kind of Gaming Set

Equipment: Choose one:
A. Gaming Set of the chosen kind, Crowbar, Holy Water, Mirror, Oil (2 flasks), Signal Whistle, Tinderbox, Traveler's Clothes, 5 Torches, Waterskin, 14 GP
B. 50 GP

Hermit

Source: Player's Handbook (2024)

You spent an extended part of your life apart from ordinary society. Your isolation may have been spiritual, scholarly, practical, or simply a life you preferred, giving you time to study healing, faith, and the questions that occupied your thoughts.

Origin Feat: Healer

Skill Proficiencies: Medicine, Religion

Tool Proficiency: Herbalism Kit

Equipment: Choose one:
A. Quarterstaff, Herbalism Kit, Bedroll, Book (philosophy), Lamp, Oil (3 flasks), Traveler's Clothes, 16 GP
B. 50 GP

Highland Wanderer

Source: Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn (published as Rashemi Wanderer)

You spent years travelling through remote uplands where distance, weather, and dangerous country made self-reliance essential. The experience hardened you and taught you to judge unfamiliar people carefully before placing yourself in their hands.

Origin Feat: Tough

Skill Proficiencies: Intimidation, Perception

Tool Proficiency: Cartographer's Tools

Equipment: Choose one:
A. Cartographer's Tools, Backpack, Bedroll, Hooded Lantern, Oil (3 flasks), Rope, Tinderbox, Traveler's Clothes, Waterskin, 23 GP
B. 50 GP