Coda to What makes a Character Background useful? Looking at D&D 5E 2014/24

Recently, I looked at What makes a Character Background useful and here I want to make some comments on how D&D 5E has done backgrounds for that system and where I think they mostly got them right (2014 edition) and not as right (2024 edition).

Remembering that I think a useful background provides the CH with hooks for possible adventures and players with a framework to riff off of and build on during play.  How well do the backgrounds are presented in D&D 5E achieve though goals?

Again, these are my thoughts, if thing work for you as is, I am not telling you to change how you play.

So, backgrounds.  In the 2014 version of the rules, they gave you some skills, some equipment, and a place in (or outside of) society as well as a bunch of tables to roll on, choose from, or be inspired by to form an idea of the character’s personality.  The four tables are:

• Personality Trait, something about you that makes you stand out
• Ideal, what were you working toward
• Bond, who (or what) do you trust
• Flaw, because we are all flawed (and sometimes they are the most fun to play)

These were to be used to generate Inspiration in play, but always proved tricky to use as the DM had to track four axises for each character.  Still, the idea was excellent.

But it was the fact that each background placed your character into the social fabric of the world that was really fantastic.  Folk Heroes would be recognized and given shelter (and expected to help out with local problems.  Guildsfolk could call up the network of the guilds for aid (but they would then be obligated to help the local guild int return).,  Nobles had retainers to help them out (but had to care for the retainers and had to take actions to retain their status).  And so on, each background provided some (and admittedly some more than others) hooks for the DM to use to deepen the world and create situations and ideas for the players to bounce off of and inspire their roleplaying.

In other words, most everything I think a good background should do.

However, the 2024 Revision drastically changed how backgrounds worked and it was not an improvement.

On the positive side they are much shorter and simpler now . . . but that is not actually helpful.  What you now get from a background is a very anodyne description, well, the character grew up somewhere and maybe they did something.  You still get some skills and equipment but the big changes are that there are more mechanical effects baked in:

That bonuses to statistics have been moved here from kindred which I am ambivalent about, but if they are divorcing them from kindred, why tie it to background instead?  Why not just make it: add three points to your statistics, no more than two to any one attribute?  Baffling.

And you get a feat!  So now, instead of “species shopping” for the best combination of statistic bonuses for your character, you are background shopping for the best statistic bonus and feat combination for your character.  How is that an improvement?  How does it add roleplaying?  It does not, in fact it cheapens the background choice and makes it harder to roleplay because it is now all about the mechanical advantage.  Because that is all that the background really gives you is mechanics, there is almost nothing here to metaphorically hang your hat on for good roleplaying.

I admit, I feel much the same way about the new “species” descriptions, they are so mealy-mouthed in seeking to avoid saying anything that might offend someone, somewhere in someway they they end up saying almost nothing at all (only the dwarves and elves mention conflict at all and that was in the far past).  What does it mean to be a dwarf?  Or an orc?  You can barely guess from these lackluster descriptions what it means to be an elf or dwarf, never mind the ones that get even less description (such as dragonborn or tiefling).  Just nothing useful for building off of, the closest they get to anything actionable is when they are pointing you at a D&D setting you can buy from them.

So, my advice: stick to the 2014 Backgrounds, let people assign ability bonuses as they choose, and let them have an appropriate feat.  The potential for roleplaying will be much improved and, I suspect, the players will be happier for the greater sense of direction.

Notes: I get to be opinionated about things now and then.  I understand why D&D has been moving in a “rules not rulings” direction but I do not think it will ever fully address the problem.

My friend Brandis Stoddard has been playing around with ways to improve the 2024 Backgrounds on his Harbinger of Doom blog, his initial thoughts and Part 2.

Top image from PublicDomianPictures.net and is in the Public Domain.