Character Birth and Background

Note for PCs in 3.5e campaigns: these backgrounds are phrased in 5e terms. A skill that is mentioned that does not exist in 3e should be switched out for a similar skill that does exist in 3e (for example Athletics = either Climb, Jump or Swim while Acrobatics = Balance, Sleight of Hand or Tumble). If you have a question, ask me!

 

Description of what the social classes mean:

Social Class - Greenvale

1. Very Low: minor tenant farmers, beggars, sewer-workers, pilgrims and lepers

2. Low: tenant farmers, day laborers, apprentices and journeymen, itinerant travelers, (all Shalani to outsiders)

3. Middle: landed farmers, craftsmen and upper ranking journeymen, small merchants, midwives, tavern owners, apothecaries, Patrol and Guardsmen, unlanded knights and untitled gentry (younger sons & daughters).

4. Distinguished: priests, guildsmen, mages, master-craftsmen, town officials, Guard and Patrol officers, barons and landed knights, paladins

5. Noble: Counts, Dukes, the Prince, Barons of independent baronies, High Priests and Master Mages, Senior paladins.

 

Social Class - Harothar

1. Very Low: minor tenant farmers, beggars, sewer-workers, pilgrims and lepers

2. Low: tenant farmers, day-laborers, apprentices, itinerant travelers, those without clan affiliation

3. Middle: freehold farmers, journeyman craftsmen, small merchants, apothecaries and people of similar trade, hedge-wizards and minor clergy, most soldiers and guardsmen, independent tradesfolk

4. Distinguished: wealthy farmers, craftsmen, well-to-do merchants, clan mothers, upper level clergy and mages, military officers, guild-masters.

5. Noble: High clan leaders, very powerful mages and clergy, the truly wealthy merchants, the finest craftspeople, and most powerful guild-leaders.

 

Social Class - Miran

1. Very Low: slaves, land-bound laborers (aka serfs), beggars, cripples and outcasts, all Shalani to outsiders.

2. Low: laborers and tenant farmers, unranked soldiers, apprentices, itinerant travelers, fishermen

3. Middle: ordinary merchants, journeymen and ordinary master craftsmen, landowners, elected officials, officers and ordinary priests

4. Distinguished: very wealthy or skilled merchants, craftsmen and landowners, high ranking officers, ranking priests, important elected officials, patrician families and city senators.

5. Noble: Senators and their families, highest ranking military and priesthood, city governors and family, the royal family.

 

Social Class - Terenor

1. Very low: peasants and minor tenant-farmers, beggars and wanderers, guildless daylaborers

2. Low: tenant farmers and laborers for hire, apprentices and common soldiers

3. Middle: landed farmers and guilded workmen/craftsmen at journeyman rank, elected officials and minor clergy/hedgewizards, common merchants, seigneurs and military officers

4. Distinguished: priests and mages of all sorts, mstercraftsmen, wealthy merchants, Barons, ranking officers

5. Noble: Earls and their immediate family, a few of the most powerful Barons, High Priests and the highest ranks of military officers, Mages of note, and Guildmasters. The Royal Family.

 

Generating Social Class for Characters

A player should choose their background before generating a social class; if the background dictates a social class (ie knight or noble) they do not have to roll below; rolling is for those backgrounds whose social class is unclear or unimportant (hermit, amnesiac, etc...).

 

Thieves and Rangers

01-20 very low

21-50 low

51-90 middle

91-99 distinguished

00 noble

 

Fighters and Barbarians

01-05 very low

11-15 low

16-50 middle

51-70 distinguished

71-00 noble

 

Wizards

01-10 very low

11-25 low

26-60 middle

61-85 distinguished

86-00 noble

 

Sorcerers and Warlocks

01-15 very low

16-30 low

31-70 middle

71-85 distinguished

86-00 noble

 

(note that because magic is outlawed in Miran, any publicly known practitioner is automatically of “very low” class by reason of being an outcast and lawbreaker)

 

Clerics, Druids and Paladins

01-10 very low

11-25 low

26-60 middle

61-75 distinguished

76-00 noble

 

Bards

01-10 very low

11-30 low

31-80 middle

81-90 distinguished

91-00 noble

 

 

Racial Modifiers to Social Class:

human: none (Shalani have two social classes - “low” to outsiders, but roll for position within the People)

dwarf: none

catman: -10%

hobyt: +10% but never exceeds 90%

1/2 elf: +5%

elf: +15%

szathair: -15%

 

Backgrounds

 

Select a background from the list provided here. Personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws should be selected with care or rolled only if the player chooses to do so. Choices are NOT limited to the given background, and may also be written/created by the player with DM approval.

 

Permitted Backgrounds: Acolyte, Academy Graduate, Amnesiac, Charlatan, Criminal, Drifter, Entertainer (incl Gladiator), Farmer, Fey-snatched, Folk Hero, Guild Artisan (incl Merchant), Harvester, Hermit, Lover, Noble (incl Knight), Outlander, Sage, Sailor (incl Pirate),  Slave, Soldier, Urchin.

 

My Backgrounds

 

 

 

Family Life 

Some of these choices may be modified due to the background a PC chooses. Feel free to select a choice if it makes more sense, as long as I give approval to the final result.

 

A. Is the PC a legitimate child?

(01-75 = yes, 76-00 = no)

1) if illegitimate was the PC raised with the father’s family?

(01-75 = yes, 76-00 = no)

2) If not raised with the father was the PC raised by the natural mother (01-50), placed into fosterage (51-95), or raised as an orphan (96-00)?

3) if placed into fosterage, roll for the foster family as well as the natural family next. If raised by charity, ignore steps B and C.

 

Racial modifiers:

Dwarves do not recognize illegitimacy, ignore this question

Hobbits: no change

1/2 elves: read illegitimate as “not accepted by relatives/family”, “raised with father’s family” as “raised by human parent” and “raised by natural mother” as “raised by elven parent”

Elves: all “illegitimate” elven children are raised by the mother (01-70) or her family (71-00) if she died or is unable to do so. There is no social stigma attached.

Catmen: have no concept of illegitimacy since their society is matriarchal. Read “illegitimate” as “mother was exiled or isolated from the clan” and “raised by father” as “raised by other clan members”. “Raised as orphan” means “raised by non-catmen”.

Szathair: roll as above, but illegitimacy bears no cultural stigma.

Shalani: legitimacy is very important. A child who is illegitimate is always placed into fosterage, frequently outside the clan (see orphan in C, below). If raised outside the clan, this assumes 1 parent (father?) is non-shalani.

 

B. Does the PC have any living siblings?

(01-75 = yes, 76-00 = no)

1) if yes, then how many? 01-40 = 1, 41-90 = 2, 91-99 = 3, 00 = 3+1d4)

2) for each sibling, roll to determine sex (01-50 female, 51-00 male) and age (01-50 older, 51-00 younger than PC)

3) check legitimacy of each sibling (01-80 legitimate 81-00 illegitimate) and whether full or half, as appropriate (50/50)

 

Racial Modifiers:

Dwarves have families spread out over many years, and no females.

Hobbits have large families, for number of siblings: 01-20 = 1, 21-50 = 2, 51-70 =3, 71-90 = 4, 91-00 4+1d4

Half elven families are small, for chance of siblings: 01-80 = no, 81-00= yes and for number of siblings: 01-70 = 1, 71-95 = 2, 96-00 = 3 or 4

Elven families are spread over many years - roll as 1/2 elves for siblings, but roll again for siblings who are more than 100 years older than the PC.

Catmen: normal human number of siblings; however, since twins are more common, first check for twin (1-75 no twin, 76-00 twin, check for gender normally)

Szathair: ignore siblings; they don’t recognize the concept

 

C. Did any family tragedies occur?

1) did the pc’s mother die when he was young? (01-60 = yes, 61-00 no)

2) did the PC’s father die when he was young (noble class: +10%) (01-50 = no, 51-00 = yes)

3) how many siblings died when the PC was young? (01-50 = 3 or more, 51-75 one or two, 76-00 = none)

 

Racial Modifiers:

Non-humans tend to use more magic to keep healthy, so for Dwarves, 1/2 Elves and Elves, +20% to roll 1, -10% to roll 2, and +20% to roll 3. No change for hobytlan.

Catmen: skip C2

Szathair: no change, but ignore siblings

Shalani: if a shalani child is orphaned, roll to see if he/she is raised inside or outside the tribes:

01-70 in the tribes, no difficulty

71-00 outside; there is a 50/50 chance his/her origin is concealed, so roll normally

 

D. Is the PC’s attitude toward the family normal for his culture (01-65) more loving than normal (66-90) or more hostile than normal (91-00)?

How tightly knit is the PC’s family?

01-20) very close, with a patriarchal/matriarchal figure who makes most decisions, which the immediate and extended family support

21-40) close, but with some disagreement from one or more semi-prominent members of the extended family

41-60) not close; the family is divided into two or more opposing factions which feud privately, but usually manage to unite when presented with an outside threat

61-80) disorganized; extended members tend not to communicate, only immediate family care about/support each other

81-00) very limited or distant; the family is spread out geographically and rarely communicates, or there are few members outside the PC’s immediate family group.

 

E. What is the family’s attitude towards the PC’s adventuring career?

01-10) PC comes from a family where adventurers are common and well-respected. One or more parents/siblings/aunts/uncles are or have been adventurers.

11-20) The family has produced adventurers within the past generation, but they do not support the PC’s decision to become one.

21-60) The PC is the only adventurer in the family, but they do support him/her in his/her career choice.

61-80) the PC is the only adventurer in the family, and they are divided or neutral on the choice. Some support may come from some members, but definitely not from everyone.

81-00)The PC is the only adventurer in recent memory (or whom they admit to) and the family is definitely NOT supportive of this choice.

 

F. Was the PC’s family poor by the standards of their social class (01-30), reasonably secure (31-75), or very well off by those standards (76-00)?

 

G. Did the PC’s father/mother have the same profession as the PC?

1) Wizard, Warlock, Paladin: 01-10 yes, 11-00 no

Sorcerer: 01-05 yes, 06-00

Cleric, Druid: 01-35 yes, 36-00 no

Thief, Ranger: 01-60 yes, 61-00 no

Fighter, Barbarian: 01-75 yes, 76-00 no

Bard: 01-60 yes, 61-00 no

 

 

2) If the answer is no, what was the father/mother’s profession?

(In Greenvale: Ask me, but for humans: 85% farmer if of middle or lower, 85% merchant if distinguished).

 

In Miran:

Social Class Very Low:

01-50 Vagabond/Beggar

51-00 Slave (01-90 farm laborer, 91-00 house slave)

 

Social Class Low:

01-20 laborer - miner, woodsman, etc

21-60 tenant farmer

61-70 ordinary soldier or sailor or vigile or watch member

71-80 itinerant traveler - peddler, tinker, entertainer

81-90 fisherman

91-00 street vendor, actor, prostitute, midwife

 

Social Class Middle:

01-30 small land-owning farmer

31-40 lesser craftsman or journeyman (roll on crafts chart)

41-55 lesser merchant (roll on merchants chart)

56-65 government official (roll on government chart)

66-70 tavern owner

71-80 ranked watch or vigil member

81-95 untitled gentry (younger son)

96-00 priest

 

Social Class Distinguished or Superior:

greater merchant (roll on merchant chart, add 10 to roll)

greater craftsman (roll on crafts chart, add 10 to roll)

landowner / patrician

high ranking officer

ranking priest

important government official (roll on government chart, add 10 to roll)

 

Crafts chart:

01-05 rope/rug maker 51-55 embroiderer / glover / furrier

06-10 potter / blacksmith 56-60 carpenter /leatherworker

11-15 bowyer / fletcher 61-65 animal trainer/slave breaker

16-20 barber / chandler 66-70 cartographer / scribe

21-25 weaver / dyer 71-75 armorer / weaponsmith

26-30 brewer / baker 76-80 mason / engineer / architect

31-35 cooper / wainright 81-85 mercer / bookbinder

36-40 tailor / cobbler 86-90 shipwright / miller

41-45 artist / musician 91-95 jeweler / finesmith

46-50 butcher / fishmonger 96-00 banker / moneylender

 

Government Chart:

judicial clerk or judge diplomat

tax collector or recorder courier

moneychanger spy

customs agent

herald

jailor

seneschal

administrator

 

 

Hobyt: if middle or lower, farmer, if distinguished small landholder

Elf or 1/2 elf: if middle or lower, forester or huntsman or other woodsdweller, if distinguished or higher then probably diplomatic or scholarly

Dwarf: probably miner, stonemason or diplomatic depending on rank

Shalani: if no, then the father was 01-90 a merchant, 91-00 a knight of St. Romanus

 

3) If PC has different profession from his parent’s, was he apprenticed in a regular manner?

Thief: 01-75 yes (Guild or lone thief), 76-00 no (self-taught)

Mage: 01-30 yes - at a school, 31- 00 yes - to an individual

Priest: Yes

Fighter: 01-90 -Yes, 91-00 No (self taught)

Bard: 01-75 yes, at a school, 76-90 yes an independent bard, 91-00 no, completely self-taught

Warlock: always self-taught

Paladin: always apprenticed as a squire to an individual (who might belong to an order)

 

H. If the PC was trained as an apprentice, rather than by his father, what was the apprenticeship like?

1) Did his master treat him warmly and considerately (01-20), decently but coolly (21-80) or harshly (81-00)?

2) Was his master’s status high among his peers (01-15), normal (61-80), low (81-95) or outcast from his peers (96-00)? If outcast, they traveled constantly.

3) How many other apprentices were present? 01-10 = one, 11- 75 = two, 76-90 = three, 91-00 = four). Add 1d6 for mage apprentices at school, and for priests acolytes.

4) Did the master favor the PC? (01-50 yes, 51-00 no)

5) If the answer above is yes, did the PC get along with the other apprentices? (01-25 yes, 26-00 no) (this may be modified by charisma bonuses)

 

I. A thief who was not taught by his father or the guild has been self-taught, stealing for personal reasons since he was a child. The PC should decide on what those reasons were; some common ones are - for the pleasure of the risk, for food and money, for greed, out of resentment, for revenge.

1) did the thief ever join the guild (as a teen or young adult)? 01-75 yes, 76-00 no

2) If no, the PC has to decide if the thief has ever had contact with a guild since becoming an adult.

 

J. If the PC was trained by his father, the PC should still roll on G-2 and G-3 above, modified by his family relationship in D.

 

 

K. Where was the PC born?

Unless the DM and the PC agree, the character will have been born in Greenvale. I’m working on birth location charts now!