Background Perks

When you create a character, you can select one of the following perks to represent their background.

List of Perks

Alert

You quick wits makes it hard for others to gain the drop on your. You gain the following benefits:

  • You gain a bonus to initiative equal to your proficiency bonus.

  • You can't be surprised while you are conscious. 

 

Artificer

You know how to empower your spellcasting with the inventiveness of the arcanist:

  • You gain proficiency with one type of artisan’s tools of your choice, and you can use that type of tool as a spellcasting focus for any spell you cast.

  • You can cast all spells using a spellcasting focus (even those who do not normally require material or somatic components).

  • You can make spell cast with a spellcasting focus use intelligence as its spellcasting ability instead of your normal spellcasting ability.

 

Athlete

You have undergone extensive physical training to gain the following benefits:

  • When you are prone, standing up uses only 5 feet of your movement and climbing doesn't cost you extra movement.

  • You can make a running long jump or a running high jump after moving only 5 feet on foot, rather than 10 feet.

  • You have advantage on saving throws and checks to avoid exhaustion.

Combat Training

You have trained to master the use of armor, gaining the following feature:

  • You gain proficiency with light and medium armour.

  • You can choose three simple or martial weapons that you gain proficiency with.

 

Chef

Time spent mastering the culinary arts has paid off, granting you the following benefits:

  • You gain proficiency with cook’s utensils if you don’t already have it

  • You are proficient with various cook’s utensils and kitchen tools when used as improvised weapons.

  • As part of a short rest, you can cook special food, provided you have ingredients and cook’s utensils on hand. You can prepare enough of this food for a number of creatures equal to your proficiency bonus. At the end of the short rest, any creature who eats the food and spends one or more hit dice can add your proficiency bonus to any hit dice they roll when calculating how many hit points they regain.

Chemist

Time spent mastering the culinary arts has paid off, granting you the following benefits:

  • You gain proficiency with the poisoner kit or the alchemist supplies.

  • You are proficient attacks made with alchemical weapons.

  • You have advantage on ability checks crafting, identifying, or handling alchemical items.

  • When you craft alchemical weapon, you half the crafting time and reduce the items cost by 15 gold pieces.

Crafter

You have extensive knowledge of tools and manual labour, granting you the following features:

  • You gain proficiency with two artisan’s tools of your choice. Alternatively, you can chose to gain proficiency with one set of Artisan’s tool and expertise in one Artisan’s tool that you have proficiency with.

  • When you craft an item using a tool with which you have proficiency, the required crafting time is halved.

  • Once between long rests when you make an ability check using a set of artisan tool’s, you can chose to have advantage on the roll.

Dungeon Delver

Alert to the hidden traps and secret doors found in many dungeons, you gain the following benefits:

  • You have advantage on Wisdom (perception) and Intelligence (investigation) checks made to detect the presence of secret doors, trapdoors, and hidden compartments.

  • You have advantage on ability checks and saving throws to find, disarm, and avoid traps.

  • You have resistance to the damage dealt by traps.

 

Esoteric scholar

Prerequisite: Ability to cast at least one spell with a spell slot.

Your dedicated studies of a particular kind of magic grants the following features:

  • You gain proficiency with arcana. If you are already proficient with arcana, you gain proficiency with another Intelligence skill instead.

  • Choose a spell list: arcane, divine, primal. You learn one cantrip of your choice from that spell list.

  • You choose two 1st-level spell from that same spell list as the cantrip. If any of those spells normally do not appear on your spell list, those spells are added to all your spell lists for you.

Explorer

Travelling in the wild comes second nature to you. Granting you the following benefits:

  • Traveling at a fast pace doesn't impose the normal −5 penalty on your passive Wisdom (perception) score.

  • You have advantage on ability checks using cartographer’s tools, vehicles (land), and vehicles (water).

  • You have advantage on saving throws against natural hazard and phenomena (such as avalanches, extreme heat, or poisonous fumes from natural sources).

  • You always know which way is north, and you always know the number of hours left before the next sunrise or sunset.

Expert

Your extensive training has made you an expert on certain fields, granting the following features:

  • You gain proficiency in any combination of two skills or tools of your choice.

  • When you take the help action to assist someone, who does not have this perk, with an ability check, they have advantage on the roll as normal and receive a 1d6 bonus to the roll as well if you have proficiency with a tool relevant to the task.

Gadgeteer

You have knack for clockwork devices, granting you the following benefits:

  • You gain proficiency with the tinker’s tools or the thieves’s tools.

  • You gain proficiency with one firearm weapon.

  • Using tinkerer’s tools, you can spend 1 hour and 10 gp worth of materials to construct a Tiny clockwork device (AC 5, 1 hp). When you create a device, choose one of the following options:

    • Clockwork Toy. This toy is a clockwork animal, monster, or person, such as a frog, mouse, bird, dragon, or soldier. When placed on the ground, the toy moves 5 feet across the ground on each of your turns in a random direction. It makes noises as appropriate to the creature it represents.

    • Fire Starter. The device produces a miniature flame, which you can use to light a candle, torch, or campfire. Using the device requires your action.

    • Music Box. When opened, this music box plays a single song at a moderate volume. The box stops playing when it reaches the song’s end or when it is closed.

    • Time keeper. This device has little arms moving around in a timely manner pointing at numbers or letters that allow anyone looking at it to accurately discern the time a day. The device can be designed to make an artificial sound after a certain amount of time has passed (which you decide when you activate it) whenever you use an action to activate this feature.

 

Herbalist

Know how to use herbs to mend wounds and get your allies back in the fight. You gain the following benefits:

  • If you can spend 2 hours foraging in a forest or another place where you can find healing herbs and plants, you create a healer's kit that can be used only by you. This special kit has a number of charges equal to your proficiency bonus and lasts 24 hours.

  • When you use an action to stabilize a creature with a healer’s kit, that creature also regains 1 hit point.

  • During a short rest, you can tend to a creature and spend one use of a healer's kit to restore hit points to a creature as if it had spent a hit dice to recover hit points. You can only spend one use of your healer’s kit per creature per short rest, though the creature can still spend hit dice as normal to regain additional hit points.

 

Impressionist

Skilled at mimicry and dramatics, you gain the following benefits:

  • You gain proficiency in the disguise kit or the forgery kit.

  • You have advantage on Charisma (deception) and Charisma (performance) checks when trying to pass yourself off as a different person.

  • You can mimic the speech of another person or the sounds made by other creatures. You must have heard the person speaking, or heard the creature make the sound, for at least 1 hour. A successful Wisdom (insight) check contested by your Charisma (deception) check allows a suspicious listener to determine that something is amiss.

Inspiring leader

As a leader, you know how to bolster your friends’ morale and lead your allies in combat, gaining the following features:

  • You can use your reaction when another creature, who does not have this perk, misses with an attack roll. The creature adds 1d4 to the attack roll, potentially changing it into a hit. The creature must be within 10 feet of you and be able can hear and understand you.

 

Magic-user

You have a magical knack that grants you the following benefit:

  • You can use magic items that normally require you to be able to cast spells even if you do not have the ability to cast spells. When you do so, you use Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma (your choice) as your spellcasting ability modifier.

 

Musketeer

You have received martial training using a firearm for combat purposes, granting you the following features:

  • You gain proficiency with two firearm weapons of your choice.

  • When wielding a firearm, you can use it as a club (one-handed firearms) or great club (two-handed firearms) in melee.

 

Musician

You know how to bolster your allies using your music:

  • You gain proficiency with one instrument of your choice.

  • When you play an instrument you are proficient with during a short rest or long rest, you can choose a number of friendly creatures (which can include yourself) who heard you playing during that rest. Each creature gains temporary hit points equal to your charisma bonus + half your character level.

 

Observant

You are quick to notice subtle details and changes, giving you the following benefits:

  • If you can see a creature's mouth while it is speaking a language you understand, you can interpret what it's saying by reading its lips.

  • You have advantage on Intelligence (investigation) and Wisdom (insight) checks.

 

Poisoner

You know how to handle and apply poisons:

  • You gain proficiency with the poisoner kit or the alchemist supplies.

  • You have advantage on ability checks crafting, identifying, or handling poisons.

  • When you craft basic poisons, you half the crafting time and reduce the crafting cost by 15 gold pieces.

  • You can apply poisons to a weapon or piece of ammunition as a bonus action, instead of an action.

Scholar

You have formal academic training from a recognised school of knowledge, granting you the following benefits:

  • You learn 2 languages of your choice.

  • Choose one skills from Arcana, History, Insight, Medicine, Nature, or Religion. You gain proficiency and expertise with this skills.

  • You can ably create written ciphers. Others can't decipher a code you create unless you teach them, they succeed on an Intelligence check (DC equal to your Intelligence score + your proficiency bonus), or they use magic to decipher it.

  • You can accurately recall anything you have seen or heard within the past month.

Skulker

Your ability at slinking through shadows to find opportunities on the battlefield, grants the following features:

  • When you are hidden from a creature and miss it with a ranged attack, making the attack doesn't reveal your position.

  • When you are hidden from a surprised creature and hit it with an attack, making the attack doesn't reveal your position.

Spell Apprentice

You have learned and mastered the simplest of magic:

  • Choose a spell list: arcane, divine, primal. You learn two cantrips of your choice from that spell list. Your spellcasting ability for these spells is Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma (your choice when you select this perk).

 

Wild-child

Your wild upbringing grants you the following features:

  • You have advantage on Intelligence (nature) and Wisdom (survival) checks to find tracks, forage, and hunt.

  • Once between long rests when you succeed on a saving throw against something that would have caused the poisoned condition, you can chose to become immune to the poisoned condition for one minute.

Feats

All classes allow characters to choose a feat when you reach 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level in that class.

List of Feats

Angelic

You have been infused with powers from the upper planes, granting you the following celestial features:

  • Once between short or long rest, you can use a bonus action to manifest wings for one minute. These wings grant you a fly speed of 30 for the duration. When you manifest the wings, you can also have a celestial halo appear above your head that sheds bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet. The light can be coloured as you like. For the duration, you can use a bonus action on subsequent turns to make this halo appear or disappear. If you already have a flying speed when you use this feature, your flying speed increases by 30 feet for the duration instead.

  • You learn the prayer of healing spell. You can cast this spell once between long rests without expending a spell slot. When cast with this feature, you can treat the spell as if it was cast using a spell slot equal to your proficiency bonus.

Armoured Specialist

Prerequisite. Medium armour training

Through dedicated training, you have mastered techniques to make armour easier to use. You gain the following benefits:

  • You gain training with heavy armour and shields.

  • All armour and shield strength requirements are reduced by 3 for you (e.g. a tower shield requires 10 strength, and a plate armour requires 14 strength to be used efficiently).

  • You can ignore disadvantage imposed on a dice roll due to wearing armour, shields, or helmets.

Collaborative Spellcaster

Prerequisite. The ability to cast spells using spell slots.

You are trained in the art of collaborative spellcasting, the ability to cast spells with others that magnify in strength. This grants you the following features:

  • On your turn, you can ready a spell slot as an action to empower another spell caster as if you were readying a spell. Before the beginning of your next turn, when another creature within 30 feet of you casts a spell, you can release that spell-slot as a reaction, adding its slot level to the total level of the spell the target creature is casting (e.g. if you ready a 3rd level spell slot and release it when another creature casts a fireball with a 5th level spell slot the spell is cast as if using an 8th level spell slot). The total level of the spell cannot be higher than the highest level spell you or the target can cast using a spell slot (whichever is higher).

  • When another creature casts a spell as a ritual, you can assist that creature if you also know the spell, halving the spell’s total casting time.

Dedicated Healer

Prerequisite. Ability to cast spells.

You have pledged your life and existence to protecting and healing your allies, granting you the following benefits.

  • You learn the cure wounds spell. You can cast this spell once between long rests without expending a spell slot. When cast with this feature, you can treat the spell as if it was cast using a spell slot level equal to your proficiency bonus.

  • Whenever you cast a spell that targets only one creature, you can have it restore a number of hit points equal to your proficiency bonus to that creature as well.

  • Whenever you roll dice to determine the number of hit points you restore with a spell, you can reroll any die if it rolls a 1. You must use the new roll.

Deep Dark High Magic

Prerequisite. Sunlight sensitivity

Your ability to see clearly without light is supernaturally enhanced allowing you to better perceive the strands of magic in the weave; granting you the following:

  • You can cast detect magic without expending a spell slot.

  • You also gain two of the following features:

    • You can cast nondetection on yourself once between short or long rests without expending a spell slot.

    • You learn the blindness/deafness spell. You can cast this spell once between long rests without expending a spell slot. When cast with this feature, you can treat the spell as if it was cast using a spell slot equal to your proficiency bonus.

    • You learn the blur spell. You can cast this spell once between short or long rests without expending a spell slot.

    • You learn the dispel magic spell. You can cast this spell once between long rests without expending a spell slot. When cast with this feature, you can treat the spell as if it was cast using a spell slot equal to your proficiency bonus.

    • You learn the levitate spell. You can cast this spell once between long rests without expending a spell slot. When cast with this feature, you can treat the spell as if it was cast using a spell slot equal to your proficiency bonus.

Durable

Hardy and resilient, you gain the following benefits:

  • When you roll a Hit Dice to regain hit points, the minimum number you can roll on the dice equals 1 + your Constitution modifier (minimum of 2).

  • Your hit point maximum increases by an amount equal to twice your level when you gain this feat. Whenever you gain a level thereafter, your hit point maximum increases by an additional 2 hit points.

Fiendish

Fiendish blood runs strong in you, unlocking a features akin to that possessed by some fiends. You gain the following benefits:

  • You gain resistance to one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison.

  • You can use a bonus action to gain the ability to see in dim light and darkness within 120 feet as if it was bright light for 1 minute. You can use this feature a number of times between long rests equal to your proficiency bonus.

Focused spellcaster

Prerequisite. The ability use a spellcasting focus in place of material components.

Your ability to channel magic through spellcasting foci is unmatched. You gain the following benefit when you wield a spellcasting focus that you can use to cast spells:

  • You automatically succeed on Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration on a spell if the DC of the saving throw is 10 or lower.

  • When you have to make a Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration on a spell, you can reduce the DC of the save by an amount equal to your proficiency bonus as a reaction.

Gifted

You are particularly gifted in one domain:

•   Increase one of your ability scores by 2 or two of your abilities scores by 1 each, to a maximum of 20.

•   You can select this feat multiple times.

Keen Accuracy

Prerequisite. Keen Senses ancestry trait.

Your senses are especially honed, granting you legendary accuracy. You have uncanny aim with attacks that rely on precision. You gain the following benefits:

  • Once per turn, when you have advantage on an attack roll you roll three dice (instead of two) and chose the highest for the rolls.

  • Attacking at long range doesn’t impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls.

 

Martial Adept

Prerequisite. Strength or Dexterity 13 or higher.

You have practiced extensively with a variety of weapons, gaining the following benefits:

  • You gain proficiency with four weapons of your choice. Alternatively, you can gain proficiency with one tool or instrument of your choice.

  • You learn one Fighting Style option of your choice from the fighter class. If you already know a fighting style, you must choose a different fighting style. Whenever you reach a level that grants a feat, you can replace this feat’s fighting style with another one you don’t know from the list of fighting styles available to the fighter.

Metamagic Adept

Prerequisite. Ability to cast spells

You've learned how to exert your will on your spells to alter how they function, granting you the following features:

  • You learn one metamagic option of your choice from thelist available to the sorcerer. As with the sorcerer’s metamagic feature, you can use only one metamagic option on a spell when you cast it, unless the option says otherwise. Whenever you reach a level that grants a feat, you can replace you metamagic option with another one from the sorcerer class:

    • If the chosen metamagic feat costs exactly 1 sorcery point, you can apply it to a spell a number of times between long rests equal to your proficiency bonus.

    • If the metamagic feat instead has a cost that scales with the level of the spell, you can only apply it to a spell only once between long rests. The maximum level of the spell you can apply it to is equal to your proficiency bonus.

Mistwalker

You have a certain connection to a vast expanse such as the empty void or the feywild, granting you the following abilities:

  • On each of your turns, you can use a bonus action to magically teleport up to 5 feet.

  • You know the misty step spell, and you can cast it a number of times between long rests equal to your proficiency bonus.

Mounted Combatant

You are a dangerous foe to face while mounted. While you are mounted and aren’t incapacitated, you gain the following benefits:

  • You have advantage on melee attack rolls against creatures smaller than your mount.

  • When an attack is made against your mount, you can have the attack target you instead.

  • When your mount must make a Dexterity saving throw to take half damage, it instead takes no damage on a success, and only half damage on a failure.

  • Mounting or dismounting costs 5 feet of movement, and you have advantage on any ability checks or saving throw to avoid being knocked off your mount.

  • When you tend to your mount during a short or long rest, its maximum hit points increase by an amount equal to your character level. The mount retains this benefit until you finish another short or long rest without tending to that creature.

 

Resilient

You are particularly resilient. You gain the following benefits:

  • Whenever you finish a short rest, you also regain one of your hit dice. At 10th level, you instead regain two hit dice whenever you finish a short rest instead.

  • Choose an ability score. You gain proficiency in saving throws using the chosen ability.

  • You can select this feat multiple times. Each time you do so, you must choose a different ability score to gain saving throw proficiency in, and the number of hit dice your regain after a short rest increase by one.

Ritual Caster

Prerequisite. Intelligence or Wisdom 13 or higher

You have mastered the ability to cast ritual spells, granting you the following features:

  • When you gain this feat, you acquire a ritual book containing a number of ritual spells equal to your proficiency bonus, selected from that class’s spell list. These spells must have the ritual tag. The level of the ritual spells you can choose increase gradually:

    • The first spell must be 1st level.

    • The second spell can be from 1st or 2nd level, and so on.

  • Whenever your proficiency bonus increases, you add a new ritual spell to your ritual book. The spell must have the ritual tag, and its level must be equal to or lower than your proficiency bonus.

  • If you find a ritual spell in written form (e.g., a scroll or spellbook), you can copy it into your ritual book. Copying a spell takes 2 hours per spell level and costs 50 gp per level for materials and inks. 

Savage Attacker

Prerequisite. Strength or Dexterity 13 or higher.

Certain circumstances can make you throw caution to the wind and attack with savage ferocity, gaining the following feature:

  • You learn one of the barbarian’s Reckless Attack options (such as Cleaving Strike). When you have advantage on  a melee  attack, you can forgo the advantage to gain the benefit of a reckless attack option you know instead (notice this only grants you the benefits of the reckless attack option and does not grant enemies advantage on attacks against you).

 

Skilled

You have a knack for a particular set of skills, granting you the following benefits:

  • You gain proficiency with one skill or tool of your choice. Alternatively, you can choose one skill or tool that you are already proficient with and gain expertise with that skill or tool instead.

  • You learn one perk (see the list of background perks).

  • You can select this feat multiple times. Each time you do so, you must choose a different skill and perk.

Studied Combat

You study your opponents and learn from each attack you make, granting you the following feature:

  • If you make an attack roll against a creature and miss, you have advantage on your next attack roll against that creature before the end of your next turn.

 

Stuff of Legend

You are destined for greatness, granting you the following feature:

  • When you fail a saving throw, you can choose to succeed instead. You can use this feature once between long rests.

 

Tactical Manoeuvre

You have specialist martial training, granting you the following features:

  • You learn a combat manoeuvre from the list of manoeuvres available to the fighter’s battle master combat training.

  • You can use this manoeuvre a total number of times between long rests equal to your proficiency bonus. When you use this manoeuvre with this feat, you roll a d8 in place of a superiority dice and treat your character level level as your fighter level for manoeuvres that scale using your fighter level.

  • On a turn where you use this feat to use a manoeuvre, you can gain the benefit of a dash or disengage action (no action required by you) on that turn.

Thick Hide

Prerequisite. Natural armour

Your natural armour is stronger than others of your kind, granting you the following features:

  • When you aren’t  wearing armour, your AC equals 13 + your Dexterity or Constitution modifier.

  • You can use your Constitution modifier in place of your Dexterity modifier when calculating Armour Class.

 

Wondrous Tinkerer

Prerequisite. Intelligence 13 or higher.

You dabble in designing and creating wondrous schematics and magical infusions, granting you the following features:

  • You gain proficiency with the Tinker’s tools. If you are already proficient with Tinker’s tools, you can select another artisan’s tool instead.

  • You learn one infusion from the Artificer list of infusions. Whenever you finish a long rest, you can touch a non-magical object and imbue it with that infusion, turning it into a magic item. This feature works exactly like the artificer’s infusion class feature though it does not count against your maximum number of infusions if you are also an artificer. Whenever you reach a level that grants you a feat or an ability score increase, you can replace this infusion with another infusion from the artificer list. When you reach 10th  level, you can instead:

    • Choose up to two of your signature infusion’s option (instead of only one) when you infuse a non-magical item.

    • Place your signature infusion on a magic items. When you do so, you only select one of the options available to that infusion.

Wyrmling Companion

Through your adventures of magic, you have gained the service of a small dragon companion:

  • Wyrmling Companion. The dragon is a Wyrmling Companion (see the template below):

    • The dragon companion is friendly to you and your companions, and it obeys your commands.

    • You and the dragon understand each other regardless of language and you have an instinctive bond with it that allows you to fight as a seamless unit.

    • The Dragon companion has a number of hit dice [d4] equal to your level and its proficiency bonus is equal to your proficiency bonus.

    • If the dragon dies, you can use revive it through a special ritual that takes one hour. You can only perform this ritual once between long rests.

  • Draconic Heritage. When you first gain this feature, choose a draconic heritage for your dragon which determines the damage type of the companion’s breath weapon as well as the companions damage immunity:

    • Black or Copper. Acid, Dexterity saving throw*

    • Blue or Bronze. Lightning, Dexterity saving throw*

    • Brass, Red or Gold. Fire, Dexterity saving throw*

    • Gem. Thunder, Constitution saving throw*

    • Green. Poison, Constitution saving throw*

    • Silver or White. Cold, Constitution saving throw*

    *The save DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + the companions Constitution modifier.

  • Combat Companion. In combat, the wyrmling companion shares your initiative count and you take your turns simultaneously. The companion can move, take actions, and use its reaction on its own, though it can only make a bite attack or the Breath weapon action:

    • The DM may allow the companion to take other actions, such as interacting with objects.

    • If you are incapacitated, the dragon companion can take any action of its choice on your turn.

    • You can command the companion as a bonus action, allowing it to make two dragon claw attacks actions when it takes the attack action instead of the dragon bite action.

Small Dragon Companion

Small dragon

Armor Class 14 (+1 from natural armour)

Hit Points 10 + your fighter level

Speed 25 feet, fly 40 feet

Str 12 (+1)

Int 8 (-1)

Dex 16 (+3)

Wis 14 (+2)

Con 15 (+2)

Cha 8 (-1)

Save Proficiencies Constitution, Intelligence

Damage Immunity see draconic heritage

Senses Darkvision to a range of 60 feet

Languages Draconic

Special

Agile Fighting The wyrmling companion uses Dexterity can use its choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls with its attacks. You must use the same modifier for both rolls.

Actions

Dragon Bite. Melee attack., reach 5 ft., 1d6 piercing damage.

Dragon Claw. Melee attack., reach 5 ft., 1d4 slashing damage.

Dragon Breath (1/long rest). The dragon exhales its breath weapon in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a saving or take 3d10 damage, or half as much on a successful saving throw. The saving throw and damage type is determined by the companion’s draconic heritage.