So when I go to create a compulsion mechanic for Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, I want to make sure that a) helps balance all the other goodness that comes with being undead and b) isn’t so obnoxious it makes the character unplayable. As an undead, you have to keep a pretty low profile or the villagers will break out the pitchforks and torches.įinally, all undead are driven by compulsions, all-consuming obsessive habits that they must fulfill. I mean, he could, but he probably wouldn’t last long.
A lich can’t just walk into town and have a beer. There are the roleplaying ramifications, too. Without regeneration or rejuvenation, take enough damage to destroy you and that’s it. However, those benefits are balanced by a few negative factors.įirst, it’s tough as hell to heal. There’s a lot of benefits that go into being an undead. The background features are typically “roleplaying powers” that often give you the ability to stay at certain places overnight for free, NPCs to interact with in-game, etc. In addition to whatever it is that you start with as part of your class, the background equipment helps shape your character’s appearance and fluff. Probably a little underused (at least in my campaigns), this more or less is a profession-related “mini-skill” outside of the normal skill selections. Typically, you get two skill proficiencies that fit with the background’s fluff. Game mechanics-wise, backgrounds give your character a few more minor features: Furthermore, the ideals mold the character’s alignment choice. While it’s possible for players to come up with their own characteristics, the background characteristics fit the tone and fluff of the background more and help offer some interesting cues. The halfling rogue might come from a noble lineage or be a salty sailor.Īnother element that backgrounds offer are suggested characteristics. An elven wizard might be a hardened criminal or a paranoid hermit. “I stand in front of monsters and hit them until they don’t hit back anymore.” But now you can make your human fighter an acolyte that’s spent his/her time serving a temple, or even a sage learned in the ways of war. It used to be that a human fighter was a human fighter was a human fighter. One major, intangible element that backgrounds offer is simply giving the characters a third dimension beyond race and class.
What role do backgrounds serve in Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons?īackgrounds have a few important elements. Fortunately, the Monster Manual, Player’s Handbook, and Dungeon Master’s Guide in Fifth Edition act like the perfect Rosetta Stone for figuring out these mechanics. Sometimes, when I’m working through a design (especially one I haven’t really done yet), I like to break it down and reverse engineer its parts. Therefore, I need to create something similar for playable will-o’-wisps. Like Keith Ammann of often points out, undead aren’t so much as free-thinking things, but more like automatons that are driven by compulsions. But I forgot one big thing: backgrounds! Of course, the problem with undead is that they don’t operate like normal monsters. Whoops.Īnd that meant I had to create both a new player race and class to accommodate this change. If you’ve been following the blog, then you probably know that I turned one of my players’ characters into a will-o’-wisp. DM Dave Leave a Comment on Player Options: Undead Compulsions (Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons) Posted in Player Options