Expanding 5E D&D Background Characteristics — Outlander

Salutations, nerds! The unassailable law of alphabetical order dictates looking at the Outlander background in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. These are characters who come from outside what most people in your setting would consider civilized society and scoff at your use of silverware! Maybe. I haven’t actually played a 5E D&D outlander myself and perhaps tinkering with it will give me a new appreciation for the background. Who knows? I’ll may have to add something else to my list of things to do. Let’s get started.

Fluff like 5E D&D background characteristics is the game too

From the 5E D&D Basic Rules: Fleshing out your character’s personality — the array of traits, mannerisms, habits, beliefs, and flaws that give a person a unique identity — will help you bring him or her to life as you play the game. Four categories of characteristics are presented here: personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws. Beyond those categories, think about your character’s favorite words or phrases, tics and habitual gestures, vices and pet peeves, and whatever else you can imagine.

Technically inspiration in 5E D&D is presented as a rule Dungeon Masters can use as a reward for players who remain true to their characteristics. Even though these characteristics don’t include mechanical benefits along the same lines as most class features these components of characters are still a part of the game with implications during play.

“If you’ve got a copy of Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden you’ll find a whole bunch of character hooks and secrets in the introduction to inspire your characters’ motivation. Likewise resources like the Heroic Chronical in Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount and This Is Your Life sections in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything can really help develop fun and intriguing ideas for motivation of your adventurers.“ — 5 Sources of Motivation for 5E D&D Adventurers

d8 — Personality Traits

1. I’m used to traveling under the open sky and get nervous if I cannot see the stars at night.
2. I’m accustomed to a certain kind of magic, and all other kinds are suspect.
3. A lot of talk and no action is a sign of weakness.
4. I mislike the noise of the city.
5. Death is a part of nature and a part of life. For me mourning is but a somber understanding.
6. I truly don’t understand how some people can waste food.
7. Small niceties like silverware and doors that close are lost on me.
8. Sometimes I take extra steps on pavement because it sounds so different than the dirt I’m used to.

d6 — Ideal

1. Survival. It’s not over until you’re dead. As long as you live there are still pieces to pick up. (Neutral)
2. Community. Everything we do is for each other in the long run. (Lawful)
3. Family. Everyone is important, but mine are the most important and I will put them first. Even before myself. (Any)
4. Courage. No foe is too great and the gods bear witness. I will not flinch. (Any)
5. Patience. Sometimes it can take hours for the right prey to come. It will not if you make noise. (Neutral)
6. Adaptation. If at first you don’t succeed, try something new until you do. (Chaotic)

d6 — Bond

1. A relative has been taken by a slow fever. They can suffer for years like this but it will still inevitably kill them unless I find a cure.
2. I must accomplish something great if I am going to earn the status of leading my people.
3. An old seer in the woods read my future to me. I have only vagaries to go on but this is what I seek out here.
4. Someone I am adventuring with saved my life, and now I owe it to them until I can return the favor.
5. I’m looking for the reincarnation of one of my ancestors to come back with me and help save my people.
6. I have to eventually come back alive so my hound doesn’t wonder what happened to me.

d6 — Flaw

1. I’m not used to using money so whatever people tell me something costs is what I’m likely to believe the first time.
2. I have differing ideas than most as to what qualifies as hygienic and I judge others harshly if they don’t measure up to my standards.
3. I take every inconvenience personally and have a hard time differentiating things that had nothing to do with me.
4. I’ve never said no to a challenge, and I never will.
5. I have opinions about what people should do and share them whether they want it or not.
6. My idea of a compliment is vaguely threatening. “You have a lot of teeth!”

For me, at least the suggested features in the book are always incredibly inspiring so hopefully you found something in all of this that’s inspired you as well. Let us know in the comments, connecting with us on Facebook or tweeting us @Nerdarchy. Feel free to comment or tweet me @Pyrosynthesis too and of course, stay nerdy!

*Featured image — Outlander is one of the background options for characters found in the 5E D&D Player’s Handbook. The newest expansion for Magic: The Gathering — Adventures in the Forgotten Realms — features lots of iconic D&D creatures, places and objects plus plenty of calls to adventure like this Intrepid Outlander, an Orc Ranger with Pack Tactics who ventures into the dungeon when they attack with other powerful allies. A 5E D&D player can get a lot of mileage from the MTG multiverse. For example Theros is one of the MTG settings officially represented in 5E D&D, which we’ve explored quite a lot not to mention the free Plane Shift supplements. There’s also Curriculum of Chaos, an upcoming 5E D&D release set in the Magic: The Gathering world of Strixhaven. [Art by Andrey Kuzinskiy]

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