Backgrounds

DISCIPLE OF THE SOVEREIGN HOST (ACOLYTE)

Use the Acolyte background, with the following additions.
You were raised and trained in the light of the Sovereign Host. You do not raise any of the nine deities above the other, instead of worshipping all of them in the understanding that only taken together do they show a complete picture of life on Eberron.

DEZINA MUSEUM RESEARCHER (ARCHAEOLOGIST)

Use the Archaeologist background (from Tomb of Annihilation), with the following additions.
The Dezina Museum of Antiquities in Sharn has a remarkable collection of relics from across Eberron. The curator, Emeron Sennared, is hoping to create a new exhibit with relics from the ruined land of sharn, showing normal objects twisted by the magic of the Mournland. You have found the best way to locate such objects is to join the salvage teams that head into the Gray from the town of salvation.

WAR IMPOSTOR (CHARLATAN)

Use the Charlatan background, with the following additions.
When you joined the Karrnathi army near the end of the Last War, your life was not going well. something in your past was haunting you so much that signing up to die was preferable to staying where you were. Then a miracle happened. You witnessed someone die who looked like you, and you suddenly had access to their life. You took their identity, and when the war ended you could let your old self go and become a new person. The town of Salvation is the perfect place to start over as this new person.

RESISTANCE LEADER (CRIMINAL)

Use the Criminal background, with the following additions. At the end of the Last War, your home was occupied by enemy forces. You had to pretend to be subservient to your occupying forces, but you secretly led a resistance group against your captors, hoping to help drive them out and retake your home. Fortunately for you, the war ended before you were found out, but you learned a great number of skills as a member of the resistance. Your life will never be the same because of the war, but there may be a use for your skills in the world of salvage.

CAMP PERFORMER (ENTERTAINER)

Use the Entertainer background, with the following additions. You never thought yourself a soldier, but when you were forced to join the Brelish army, you had no choice. Fortunately, a superior officer recognized your talent and decided to make you a camp entertainer. You traveled from place to place, raising the spirits of the troops before or after a battle. You even saw your share of close calls, when the battlefront came to your location unexpectedly. You now have the taste for adventure, and still have your entertaining skills to fall back on.

WAR HERO (FOLK HERO)

Use the Folk Hero background, with the following additions.
During your time in the Cyran army, you quickly earned accommodation after accommodation for valor, skill, and honor. You were on maneuvers outside of the Cyran borders on the Day of Mourning, and soon after the war ended. You no longer had the rank and title you once possessed, but the cyran refugees know who you are, and they look to you to help reclaim the homeland.

DESPERATE SOUL (GAMBLER)

Use the Gambler background (from Acquisitions Incorporated), with the following additions.
Your gambling debts were piling up, and your debtors were about to catch up with you. You heard from a friend that if you wanted to get lost—and potentially make enough money to pay off your debts—you should seek out a town called salvation on the edge of the Mournland. Brokers were paying good coin for artifacts from the Mournland. Enterprising adventurers can make a fortune by just picking up trash in the ruined Cyre! And if that doesn’t work, you can always play cards with newly wealthy fools who come out of that place with the treasures that you want.

AUNDAIRIAN SPECIAL FORCES (GLADIATOR)

Use the Gladiator background, with the following additions.
During the final years of the Last War, you served in a special unit of the Aundairian army. You were inserted into dangerous areas with special mission objectives. These often involved defeating high profile targets that led groups of mercenaries working for opposing forces. By defeating the leaders of these mercenary groups, and impressing their mercenaries by doing so, you could gain their allegiance and turn them against their former patrons. Your army has no more use for your skills, but you can’t get the love of the danger out of your system.

ENTREPRENEUR (GUILD MERCHANT)

Use the Guild Merchant background, with the following additions.
Since the end of the Last War, making a living as a merchant has been more and more difficult. Connections are hard to make, and those who made a profit off the war have cornered the market in many commodities. And that doesn’t even include the monopoly-seeking Dragonmarked Houses! Word from your former business connections indicates that a new market in artifacts from ruined Cyre might be a place to invest your time and energy. You might need to get your hands dirty, but the future looks like it could be bright in this new market!

BRELISH DESERTER (HERMIT)

Use the Hermit background, with the following additions. During the final years of the Last War, you’d had enough. After so much death and destruction, you needed to escape the madness of endless destruction. unable to go home because of your status as a deserter of the Brelish army, you needed to hide. You made your home on the border between Cyre and Breland, dodging patrols of both armies and living alone in the wilderness. With the Last War now over, you find that your knowledge of Cyre’s border is now coming in handy.

HOUSE AGENT

The house agent background is the perfect background option for a character tied to a dragonmarked house.
You have sworn fealty to a dragonmarked house. If you have a dragonmark, you’re likely a member of one of the house’s influential families; otherwise you’re an outsider who hopes to make your fortune through the house. Your main task is to serve as the eyes of your house, but you could be called on at any time to act as its hand. Such missions can be perilous but lucrative.
Skill Proficiencies: Investigation, Persuasion
Tool Proficiency: Two proficiencies from the House Tool Proficiencies table
Equipment: A set of fine clothes, house signet ring, identification papers, and a purse containing 20 gp

House Tool Proficiencies

Your House Proficiencies Cannith Alchemist’s supplies and tinker’s tools Deneith One gaming set and vehicles (land) Ghallanda Brewer’s supplies and cook’s utensils Jorasco Alchemist’s supplies and herbalism kit Kundarak Thieves’ tools and tinker’s tools Lyrandar Navigator’s tools and vehicles (air and sea) Medani Disguise kit and thieves’ tools Orien One gaming set and vehicles (land) Phiarlan Disguise kit and one musical instrument Sivis Calligrapher’s tools and forgery kit Tharashk One gaming set and thieves’ tools Thuranni One musical instrument and poisoner’s kit Vadalis Herbalism kit and vehicles (land) Role You always gather information for your house, but when a baron give you a specific mission, what sort of work do you do? The House Agent Role table gives possibilities.

House Agent Role

d8 Role 1 Acquisition 2 Investigation 3 Research & Development 4 Security 5 Intimidation 6 Exploration 7 Negotiation 8 Covert Operations Feature: House Connections As an agent of your house, you can always get food and lodging for yourself and your friends at a house enclave. When the house assigns you a mission, it will usually provide you with the necessary supplies and transportation. Beyond this, you have many old friends, mentors, and rivals in your house, and you may encounter one of them when you interact with a house business. The degree to which such acquaintances are willing to help you depends on your current standing in your house.
Suggested Characteristics House agents are diverse. Consider the house you serve and the work you do when choosing characteristics.
Personality Traits
d6 Personality Trait 1 I’m always looking to improve efficiency. 2 I love to share trivia about my house’s business. 3 I never forget an insult against me or my house. 4 I’m enthusiastic about everything my house does. 5 I represent my house and take pride in my looks. 6 I’m critical of monarchies and limits on the houses. Ideals
d6 Ideal 1 Common Good. My house serves a vital function, and its prosperity will help everyone. (Good) 2 Tradition. I uphold traditions of my house and bring honor to my family. (Lawful) 3 Innovation. Abandon old traditions and find better ways to do things. (Chaotic) 4 Power. I want to ensure the prosperity of my house and wield its power myself. (Evil) 5 Discovery. I want to learn all I can, both for my house and for my own curiosity. (Any) 6 Comfort. I want to ensure that me and mine enjoy the best things in life. (Any) Bonds
d6 Bond 1 My house is my family. I would do anything for it. 2 I love someone from another house, but the relationship is forbidden. 3 Someone I love was killed by a rival faction within my house, and I will have revenge. 4 I don’t care about the house as a whole, but I would do anything for my old mentor. 5 My house must evolve, and I’ll lead the evolution. 6 I’m determined to impress the leaders of my house, and to become a leader myself. Flaws
d6 Flaw 1 I’m fixated on following official protocols. 2 I’m obsessed with conspiracy theories and worried about secret societies and hidden demons. 3 My house and bloodline make me the best! 4 My secret could get me expelled from my house. 5 My religious beliefs aren’t widespread in my house. 6 I’m working for a hidden faction in my house that gives me secret assignments.

MERCENARY LEADER (KNIGHT)

Use the Knight background, with the following additions.
You were a leader for a renowned mercenary group that sold its services to the highest bidder during the Last War. Your group fought valiantly and with honor for those who contracted you, but the war took its toll. By the end, you found it hard to find competent soldiers to serve you. When the war ended, your group disbanded, leaving you with just a few retainers and a stellar reputation.

CYRAN ARISTOCRAT (NOBLE)

Use the Noble background, with the following additions. You were born of noble blood in Cyre, and the service you provided your country involved acting as an ambassador to distant lands. With Cyre now destroyed and the Last War ended, you have no station in the world, except with the refugees from Cyre that look to you for leadership in attempting to start a new life. They want to go home, but the terrible event that brought down Cyre must be discovered and reversed before that can happen.

CONSCIENTIOUS OR (OUTLANDER)

Use the Outlander background, with the following additions. As the Last War raged on, you refused to join the army of Breland. None of the civilized areas would have you, deeming your objections to the war cowardly and unpatriotic. You learned to survive in the hinterlands of Breland, making do with what you could find and avoiding contact with the Brelish military and invaders alike. Now that the war is over, you still face scorn in civilized places, but the town of salvation seems like a place where anyone might be welcome to start over.

MORGRAVE UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR (SAGE)

Use the Sage background, with the following additions. You’ve gained a great deal of knowledge while you studied, and then taught, at Morgrave university in sharn. When the Last War ended a few years ago, even the most learned academics scratched their heads at who or what caused the Day of Mourning that destroyed Cyre. Many of these are too cautious to truly investigate the Mournland, but your sense of curiosity outweighs that of self-preservation. journeys into the Mournland might reveal its cause, which would make you the toast of the academic community.

OFFICER IN THE 12TH BRELISH INFANTRY (SOLDIER)

Use the Soldier background, with the following additions. During the latter years of the Last War, you served in the Breland Army, under General Millven “Mad Dog” Marshallen. You and your peers were preparing for a foray into Cyre on the Day of Mourning. A few units were already across the border, when the gray fog rolled through and destroyed them in terrible ways. if another hour had passed, you would have been one of them. These visions still haunt you, and you have a driving desire to know what happened.

EAR OF THRANE (SPY)

Use the Spy background, with the following additions. During the Last War, you were an Ear of Thrane, acting as a spy for that nation, pretending to be a loyal soldier for a different nation. When the war ended, your secret identity was learned. untrusted by your former friends, you found that the nation of Thrane also mistrusted you, thinking you may have been a double agent. Mistrusted now by both sides, you are a spy without a home.

WAR ORPHAN (URCHIN)

Use the Urchin background, with the following additions. The devastation of the Last War spared some, but not you. An attack on your home left your family dead, and you were forced to make your way by any means necessary. You have a driving hatred of whatever military or mercenary force destroyed your home, but your connections to others of your status have made it clear that a new future—and potential fortunes—await in the town of Salvation. It sounds like it might be rough, but it can’t be worse that where you grew up.