Backgrounds are excellent storytelling tools when it comes to identify who your character is and where they come from. A gallant soldier may have a dark past as a mercenary sellsword or a gang enforcer. Advanced backgrounds provide an additional layer to this process. They seek to identify where a character comes from, and highlight where they may progress to, within the world setting.
Professions
Professions best represent what your character does between adventures, whether it's a job to make money, or a title or responsibility they must uphold. Each background has multiple professions, and describes that profession's place in the world. For example, your character may be a Seafarer, but what do they do at sea? They may be a pauper, scavenging whatever they can find of value from the ocean shores. In this case, you may choose the Sea gatherer. There are no wrong choices.
Profession Abilities
Once you have selected your profession, you gain access to its Profession Ability. This is an activity that you have practiced time and time again, becoming an expert in this field. Each profession ability requires an hour spent completing the task, and a skill check. Once you have attempted a profession ability, you cannot attempt it again until you complete a long rest.
Profession Dice
Profession Dice are the in-game advantages provided to characters by their background profession. Characters can add their Profession Die to skill or ability checks according to any Talents they have selected.
In addition, a character always adds their Profession Die when rolling for Profession Abilities.
A character's Profession Die is determined by their rank, and shown in the table below:
| Profession Rank | Profession Dice |
|---|
| 1 |
1d4 |
| 2 |
1d6 |
| 3 |
1d8 |
| 4 |
1d10 |
Proficiencies and Equipment
When creating a character, Advanced Backgrounds add skill proficiencies and starting equipment in a similar way to backgrounds. Once you have selected your background and profession, you may select a skill proficiency, per your background's selection list. Once you've made your choices, apply your starting equipment and proficiency from your background and profession.
Rankings, Holdings, and Progressions
Rankings represent a character's standing within the world of their profession. Each profession has four ranks, with characters starting at the first rank. Whenever a character meets the progression milestones of a rank within their profession (as discussed with the GM), they may progress to the next rank of that profession.
A captain and his daring crew or a Duke and his extravagant estate are both examples of a profession's holdings. Within Advanced Backgrounds, holdings are the assets, resources, or advantages a character gains through their position. Holdings vary between professions, from finding free lodging to acquiring a grand fortress and legions of soldiers, or anything inbetween. Within each profession are examples of the sorts of holdings a character might achieve as they progress through the professional ranks. Whenever a character advances in rank, they retain their holdings from previous ranks.
Progressions are examples of what may be required for you to advance in rank within your profession. From making a medical breakthrough to being appointed by a monarch, progressions vary depending on the rank and profession they belong to. Progressions make great character goals and can be tied into existing character or party goals. For example, a scribe looking to disprove falsehoods could do so by pursuing the mystery at the heart of the campaign's overall story.
Talents
Talents are unique dispositions, experiences, or characteristics your character has picked up due to their time working in their profession. This is represented by allowing characters to add their Profession Die to unique situations that highlight the skills gained through their profession. A character may select a Talent from their corresponding Talent list when they select their profession, and select an additional Talent whenever they rank up within a profession.
Changing Profession
Plans never play out as expected, and sometimes professions don't either. A character may change professions by achieving the progression requirements of the profession rank they wish to change to. When they achieve these requirements they may rank up into the new rank of that profession, choosing a Talent form their new profession list. A character that has ranked up into another profession retains all equipment, Talents, proficiencies, and abilities from their original profession. After all, you can change your future, but not your past.
For example, Aylea is a Militarist Field Marshall. A recent brush with a dark sorcerer has confirmed her faith in her deity, and now she wishes to become an Inquisitor. Aylea's player discusses with their GM what sort of holdings and progression milestones Aylea must achieve to rank into Inquisitor. Due to her seasoned military experience, the GM decides that once contact ahs been made with a Chapter Master, Aylea will become an Inquisitor at the rank of Initiate, a rank from which Aylea is likely to advance quickly.
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