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Tika and Artemis: Personal Characteristics more money? How did you learn the skills of your class?
Tika and Artemis have distinct personality traits. Tika What sets you apart from ordinary people who share
Waylan dislikes boastfulness and has a fear of heights your background?
resulting from a bad fall during her career as a thief. Artemis The sample backgrounds in this chapter provide both
Entreri is always prepared for the worst and moves with a concrete benefits (features, proficiencies, and languages)
quick, precise confidence. and roleplaying suggestions.
Consider their ideals. Tika Waylan is innocent, almost
childlike, believing in the value of life and the importance Proficiencies
of appreciating everyone. Neutral good in alignment, she Each background gives a character proficiency in two
cleaves to ideals of life and respect. Artemis Entreri never
allows his emotions to master him, and he constantly skills. Skills are described in chapter 7.
challenges himself to improve his skills. His lawful In addition, most backgrounds give a character
evil alignment gives him ideals of impartiality and a proficiency with one or more tools. Tools and tool profi-
lust for power. ciencies are detailed in chapter 5.
Tika Waylan’s bond is to the Inn of the Last Home. If a character would gain the same proficiency from
The inn’s proprietor gave her a new chance at life, and two different sources, he or she can choose a different
her friendship with her adventuring companions was proficiency of the same kind (skill or tool) instead.
forged during her time working there. Its destruction by
the marauding dragonarmies gives Tika a very personal Languages
reason to hate them with a fiery passion. Her bond Some backgrounds also allow characters to learn
might be phrased as “I will do whatever it takes to additional languages beyond those given by race.
punish the dragonarmies for the destruction of the Inn of See “Languages” earlier in this chapter.
the Last Home.”
Artemis Entreri’s bond is a strange, almost paradoxical Equipment
relationship with Drizzt Do’Urden, his equal in swordplay
and grim determination. In his first battle with Drizzt, Each background provides a package of starting equip-
Artemis recognized something of himself in his opponent, ment. If you use the optional rule from chapter 5 to spend
some indication that if his life had gone differently, he coin on gear, you do not receive the starting equipment
might have led a life more like the heroic drow’s. From that from your background.
moment, Artemis is more than a criminal assassin—he
is an antihero, driven by his rivalry with Drizzt. His bond Suggested Characteristics
might be phrased as “I will not rest until I have proved A background contains suggested personal charac-
myself better than Drizzt Do’Urden.” teristics based on your background. You can pick
Each of these characters also has an important flaw. characteristics, roll dice to determine them randomly, or
Tika Waylan is naive and emotionally vulnerable, younger use the suggestions as inspiration for characteristics of
than her companions and annoyed that they still think your own creation.
of her as the kid they knew years ago. She might even be
tempted to act against her principles if she’s convinced that Customizing a Background
a particular achievement would demonstrate her maturity. You might want to tweak some of the features of a back-
Artemis Entreri is completely walled off from any personal
relationship and just wants to be left alone. ground so it better fits your character or the campaign
setting. To customize a background, you can replace
one feature with any other one, choose any two skills,
Additionally, if you have inspiration, you can reward
and choose a total of two tool proficiencies or languages
another player for good roleplaying, clever thinking, or
from the sample backgrounds. You can either use the
simply doing something exciting in the game. When
equipment package from your background or spend coin
another player character does something that really con-
on gear as described in chapter 5. (If you spend coin, you
tributes to the story in a fun and interesting way, you can
can’t also take the equipment package suggested for your
give up your inspiration to give that character inspiration.
class.) Finally, choose two personality traits, one ideal,
Backgrounds one bond, and one flaw. If you can’t find a feature that
matches your desired background, work with your DM to
Every story has a beginning. Your character’s back- create one.
ground reveals where you came from, how you became
an adventurer, and your place in the world. Your fighter Tika and Artemis: Backgrounds
might have been a courageous knight or a grizzled sol- Tika Waylan and Artemis Entreri both lived their earliest
dier. Your wizard could have been a sage or an artisan. years as street urchins. Tika’s later career as a barmaid
Your rogue might have gotten by as a guild thief or com- didn’t really change her, so she might choose the urchin
background, gaining proficiency in the Sleight of Hand and
manded audiences as a jester.
Stealth skills, and learning the tools of the thieving trade.
Choosing a background provides you with important
Artemis is more defined by his criminal background, giving
story cues about your character’s identity. The most im-
him skills in Deception and Stealth, as well as proficiency
portant question to ask about your background is what
with the tools of thievery and poison.
changed? Why did you stop doing whatever your back-
ground describes and start adventuring? Where did you
get the money to purchase your starting gear, or, if you
come from a wealthy background, why don’t you have

Chapter 4: Personality and Background
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