Backgrounds inDungeons & Dragonswere often an afterthought for many players, but the 2024 Player’s Handbook has turned them into a core part of a character’s identity. Even if you’re not into roleplaying, you’ll find that the features added to backgrounds are key for any character build.
This is due, for the most part, to two reasons: ability scores and feats. Backgrounds are what define your initial ability scores, not your species, and they also come with an origin feat, meaning that level 1 characters have more tools now than in any previous iteration.
7Farmer
The Ideal Tank Choice
Fighters and barbarians can get a lot out of the farmer background, mostly due to the feat gained on character creation, tough. This feat simply gives the character more hit points, and with Constitution being one of the ability scores you can improve with the background, you’ll end up with a character that has a mountain of health.
You also get some surprisingly useful items, like a healer’s kit to stabilize a dying companion. The best item on the equipment table, however, are the carpenter’s tools, helping you open containers and craft basic items like ladders or torches.
6Sailor
Perfect For An Unarmed Build
The sailor background is perfect if you’re planning on playing a character that fights with their fists. You might think this is only useful for monks, but any class that can pick a fighting style can make use of this background since the unarmed fighting style is there for any fighter, ranger or paladin that wishes to take it.
The reason why this background isessential for an unarmed buildis the tavern brawler feat, lets you reroll low damage hits, and push targets once per turn. Since you can raise both Strength and Dexterity, this background is just perfect for up-close and personal builds.
5Noble
Use That Perfume
The noble background lets you raise either Strength, Intelligence, or Charisma, making it a bit awkward for most classes other than paladins or wizards. During the early levels, however, any class can make use of the background’s ability to influence others, thanks to the proficiency on Persuasion as well as the perfume item.
While plenty of backgrounds give training in Persuasion, only the noble background comes with the perfume item. While not infinite, it allows you to have an advantage on Persuasion checks against indifferent targets, making your character a master diplomat, or at least a good-smelling one.
4Charlatan
Master Of Deception
Being a highly charismatic bard isn’t the only way to lie your way to success, since you don’t only need to pass Charisma checks. More often than not, you’ll also need to forge documents and seals, something the charlatan background helps with its forgery kit and access to costumes.
Since you need Dexterity to forge items and Charisma to pretend to be someone else, it is in your best interest to diversify each task. Therefore, the charlatan background shouldn’t be taken by the performer (usually a bard), but by the forger, either a ranger or a rogue, who prepares the items needed to enter a highly restricted area.
3Merchant
Luck Of The Trade
The lucky feat is, for all intents and purposes, a feat thateveryone can benefit from.It lets you have an advantage on a certain number of rolls per day, or give a disadvantage to anyone targeting you with an attack; while ideal for fragile characters, you can see why any class could benefit from it.
One of the few backgrounds that gives this feat is the Merchant, an ideal choice for many casters due to the abilities raised. With the options being Constitution, Intelligence, and Charisma, you can easily see wizards, sorcerers, warlocks, and bards looking at this background and being happy to gain both the ability score increase as well as the luck points.
2Soldier
Time To Deal Damage
If you just want to have a background that helps you deal the most amount of damage, then the soldier background is for you. It gives you access to the savage attacker feat, letting you roll damage twice and use either result, but only once per turn.
The damage roll needs to be from a weapon, but it can be either melee or ranged. Since the abilities you can choose as a soldier are Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, it makes for the perfect martial option when dungeon delving, even if the feat loses some impact at higher levels.
1Entertainer
Let’s Get Heroic
Music is no longerexclusive to bardssince the entertainer background gives you proficiency with a few musical instruments and the Performance skill. But the main reason to take this background is due to the musician’s feat, letting you give heroic inspiration to your allies after a short or long rest.
For those who don’t know, heroic inspiration is something that, under normal circumstances, can only be given by the Dungeon Master. It lets you roll any die immediately after rolling it, a powerful resource meant to be used in emergencies… unless you can recover it after every rest, in which case you can just use it at any time you want.
