Farmer

Perhaps not the most glamorous profession, but certainly one of the most common and widespread, you are a farmer.

Your knowledge of the land, and the plants and animals that inhabit it, has allowed you to survive with at least relative self-sufficiency. You are accustomed to growing your own food and taking care of your own basic needs, and you are probably no stranger to hard work and manual labor, as without it, you likely would have never survived, though it’s possible you may have found ways to make others work for you, of course.

Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Nature

Tool Proficiencies: Land Vehicles and your choice of one type of artisan’s tools

Equipment: A shovel, an animal harness, a sack, a wicker basket, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp.

Feature: Experienced Farmhand

Having lived it for quite some time, life on a farm is something you are quite familiar with. You know what it takes to operate and sustain a farm, at least to some degree.

Depending on your individual experience and your degree of intelligence and wisdom, you may be simply familiar with day to day farm work and how to go about it correctly due to personal experience and repetition, or you may be an experienced coordinator of the vast and sundry activities involved with managing an entire farmstead. In any case, you can easily find work at virtually any farm you encounter, as there is almost always something that needs doing on a farm, and not enough hands to do it. You can reliably find work in such settings, especially if you are willing to trade work for shelter, food, and other products of the farm rather than coin, though farms offering actual paying work is certainly not unheard of.

Fleshing Things Out

Some questions to consider when determining how this background applies to your character: what sort of farm did you work on, where was it located, and who owned it? What was your relationship like with the owners? Does farming run in your family? How did you become a farmer?

You should also consider what caused you to take up the role of an adventurer. Were you a farmer before or after you became an adventurer? Did your adventures somehow lead you to become a farmer, or did you end up farming as a result of your adventures? Was there anything particularly interesting during your time as a farmer that steered you toward adventure? Or was it perhaps the monotony of the farm which drove you to seek out excitement?

d8 Personality Trait
1 I prefer to sleep with a nice, dry roof over my head whenever possible.
2 I was, in fact, raised in a barn. How could you tell?
3 I am extremely careful with money.
4 I am reluctant to discard anything that might possibly still have a use.
5 I’m never bored.
6 I like to sit and watch the clouds whenever I can.
7 I get restless if there’s work to be done.
8 I like to take my time when thinking things over.
d6 Ideal
1 Honor. My word is my bond. (Lawful)
2 Practicality. I’m more concerned about what works than what’s right. (Neutral)
3 Independence. Being self-sufficient means never being beholden to anyone. (Chaotic)
4 Aid. I try to help everyone I can. (Good)
5 Exploitation. Why break my back when I can make someone else break theirs for me? (Evil)
6 Survival. I just want to get by as best I can. (Any)
d6 Bond
1 My farm was destroyed by monsters, and I will see it avenged.
2 I have a wonderful farm and loving family waiting for me at home.
3 When I retire, I’m going to set up my own farm and live out my days there.
4 I learned how to farm from my adoptive parents, who were of a different race than me.
5 I don’t like people knowing that I was raised on a farm, and I try to hide that fact.
6 I’m not welcome at home anymore.
d6 Flaw
1 I’m suspicious of anyone different than me.
2 I see no reason to bathe regularly. I’ll just get dirty again.
3 Strong drink sure makes the day go by quicker.
4 I have an acute weakness for a pretty face.
5 I am terrible with directions.
6 I take everything literally and have no sense of sarcasm.
Section 15: Copyright Notice

The Big Book of Backgrounds Copyright 2019, P.B. Publishing, Phil Beckwith, and Cody Faulk.

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