Nomad

You come from a society where the people have no permanent homes. Instead, the community travels from place to place, usually in pursuit of the animals they hunt or their grazing livestock. Regardless of the exact reasoning, yours are a traveling people, and your background has taught you how to survive and even flourish while following a transient path with no long term place of residence.

Skill Proficiencies: Nature, Survival

Tool Proficiencies: Your choice of one musical instrument

Languages: One of your choice

Equipment: A piece of jewelry meaningful to your people worth 2 gp, a map of migratory routes for a particular region important to you, a musical instrument you are proficient with, a set of traveler’s clothes, and a pouch containing 5 gp.

Feature: Nomadic Survival

While traveling through terrain that is similar to the lands you are used to traversing in the course of your nomadic lifestyle (decide this with the GM’s help), you always know the direction you are traveling. Additionally, you can reliably and accurately navigate such terrain without a map so long as you have gained some familiarity with the landmarks and features of the specific area you are traveling through. Such familiarity could come via the study of maps or by having discussions with people who are familiar with that area. You can also take from that land to gather food to eat and water to drink for yourself and up to five other people. This is sufficient to maintain at least a moderate level of healthy consumption as you travel.

Fleshing Things Out

Some questions to consider when determining how this background applies to your character: What is the driving force behind you people’s nomadic lifestyle? Do they follow the movements of animals for their livelihood? If so, what sort(s) of animals do your people pursue? How do your people feel about their way of life? How do you feel about it?

If given a real chance to settle down somewhere, would you?

Do you value a life on the move? How do you feel about non-nomadic people and their lifestyles?

You should also consider what caused you to take up the role of an adventurer. Did you come across a path to adventure while pursuing your nomadic lifestyle? Did you find something interesting or dangerous that set you off on a quest that led into the life of adventure? Or did you lead a life of adventure first that eventually evolved into you living the life of a nomad, moving from place to place, following a natural path rather than settling down?

d8 Personality Trait
1 I would rather teach someone how to do something than do it for them.
2 I don’t respect the opinions of people I don’t consider my allies.
3 I try to make friends before I make enemies.
4 I find permanent structures quaint.
5 I love music and rhythm.
6 I sleep with my boots on and my bags packed. Just in case.
7 I prefer to let my deeds speak for me.
8 I am quite superstitious.
d6 Ideal
1 Tradition. My people have always remained transient to survive, and so shall it remain. (Lawful)
2 Mobility. A rolling stone gathers no moss, and a moving target is always harder to hit. (Any)
3 Anonymity. If you don’t stay in one place, you’ll never have to worry about your reputation catching up with you. (Evil)
4 Novelty. New challenges, ideas, and experiences enrich society. (Good)
5 Vicissitudes. People stagnate if they stay in one place for too long. (Chaotic)
6 Necessity. I go where the food is. (Neutral)
d6 Bond
1 Eventually I’ll find the person who murdered my parents.
2 There is someone I love in one of the towns I pass through from time to time.
3 The animals my people follow hold special spiritual significance to me.
4 I keep on the move so that I don’t have to face my shameful past.
5 My dream is to see every corner of the world before I die.
6 I have a bitter rival amongst my people whom I hope to avoid.
d6 Flaw
1 I’m often told I don’t know how to whisper.
2 I find humor in serious situations, usually at inappropriate times.
3 I’m a very literal person, and most jokes and figures of speech go over my head.
4 I frequently forget to pay my debts, and I often forget incurring them in the first place.
5 I am often very distracted by people I consider attractive.
6 I keep trying to convince people I’m right even after they agree with me.
Section 15: Copyright Notice

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

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