Backgrounds: A

You were enrolled at a prestigious magical academy, but you've since dropped out. Maybe there was a momentous incident, maybe you had to return to other responsibilities, or perhaps it was just too much for you. Whatever the case, your exit from the academy has shaped your life as much as your entrance and led you to a life of adventure.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Intelligence or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in Arcana and Academia Lore. You gain the Dubious Knowledge skill feat.

Secrets of Magic, page 28.

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In a circus or on the streets, you earned your pay by performing as an acrobat. You might have turned to adventuring when the money dried up, or simply decided to put your skills to better use.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Strength or Dexterity, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in the Acrobatics skill and the Circus Lore skill. You gain the Steady Balance skill feat.

Player Core 1, page 84.

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Experienced with trapezes, aerial silks, and hoops, your skill is in performing death-defying stunts high above the ground. The Celestial Menagerie skimped on safety devices such as nets and quality ropes, so you also learned to take a fall better than most. After a harrowing near-death experience involving a cracked trapeze bar, you decided to take your expertise elsewhere.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Dexterity or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in the Acrobatics skill and the Rope Lore skill. You gain the Cat Fall skill feat.

Extinction Curse Player’s Guide, page 4.

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Blacksmithing might be an ancient profession, but you are its cutting edge. You've studied the properties of different metals, experimented with them by combining them, exposing them to different elements and processes, and have even delved into the metaphysical nature of metal in your quest to master it. You might have taken up adventuring to acquire more funding and materials or to test your designs. Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Strength or Intelligence, and one is a free attribute boost.

You're trained in the Crafting skill and the Plane of Metal Lore skill. You gain the Specialty Crafting skill feat with the blacksmithing specialty.

Rage of Elements, page 44.

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Your background is... well... honestly, you can't remember! You might have inklings deep within your mind, undercurrents of unusual emotions or unexpected responses to certain people or situations, but ultimately you don't know who you once were. You might be adventuring specifically to help discover yourself. It's up to you and the GM how to handle the truth of your character's backstory. You could leave it to the GM so it's a secret, work together with the GM, or even choose to leave it undecided until later. In any case, you and your GM should determine a few noteworthy details about your character or their belongings to get the first clues to your past.

You gain three free ability boosts. You choose two, and the GM chooses the third based on their first inklings of your character's possible history.

Advanced Player’s Guide, page 50.

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You have always felt a connection to animals, and it was only a small leap to learn to train them. As you travel, you continuously encounter different creatures, befriending them along the way.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Wisdom or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in the Nature skill and a Lore skill related to one terrain inhabited by animals you like (such as Plains Lore or Swamp Lore). You gain the Train Animal skill feat.

Player Core 1, page 84.

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You have a long history of working with large circus animals for the Celestial Menagerie, such as performing in an animal act, jostling animals back into their cages, or even sweeping dung out of squalid pens. Mistress Sheikaibath's ongoing mistreatment of her animals compelled you to quit, and you now strive to ensure animals aren't abused.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Strength or Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in your choice of the Athletics or Nature skills. You gain a skill feat: Titan Wrestler if you chose Athletics, or Train Animal if you chose Nature. You are also trained in a Lore skill related to a particular kind of common animal (such as Equine Lore, Feline Lore, or Pachyderm Lore).

Extinction Curse Player’s Guide, page 4.

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Magic has never worked quite right around you. Perhaps you have become a magic-user in spite of that, or perhaps you use your unique ability to fight magic-users.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Constitution or Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in a Lore skill of your choice, though it can't be about a magical subject (as determined by the GM if it's unclear). Whenever you would be affected by magic, even your own magic or that of an ally, the originator of the effect must attempt a DC 3 flat check.

On a failure, the magic doesn't affect you (though it still has its normal effects on anyone else). On a success, the magic affects you and there is no need to attempt further flat checks for the same magical effect, even if it affects you again later.

Secrets of Magic, page 30.

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You've seen the sorts of things that technology brings—polluted environments, workers put out of their jobs or horribly injured, and the slow erosion of society—and you've vowed to inform the larger world of these ills. You do so with long, impassioned speeches on street corners and village squares and by talking personally with the heads of various guilds. Adventuring into the wider world could help spread your message even farther.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Constitution or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in the Intimidation skill and the Guild Lore skill. You gain the Group Coercion skill feat.

Guns & Gears, page 44.

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You've excavated enough sites to know that ancient civilizations aren't lost; they're merely buried and waiting for the right scholar to unearth them and tell their story. You might have worked as a laborer or local guide before learning formal archaeological techniques.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Constitution or Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in the Society skill and the Architecture Lore skill. You gain the Additional Lore skill feat related to an ancient culture or the history of a culture you've studied (such as Driraithod Lore or Kiabrer History Lore).

LOPSG, page 8.

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As an apprentice, you practiced a particular form of building or crafting, developing a specialized skill. You might have been a blacksmith’s apprentice toiling over the forge for countless hours, a young tailor sewing garments of all kinds, or a shipwright shaping the hulls of ships.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Strength or Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in the Crafting skill and the Guild Lore skill. You gain the Specialty Crafting skill feat.

Player Core 1, page 84.

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Your art is your greatest passion, whatever form it takes. Adventuring might help you find inspiration, or simply be a way to survive until you become a world-famous artist.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Dexterity or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in the Crafting skill and the Art Lore skill. You gain the Specialty Crafting skill feat.

Player Core 1, page 84.

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You seek to join the Krizund of the Neikhutaeth and have learned everything you need to know about sailing and bossing people around. Now you just need a crew and a ship.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Wisdom or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in the Intimidation skill and the Sailing Lore skill.

You gain the Group Coercion skill feat.

LOWG, page 70.

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New realms rise constantly in the Kevuth Kingdoms, and you intend to lead one of them. Making your reign last, however, will require both strength and grace.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Wisdom or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in the Society skill and the Politics Lore skill. You gain the Courtly Graces skill feat.

LOWG, page 34.

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Astrologers look to the stars for signs and portents, using their positions in the heavens to chart courses for those living beneath them. As the celestial spheres move, so does fate itself. You studied the stars and learned to divine your path based on their guidance. Whether the stars directly called you to a life of adventure or you use the stars to guide your wanderlust, you’re living out the stars’ guidance in a life of adventure.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Intelligence or Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in the Occultism skill and the Astrology Lore skill. You gain the Oddity Identification skill feat.

Player Core 2, page 84.

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Astrologers look to the stars for signs and portents, using their positions to chart courses for those living beneath them. As the celestial spheres move, so does fate itself. You studied the stars and learned to divine your path based on their guidance. Whether the stars directly called you to a life of adventure or you use the stars to guide your wanderlust, you're living out the stars' guidance in a life of adventure.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Intelligence or Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in Occultism and Astrology Lore. You gain the Oddity Identification skill feat.

Secrets of Magic, page 28.

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During your formative years, you learned the stars are a gateway to mystical power or glimpses into the future. Perhaps you grew up surrounded by Kibrebos culture or were raised in one of the remaining Ziaridourn sanctuaries. You've studied the constellations, using their alignment to predict fortune (or misfortune) and gaining magical powers unlike any of the other astrologers you know. Your readings might primarily focus on the Niatamak, or perhaps you use other stars to guide you, like the zodiac of Moutriavriam.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Wisdom or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in Astrology Lore. You can cast augury as a divine innate spell once per week, and the spell's effects can see up to 1 hour in the future rather than 30 minutes.

LOTG, page 122.

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A roaring crowd chanting your name. Your face plastered all over the city. Fawning fans begging for your autograph.

Jealous rivals. Endless fame. The promise of all this and more is what drove you to enter this year's Ruby Phoenix Tournament, and with your prodigious star power it's no wonder why they selected you for the prequalifier on Danger Island. You've got champion stamped all over you. Obviously, the organizers knew a winner when they saw one.

It's already clear that you'll be named Ruby Phoenix Champion—the challenges leading up to your prize ceremony are mere formalities, but you're happy to indulge the impassioned masses. After all, the people want a show, and what kind of celebrity would you be if you denied them? You might even deign to compete in some fights, too, as long as your hair doesn't get mussed.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Strength or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in Performance and the Gladiatorial Lore skill. You gain the Impressive Performance skill feat.

Fists of the Ruby Phoenix Player’s Guide, page 6.

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