Backgrounds: O

Hours spent reading numerous compendiums dedicated to various occult topics honed your knowledge of these more obscure magical arts. You might have taken to adventuring to finance your acquisition of rare tomes, to explore occult mysteries that can't be found in the pages of a book, or perhaps to put your skills to the test.

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 Academia Lore skill. You gain the Schooled in Secrets skill feat.

Secrets of Magic, page 29.

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After an altercation with an undead creature, you feared you might be infected. Either through medical intervention, luck, or misunderstanding how undeath spreads, your fears abated. However, your brush with living death taught you the value of life. You do whatever you can to avoid the end you thought you'd been fated.

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

You're trained in the Medicine skill and the Undead Lore skill. You gain the Battle Medicine skill feat.

LOKL, page 73.

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Deifaem doesn't share the secrets of the Onyx Vault with many, but you are one of the lucky few to be permitted into the heart of the nation. You have traveled the extradimensional paths of the Stone Roads and traded goods across a wide variety of lands. You've learned to step lively in foreign markets of all types.

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

You're trained in the Society skill and the Mercantile Lore skill. You gain the Multilingual skill feat.

LOWG, page 46.

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Whether you're a fascinated outsider or a local proud of your nation's storied past, you're a devoted student of Krakraek's history.

You might be a traveling professor, a member of a society like the Vofalais or the Falethaitraim, or even a simple tomb robber cashing in on the glories of the past.

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

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

LOWG, page 58.

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You're called to serve a specific purpose—your deity told you so, and so it must be true. Maybe you grew up knowing all along, or maybe it came to you one day in a vision, clear as a bell and twice as loud. You have some task that only you can accomplish. You mission might be as dangerous as killing a deadly tyrant or as simple as opening a particular door on a particular day.

You should work with your GM on how to handle the truth of your character's backstory or leave it to the GM to decide in secret. Is this call to action a message from the character's own mind, are they being manipulated by some manner of supernatural entity, or are they actually getting marching orders from one of the deities of the setting? Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Wisdom or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in Religion. Once per adventure, you can ask the voice you believe to be a deity for orders and get some kind of instruction—you never get any kind of explanation, simply a command to go somewhere or do something. Following those commands isn't always safe, but it's usually interesting.

Guns & Gears, page 125.

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You've never been to Reisuk, nor do you have roots in the town, but as chance has it you find yourself visiting. You might be here traveling with a friend, visiting an old acquaintance, or merely here to see a new part of the world. Before coming to town, though, you spent many years living with an ancestry other than your own, and your diverse childhood has left you with an open mind and a curious nature.

You're excited to meet new people and cultures, and answering the Call for Heroes seems to be an interesting way to do so.

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

You're trained in the Diplomacy skill and one of the following Lore skills thematically associated with the members of the ancestry you grew up with: Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Goblin, or Halfling. You gain the Hobnobber skill feat.

Age of Ashes Player’s Guide, page 5.

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In your youth, you galloped on horseback over vast prairies, serving as a vanguard for your settlement, an army, or another group. Seeing so many different lands built a thirst in you to adventure and explore the world instead of just racing past it.

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

You're trained in the Nature skill and the Plains Lore skill.

You gain the Express Rider skill feat.

Advanced Player’s Guide, page 48.

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In your youth, you galloped on horseback over vast prairies, serving as a vanguard for your settlement, an army, or another group. Seeing so many different lands built a thirst in you to adventure and explore the world instead of just racing past it.

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

You're trained in the Nature skill and the Plains Lore skill. You gain the Express Rider skill feat.

Player Core 2, page 85.

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