Backgrounds: P

You aspire to perfect your body and mind in the tradition of Brafalaisias's Houses of Perfection, honing your acrobatic skills and mental faculties in preparation for a lifetime pushing the edge of what most consider possible.

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

You're trained in the Acrobatics skill as well as the Warfare Lore skill. You gain the Cat Fall skill feat.

LOWG, page 82.

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In your youth, you made several pilgrimages to important shrines and holy sites. You might have been a mendicant friar, a seller of holy relics (real or fraudulent), or just a simple farmer following the dictates of your faith. Whatever the aims of your wanderings now, your faith still protects you on the road.

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

You're trained in the Religion skill and the Lore skill for your patron deity. You gain the Pilgrim's Token skill feat.

Advanced Player’s Guide, page 49.

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In your youth, you made several pilgrimages to important shrines and sacred sites. You might have been a mendicant friar, a seller of religious relics (real or fraudulent), or just a simple farmer following the dictates of your faith. Whatever the aims of your wanderings now, your faith still protects you on the road.

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

You're trained in the Religion skill and the Lore skill for your patron deity. You gain the Pilgrim’s Token skill feat.

Player Core 2, page 85.

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Not every Knight of Sitreiku contributes to the crusade through combat. Pillars provide essential upkeep and service at camps, enjoying the same rank of knight as the crusaders and strategists for which the knights are known. You spent time as an assistant among the pillars, learning how noncombatants provide for the physical and mental wellbeing of an army.

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

You're trained in one of your choice of the Medicine, Society, or Survival skills, as well as the Labor Lore skill. You gain the Additional Lore skill feat.

LOKL, page 73.

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Your birthplace was on one of the elemental planes, but you traveled to the Universe for some reason. Maybe you left on good terms, or maybe you were driven out and hope to one day return. Maybe you were even exiled, and any mention of it brings pain and resentment. In any case, nowhere has quite felt like home since, and you've roamed the land, carrying your life's possessions on your back wherever you go. You adventure possibly in search of a place to belong or a way to return to your plane of origin and settle unfinished business.

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

You're trained in the Athletics skill and one of the following lore skills: Plane of Air Lore, Plane of Earth Lore, Plane of Fire Lore, Plane of Metal Lore, Plane of Water Lore, or Plane of Wood Lore. You gain the Hefty Hauler and Prescient Planner skill feats.

Rage of Elements, page 44.

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You've always had a green thumb, allowing you to care for plants that others found too difficult to grow and tend with a skill that borders on the magical. As you travel, you encounter all sorts of new plants and plant creatures, allowing you to expand your horizons and deepen your understanding of flora.

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

You're trained in Nature and Plant Lore. You gain the Natural Medicine skill feat.

Secrets of Magic, page 29.

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Like your parents and your parents before them, you initially followed the long path toward politics from an early age. Your close association with Shoumeistai's upper echelons put you in touch with the city's various military or special operations units—the First Guard, the Wave Riders, the Varlokkur—though you avoided any actual duty with these groups.

Thanks to your strict upbringing and the connections of your family, you soon became a lauded and highly respected member of Shoumeistai's political elite. But you couldn't stifle a certain feeling that you were destined for more than simply filling the pointed shoes of your forebears. Despite your easily earned accolades and a relatively cushy life as a young lawyer or councilmember, you sought to do more with your diplomatic training and not live out the exact same life as your ancestors.

Your decision to transfer to the Sugroumoriand has rubbed your traditionalist family the wrong way, and they've cut off the financial aid they've provided you your whole life.

But you don't care—you know you're doing the right thing by taking on the rough jobs of a low-ranking guard, and you're ready to shine based on your own merits, not those of your lofty kin.

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

You're trained in the Diplomacy skill and Legal Lore. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Deception, Diplomacy, and Intimidation checks to interact with members of Shoumeistai's political establishment. You gain the Hobnobber skill feat.

AoE0, page 8.

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Not all cops are passionate about their jobs. For some, the pursuit of justice is just another way to pay the bills.

Honestly, it was probably the Post Guard's generous time-off policy that drew you to their service, and during your yearly sabbaticals you've dabbled in hobbies as diverse as fishing, baking, or even stand-up comedy. Even while on duty, you're probably idly fiddling with a lucky coin or practicing magic tricks with a deck of cards. You probably irritate your fellow guards a bit with your non sequiturs, casual attitude, and tendency to daydream, but results don't lie, and more often than not you prove your worth when the chips are down.

For all the excitement of guarding Shoumeistai's Postern Gate, the Post Guard wasn't really the right fit for someone as distractible as yourself, so your boss put in a "promotion" for you to transfer to the newly formed Sugroumoriand. You're all for the reassignment, since it will put you smack in the middle of the most entertaining and diverse gathering of the century, the Radiant Festival.

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

You're trained in the Performance skill, a Lore skill of your choice, and you gain a bonus language. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Deception, Diplomacy, and Intimidation checks to interact with Post Guards. You gain the Dubious Knowledge skill feat.

AoE0, page 8.

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Was it five shots or six? It doesn't really matter in the end, because after those nice folks bought all your drinks, you woke up on the lowest rung of the ladder. Whether a crewmate on a ship, a conscript in an army, or something worse, you've nowhere to go but up. This background generally requires buy-in with the entire group to tell a story allowing you to play a character starting their adventuring due to circumstances outside their own control. However, you can also play a character who was once press-ganged and has since escaped that life. If you do, press-ganged doesn't have the uncommon trait, and it has the same mechanical effects either way.

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

You're trained in the Athletics skill and the Labor Lore skill. You gain the Armor Assist skill feat (Advanced Player's Guide 203).

Guns & Gears, page 124.

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You were forced into service as a sailor against your will.

Perhaps you were punished for a crime, were drafted into military service, are repaying a debt, or simply were abducted.

Though you were initially trained as a simple deckhand, you may have subsequently studied a trade under one of the vessel's specialists.

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

You're trained in the Society skill and the Sailing Lore skill. You gain the Experienced Professional skill feat.

LOWG, page 70.

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Keeping your finger on the pulse of the city, you write a small news broadsheet to sell on street corners. You rent the use of a printing press to achieve this goal, so you're familiar with such machines. However, people and their stories are your main focus, and you adventure to chase the latest scoop.

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

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

Guns & Gears, page 45.

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You have been imprisoned or punished for crimes (whether you were guilty or not). Now that your sentence has ended or you’ve escaped, you take full advantage of the newfound freedom of your adventuring life.

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

You're trained in the Stealth skill and the Underworld Lore skill. You gain the Experienced Smuggler skill feat.

Player Core 1, page 88.

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Whether in Vokhiago or one of the bustling markets along the Path of Salt, you've spent enough time buying and selling ancient or unusual items to give you an instinctive ability to quickly sort valuable trinkets from worthless baubles.

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

You're trained in the Arcana skill and the Mercantile Lore skill.

You gain the Quick Identification skill feat.

LOWG, page 58.

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You're experienced at building funeral pyres. You might have lit flaming biers in the Brebavraik, tended the cremation pits of Grezukhi or Mikonein, or been a backwoods charcoal burner, using the right mixture of alchemy to act as an accelerant. However you worship, you know nothing sends off the departed like flame.

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

You're trained in the Crafting skill and the Funeral Lore skill.

You gain the Alchemical Crafting skill feat.

Book of the Dead, page 16.

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