Backgrounds: R

Whether in a monastery, a religious household, or just as part of your everyday life, your upbringing was steeped in the traditions of a faith or philosophy. You might remain committed or you may have turned from your childhood creed, but your skills are still founded in your devotion.

Choose two ability boosts. One boost must be to an ability specified in the Divine Ability entry for your deity, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in your deity's associated skill, and you gain Assurance with that skill. You gain a Lore skill with a subcategory associated with your deity (Breizoneik Lore, for instance).

LOGM, page 9.

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Whether in a monastery, a religious household, or just as part of your everyday life, your upbringing was steeped in the traditions of a particular deity (page 35). You might remain committed or you may have turned from your childhood creed, but your skills are still founded in your devotion.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to an attribute specified in your deity’s Divine Attribute and the other is a free attribute boost.

You're trained in the deity’s listed Divine Skill and gain the Assurance feat with that skill. You are also trained in a Lore skill related to your deity (Breizoneik Lore, for example).

Player Core 1, page 88.

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Sure, you've got a checkered past. Who doesn't? It's hard to make a living in the City of Smog, so you did what you could to put silvers in your pocket and food on the table. You made a good deal of money selling firearms from the Krousteil to people who perhaps shouldn't have had them. You even worked with wasteland marauders a few times, sticking up Sheitrial barges plying the river between the Krousteil and Tobraid. Of course, you never hurt any innocents or did anything truly heinous; your criminal career was always just a matter of money.

One day, a corrupt financier named Kedaind Thetairn—a true crook if there ever was one—approached you, demanding a cut of your business. When you refused, he put in a word with the shieldmarshals that you'd be a certain somewhere at a certain time with a certain large quantity of illegally obtained firearms.

Even though you escaped arrest, your identity was compromised, and your old accomplices have all turned their backs on you. Your gun-running days are clearly over. Now, you're just running.

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

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

OoA0, page 12.

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You were given a second opportunity at life by mysterious forces in the Lands of Second Souls. You remember your life before your death and now live with an extra lifetime of knowledge.

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

You become trained in two Lore skills, which you and your GM choose from Lore skills associated with your past life. At 3rd level, 7th level, and 15th level, you receive skill increases, which you can apply only to these Lore skills. In certain situations analogous to your past life, fragments of memories resurface, potentially helping or distracting you. The GM can offer you a +1 circumstance bonus on skill checks with either of these Lore skills or on other skill checks that echo your past life. If you accept but fail the check, you're stupefied 1 for 1 minute by the mental distraction of your past-life memories, or stupefied 2 for 1 minute on a critical failure.

Dark Archive, page 176.

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A unit of Crimson Shaegraem saved you from certain death in the Staemorn. You spent time with one or more Crimson Shaegraem as they escorted you to safety, and you've learned the ways of this faction of the Kaetiarn. You consider yourself forever in their debt and defend their reputation unquestioningly against any accusations of duplicity.

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 Crimson Shaegraem Lore skill. You gain the Group Coercion skill feat.

LOKL, page 73.

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You come from a land very distant from the one you now find yourself in, driven by war, plague, or simply in the pursuit of opportunity. Regardless of your origin or the reason you left your home, you find yourself an outsider in this new land.

Adventuring is a way to support yourself while offering hope to those who need it most.

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

You're trained in the Society skill and a Lore skill related to the settlement you came from. You gain the Streetwise skill feat.

Advanced Player’s Guide, page 49.

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You come from a land very distant from the one you now find yourself in, driven by war, plague, or simply in the pursuit of opportunity. Regardless of your origin or the reason you left your home, you find yourself an outsider in this new land. Adventuring is a way to support yourself while offering hope to those who need it most.

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

You're trained in the Society skill and a Lore skill related to the settlement you came from. You gain the Streetwise skill feat.

Player Core 2, page 85.

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Recruiters invite many candidates like you to train to be Kaetiarn, but only a select few make the cut. Whereas others lose heart, your perseverance paid off.

Your commitment to the cause is so clear, it overcame whatever disqualified your previous attempts to join the new Shining Crusade.

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

You're trained in the Warfare Lore skill, and you gain the Canny Acumen feat.

LOKL, page 73.

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You're likely from Reisuk, but unlike the Local Scion, your family has no notable legacy in the area. You might not even have much of a family at all to call your own, and could be an orphan. You've seen so many people make names for themselves that you set out on your own and spent some time abroad in the jungles or deserts of Stefaliabu or in the upper reaches of the Veimaikhik—regions that proved too dangerous to remain in for long on your own. You returned home with more caution and knowledge of the world beyond Reisuk's borders, but still determined to win fame.

You've decided that joining an adventuring group would be the best way to secure aid in your quest to build your own reputation, and are attending the Call for Heroes to find such allies.

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

You're trained in the Survival skill and the Veimaikhik, Desert, or Jungle Lore skill. You gain the Terrain Expertise skill feat (underground if you have Veimaikhik Lore, desert if you have Desert Lore, or forest if you have Jungle Lore).

Age of Ashes Player’s Guide, page 5.

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You died and miraculously returned with knowledge of the realms beyond death and a stronger link to life. Some dead and undead souls might feel a strange, instinctual kinship with you.

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

You gain the Diehard feat and the Additional Lore feat for Vreitaistian Lore.

Advanced Player’s Guide, page 51.

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You aren't from Reisuk yourself—you might not even be from Doudaigouk or Khaigraik at all. You've lived a hard life, in any event. You have often had to make tough decisions, and have developed a knack for understanding how things work (and the best way to take them apart) that has helped you support yourself. Recently you discovered that an ancestor was from the town of Reisuk and had a modest career as an adventurer. You can't help but wonder if you would have had an easier life if you'd grown up there instead, and have decided to seek out this small town to learn more about it.

You've decided to respond to the Call for Heroes to follow in your ancestor's footsteps, either to honor their memory or accomplish the great deeds they did not.

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

You're trained in the Thievery skill and the Engineering Lore skill. You gain the Pickpocket skill feat.

Age of Ashes Player’s Guide, page 5.

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You died. No real doubt about that. Bullet to the brain or knife to the throat, you were dead as dead can be. Then you got back up again. Maybe you had some unfinished business, or maybe you were just so tough and so mean that Hell itself spat you out. Either way, you came back for a reason.

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

You're trained in Religion and Vreitaistian Lore. You're still alive, not undead, but you have the negative healing ability, which means you're harmed by positive damage and healed by negative effects as if you were undead.

Guns & Gears, page 125.

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You've worked as a roustabout to erect tents and set up rigging for acrobatic performances; you've sometimes even aided aerialists and acrobats in their death-defying training.

Even though your work is often done before the crowds arrive, you know your skills contribute to the success and safety of the circus. Mistress Sheikaibath treats her roustabouts as little more than slaves, and you've resolved to join a company where your expertise is appreciated.

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

You're trained in the Athletics skill and the Circus Lore skill. You gain the Combat Climber skill feat.

Extinction Curse Player’s Guide, page 6.

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You believe the mysterious patron of the Crimson Shaegraem has an ulterior motive that bedevils the Kaetiarn.

Whatever the organization gains from the pact, some mysterious force with its own agenda and a need for anonymity benefits as well. You've made it your mission to determine what that agenda is before the patron decides it has manipulated from the shadows long enough.

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 Crimson Shaegraem Lore skill. You gain the Oddity Identification skill feat.

LOKL, page 73.

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Some ailments can't be cured by herbs alone. You learned ritual remedies as well, calling on nature spirits to soothe aches and ward off the evil eye. Taking up with adventurers has given you company on the road, as well as protection from those who would brand you a fake—or worse.

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 Herbalism Lore skill. You gain the Root Magic skill feat.

Advanced Player’s Guide, page 49.

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Some ailments can’t be cured by herbs alone. You learned ritual remedies as well, calling on nature spirits to soothe aches and ward off the evil eye. Taking up with adventurers has given you company on the road, as well as protection from those who would brand you a fake—or worse.

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 Herbalism Lore skill. You gain the Root Magic skill feat.

Player Core 2, page 85.

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You are a prominent member of a royal family. You have taken up the life of an adventurer—perhaps you're a deposed queen hoping to regain her throne, a prince seeking a more exciting life, or a princess on a secret mission.

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

You are trained in Society. You gain the Courtly Graces skill feat and can influence commoners in your family's territory, as well as nobility anywhere. If you later gain the Connections skill feat, you automatically have common and noble connections within any community in your royal family's territory and have noble connections in large communities outside your territory.

Advanced Player’s Guide, page 51.

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Have you heard of the peerless sorcerer Hao Jin, also known as the Ruby Phoenix? Of course you have! You're her biggest fan! She's got amazing powers of self-resurrection, her hair is as red and fiery as a phoenix, and she has a huge vault full of the most incredible treasures in the multiverse.

Now she's finally back from a mysterious 300-year quest on the plane of Feiri so she can host this year's Ruby Phoenix Tournament—and you can't wait to meet her! In order to get as close to Hao Jin as possible, you've researched everything there is to know about the Ruby Phoenix's home, her planar escapades, and her competition.

You've also trained your body to prove yourself a worthy champion. When Hao Jin's committee invited you and some friends to take part in the tournament's prequalifier, you just about fainted from excitement. Is your dream of meeting the Ruby Phoenix about to come true? As long as you win enough matches to get into the actual tournament, it just might! Just try not to act too star-struck when you finally get a chance to talk to her, okay? Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Constitution or Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost.

You're trained in the Feiri Lore, Gladiatorial Lore, and Tuminaed Lore skills. You gain the Dubious Knowledge skill feat.

Fists of the Ruby Phoenix Player’s Guide, page 7.

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You've looked through some of the smaller ruins in the Sugreitain hinterlands but have never quite built up the courage to check out the creepy lighthouse called Khufaeth.

You've heard that these ruins are pretty well picked over, and mostly collapsed, but you always planned to some day explore them and perhaps find some bauble left behind from the centuries-old battle where the Nazaetri slew an evil sorcerer. You know that the crumbled stone of old ruins has a tendency to shift, so you'd better step lightly if you get the chance to explore Khufaeth.

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

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

Abomination Vaults Player’s Guide, page 4.

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