Better D&D 5e Backgrounds
Better Backgrounds is a 5e book full of backgrounds that give you fun new things to spend your hit dice on. You could take the ordinary boring Soldier background from the PHB, which gives you two skill proficiencies and a bunch of other junk you'll never use, or you could take the Soldier background from this book, which gives you the same two skills but also lets you spend hit dice on Battlemaster tactics or extra attacks. The noble background can spend hit dice as a reaction to mimic the Leadership ability that you see in NPC stat blocks sometimes, and a folk hero can permanently reduce their hit dice - but not their HP - for additional save proficiencies.
And the backgrounds advance with your level, as your past experiences and upbringing continue to inform your ongoing development as an adventurer, so while your background will never matter as much as your class, it will always remain relevant.
Each of these backgrounds comes with a host of options for things you can spend hit dice on other than healing. Characters who take an ordinary background from the PHB can still spend hit dice on healing like normal, so they are not strictly weaker than characters taking these backgrounds, but they will be considerably less flexible and adaptable.
Below is one of our favorites from a list of 21 new and improved backgrounds for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons by ChamomileHasAdventures.
Noble
You come from a noble family. You’re not much richer than other backgrounds, so presumably, you’re far enough down the line of succession that there wasn’t much inheritance left for you, or your family has fallen from power and now lives in, or at least adjacent to, genteel poverty. Either of which would explain why you have gone gallivanting about the countryside for gold and glory.
Skills: History, Persuasion
Languages: One of your choice
Tools: None
Equipment: Fine clothes, signet ring, 75 gp
Noble Class: You are a noble, which gives you something fundamentally in common with all other nobles, even the ones from nations that hate you. Many nobles consider themselves nobles first and whatever nationality they ascribe to second, considering foreign nobles to be closer peers than commoners of their own nation, or even the ones they rule over directly in their fiefdom. Feudalism is founded on loyalty, so if their lord commands them to do battle with you, they will, but most nobles extend hospitality towards you unless specifically ordered not to or if you have antagonized them or their direct relatives, regardless of what their ruler thinks of you.
Furthermore, your tie to ancient houses means that new money and republican nations with lots of aristocratic neighbors (or one big aristocratic neighbor) are often eager to be seen as your peers, and will extend the same hospitality towards you that a fellow noble would in order to establish that they are, themselves, de facto nobles. The only nations whose elites won’t generally extend this hospitality towards you are those who specifically resent aristocracy or those located in an area where feudalism is weak or non-existent, where nobility is a curiosity of distant lands rather than any kind of immediate political reality.
Noble Upbringing: You were raised in the nobility, and despite spending most of your time knee-deep in mud and monster guts, your education and courtly experience stick with you. You know a number of the following features equal to your proficiency bonus.
Charm Person: You can spend a hit die to cast Charm Person.
First Impression: When you first encounter someone, you can spend a hit die to make a favorable first impression as a reaction. You make an immediate Persuasion check to improve their opinion of you before either of you has said a word or taken any action (which can, for example, defuse a combat before it starts rather than after, or convince bandits that they like the look of you and they’ll let you pass unrobbed).
Performer: You gain proficiency in Perform and one musical instrument, or gain expertise if you are already proficient.
Persuasive Bribery: You’ve mastered the art of making a bribe not look like a bribe. You offer flattering gifts and charitable donations before, rather than after, making a request, disguising a crude transaction as mutual generosity between friends. You always have advantage on Persuasion or Deception checks after you’ve bribed the target, even one who would normally be unmoved or insulted by bribery, and you can spend a hit die to add your proficiency bonus again to any Persuasion or Deception check on which you’ve bribed them.
Scholar: You gain proficiency in one of Arcana, History, Medicine, Nature, or Religion, or expertise if you were already proficient.
Socialite: You gain proficiency in one of Deception, Insight, or Persuasion, or expertise if you were already proficient.
Charming Smile (minimum level 5): You can spend a hit die to charm a creature as a bonus action. Make a Persuasion check rolled against their CHA save. If you win, the target creature is charmed by you until the end of your next turn. Yes, this does mean you get advantage on charming them again next turn, but bear in mind that charming them does not hinder them from attacking your fellow party members at all.
Improve Morale (minimum level 5): You can spend a hit die as a bonus action to add that hit die as temporary HP to a creature within 30 ft. that can see or hear you.
Leadership (minimum level 5): Whenever an ally within 30 ft. of you makes an attack or saving throw, you can spend a hit die to add 1d4 to the roll. A creature can only benefit from one leadership die at a time.
Tyrannical Commands (minimum level 5): Permanently reduce your hit dice by two. You can spend one hit die to cast Command, or two hit dice to cast Zone of Truth or Hold Person.
Charm Monster (minimum level 9): You can spend four hit dice to cast Charm Monster.
Heroic Reputation (minimum level 9): Even in nations where the aristocracy are expected to lead their people in battle on the regular (and therefore they all have some class levels), nine is an above-average number of levels. Probably you know at least 2-5 people who also have nine levels, but those are peasants, which means bards and minstrels gravitate towards casting you as the main character and them as your supporting cast. Your Noble Class feature now extends not just to the nobility, but to everyone who doesn’t specifically hate you or the entire institution of aristocracy.
Commoners extend hospitality to you on account of your celebrity, and elites from lands far from the influence of feudalism will take your noble title seriously because it is you who holds it, even if the title by itself would come across as exotic and quaint.
Noble Bearing (minimum level 9): Permanently reduce your hit dice by three. Creatures of your choice within 10 ft. of you cannot be charmed or frightened, except by you. All causes of fear or adoration pale beside you, and seem far less compelling to those nearby.
Dominate Person (minimum level 13): You can spend five hit dice to cast Dominate Person.
Heroic Leadership (minimum level 13, requires Leadership): When you give an ally a leadership die, the die is a d8 instead of a d4.
Legendary Leadership (minimum level 17, requires Heroic Leadership): When you give an ally a leadership die, the die is a d12 instead of a d8.
Majesty (minimum level 17, requires Noble Bearing): Permanently reduce your hit dice by two. The range of your noble aura is now 30 ft.
Our Grade B
Keep in mind, this isOverall the believe the concept is fascinating. While I’m not personally big on more things to build optimized characters, I do truly enjoy the concept. It makes sense that the characters would continue to develop skills related to their background. I do think a few of the backgrounds are a little stronger than others but overall pretty good. The layout is bland and there are a few errors. The mechanic verbiage could use a bit of work but are clear enough to work with. Overall we give Better Background 5e a solid B.
You can pick up your copy of Better Background 5e
Role-playing games are designed to transport us to a world of fantasy and adventure. Through shared storytelling and world-building, players and their characters set out to explore exotic locations, fascinating people, and solve complex puzzles.
Extraordinary Expeditions is a collection of adventures that will do just that. Scour the Desolate Wastelands for the lost library of Zenith Athenaeum. Save, escort, and protect villagers to a safe haven while two towering titans do battle. Venture into a village completely overrun by monstrous creatures from the Far Realm.
Unearthed Tips and Tricks
Monster Variant: Swarm of Toy Soldiers
Origin: Swarm of Books
Lost Features: None
New Features
Increase Size
Weapon Variety. Roll a d6 to determine the swarm's damage type randomly.
D6
1-2. Slashing
3-4. Piercing
4-6. Bludgeoning
Reaction.
Swarming Frenzy. When a creature hits the swarm with an attack, the swarm can use its reaction t rush a target within 10 feet of it, occupying its space to overwhelm the target. The target must make a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be restrained by the swarm. The target can repeat their saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on themselves on a success.
Encounter: Cloak and Dagger
Espionage
Espionage adventures are active, grim scenarios involving spying and perhaps other cloak-and-dagger deeds such as assassination or rescue.
Gain Power
The heroes are on this adventure to gain personal or political power for themselves. They may be looking for an artifact or weapon, or are performing a mission for someone who will reward them with political power (a higher social rank or lands, for instance). If the characters are doing someone else's bidding, you might want to roll again on this section to see what goal the patron will have assigned to the characters.
Mistaken Identity
The hero could be mistaken by one villain for another villain involved in the master plot. This has good comic potential if the hero and missing villain are in fact so similar that no one can tell them apart. (This is even more fun if they turn out to be long-lost twins.)
Geographic Progression
This is the simplest sort of adventure plot. The heroes have an area to investigate or travel through; they have encounters based on where they are. For instance, the traditional dungeon, where monsters are tied to specific rooms or areas. Or, if the heroes are traveling along a narrow valley or through an enchanted forest, they might suffer ambushes and other encounters fixed to various points along their travel plan. The plot, then, is getting to the villain by surviving the intervening obstacle encounters.
Climax Scattered Duels
In this climax, the heroes have gotten to the end of their quest -- they may have broken into, sneaked into, or escaped from imprisonment within the villain's citadel, or have marched into the little town where the villain is holed up -- and they become separated. You can separate them by having traps and tricks break the party apart, by having them see two or three things they must resolve (such as danger to innocents or the appearance of minion villains) pop up simultaneously; they'll have to run in all directions at the same time or suffer failure. Once the party is broken down into bite-sized chunks, you confront each individual or small group with the enemy or enemies he most deserves to face -- his personal enemy, the monster which defeated him before, etc. -- for a grand series of climactic duels.
Magic Item: Amulet of Rot
Wondrous Item (Amulet), Very Rare, Requires Attunement by Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard, Warlock
An amulet that appears to be some kind of bone carved into the shape of a skull, with two glowing eyes, one green, and one black. Select one creature within 30 feet. The creature must be able to see into the eyes of the amulet. That creature must succeed a CON Save DC = 8+Proficiency+Your spellcasting modifier.
This action deals 3d8 Poison and 3d8 Necrotic and reduces the creature's MAX HP by the amount of damage dealt the creature reverts back to normal MAX HP after a long rest. Or half as much on a pass with no HP changes. The amulet starts with 5 charges. Once it reaches 0 charges it regains 1d4+1 charges over a short rest. Every time it hits 0 charges roll a d20 on 1 the amulet turns to dead matter of an unknown source and is unusable.
Dungeon Master Tip: Becoming the Characters' Biggest Fan
When it comes to being a fantastic DM that everyone wants to run their game, there is a myriad of techniques that can help you get there. But, the most successful DMs focus on changing the role of what the DM is. These DMs focus on becoming the character’s biggest fan. What we mean by this is simply putting the character's stories, goals, motives, and ideals at the forefront of the stories in the game. By doing this, you become just as eager as the players themselves to see them engage and push forward with the story. Not only does this make the players excited for the game, but keeps them on the edge of their seat.
Player Tip: Don’t be a Dick Have Imp? Will Travel!
Being a 3rd level Warlock with the chosen Genie patron gives you access to a unique feature known as Bottled Respite. This lets you magically vanish and enter a vessel of your choice, for this, you want to choose a ring with a compartment. This is small and easily portable.
Next, you’re going to want to have the Pact of the Chain Pact Boon. This lets you learn the Find Familiar. When you cast it, your pact allows you to conjure a special form, we are going to use the Imp for this little travel tip.
Now, you can teleport into your ring vessel, have your imp use its shapechanger ability to turn into a raven that can fly. It can carry the ring you’re hiding in, and then fly for as long as you can hide inside your vessel. Did we mention the imp can turn itself and the ring invisible the entire travel time too? So long as it holds concentration. Since you can see and hear through your familiar and guide it with your mind, you become kinda like Wonder Woman and her invisible jet. As if that wasn’t cool enough, at level 10 you can even bring your friends along. Just make sure that their seat belts are buckled and their tray tables are in the forward and in their upright and locked position. Oh, and make sure to charge extra for every backpack.
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