Long Night Campaign Wiki: Backgrounds

Backgrounds (Incomplete)

During the character creation process, players will randomly determine a background for their characters. A background denotes the character’s social station and livelihood prior to pursuing a lifestyle relating to one of adventuring classes.

A background does not limit the character’s future in the campaign world, nor does it restrict the character class selected by the player. Additionally, a background never dictates a player’s actions in the game, although players themselves may optionally take such backgrounds into consideration.

Mechanically, the function of a character background determines:

1. additional starting equipment,
2. fundamental background knowledge, lore, or basic training possessed by the character prior to adopting one of the adventuring classes, and
3. one or two unique abilities related to the respective background.

While a background inevitably provides some rudimentary information about a character’s past, a character background is not intended to create a backstory. That is, a background is not a player invitation to create elaborate game fiction about the character and/or NPCs purported to have occurred in the campaign world prior to the start of play. Players do not have the authority to decide the past actions (or fate) of any characters in the campaign world not under their control. All aspects of game fiction, if you will, proceed directly from player actions and engagement in the Referee’s campaign world during play, not by creative player fiat outside of play.

Background Table

Roll 3d6 and compare the sum total to determine the character’s background.

Updated: 2/07/2024

Return to Long Night Wiki Main Page