3 Fantasy Character Backgrounds

As a follow up to my roleplaying tips for beginners, I figured I would provide some character backgrounds which can be used in any fantasy setting . Enjoy...

The Poor Bastard

You left home at a very young age, your parents could barely afford to feed you and never really cared enough to give you much when they could. You lived on the streets in a big city, it was difficult at first. There were many times you thought you were going to die and wondered if you should try to go home. But you began to get the hang of life on the streets and realised it wasn't so hard after all.

by ReneAigner

You fell in with one of the many street gangs in the city, they took in a lot of runaways  like you. They taught you to steal and sneak and as you grew older how to kill. A boy who joined the gang at the same time as you quickly became your best friend, he had a very similar story as you, most of the runaways did. In your late teens another gang tried to take your territory and a full blown war began between your gang and this other.

One day you and your best friend were captured by this rival gang, you were beaten and tortured for information before being slung into the river to die, somehow you survived but your friend wasn't so lucky. Returning to your gang you find out that they set you up as scapegoats for the rival gang and intended for you to die. Finding yourself again with a family that didn't want you, you ran and ran until decided if no one wanted you then you would prove you don't need them anyway. So you turned to the life of adventuring, easy money for those who had the skill and you certainly do.

Silver Spoon

You were born into a rich merchant family, as a child you travelled a lot, moving from city to city while your family sold their wares. Your Father made sure you always had a tutor on hand to teach you writing, reading and numbers as well as all about the different areas you travelled to and most importantly about his business.

by Remainaery

You were a smart child, but never had much interest in your family's business. This caused your Father to become very distant with you, favouring your younger sister instead. You were 10 when you first ran away from your chaperon. For the first time in your life you felt free, you would go to the docks and watch the sailors, in fact that's all you did at first, watch. As you got older you began to talk to those very same sailors, doing odd jobs for them, delivering messages and the like. Soon you were fluent in how cities really worked, behind all the shining signs and grinning merchants, you saw the real world and you loved it.

One day your Father gave you a choice, get involved in the business or you will be disinherited in favour of your Sister. You chose disinheritance, you had been wanting to leave for a while and this was the perfect opportunity. After saying your goodbyes you left in search of one of the contacts you had made over the years, you knew he could get you a job and he did. He handed you a poster, a wanted poster. It seemed a group of Goblins had been terrorizing local farms and the Duke had put a bounty on their heads. Your contact introduced you to a small group of people who seemed happy to have an extra pair of hands and together you killed the Goblins. After that you knew what your new job was to be.

A lot of potential

You were born to a simple family of farmers, they never had a lot but they loved you and you never wanted for much. When you were barely old enough to talk it became clear that you had an aptitude for magic. Your parents noticed odd things happen around you, and as you got older you could somewhat control it. Your parents told you to keep it a secret, scared of what may happen to you if anyone found out. But despite those warnings you would often show off to your friends and one day a stranger saw you.

by Revolution4u

Two days after you had been seen there was a knock at the door to your farm late in the night. You were in bed and couldn't make out what was being said, but you knew your Father was angry and that your Mother was crying. Before you knew what to do you were hurried out of bed by your mother, quickly dressed and marched onto a carriage by a stranger, with no idea what was happening.

You were taken to a religious order who thought you had potential and trained you in magic. They taught you a lot, gave you more education than you could have ever hoped for as a farm boy, despite that you still despised them for taking you away from your family and you escaped the temple  at 15 with the intention of going home. but with no idea where you were and not even entirely sure where it was you lived you become a con artist, using your magical abilities and educated mind to trick people out of their money. Maybe now you will con the wrong people and offer your services to save your life, or somehow manage to get caught up in some grand plan to save the world.

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