System	
  Reference	
   Document	
  5.1 	
   60	
  
Gaining Inspiration 
Your	
  GM	
  can	
  choose	
  to	
  give	
  you	
  inspiration	
  for	
  a	
  
variety	
  of	
  reasons.	
  Typically,	
  GMs	
  award	
  it	
  when	
  you	
  
play	
  out	
  your	
  personality	
  traits,	
  give	
  in	
  to	
  the	
  
drawbacks	
  presented	
  by	
  a	
  flaw	
  or	
  bond,	
  and	
  
otherwise	
  portray	
  your	
  character	
  in	
  a	
  compelling	
  
way.	
  Your	
  GM	
  will	
  tell	
  you	
  how	
  you	
  can	
  earn	
  
inspiration	
  in	
  the	
  game. 	
  
	
   You	
  either	
  have	
  inspiration	
  or	
  you	
  don’t —you	
  
can’t	
  stockpile	
  multiple	
  “inspirations”	
  for	
  later	
  use. 	
  
Using Inspiration 
If	
  you	
  have	
  inspiration,	
  you	
  can	
  expend	
  it	
  when	
  you	
  
make	
  an	
  attack	
  roll,	
  saving	
  throw,	
  or	
  ability	
  check.	
  
Spending	
  your	
  inspiration	
  gives	
  you	
  advantage	
  on	
  
that	
  roll.	
  
	
   Additionally,	
  if	
  you	
  have	
  inspiration,	
  you	
  can	
  
reward	
  another	
  player	
  for	
  good	
  roleplaying,	
  clever	
  
thinking,	
  or	
  simply	
  doing	
  something	
  exciting	
  in	
  the	
  
game.	
  When	
  another	
  player	
  character	
  does	
  
something	
  that	
  really	
  contributes	
  to	
  the	
  story	
  in	
  a	
  
fun	
  and	
  interesting	
  way,	
  you	
  can	
  give	
  up	
  your	
  
inspiration	
  to	
  give	
  that	
  character	
  inspiration.	
  
Backgrounds 
Every	
  story	
  has	
  a	
  beginning.	
  Your	
  character’s	
  
background	
  reveals	
  where	
  you	
  came	
  from,	
  how	
  you	
  
became	
  an	
  adventurer,	
  and	
  your	
  place	
  in	
  the	
  world.	
  
Your	
  fighter	
  might	
  have	
  been	
  a	
  courageous	
  knight	
  or	
  
a	
  grizzled	
  soldier.	
  Your	
  wizard	
  could	
  have	
  been	
  a	
  
sage	
  or	
  an	
  artisan .	
  Your	
  rogue	
  might	
  have	
  gotten	
  by	
  
as	
  a	
  guild	
  thief	
  or	
  commanded	
  audiences	
  as	
  a	
  jester. 	
  
	
   Choosing	
  a	
  background	
  provides	
  you	
  with	
  
important	
  story	
  cues	
  about	
  your	
  character’s	
  identity.	
  
The	
  most	
  important	
  question	
  to	
  ask	
  about	
  your	
  
background	
  is	
   what	
  changed?	
  Why	
  did	
  you	
  stop	
  
doing	
  whatever	
  your	
  background	
  describes	
  and	
  start	
  
adventuring?	
  Where	
  did	
  you	
  get	
  the	
  money	
  to	
  
purchase	
  your	
  starting	
  gear,	
  or,	
  if	
  you	
  come	
  from	
  a	
  
wealthy	
  background,	
  why	
  don’t	
  you	
  have	
   more	
  
money?	
  How	
  did	
  you	
  learn	
  the	
  skills	
  of	
  your	
  clas s?	
  
What	
  sets	
  you	
  apart	
  from	
  ordinary	
  people	
  who	
  share	
  
your	
  background?	
  
	
   The	
  sample	
  background	
  presented	
  here 	
  provides	
  
both	
  concrete	
  benefits	
  (features,	
  proficiencies,	
  and	
  
languages)	
  and	
  roleplaying	
  suggestions. 	
  
Proficiencies 
Each	
  background	
  gives	
  a	
  charact er	
  proficiency	
  in	
  
two	
  skills	
  (described	
  in	
  “Using	
  Ability	
  Scores”). 	
  
	
   In	
  addition,	
  most	
  backgrounds	
  give	
  a	
  character	
  
proficiency	
  with	
  one	
  or	
  more	
  tools	
  (detailed	
  in	
  
“Equipment”). 	
  
	
   If	
  a	
  character	
  would	
  gain	
  the	
  same	
  proficiency	
  
from	
  two	
  different	
  sources,	
  he 	
  or	
  she	
  can	
  choose	
  a	
  
different	
  proficiency	
  of	
  the	
  same	
  kind	
  (skill	
  or	
  tool)	
  
instead.	
  
Languages 
Some	
  backgrounds	
  also	
  allow	
  characters	
  to	
  learn	
  
additional	
  languages	
  beyond	
  those	
  given	
  by	
  race.	
  See	
  
“Languages.”	
  
Equipment 
Each	
  background	
  provides	
  a	
  package	
  of 	
  starting	
  
equipment.	
  If	
  you	
  use	
  the	
  optional	
  rule	
  to	
  spend	
  coin	
  
on	
  gear,	
  you	
  do	
  not	
  receive	
  the	
  starting	
  equipment	
  
from	
  your	
  background. 	
  
Suggested Characteristics 
A	
  background	
  contains	
  suggested	
  personal	
  
characteristics	
  based	
  on	
  your	
  background.	
  You	
  can	
  
pick	
  characteristics,	
  roll	
  dice	
  to	
  determine	
  them	
  
randomly,	
  or	
  use	
  the	
  suggestions	
  as	
  inspiration	
  for	
  
characteristics	
  of	
  your	
  own	
  creation. 	
  
Customizing a Background 
You	
  might	
  want	
  to	
  tweak	
  some	
  of	
  the	
  features	
  of	
  a	
  
background	
  so	
  it	
  better	
  fits	
  your	
  character 	
  or	
  the	
  
campaign	
  setting.	
  To	
  customize	
  a	
  background,	
  you	
  
can	
  replace	
  one	
  feature	
  with	
  any	
  other	
  one,	
  choose	
  
any	
  two	
  skills,	
  and	
  choose	
  a	
  total	
  of	
  two	
  tool	
  
proficiencies	
  or	
  languages	
  from	
  the	
  sample	
  
backgrounds.	
  You	
  can	
  either	
  use	
  the	
  equipment	
  
package	
  from	
  your	
  background	
  or	
  spend	
  coin	
  on	
  
gear	
  as	
  described	
  in	
  the	
  equipment	
  section.	
  (If	
  you	
  
spend	
  coin,	
  you	
  can’t	
  also	
  take	
  the	
  equipment	
  
package	
  suggested	
  for	
  your	
  class.)	
  Finally,	
  choose	
  
two	
  personality	
  traits,	
  one	
  ideal,	
  one	
  bond,	
  and	
  one	
  
flaw.	
  If	
  you	
  can’t	
  f ind	
  a	
  feature	
  that	
  matches	
  your	
  
desired	
  background,	
  work	
  with	
  your	
  GM	
  to	
  create	
  
one.	
  
Acolyte 
You	
  have	
  spent	
  your	
  life	
  in	
  the	
  service	
  of	
  a	
  temple	
  to	
  
a	
  specific	
  god	
  or	
  pantheon	
  of	
  gods.	
  You	
  act	
  as	
  an	
  
intermediary	
  between	
  the	
  realm	
  of	
  the	
  holy	
  and	
  the	
  
mortal	
  world,	
  performing	
  sacred	
  rites	
  and	
  offering	
  
sacrifices	
  in	
  order	
  to	
  conduct	
  worshipers	
  into	
  the	
  
presence	
  of	
  the	
  divine.	
  You	
  are	
  not	
  necessarily	
  a	
  
cleric—performing	
  sacred	
  rites	
  is	
  not	
  the	
  same	
  thing	
  
as	
  channeling	
  divine	
  power. 	
  