In a world where the thundering hooves of Centaurs echo through the untamed wilderness, selecting the right background is pivotal for a harmonious blend of narrative depth and strategic advantage.
This guide leads you through the verdant meadows, presenting the five best backgrounds meticulously crafted to resonate with the wild spirit and untamed prowess of Centaurs.
Contents
What Are Backgrounds in D&D 5e?
Backgrounds are more than simple stat boosts in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. They reveal where your character came from, why you became an adventurer, and your place in the world.
Before choosing your Background, ask yourself a few questions:
- What was I before I became an adventurer?
- Why did I stop doing what my Background explains and become an adventurer?
- Where did I get the money to buy my starting equipment?
- Where did I learn the skills used in my class?
- What’s different about me compared to others with the same Background?
Best Backgrounds for Centaurs
5. Cloistered Scholar
Skill Proficiencies – History, plus one among Religion, Nature, and Arcana
Tool Proficiencies – None
Languages – Choose two
Equipment – The scholar’s robes of your cloister, a borrowed book on the subject of your current study, a writing kit (a pouch with a small penknife, folded parchment, a bottle of ink, and a quill), and a pouch with 10GP.
Why the Cloistered Scholar?
Centaurs can often become knowledge-based characters, especially because of a Centaur’s intellect, making them good spellcasters.
Library Access will grant you access to many archives in major libraries across the land. You also have connections with your cloister’s bureaucracy and personnel, and you will most likely gain preferential treatment in many libraries in the realm.
4. Folk Hero
Skill Proficiencies – Animal Handling, Survival
Tool Proficiencies – Vehicles (land), One type of Artisan’s tools
Languages – None
Equipment – One set of Artisan’s tools (you may choose), an iron pot, a set of common clothes, a shovel, and a pouch with 10GP.
Why the Folk Hero?
Rustic Hospitality will be your main ability as a Folk Hero, playing the role of people’s hero and an event that defines you as such.
With Rustic Hospitality, you gain the favor of common folk around you, shielding you from danger, though their lives will not be risked for your cause.
Centaurs are good-natured and will usually come to the aid of anyone who beckons it, making them the perfect candidate for the title of Folk Hero.
3. Entertainer
Skill Proficiencies – Performance, Acrobatics
Tool Proficiencies – One type of musical instrument and a Disguise kit
Languages – None
Equipment – One musical instrument you choose, a costume, the favor of an admirer (trinket, love letter, or lock of hair), and a pouch with 15GP.
Why the Entertainer?
Centaurs make good Bards and Sorcerers because of their Fey heritage, and with that comes high Charisma and an ideal chance of becoming an Entertainer.
Having By Popular Demand can make acquiring lodging and food much easier for your party as they travel from town to town on their adventure.
2. Acolyte
Skill Proficiencies – Religion, Insight
Tool Proficiencies – None
Languages – Choose two
Equipment – One holy symbol (gift to you when you entered the priesthood), a set of common clothes, a prayer book or prayer wheel, 5 sticks of incense, vestments, and a pouch with 15GP.
Why the Acolyte?
Centaurs can make good Paladins, so when combined with an Acolytle’s Shelter of Faith, you’ll never need a shelter again.
Note: It might be interesting to combine their Fey heritage and the divine teachings for an Acolyte.
1. Outlander
Skill Proficiencies – Survival, Athletics
Tool Proficiencies – One type of musical instrument
Languages – One you choose
Equipment – A trophy from an animal you killed, a set of traveler’s clothes, a hunting trap, a staff, and a pouch with 10GP.
Why the Outlander?
Outlander works for almost any class you choose as a Centaur, and because of your link to nature and ease of movement, you’ll make an even better scout.
Not to mention that you can easily find water and food, enough to feed up to 5 party members.
Final Thoughts
Whether embracing local people as a Folk Hero, the devout path of an Acolyte, the merriment of an Entertainer, or the untamed freedom of an Outlander, each background contributes a unique hue to the canvas of your Centaur’s narrative.
Unearth the depths of your character’s history, allowing the chosen background to seamlessly weave into their majestic existence.