As you dive into the expansive world of D&D 5e, selecting the right background for your Firbolg character is crucial for a truly immersive experience.
In this guide, we’ll unveil the top five backgrounds perfectly tailored for Firbolgs, ensuring a seamless blend of role-playing depth and strategic advantages.
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 Firbolgs
5. Hermit
Skill Proficiencies – Religion, Medicine
Tool Proficiencies – Herbalism kit
Languages – Choose one
Equipment – A set of common clothes, a winter blanket, a scroll case stuffed full of notes from your studies or prayers, a Herbalism kit, and 5 GP.
Why the Hermit?
A Hermit lives a Life of Seclusion, but this seclusion resulted in a campaign-changing discovery.
Whether you picked up a cursed artifact, discovered a secret of the universe, or befriended a god, anything is possible when you’re a Hermit Firbolg.
Note: Firbolgs are close to nature and might have gone into seclusion for a specific reason, though that reason is for you to come up with.
4. Giant Foundling
Skill Proficiencies – Survival, Intimidation
Languages – Giant and one other you choose
Equipment – A set of traveler’s clothes, a backpack, a small stone or sprig that reminds you of home, and a pouch with 10GP.
Why the Giant Foundling?
Along with gaining the Strike of the Giants feat, Giant Foundling Firbolgs also gets to come up with an interesting story revealing why they were raised by giants.
Firbolgs and Giants are distant relatives, so you can add that knowledge to your background if you wish.
3. Knight of the Order
Skill Proficiencies – Persuasion, plus one among Religion, Nature, History, and Arcana, as appropriate for your order
Tool Proficiencies – One type of gaming set or a musical instrument
Languages – Choose one
Equipment – A seal representing your place or rank in the order, a set of traveler’s clothes, a banner, a signet, and a pouch with 10GP.
Why the Knight of the Order?
Knight of the Order gives your Firbolg Knightly Regard, meaning you and your party will receive food, healing, shelter, and, at times, physical aid.
Firbolgs with the Knight of the Order background will be drawn to natural orders rather than superficial ones, as they respect and hold nature above all else.
2. 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?
Cloistered Scholar gives your Firbolg Library Access, granting you entry to libraries of vast knowledge and ways to navigate through bureaucratic connections.
Firbolgs are naturally intelligent, making them seek knowledge to broaden their intelligence and help them understand everything about the multiverse.
1. Far Traveler
Skill Proficiencies – Perception, Insight
Tool Proficiencies – One musical instrument or gaming set you choose (most likely something native to your homeland)
Languages – Choose one
Equipment – Set of traveler’s clothes, one gaming set or musical instrument you are proficient with, a small piece of jewelry worth 10GP in the style of your homeland’s craftsmanship, poorly wrought maps from your homeland depicting where you are in Faerûn, and a pouch with 5GP.
Why the Far Traveler?
Far Traveler gives you the All Eyes on You feature, marking you as foreign and garnering attention from everyone, including commoners, scholars, nobles, merchants, princes, and kings.
Firbolgs are extremely rare and are thought to be extinct by many civilized nations, so when a Far Traveler Firbolg enters a town, you can expect there to be bewilderment and commotion.
Final Thoughts
Whether you were raised by Giants as a Giant Foundling, intend to change the multiverse with newfound knowledge as a Hermit, or came from distant lands as a Far Traveler, remember that your character’s background is the canvas upon which their story unfolds.
Choose wisely, delve into the nuances of your chosen background, and let the rich history of your Firbolg’s past shape their present journey in the boundless realms of D&D.