Crafting a compelling story for your Lizardfolk adventurer begins with selecting the perfect background. In this guide, we present a curated list seamlessly aligned with their primal and adaptable nature.
Join us as we traverse the realms of D&D, discovering backgrounds that will shape your Lizardfolk into an agile force, both in the heart of the wilderness and in their unfolding personal life.
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 Lizardfolk
5. Uthgardt Tribe Member
Skill Proficiencies – Survival, Athletics
Tool Proficiencies – One type of artisan’s tools or musical instrument
Languages – Choose one
Equipment – A set of traveler’s clothes, a totemic token or set of tattoos marking your loyalty to Uthgar and your tribal totem, a hunting trap, and a pouch with 10GP.
Why the Uthgardt Tribe Member?
Uthgardt Tribe Members have the Uthgardt Heritage, giving you knowledge of your tribe’s territory and the terrain and natural resources of the north.
You can easily find twice as much food and water as would normally be found there, and you can call upon the folk allied to your tribe, like druid circles, Harpers, nomadic elves, and priests devoted to the gods of the First Circle.
4. Sage
Skill Proficiencies – History, Arcana
Tool Proficiencies – None
Languages – Two you choose
Equipment – A set of common clothes, a letter from a dead colleague posing a question you haven’t been able to answer, a bottle of ink, a small knife, a quill, and a pouch with 10GP.
Why the Sage?
Sages have the Researcher feature, allowing them to effortlessly recall information and lore.
If they do not know the information, they will know where to find the information, such as in a university, scriptorium, or some other place of knowledge.
However, some knowledge is extremely difficult to obtain and can take a long time to unlock or force you to perform questionable actions.
Lizardfolk hold more secrets than most races in the Material Realm, making their spellcasters all the more prone to becoming Sages.
3. 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?
Acolytes receive the Shelter of the Faithful feature, granting you access to resources of temples and sanctuaries sharing your faith.
This allows you to receive free healing, food, and stay, though you’ll have to compensate them for any materials used in spells.
Lizardfolk are old creatures and mostly serve nature deities, which can make them good Paladins (their natural durability is a plus).
2. 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.
Lizardfolk have lived in the Material Plane since its creation and are one of the oldest races to exist. Therefore, they are rarely seen and are utterly foreign to nearly all civilized folk.
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?
Outlanders have the Wanderer feature, giving them an excellent memory for geography and maps. Allowing them to always recall the general layout of settlements, terrain, and features around them.
They can also find fresh water and food for themselves and up to five others every day if the land offers water, small game, berries, and other things.
Lizardfolk are only found in the deepest parts of the unforgotten, living in the most remote areas of the Material Realm and thriving without concern for modern technology.
Final Thoughts
Whether your Lizardfolk character fights for a divine being as an Acolyte, embraces the primal essence of the Outlander, or delves into arcane mysteries as a Sage, your chosen background will show what your character had done before becoming an adventurer.
May your adventures be compelling, and may your character’s background contribute layers of richness to the evolving narrative of their existence.