Water Genasi, fluid and enigmatic, their choice of background remaining paramount in navigating a world filled with mystery and power.
Prepare to delve into the depths of waters and harness the elemental forces as we unveil the optimal backgrounds for your Water Genasi in D&D 5e.
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 Water Genasi
5. Sailor
Skill Proficiencies – Perception, Athletics
Tool Proficiencies – Vehicles (water), Navigator’s tools
Languages – None
Equipment – A set of common clothes, a lucky charm such as a small stone with a hole in the center or a rabbit foot (or you may roll for a random trinket on the Trinkets table in the Player’s Handbook on chapter 5), 50 feet of silk rope, a belaying pin (club), and a pouch with 10GP.
Why the Background?
Sailors have the Ship’s Passage feature, allowing free passage on a sailing ship for you and your companions. The reasons you are allowed on the ship vary, but the route the ship takes will not meet your every need, as it is a favor.
Furthermore, your DM will determine how long it takes you to get to your destination. You and your companions are also expected to assist the crew throughout the voyage.
Water Genasi are tied to the waters, so much so that many captains enjoy having them on their vessels, assisting with the currents, and reading the ocean.
4. Fisher
Skill Proficiencies – Survival, History
Languages – Choose one
Equipment – A set of traveler’s clothes, a favorite fishing lure or oiled leather wading boots, a fishing tackle, a net, and a belt pouch with 10GP.
Why the Fisher?
Harvest the Water can be vital in a water-based campaign, especially if you make it more like Outlander in the sense that you can fish for food from bodies of water.
Whether they do it to feed themselves, make a living, or as a sport, Water Genasi make great fishermen, as they use their connection to the water to assist them in landing the best catches.
3. Courtier
Skill Proficiencies – Persuasion, Insight
Tool Proficiencies – None
Languages – Choose two
Equipment – Set of fine clothes and a pouch with 5GP.
Why the Courtier?
Courtiers have the Court Functionary feature, granting you knowledge of bureaucracies and access to records of governments and noble courts. You know who to ask for favors.
Water Genasi can prove vital to a court relying on large amounts of crops, and because of their charismatic nature, they can easily influence noblemen.
2. 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 it, 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.
Water Genasi already share a link with elemental magic, making it easier for them to understand and learn about even more magic in the Material Plane.
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.
Water Genasi are a lot like Tritons in the sense that they feel comfortable around water and know how to survive in the surrounding area of wilderness.
Final Thoughts
As we wrap up our exploration of the top five backgrounds for Water Genasi characters in D&D 5e, it’s evident that each option provides a unique opportunity for character depth and storytelling.
Whether immersing oneself in the natural world as an Outlander or delving into arcane mysteries as a Sage, players have a diverse array of choices to shape their Water Genasi characters’ identities.