Many adventurers came from a specific background giving them advantages in some instances. If a player is familiar with 3.5, they will understand that 3PS backgrounds compile the majority of the familiar skills into groupings. Instead of assigning skills to a class, DMs assign skills to a background. These skills can be shuffled around to make several different backgrounds. Here is a compiled listing of some that I use:
- Aristocrat - Hereditary rulers and courtesans. There are many types of aristocrats. Some abuse their powers. Others are heroic examples. They tend to be capable with diplomatic endeavors and seem to be in the know when it comes to their lands. Characters from this background will have varying starting benefits. I usually allow the character to have twice the starting gold and 1-2 NPC henchmen. Depending on the game and setting, the DM can add additional benefits, like owning land and keeps, etc.
- Artisan (Crafter) - A middle class background that allows the character to have craft knowledge for many types of basic items. Artisan crafters are somewhat capable in crafting many different types of commodities. As DM, I allow characters with this background to have basic knowledge of how things are made, what kind of materials are used, and where to find them. And I give the players a Diff50 roll for making basic items. Features will allow Artisan Crafters to build more valuable items. They start the game with a few basic craft tools.
- Artisan (Performer) - These characters come from all walks of life and have a burning desire to get lots of attention. Singers, Musicians, Jugglers, etc., they all have a basic understanding of how to get the world to take heed of them. They will also be widely traveled and may have some useful knowledge of places, both wondrous and/or foul. If an Artisan Performer warns you that they have seen some mystery somewhere, chances are they have. Or have not. They also tend to make up great stories. I allow these characters to start with a tool of the trade.
- Crew - Adventurers piloting a vessel to far away places. There are many types of crews. Seafarers sail surface and subsurface ships. Astrofarers navigate the voids of space. Skypilots move through the atmosphere on airborne galleons. The crew is highly subject to game-world themes. The common link for these characters is that they understand the value of teamwork in piloting a large vessel and have experience carrying out on-board duties. Characters that come from a crew background are proficient with the workings of large transport vehicles and can use navigation tools to plot courses. They can easily determine chart location and sometimes can link their position with off world sites. They are masters at spinning a good tale. Employers are always looking for a crew. Signing up to crew a ship is a routine task.
- Farmer - Country hayseeds that know everything there is to know about agriculture and animal husbandry. And what they do not know, they reckon there is not much need to know it anyhow. Farmers are not afraid of hard work and can offer the party some interesting solutions to dungeoney obstacles. They are very handy with all domesticated beasts of burden. As DM, I allow the farmer to come into play with a mount. Just an older, more used mount.
- Drover - These characters move domesticated livestock from place to place. Like an Artisan Performer, they will have come across some strange things on occasion and they typically like to tell you about it near the campfire after a long day's ride. They develop a love for the outdoors and the means to drive their herds through thick and thin. They tend to form a bond with their mount and I allow these characters to have a standard mount at the start of the game. Drovers seem to find a way to risk life and limb to get the task done. They like danger and don't back down easy. They also think that their mount is the fastest one around and are likely to try and prove it somehow.
- Mason - A builder with purpose. Masons have a mission to build a structure wherever they go. It could be a dwelling, a hospital, a temple, a fortress, a bridge. Whatever can be designed and constructed they will be interested in it. They also are great architectural historians and can read stone work like a book. I allow a broad range of building code knowledge for players that choose this background. If a structure has been built or can be built, the hand of the mason will always be apparent. Masons begin the game with a building permit from the local city council.
- Merchant - For the character that buys and sells everything. These characters travel about peddling goods or setting up business venues throughout the lands. Middle class merchants run general stores in town, while wealthy merchants will manage fleets and caravans. The many travels of merchants demand they protect their goods and they will often employ retainers to protect their stores. Merchants also use many beasts of burdens to move their wares and can handle these animals quite professionally. I allow merchants to start the game with a crate/cask of a common product. Plus, I give the merchant a bonus language.
- Nomad - Hunters, gatherers, and tomes of unusual knowledge. The nomad calls no place their home. Free as the wind and wanderers all of them, nomads can be found worldwide and often where you least expect to see anyone. Nomads are not hermits and usually are found with a party or with their traveling family. Some nomad families are notorious robbers and travel the merchant routes like hungry wolves. Others tend to be overly friendly and hospitable. Nomads are widely known to be the major source of rumors throughout the world and beyond. Nomads are great with improvised tools and weapons. They also have a good eye for finding the oddest thing out there. I allow the nomad to start out with one small strange object that no one seems to know anything about.
- Pauper - Those homeless that grew up without much purpose other than to survive. Paupers are street folk. They represent the poor in the society and are found in all settlements of the world. But what a pauper lacks in wealth they make up by gaining a healthy knowledge of the city. Large cities usually have a band of paupers running the underground complex of tunnels and sewers. They always have useful information and they don't mind selling that info. Paupers are either born poor or they give up their treasures to become paupers. Either way, all paupers have a hidden secret. Paupers hide this secret, or they spend their time trying to uncover it. I usually consort with the player to come up with a good secret, but I choose the secret for the player and let them uncover it as the story unfolds. Paupers start out with 25GP instead of 50GP.
- Soldier - Discipline and honor define this background. This is for characters that understand the meaning of leading and following. Rank structure is important. The soldier responds to commands and has no problem giving them to subordinates. A soldier's honor rests upon mission accomplishment and taking care of their companions. They never leave an adventurer behind and try to avoid senseless killing. Some soldiers, through their actions, will become dishonorable and disreputable. Such soldiers often form mercenary companies. Soldiers have a vast network of contacts. They always seem to bump into someone that they knew in the last war.
- Scholar - Mobile libraries, engineers, and mentors, the scholar is well respected throughout the lands. Scholars plan and execute. They tinker around with weird gadgets and gizmos. They often travel about looking for historical information and they form scholarly societies with a common goal to preserve their findings. They are capable with ancient and modern blueprints and have a philosophical nature, relating all things to some kind of common hardly explainable theory. As DM, I tend to give the scholar a wide variety of knowledge, and I also allow the scholar to have some ability with technical application. Scholars begin play with a scroll written in a legible but dead language.
Diff50
The major difference from 3.5 Skills and 3PS is the skill check. In 3.5, there is a never ending game of rolling to see if a player passes a bunch of skill checks. In these house rules it is better to avoid rolling for routine difficulty obstacles and allow the players success. I use the Difficulty 50 guideline. Or Diff50.
Diff50 is percentile based and can be resolved using whatever dice system is in play. Basically, when a character faces a challenge that the DM determines is more difficult than routine, they must pass the check by rolling higher than 50.
The DM may also determine that the challenge is difficult by greater increments. I usually add increments of 10% depending on in-game modifiers. Plus, I allow modifiers to the dice roll for Ability bonuses. Usually 5% per point above 12. As the DM, you have the right to assign different Abilities to the challenge at hand. For example, a magus activating a weather probe on Mt Haznel would use his Scholarly intelligence and wisdom to properly deploy the probe, making it a routine action. However, if the magus happens to be bound fast with ropes, he might have to use some creative footwork, making it a Diff50 check with a bonus to the dice for having high dexterity...if he has one. Lets say he has a 13 Dex. He would role success with a roll of 46 on the percentile dice. (46 + 5>50)
Tools and gear used for specific tasks are factored in when determining whether a skill becomes routine or not. Running a river, for instance, may be routine for a Seafarer, but becomes a little more difficult when you take away their oars. Additionally, magic items specifically created for use with these backgrounds will almost always allow a task to be determined routine. After all, they are magic.
Backgrounds are not used to resolve combat. For combat, 3PS uses Features for dice modifiers.