Backgrounds

This page lists some backgrounds that are particularly suitable for Kingmaker. If you've got another background in mind that's fine - it may still be worth thinking about one of these options as a non-mechanical aspect of your character's backstory (e.g. maybe you're an Acolyte from one of the House Surtova). I'm also happy to work out custom backgrounds or to tweak existing ones if there's nothing that quite works for you.

Aldori Sword Scion

You have lived all your life in and around the city of Restov, growing up on tales of Baron Sirian Aldori and the exploits of your home city’s heroic and legendary swordlords. Perhaps one of your family members was an Aldori swordlord, you have a contact among their members, or you have dreamed since childhood of joining. Regardless, you idolize the heroes, styles, and philosophies of the Aldori and have sought to mimic their vaunted art. Before you can petition to join their ranks, however, you feel that you must test your mettle. Joining an expedition into the Stolen Lands seems like a perfect way to improve your skills and begin a legend comparable to that of Baron Aldori.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Strength or Dexterity, and one is a free ability boost.

You’re trained in your choice of the Acrobatics or Athletics skill. You gain a skill feat: Cat Fall if you chose Acrobatics or Quick Jump if you chose Athletics. You’re also trained in the Dueling Lore skill.

Aspiring River Monarch

New realms rise constantly in the River Kingdoms, and you intend to lead one of them. Making your reign last, however, will require both strength and grace.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Wisdom or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You’re trained in the Society skill and the Politics Lore skill. You gain the Courtly Graces skill feat.

Brevoyan Noble or Bastard

To the common folk, the life of a noble seems one of idyllic luxury, but growing up as a noble or member of the aspiring gentry, you know the reality: a noble’s lot is obligation and intrigue. Whether you seek to escape your duties by adventuring or to better your station, you have traded silks and pageantry for an adventurer’s life.

You claim a legitimate connection to one of Brevoy’s noble families. If you aren’t human, you were likely adopted by one of Brevoy’s nobles or were instead a favored servant or even a childhood friend of a noble scion. Pick one of the following noble families:

• Garess (Issia). Your family's lands lie in the Golushkin Mountanis, and you have a long history of association with the dwarves of that land. Your family motto is "Strong as the Mountains".
• Lebeda (Rostland). Your family's lands lie next to Lake Reykal, and your family history is one of trade along the lake shores. Your family motto is "Success through Grace".
• Lodovka (Issia). Your family's lands lie next to the massive Lake of Mists and Veils, and your family's wealth and power derives from their mastery of the lakes' waters. Your family motto is "The Waters, Our Fields".
• Medvyed (Rostland). Your family's lands encompass the primordial Gronzi Forest, and you have a deep respect for the wilderness and the creatures that dwell their. Your family motto is "Endurance Overcomes All".
• Orlovsky (Issia). Your family's were staunch allies of the vanished kings of Brevoy, and have yet to commit to one of the houses scrambling to replace him, preferring to remain in your mountain strongholds. Your family motto is "High Above".
• Surtova (Issia). Your family also holds lands alongside the Lake of Mists and Veils and are mastesr of politics. Due to previous marriages with the vanished house of Rogarvia, you've claimed the regency (for now, at least). Your family motto is "Ours is the Right".

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Intelligence or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You’re trained in the Society skill and your choice of the Geneology Lore or Heraldy Lore skill. You gain the Courtly Graces skill feat.

Alternatively, you might be a bastard of one of the noble houses. This is only available to human ancestry characters. If you're a bastard, instead of the standard benefits of the Brevoyan Noble background, you can be trained in Intimidation, and gain the Intimidating Glare skill feat.

Brigand

You hail from the River Kingdoms or the more lawless reaches of Brevoy. Life has been hard for you. Perhaps your parents and siblings were crooks and con artists, or maybe your rough, lonely life lead you to fall in with thieves and worse. You know how to ambush travelers, bully traders, avoid the law, and camp where no one might find you. Recently, you’ve run into some trouble, either with the law or with other bandits, and you’re looking to get away to somewhere no one would ever think to look for you. An expedition into the rugged wilderness seems like a perfect way to lie low until the trouble blows over.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Dexterity or Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost.

You’re trained in the Stealth skill and the Underworld Lore skill. You gain the Terrain Stalker skill feat.

Issian Partisan

You grew up among the northern houses of Brevoy in old Issia, a land of misty shores and harsh hill lands, of snowy vistas and violet-hued mountains.

Steeped in the cultural legacy of pirates and smugglers, you rely on your cleverness and charm as you make your way throughout the world.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Intelligence or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You’re trained in the Deception skill and the Underworld Lore skill. You gain the Charming Liar skill feat.

Pioneer

You have long lived along the southern border of Brevoy, in the shadow of wilderness known as the Stolen Lands. Life has been hard, but through hunting, trapping, trading, and coaxing crops from the freezing earth, you’ve learned how to survive on the rugged frontier. With the wilderness ever at your door, you’ve also learned much about its denizens and the wild creatures that lurk in that unwholesome land.

Your family might even claim holdings in the Stolen Lands, with elders telling stories of being driven from or robbed of a lost ancestral homestead, fertile farmlands, bountiful orchards, or a hidden mining claim.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Constitution or Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost.

You’re trained in the Survival skill and a Lore skill related to the terrain you grew up in (either Forest, Hills, Plains or Swamp Lore). You gain the Assurance skill feat with Survival.

Rostland Partisan

You grew up among the southern houses of Brevoy in old Rostland, a land of dense forests and rolling plains, of crystalline rivers and endless sapphire skies.

You come from hearty stock and were raised with simple sensibilities of hard work winning well-deserved gains, the importance of charity and compassion, and the value of personal and familial honor. Yours is the country of the Aldori swordlords and the heroes who refused to bend before the armies of a violent conqueror.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Constitution or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.

You’re trained in the Diplomacy skill and the Politics Lore skill. You gain the Group Impression skill feat.