Appendix A: Modifying Backgrounds - Out of the Abyss

Appendix A: Modifying Backgrounds. This appendix provides alternative background features and bonds for player characters, with options that are strongly connected to the NPCs, themes, and events of this adventure. Substitute Features A player can choose one of the following features to replace the feature normally granted by his or her character's background. Optional Feature: Deep Delver You have a knack for making your way in the deep places of the world. You can recall the twists and turns of passageways and tunnels such that you can always retrace your steps underground. You're also well acquainted with foraging and survival in the Underdark, and can determine when sources of food and water are safe to consume. You can always find sufficient food and water for yourself and up to five other people in the Underdark, as long as sustenance is available in the area. Optional Feature: Underdark Experience You are no casual visitor to the Underdark, but instead have spent considerable time there learning its ways. You are familiar with the various races, civilizations, and settlements of the Underdark, as well as its major routes for travel. If you fail an Intelligence check to recall some piece of Underdark lore, you know a source you can consult for the answer unless the DM rules that the lore is unknown. Substitute Bonds This table provides alternative bonds that characters can have instead of the bonds from their backgrounds. 1 You were once lost in the Underdark, and a group of kuo-toa helped you find your way out. You learned that there are kindly folk even among that otherwise mad race, and remain indebted to them for their aid. 2 You once had the opportunity to meet a circle of myconids-the mushroom folk of the Underdark. They offered you shelter and a chance to "meld" using their telepathic spores, and you have yearned ever since to repeat that experience. 3 One of your best friends in your youth was Morista Malkin, a shield dwarf and member of the Emerald...