Talk:Earthling (5e Background)

Just as a heads up, the choice of equipment, particularly the firearms, was purposely overpowered. I intended for it to be balanced out by the gameplay elements of the background's feature. Since that's gone, the equipment will probably need to be edited as well.

BTW, my last edit's content comes from an old homebrew background I wrote up for myself. I figured, since I saw one remarkable similar being created on the wiki, I could contribute what I already wrote. I'm working on other thingies right now, so don't expect more edits from me. Spruce up the page as you like. Oportet (talk) 17:58, 16 December 2016 (MST)

I don't see how giving players proficiency with weapons which aren't even available in a normal game somehow counterbalances their massive damage output. If anything, it makes them even more ludicrously imbalanced. The features and equipment load out looked like something more appropriate for a class based on this premise. --Kydo (talk) 18:29, 16 December 2016 (MST)

Sorry for the late reply. The fact that they're not available in a normal game is the balancing feature. If there's no guns, then there's no ammo, and you can't use a weapon if don't have ammo for it. You stuck with the bullets you bring with you, and once those run out, your ludicrously imbalanced weapon turns into a fancy club. They're like potions; if you had an infinite supply, they absolutely would be overpowered, but that's way they're single use. The catch I was introducing was the permanent disadvantage on history checks. Eventually, the ammo would run out, but the penalty would remain. You would sacrifice a skill for a proficiency that becomes useless once you fire off all your ammo. There was also the stipulation where you can't roll for gold, which (when combined with the fact that this background didn't grant any starting money) leaves little choice of first-level equipment. Besides the bare essentials, you would have to scavenge your gear after play starts - like you're a fresh arrival in the world.

On the narrative side, since you have just enough experience to have found your class equipment, which gives the player just enough experience to justifiably avoid the "fish out of water" tropes (side note: also why I gave the options to disassemble the weapons. That would allow players to store them someplace out of sight. The remaining equipment also has options for concealment). This would let players use the backstory as a dramatic reveal; the limited bullets would encourage players to only pull out guns in the most dire situations, making their sudden presence a shock. And, since the player has an unusual lack of knowledge about the world, the twist would have proper foreshadowing. AND there's some explorey-type gear in there too, like the compass and binoculars. Combat potential, narrative potential, exploration potential: all three pillars. It follows D&D precedent in spirit, if not by the letter.

P.S. Am I formatting this reply right? Not sure how to do paragraph breaks in a talk page reply. Oportet (talk) 12:14, 23 December 2016 (MST)

backgrounds

What is the difference between this background and the fourth wall breaker and otherworlder backgrounds? If there is no difference, what's the point? --209.97.85.48 20:09, 29 April 2017 (UTC)

Quality Article Nomination

This article is a current quality article nominee as of 08:12, 17 December 2019 (MST). Quality articles exemplify D&D Wiki's very best work, and therefore must meet the quality article criteria. Please discuss the page's merits below.

• Support. The earthling is a very unusual twist to a campaign, that's well made and works well. --Green Dragon (talk) 08:12, 17 December 2019 (MST)
• Oppose. Quality articles should be suitable for any vanilla campaign setting. This background requires that modern-day Earth exist in the campaign setting. You might prefer this to be a featured article nomination instead. Marasmusine (talk) 06:52, 6 March 2020 (MST)