Scout (5e Background)

Scout

From an agile soldier picked for his speed to a young villager looking for new lands to settle, there are many reasons one might pick or be picked for a life of scouting, but to be sure, being light of foot and hardened of spirit is a must. You will be the first to leave camp in the morning to get information on the path ahead and likely last to return to your comrades at the end of the night. Being far from base camp or your home for extend periods of time has shown you the value in being able to harvest the land around you to heal your wounds and mend your equipment, you cannot count the times the one extra arrow you made at your fire, or the repairs you made to your Armour has saved your life.

Skill Proficiencies: Survival and Medicine.

Languages: One of your choice.

Equipment: Herbalist Kit, set of warm clothes, a backpack, a bedroll, a mess kit, a tinder box, and a days rations and water skin.

Field Smithing Tools: Small Metal working tongs, small leather foot pump bellows, three hammer heads (flat, ball, and cross peen), two small wood carving knives, a whetstone, glue, short leather strips, sewing kit, small spool of thread, a pint of oil in a special water-skin, and a Fletching jig. This counts as Smith's Tools.

Life on the Road

There are many kinds of scout. What was your role?

d6	Station
1	Outrider for the military
2	Messenger
3	Trail guide
4	Pioneer
5	Spotter
6	Explorer

Feature: Lay of the Land

You have an excellent memory for maps and geography, and you can recall the general layout of terrain, settlements, and other features around you. You also have a keen eye for places well set for an ambush.

Suggested Characteristics

Scouts as a whole have a deep love for life on the road and are happy in their own company.

d6	Personality Trait
1	When I get a chance to spend time with other folk, I can't stop talking.
2	I'm self-sufficient. I don't need help, thanks!
3	Other people don't understand the wilderness like I do.
4	Every mile is evaluated for potential threats. Vigilance never rests.
5	Social situations are awkward to me and so I prefer to stand back and observe.
6	Civilized folk don't understand the freedom of the road.

d8	Ideal
1	Wanderlust. There's a voice that keeps on calling me, down the road is where I'll always be. (Any)
2	Protector. I am the first line of defence, no one can know the lives I've saved. (Good)
3	Duty. I have a job to do and I do it to the best of my ability. (Lawful)
4	Greed. If you want me to help you, it had better pay well. (Evil)
5	Nature. The beauty of the wild is beyond compare. (Neutral)
6	Survival. Life should be clung to, tooth and nail. (Any)
7	Independence. In the wilds no one can tell me what to do. (Chaotic)
8	A sharp mind. The road is the best place to keep the wits keen. (Any)

d6	Bond
1	I made an error once and lives were lost. I won't allow that to happen again.
2	The true nature of the world is out there to be discovered.
3	The wilds must be tamed.
4	I am sick of protecting other peoples wealth, I want some of my own.
5	Life on the road is a calling that cannot be explained.
6	I saw something incredible and no one believes me. I'll prove I didn't imagine it.

d6	Flaw
1	My appearance is totally unimportant to me. Why would anyone care what I looked like?
2	I am straight to the point. If you think I'm rude then so be it.
3	I get bored and irritated if I stay in one place too long.
4	Townspeople and cityfolk are soft. I feel superior to them.
5	When I get a chance to relax I don't hold back. It always gets messy.
6	I protect my own life first and foremost.

---

Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Backgrounds