Primitive Tribe (5e Background)

Primitive Tribe Credit: go2andaman.com, 2014

Primitive Tribe

You come from a primitive tribe that has had no interaction with 'modern' civilization. Nearly everything is new to you. Things that everyone else takes for granted are fascinating to you at least at first. You ask dumb questions though sometimes these questions are actually very smart because you ask about things that no one else questions. You generally do things the wrong way (for example putting on armor) until someone shows you how to do them. However you are also attuned to things of nature that other people don't notice.

Skill Proficiencies: Survival, Nature, but you are illiterate.

Tool Proficiencies: Knapping Tools

Languages: remote tribal language spoken by no one else, and some (5000 words) common or elvish. You learn 100 new words per month. You may also learn to read and write in six months.

Equipment: 10 flint tipped spears, 2 flint knives with antler handles, 1 atlatl, and Knapping Tools.

Specializations

d6	Specialization
1	Hunter - hunting can range from small animals to megafauna such as giant ground sloths or mammoths. This gives you the ability to use a spear for hunting.
2	Gatherer - gathering includes the ability to spot and gather food and various useful herbs from your native environment. This gives you the ability to provision an herbalist.
3	Warrior - a specialty for attacking and killing warriors of other tribes and defending your tribe against same. This gives you one extra hit point, and the ability to use simple weapons.
4	Fisher - you can make nets, fish traps, and dugout boats. You can use spears to fish. You can find good fishing spots. This gives you the ability to use a spear for fishing.
5	Tribal elder - you will be playing an older character (35 years old or older). You know how to resolve disputes. This gives you +1 on persuasion.
6	Story teller - you remember the lore and verbal histories of your tribe. You have a very good memory and can spin an engaging story. This gives you +1 on performance.

By Andy Gammon

Feature: Weather Sense

Because of your fine attunement with nature, you are able to sense what the weather will be for the next six hours.

Alternate Feature: Tension Sense

You are attuned to the sounds of the creatures in the natural environment around you. You can tell when there is danger, or something unnatural going on, because you can sense the tension in the environment around you.

• Tension sense does not work in a city, castle, town, dungeon, or open ocean (but it does work in a village or isolated tower).

Suggested Characteristics

d6	Personality Trait
1	Centered - My upbringing in nature and love has allowed me to feel calm and collected in almost any situation. It is clear that city upbringing makes people slightly insane.
2	Innocent - I see the world as I saw it while living in my tribe, a place of safety, friendship, and truthfulness. I am trusting, no matter what other people say about the world.
3	Inquisitive - I want to know about everything and experience everything. I ask many questions and get involved in many situations.
4	Bold - These civilized people are soft. They are wimps and I act with great boldness compared to their cowardly manner.
5	Wise - I have wisdom and perspective beyond my years because I can see society with an uncivilized objectivity. I have +1 to insight.
6	Truthful - I am not used to a society full of lies and deceit as compared to my much more truthful tribal society. By habit I tend to tell the truth.

d6	Ideal
1	Nature. you are troubled by the sterility and disconnectedness from nature of cities, villages, and dungeons and you want to return the people of civilization to a state of harmony with nature. (any alignment)
2	Harmony. you are troubled by the obvious conflict and violence of the modern world as compared to the harmony of nature. You want to foster harmony among opponents as much as possible (some combination of good, neutral, or lawful)
3	Simplicity. you are troubled by the complexity of the modern world and realize that the simplicity of your tribe has great value. You want to return to them someday. (any non-lawful alignment)
4	Modernity. you are impressed by what the modern world has discovered, and wish to learn everything that the modern world knows. You want to build a library of these things. (any non-evil alignment)
5	Wealth. you are thrilled by the wonderful material goods of the modern world. You want to collect as many as you can and someday retire to a palace full of them. (any neutral alignment)
6	Advancement. you are excited by the modern world you experience and you want to learn as much as you can to bring back to your native tribe someday. (any non-chaotic alignment)

d6	Bond
1	Old Tribe - you are bonded to your ancestral tribe and will do things the way your tribe does them. Your tribe had a particular set of mores and morals, and you will naturally adhere to these. This does not make you lawful, just sentimental.
2	New Tribe - the group of people you are with becomes your new tribe. You treat them as tribe members, mourning the loss of any of them, trying to keep in touch with any that retire or leave etc. You insist that dead members be treated properly.
3	Revenge - you were dragged away from your primitive tribe by slavers intent on selling you. You were grievously mistreated and and you are determined to get revenge on these slavers.
4	Restoration - slavers decimated and dragged away your entire primitive tribe, and you want to find and rescue as many as you can and free them to return and restore your home.
5	Justice - someone murdered one of my tribe members and now I seek to bring them back to my tribe for punishment.
6	Mercy - I have forgiven someone for some wrong they have inflicted, and now I want what's best for them.

d6	Flaw
1	Strange - You're a weird mix of both the 'primitive' culture you were born and raised in and the 'civilized' culture you were later apprenticed in.
2	Language Lapse - when you become excited, angered, scared, or upset, you tend to lapse into your own tribe's language, which no one else understands.
3	Uneasy Indoors - where you grew up you could escape danger by running in almost any direction. When you are indoors, you feel that you have very limited escape possibilities, and this unnerves you.
4	Afraid of Metal - you are afraid of metal objects. Metal objects are unnatural. They have snags and barbs that cut the skin and might let the soul leak out or let evil leak in.
5	Superstitious - you are afraid of something innocuous, you always do something before combat, or in a world of magic your superstition is actually logical however no one else knows what you know and they think you are superstitious. work with the dungeon master on this one.
6	Permanently Illiterate - you simply can't figure out how all of these little squiggles mean anything.

5.00

(one vote)

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