Seamstress (5e Background)

Seamstress/Seamster

The Spinners, By Velaquez-las

You make the needle dance, jumping over and under the fabric for hours or even days. You know nearly every way to sew two pieces of material together native to your land and have even made some of your own sewing patterns. You are not the average tailor or there would be hundreds like you in every kingdom rising up to be heroes. Think about how you have managed to make your physical and mental skills as a tailor transfer to your chosen class. Physical dexterousness, a keen eye, the mental endurance required to do a difficult task tens of thousands of times, and a general charisma required to keep wealthy clientele are all required to be the level of tailor you know you are. Or perhaps you aren't incredibly skilled... you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and needed to become more than a tailor in order to survive. (This background can work for a war surgeon decently enough as well).

Skill Proficiencies: Choose two from Investigation, Sleight of Hand, Perception, Medicine.

Tool Proficiencies: Weaver's Tools, Leather worker's Tools, Cobbler's Tools and Disguise Kits.

Languages: None.

Equipment: Weaver's Tools, 10 square feet of fabric, 50 feet of silk rope, a blanket, a set of fine clothes, and a pouch containing 10gp.

Specialization

The type of tailoring work you preferred before becoming an adventurer, think about what groups your specialization would naturally attract and how your character might dress. People who personally had orders fulfilled or were close to those who did will typically will regard you as a niche celebrity.

d8	Signature Style
1	Casual Wear
2	Formal Wear
3	Designer Clothing
4	Outdoorsy/Utility
5	Restoration
6	Noble's Attire
7	War Garments
8	Alterations

Feature: Basic Alterations and Mending

When you have access to Weaver's tools/Leather working tools you can essentially can cast the Mending cantrip on any piece of cloth or leather without using magic if you spend 1 minute doing so, you can also alter existing clothing and leather armours to fit any character within one size difference this can be done over a 3 hour period or once at a long rest, using 2sq ft of similar material to the base material if altering the article to be a size bigger. (I.e. large hide armour can be made to fit a medium character but not a small character.)

You can accurately estimate how valuable anything made from leather or fabric is if you spend a minute observing the object in bright light at a range of 5ft.

At the DM's Discretion you can also make leather armour that is stronger than normal leather armour out of monster hides if the proper tanning process is used.

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Alternate Feature (from the original version of this background): Distracting Skill

Due to your skill at sewing, you are able to gain an audience with most people. By creating a garment for the right occasion (eg. a uniform, a noble's outfit, or perhaps artisan's clothing), you are able to attract the attention of almost anyone. Work with your DM to figure out how long certain garments will take to make for its intended purpose.

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Suggested Characteristics

Each Seamstress and Seamster is different, most would consider what they do be an art-form but only few would consider themselves to be an artist.

d8	Personality Trait
1	I think I have an exceptional eye for detail.
2	I go on long rants about the use of magic to repair clothing whenever applicable.
3	Each of my words and movements are purposeful and embody grace.
4	Outside of tailoring I am actually quite clumsy and unrefined.
5	I spend my spare time studying the sewing styles of clothes of exotic origin either from books or from the garb of corpses.
6	I view every problem like a hole that needs to be mended and the best solution is like a needle and thread to me.
7	When I'm focusing intensely an orchestra made up of string instruments plays only for me.
8	My experiences as tailor make it easy for me to understand what holds a team together and know the best ways to destroy what holds the enemy together.

d6	Ideal
1	Perfectionist. Each time I work, I must be better than the last time. At any cost. (Chaotic)
2	Selfless. I am nothing more than a conductor for the thread and needle. (Lawful)
3	Manikins. That's all they are; Manikins whom humbly display the art of talented tailors. (Evil)
4	Kindness. I pursue tailoring in order to help those who need it, clothing is often the first and last thing people consider when judging character. (Good)
5	Happiness. I love being a tailor, it brings me great joy to see the reactions of those experience my works. Who I work for is unimportant. (Neutral)
6	Fated. I am not sure if its a hallucination but I can see a ethereal thread extending from strong willed souls. I need to see where the threads lead. (Any)

d6	Bond
1	My teacher taught me more about sewing than my parents ever taught me about anything.
2	Once, I was commissioned by a noble to craft them a perfect garb. After extensive studying of their habits I grew infatuated by them.
3	When I was younger, the Sovereign's heir had been enchanted by Fey to prick their finger on a spinning wheel. The spinning wheel in question happened to be mine so I stopped the them from pricking their finger and we've been good friends since.
4	I tend to more easily trust those with good fashion sense and inversely tend not to trust those with poor fashion sense.
5	I'm quite interested in recovering a magical sewing kit which can grant it's user strange abilities.
6	I served in a militia at one point, sewing every material; from cloth to flesh. It was exhilarating. (or) It was horrifying.

d6	Flaw
1	I have a severe and irrational fear of being turned into a Spider for my hubris.
2	Beautiful clothes being damaged upsets me to the point of rage and/or tears.
3	My hands are more important to me than anything else and if they were lost or damaged somehow, I would be destroyed.
4	Sometimes I think my only talent will ever be my tailoring abilities and if I stop they will abandon me.
5	Sometimes I wish I never became an adventurer. There's less chances to be a tailor now than before.
6	When I am scared I feel a weak as a single thread holding together a hill giant's loincloth.

5.00

(one vote)

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