SUGGESTED CHARACTERISTICS
Use the tables for the acolyte background in the Player's
Handbook as the basis for your traits and motivations,
modifying the entries when appropriate to suit your
identity as a faction agent. (For instance, consider the
words "faith" and "faction" to be interchangeable.)
Your bond might be associated with other members of
your faction, or a location or an object that is important
to your faction. The ideal you strive for is probably in
keeping with the tenets and principles of your faction,
but might be more personal in nature.FAR TRAVELER
Almost all of the common people and other folk that one
might encounter along the Sword Coast or in the North
have one thing in common: they live out their lives with-
out ever traveling more than a few miles from where
they were born.
You aren't one of those folk.
You are from a distant place, one so remote that few
of the common folk in the North realize that it exists,
and chances are good that even if some people you meet
have heard of your homeland, they know merely theCHAPTER 5 I BACKGROUNDS
name and perhaps a few outrageous stories. You have
come to this part of Faerun for your own reasons, which
you might or might not choose to share.
Although you will undoubtedly find some of this land's
ways to be strange and discomfiting, you can also be
sure that some things its people take for granted will be
to you new wonders that you've never laid eyes on be-
fore. By the same token, you're a person of interest, for
good or ill, to those around you almost anywhere you go.
Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Perception
Tool Proficiencies: Any one musical instrument or
gaming set of your choice, likely something native to
your homeland
Languages: Any one of your choice
Equipment: One set of traveler's clothes, any one
musical instrument or gaming set you are proficient
with, poorly wrought maps from your homeland that
depict where you are in Faerun, a small piece of
jewelry worth 10 gp in the style of your homeland's
craftsmanship, and a pouch containing 5 gpWHY ARE You HERE?
A far traveler might have set out on a journey for one
of a number of reasons, and the departure from his or
her homeland could have been voluntary or involuntary.
To determine why you are so far from home, roll on the
table below or choose from the options provided. The
following section, discussing possible homelands, in-
cludes some suggested reasons that are appropriate for
each location.WHY ARE You HERE?
d6 Reason d6 Reason
Emissary 4 Pilgrim
2 Exile 5 Sightseer
3 Fugitive 6 WandererWHERE ARE You FROM?
The most important decision in creating a far traveler
background is determining your homeland. The places
discussed here are all sufficiently distant from the
North and the Sword Coast to justify the use of this
background.
Evermeet. The fabled elven islands far to the west are
home to elves who have never been to Faerun. They of-
ten find it a harsher place than they expected when they
do make the trip. If you are an elf, Evermeet is a logical
(though not mandatory) choice for your homeland.
Most of those who emigrate from Evermeet are either
exiles, forced out for committing some infraction of
elven law, or emissaries who come to Faerun for a pur-
pose that benefits elven culture or society.
Halruaa. Located on the southern edges of the Shin-
ing South, and hemmed in by mountains all around,
the magocracy of Halruaa is a bizarre land to most
in Faerun who know about it. Many folk have heard
of the strange skyships the Halruaans sail, and a few
know of the tales that even the least of their people can
work magic.
Halruaans usually make their journeys into Faerun
for personal reasons, since their government has a strict