Custom Backgrounds
A player can build a background from scratch instead of choosing a published one. The Background picker carries a Custom Background entry at the top of its list, and choosing it opens the custom background builder. What the builder offers is shaped by the limits you set in Settings, where you can also remove the Custom Background entry entirely.
The builder
Section titled “The builder”The builder is a single dialog. It opens with a name field and a description field, followed by a section for each kind of benefit a background grants.
- Name. The player types a name for the background. Left blank, it takes a default name.
- Description. The player writes flavor text. A summary of the chosen abilities, feat, proficiencies, and gold is generated and placed above this text.
Ability scores
Section titled “Ability scores”The ability section lists the abilities the system allows a background to improve, each with a checkbox. A hint states how many abilities to choose, the points to spend across them, and the cap on a single ability. Once the player has checked the required number, the remaining boxes are disabled.
Skill proficiencies
Section titled “Skill proficiencies”The skill section lists every skill as a checkbox set. A hint states how many to choose. The remaining boxes are disabled once that count is reached.
Tool proficiencies
Section titled “Tool proficiencies”The tool section is a dropdown that lists tool proficiencies grouped by category. Each chosen tool appears below as a removable chip with a rules link. The dropdown is disabled once the configured number of tools is chosen, and removing a chip frees it again.
Origin feats
Section titled “Origin feats”The feat section has a button that opens the feat browser filtered to origin feats. The browser stays open so the player can add more than one, and closes once the configured count is reached. Each chosen feat appears as a removable entry with a rules link.
Creating the background
Section titled “Creating the background”The builder refuses to create the background until every section holds exactly its required count. A warning lists what is still missing.
On create, the background is written to a world compendium named Hero Mancer 2, inside a Custom Backgrounds folder. Its description is built from the selections, with rules links to the chosen abilities, feat, and tools, and a line for its starting gold. The new background is then selected in the Background picker.
Cancelling the builder closes it and leaves no background chosen.