Fortune Teller Background (D&D 5e)
This week on the Campaign Trail I look at variant backgrounds again, this time with the Charlatan variant Fortune Teller background for D&D 5e. The Fortune Teller background could fit anywhere, but is especially suited to gothic horror and Victorian settings.
Creating a variant background or tweaking existing backgrounds can save you the time you would need to create an entire new background. Most of the new backgrounds found in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide save design time (and page count) by borrowing Traits, Ideals, Bonds and Flaws from the original backgrounds in the PHB. For example, the City Watch background refers to the Soldier background for suggested characteristics.
Creating Backgrounds
To create a background you only need the following:
- Description – basic paragraph introducing the background
- Skill Proficiencies, Tool Proficiencies and Equipment (and sometimes Language)
- Feature – generally a non-combat benefit only available to this background
- Suggested Characteristics – generally an outline of characteristics of people with this background and lists of Traits, Ideals, Bonds and Flaws or a reference to borrow them from another background
- Optional – some kind or origin table such as the Charlatan’s Favorite Schemes Scam (d6) table.
To create a variant background you only need a description of the variant and what makes it different from the original background.
Creating Homebrew Variant Backgrounds
The charlatan background found in the PHB doesn’t have a variant, like the sailor’s pirate or the criminal’s spy variant backgrounds. This homebrew Fortune Teller below provides another option for players who would like to take the Charlatan background. This variant background provides more content than the content light variants found in the PHB. This Fortune Teller background has Skill Proficiencies, Tool Proficiencies and Equipment, but does not include traits, ideals, bonds and flaws, just like the lighter backgrounds found in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. You could easily expand this out to to be a full background or even pull back a bit and just provide the variant feature like the PHB.
Variant Charlatan: Fortune Teller
Fortune telling involves predicting information about a person’s life and appears similar to divination magic to casual observers. You can quickly read people and know their deepest desires and fears. You tell people their fortune using your insight and they pay you for sharing your mystical powers. You learned your art from a family member, old friend or even another fortune teller you met on the road. Your fortune telling is not based in magic, but by making vague statements that people willingly add in the details for you, while they concentrate on your effective use of your prop. You always need to be careful not to reveal the secret of your “gift”, especially around experienced magic users.
Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Deception
Tool Proficiencies: One type of fortune teller’s tools
Languages: One of your choice
Equipment: a set of fortune teller’s tools (one of your choice, best if it matches your specialty), a set of traveler’s clothes, a costume, and a pouch containing 15 gp.
SPECIALTY
To determine the nature of your “gift”, roll a d10 or choose from the options below.
| d10 | Specialty |
|---|---|
| 1 | Astrologist |
| 2 | Card Reading (Cartomancy) |
| 3 | Clairvoyant |
| 4 | Crystallomancy (reading of a crystal sphere) |
| 5 | Face Reading |
| 6 | Numerologist |
| 7 | Palmistry (reading of the palms) |
| 8 | Pendulum Reading |
| 9 | Spirit Board Reading |
| 10 | Tasseography (reading tea leaves in a cup) |
FEATURE: FORTUNE TELLING
Although the way you operate is similar to a charlatan, as a fortune teller you have specialized in appearing to be a mystic versus always looking for an angle for your next scheme. You can always find a place to tell fortunes for money, such as an inn or tavern, market, carnival, or even a noble’s court. In addition, anyone who is a willing participant that has their fortune told by you, will want to believe anything plausible that your reveal to them, until future events prove otherwise.
DM NOTE: You could decide if the participant believes the fortune using an opposed Insight or Deception check with advantage for the player.
Tools
The following is a list of new tools that a fortune teller can select to be proficient with. Proficiency with any of these fortune teller’s tools lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks made using the tools of your craft. Each type of fortune teller’s tools requires a separate proficiency that matches your specialty. Each of these kits provide the tools needed to tell the fortunes of your marks.
| Item | Cost | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Fortune Teller’s Tools | ||
| Crystal ball | 20 gp | 3 lb. |
| Fortune-telling cards | 10 gp | – |
| Pendulum | 20 gp | 1 lb. |
| Astrology charts | 20 gp | 1 lb. |
| Bone set | 10 gp | – |
| Rune stones | 10 gp | – |
| Bowl of intoxicating vapors | 10 gp | – |
| Spirit board | 10 gp | 1 lb. |
| Tea set and tea leaves | 10 gp | – |
Fortune Teller’s Tools. These are the items used by fortune tellers to ply their arts. Your tool may appear however you wish (though it might be best if it works with your specialty), as they all serve nearly the same function, to be a prop to distract your .
We’ll that’s it from the Campaign Trail this week. Share your thoughts and favorite homebrew backgrounds and variant backgrounds in the comments below.
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