Archaeologist 5e
An archaeologist learns about the long-lost and fallen cultures of the past by studying their remains – their bones, their ruins, their surviving masterworks, and their tombs. Those who practice archaeology travel to the far corners of the world to root through crumbled cities and lost dungeons, digging in search of artifacts that might tell the stories of monarchs and high priests, wars and cataclysms.
Source: Tomb of Annihilation
Tool Proficiencies: Cartographer's tools or navigator's tools
Languages: One of your choice
Equipment: A wooden case containing a map to a ruin or dungeon, a bullseye lantern, a miner's pick, a set of traveler's clothes, a shovel, a two-person tent, a trinket recovered from a dig site, and a pouch containing 25gp
Features
Dust Digger: Prior to becoming an adventurer, you spent most of your young life crawling around in the dust, pilfering relics of questionable value from crypts and ruins. Though you managed to sell a few of your discoveries and earn enough coin to buy proper adventuring gear, you have held onto an item that has great emotional value to you. Roll on the Signature Item table to see what you have, or choose an item from the table.
Archaeologist Signature Item Table
| d8 | Signature Item |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10-foot pole |
| 2 | Medallion |
| 3 | Crowbar |
| 4 | Shovel |
| 5 | Hat |
| 6 | Sledgehammer |
| 7 | Hooded lantern |
| 8 | Whip |
Historical Knowledge: When you enter a ruin or dungeon, you can correctly ascertain its original purpose and determine its builders, whether those were dwarves, elves, humans, yuan-ti, or some other known race. In addition, you can determine the monetary value of art objects more than a century old.
Suggested Characteristics
Few archaeologists can resist the lure of an unexplored ruin or dungeon, particularly if such a site is the source of legends or is rumored to contain the treasures and relics of wizards, warlords, or royalty. Some archaeologists plunder for wealth or fame, while others consider it their calling to illuminate the past or keep the world's greatest treasures from falling into the wrong hands. Whatever their motivations, archaeologists combine the qualities of a scrappy historian with the self-made heroism of a treasure-hunting scoundrel.
Archaeologist Personality Trait
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I love a good puzzle or mystery. |
| 2 | I'm a pack rat who never throws anything away. |
| 3 | Fame is more important to me than money. |
| 4 | I have no qualms about stealing from the dead. |
| 5 | I'm happier in a dusty old tomb than I am in the centers of civilization. |
| 6 | Traps don't make me nervous. Idiots who trigger traps make me nervous. |
| 7 | I might fail, but I will never give up. |
| 8 | You might think I'm a scholar, but I love a good brawl. These fists were made for punching. |
Archaeologist Ideals
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Preservation. That artifact belongs in a museum. (Good) |
| 2 | Greed. I won't risk my life for nothing. I expect some kind of payment. (Any) |
| 3 | Death Wish. Nothing is more exhilarating than a narrow escape from the jaws of death. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Dignity. The dead and their belongings deserve to be treated with respect. (Lawful) |
| 5 | Immortality. All my exploring is part of a plan to find the secret of everlasting life. (Any) |
| 6 | Danger. With every great discovery comes grave danger. The two walk hand in hand. (Any) |
Archaeologist Bonds
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ever since I was a child, I've heard stories about a lost city. I aim to find it, learn its secrets, and earn my place in the history books. |
| 2 | I want to find my mentor, who disappeared on an expedition some time ago. |
| 3 | I have a friendly rival. Only one of us can be the best, and I aim to prove it's me. |
| 4 | I won't sell an art object or other treasure that has historical significance or is one of a kind. |
| 5 | I'm secretly in love with the wealthy patron who sponsors my archaeological exploits. |
| 6 | I hope to bring prestige to a library, a museum, or a university. |
Archaeologist Flaws
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have a secret fear of some common wild animal – and in my work, I see them everywhere. |
| 2 | I can't leave a room without searching it for secret doors. |
| 3 | When I'm not exploring dungeons or ruins, I get jittery and impatient. |
| 4 | I have no time for friends or family. I spend every waking moment thinking about and preparing for my next expedition. |
| 5 | When given the choice of going left or right, I always go left. |
| 6 | I can't sleep except in total darkness. |
Should You Be An Archaeologist?
Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
Want to channel your inner Lora Croft or Indiana Jones? Time to grab a spade and start digging with Archaeologist! Tomb of Annihilation added two backgrounds, Anthropologist and Archaeologist, both of which are right at home in the setting of Chult where the adventure takes place. While this isn’t going to compare well against modern backgrounds that come with free feats, it blows most Player Handbook options out of the water with features that do something.
Features: Dust Digger and Historical Knowledge
Dust Digger is a bonus trinket that takes the form of a typical piece of adventuring gear- the sole difference is it attaches you to it, calling it your “signature item”. I can envision Barbarian archaeologists who smash things with their signature shovel, a Rogue who always has their trusty ten-foot pole, a Fighter who is committed to whip-based combat. That’s a fun starting point to build from, but primarily flavor.
Historical Knowledge reads to me like an updated Stonecunning; you just know who made this, and how much old stuff is worth. I put this akin to features like Detect Evil and Good but with a bit less power. It can be useful to know this temple was built by the Drow, as that informs you to look out for spiders and webbing. Knowing goblins made a dungeon instead of dwarves may give you more reason to be wary of their infrastructure. Plus, you’re not going to easily get scammed selling your looted relics.
Skills
While History isn’t a skill you’re able to routinely use for value, especially given your feature removes the need to make a history check around discerning who made old buildings, Survival is a frequently used skill for tracking and navigation.
These are aimed at a character who isn’t planning to navigate socially; Intelligence and Wisdom are the two ability scores on display here. Loner rangers and druids will naturally fit with these, as can Clerics seeking Survival proficiency.
Other Proficiencies
You get cartographer’s tools or navigator’s tools alongside a language of your choice. While the language is something you can mostly write off, both the cartographer’s tool and navigator’s tools can be major assets when doing hex-crawl-style adventuring in environments like Chult. This, when paired with Survival, gives you a major role in the party as the navigator. Xanathar’s Guide to Everything expanded what these tools bring to the table substantially as well; you can lean in hard to these background elements to create a cohesive dirt and map nerd who is the authority when it comes to getting a lay of the land and determining where people may have built centuries ago.
Equipment
Archaeologists come kitted out with a ton of adventuring equipment- you get a lantern, pick, shovel, and a two-person tent with 25 bonus gold to start with. You not only get the Dust Digger trinket, but you also get a wooden case with a map to a ruin or dungeon, giving you an immediate tie-in to the world the DM can play around with. This equipment selection is one of the best in the game for giving you everything you need to set off and do some dungeon delving for riches.
Bonus Tables
These bonus tables aren’t quite as good as Anthropologists to me, as they have a lot of extra “generic” feeling options like “Fame is more important to me than money”. Still, some like “Traps don’t make me nervous. Idiots who trigger traps make me nervous” tell a fun story relating to your past and help shape who you are now. There are some references to popular fantasy archaeologists and old-school dungeon crawls (10-foot pole, “I can’t leave a room without searching it for secret doors”) here as well for some bonus nostalgia. Not my favorite, but definitely fun for some I’m sure.
All Together
If raiding tombs sparks your interest or you want to give your best Nathan Drake impression, Archaelogist a solid choice. This background defines what your character does in the party. You’re an explorer, navigator, and dungeon delver melded together with excellent adventuring gear and a useful world exploration feature that actually can come up in games ceneterd around exploring ruins. Its a perfect fit for Tomb of Annihilation, and going to be a fine choice for a lot of other games out there, especially if the feat-based backgrounds are off the table.
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