Charlatan 5e
You have always had a way with people. You know what makes them tick, you can tease out their hearts' desires after a few minutes of conversation, and with a few leading questions you can read them like they were children's books. It's a useful talent, and one that you're perfectly willing to use for your advantage.
You know what people want and you deliver, or rather, you promise to deliver. Common sense should steer people away from things that sound too good to be true, but common sense seems to be in short supply when you're around. The bottle of pink colored liquid will surely cure that unseemly rash, this ointment – nothing more than a bit of fat with a sprinkle of silver dust can restore youth and vigor, and there's a bridge in the city that just happens to be for sale. These marvels sound implausible, but you make them sound like the real deal.
Source: Player’s Handbook
Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Sleight of Hand
Tool Proficiencies: Disguise kit, forgery kit
Languages: None
Equipment: A set of fine clothes, a disguise kit, tools of the con of your choice (ten stoppered bottles filled with colored liquid, a set of weighted dice, a deck of marked cards, or a signet ring of an imaginary duke), and a pouch containing 15gp
Features
Favorite Schemes: Every charlatan has an angle they use in preference to other schemes. Choose a favorite scam or roll on the table below.
Favorite Schemes Table
| d6 | Scam |
|---|---|
| 1 | I cheat at games of chance |
| 2 | I shave coins or forge documents. |
| 3 | I insinuate myself into people's lives to prey on their weakness and secure their fortunes. |
| 4 | I put on new identities like clothes. |
| 5 | I run sleight-of-hand cons on street corners. |
| 6 | I convince people that worthless junk is worth their hard-earned money. |
False Identity: You have created a second identity that includes documentation, established acquaintances, and disguises that allow you to assume that persona. Additionally, you can forge documents including official papers and personal letters, as long as you have seen an example of the kind of document or the handwriting you are trying to copy.
Suggested Characteristics
Charlatans are colorful characters who conceal their true selves behind the masks they construct. They reflect what people want to see, what they want to believe, and how they see the world. But their true selves are sometimes plagued by an uneasy conscience, an old enemy, or deep-seated trust issues.
Charlatan Personality Traits
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I fall in and out of love easily, and am always pursuing someone. |
| 2 | I have a joke for every occasion, especially occasions where humor is inappropriate. |
| 3 | Flattery is my preferred trick for getting what I want. |
| 4 | I'm a born gambler who can't resist taking a risk for a potential payoff. |
| 5 | I lie about almost everything, even when there's no good reason to. |
| 6 | Sarcasm and insults are my weapons of choice. |
| 7 | I keep multiple holy symbols on me and invoke whatever deity might come in useful at any given moment. |
| 8 | I pocket anything I see that might have some value. |
Charlatan Ideals
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Independence. I am a free spirit – no one tells me what to do. (Chaotic) |
| 2 | Fairness. I never target people who can't afford to lose a few coins. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Charity. I distribute the money I acquire to the people who really need it. (Good) |
| 4 | Creativity. I never run the same con twice. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | Friendship. Material goods come and go. Bonds of friendship last forever. (Good) |
| 6 | Aspiration. I'm determined to make something of myself. (Any) |
Charlatan Bonds
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I fleeced the wrong person and must work to ensure that this individual never crosses paths with me or those I care about. |
| 2 | I owe everything to my mentor – a horrible person who's probably rotting in jail somewhere. |
| 3 | Somewhere out there, I have a child who doesn't know me. I'm making the world better for him or her. |
| 4 | I come from a noble family, and one day I'll reclaim my lands and title from those who stole them from me. |
| 5 | A powerful person killed someone I love. Some day soon, I'll have my revenge. |
| 6 | I swindled and ruined a person who didn't deserve it. I seek to atone for my misdeeds but might never be able to forgive myself. |
Charlatan Flaws
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I can't resist a pretty face. |
| 2 | I'm always in debt. I spend my ill-gotten gains on decadent luxuries faster than I bring them in. |
| 3 | I'm convinced that no one could ever fool me the way I fool others. |
| 4 | I'm too greedy for my own good. I can't resist taking a risk if there's money involved. |
| 5 | I can't resist swindling people who are more powerful than me. |
| 6 | I hate to admit it and will hate myself for it, but I'll run and preserve my own hide if the going gets tough. |
Should You Be A Charlatan?
Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
The Player’s Handbook backgrounds all share some problems, namely that they don’t stack up well against other backgrounds printed more recently that come with feats. Charlatan may be the closest to worth taking even when stacked against them, as it has some robust and expansive options that empower characters beyond just giving them a bit of backstory.
Features: Favorite Schemes and False Identity
While they technically get two features, Favorite Schemes is more a trait than a mechanical boon as it just notes what your favorite scam to pull is. Their mechanical feature, False Identity, provides you with tangible benefits you can incorporate into play. It's an easy on-ramp to using disguise kits and other deception tools, and while not comprehensive, nor necessarily unique to the option, it adds a lot more opportunity to your sheet than most of the other Player’s Handbook options do.
Skills, Equipment, and Other Proficiencies:
On top of getting a decent feature, Charlatan isn’t bogged down with a bonus language, instead getting two excellent tool proficiencies that can be a fantastic inclusion in many parties. Their skills back up this plan; Deception is a great social navigation skill you can often employ anytime you engage with creatures you can understand, and Sleight of Hand has a decent chunk of uses you can benefit from, specifically in the low tiers.
Your equipment offering is also pretty fantastic; you start with the disguise kit alongside the proficiency and a unique item related to your con that genuinely can be employed in interesting fashions.
Charlatan, Surprisingly, Isn’t a Scam
If you’re going to go with a scummy character who cons people out of money or knowledge, I do think Charlatan offers just enough to be worth your time taking as is. Its one of the few PHB backgrounds I don’t even want to customize with Custom Backgrounds; it does everything this kind of character generally wants to do, and while it still won’t stack up well against the options that provide feats, it is on a higher tier than most.
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