Folk Hero 5e
You come from a humble social rank, but you are destined for so much more. Already the people of your home village regard you as their champion, and your destiny calls you to stand against the tyrants and monsters that threaten the common folk everywhere.
Source: Player’s Handbook
Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Survival
Tool Proficiencies: One type of artisan's tools, vehicles (land)
Languages: None
Equipment: A set of artisan's tools (one of your choice), a shovel, an iron pot, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10gp
Features
Defining Event: You previously pursued a simple profession among the peasantry, perhaps as a farmer, miner, servant, shepherd, woodcutter, or gravedigger. But something happened that set you on a different path and marked you for greater things. Choose or randomly determine a defining event that marked you as a hero of the people.
Defining Event Table
| d8 | Defining Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | I stood up to a tyrant's agents. |
| 2 | I saved people during a natural disaster. |
| 3 | I stood alone against a terrible monster. |
| 4 | I stole from a corrupt merchant to help the poor. |
| 5 | I led a militia to fight off an invading army. |
| 6 | I broke into a tyrant's castle and stole weapons to arm the people. |
| 7 | I trained the peasantry to use farm implements as weapons against a tyrant's soldiers. |
| 8 | A lord rescinded an unpopular decree after I led a symbolic act of protest against it. |
| 9 | A celestial, fey, or similar creature gave me a blessing or revealed my secret origin. |
| 10 | Recruited into a lord's army, I rose to leadership and was commended for my heroism. |
Rustic Hospitality: Since you come from the ranks of the common folk, you fit in among them with ease. You can find a place to hide, rest, or recuperate among other commoners, unless you have shown yourself to be a danger to them. They will shield you from the law or anyone else searching for you, though they will not risk their lives for you.
Suggested Characteristics
A folk hero is one of the common people, for better or for worse. Most folk heroes look on their humble origins as a virtue, not a shortcoming, and their home communities remain very important to them.
Folk Hero Personality Traits
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I judge people by their actions, not their words. |
| 2 | If someone is in trouble, I'm always ready to lend help. |
| 3 | When I set my mind to something, I follow through no matter what gets in my way. |
| 4 | I have a strong sense of fair play and always try to find the most equitable solution to arguments. |
| 5 | I'm confident in my own abilities and do what I can to instill confidence in others. |
| 6 | Thinking is for other people. I prefer action. |
| 7 | I misuse long words in an attempt to sound smarter. |
| 8 | I get bored easily. When am I going to get on with my destiny? |
Folk Hero Ideals
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Respect. People deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. (Good) |
| 2 | Fairness. No one should get preferential treatment before the law, and no one is above the law. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Freedom. Tyrants must not be allowed to oppress the people. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Might. If I become strong, I can take what I want – what I deserve. (Evil) |
| 5 | Sincerity. There's no good in pretending to be something I'm not. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Destiny. Nothing and no one can steer me away from my higher calling. (Any) |
Folk Hero Bonds
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I have a family, but I have no idea where they are. One day, I hope to see them again. |
| 2 | I worked the land, I love the land, and I will protect the land. |
| 3 | A proud noble once gave me a horrible beating, and I will take my revenge on any bully I encounter. |
| 4 | My tools are symbols of my past life, and I carry them so that I will never forget my roots. |
| 5 | I protect those who cannot protect themselves. |
| 6 | I wish my childhood sweetheart had come with me to pursue my destiny. |
Folk Hero Flaws
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | The tyrant who rules my land will stop at nothing to see me killed. |
| 2 | I'm convinced of the significance of my destiny, and blind to my shortcomings and the risk of failure. |
| 3 | The people who knew me when I was young know my shameful secret, so I can never go home again. |
| 4 | I have a weakness for the vices of the city, especially hard drink. |
| 5 | Secretly, I believe that things would be better if I were a tyrant lording over the land. |
| 6 | I have trouble trusting in my allies. |
Should You Be a Folk Hero?
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. Folk Hero highlights this problem; their features offer you entirely flavorful ribbons that won’t matter at the vast majority of tables. It has enough other boons going for it I’d absolutely consider it at PHB only tables, but man, this one really highlights just how underwhelming the original background features were.
Features: Defining Event and Rustic Hospitality
Defining Event gives you a fun table of backstories you can use as inspiration to dive deeper into your character’s history. That doesn’t add any mechanical advantages to your sheet- nothing added to an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, nor any new tools that empower you to engage in or out of combat in a unique way.
Rustic Hospitality is a complete non-feature. It basically states that around good people, if you’ve been a good person, they’ll treat you with kindness against cruel oppressors or monsters. That’s already something you could expect from various kinds of people in fantasy worlds. On top of that, context is everything. Many tables won’t ask to be shielded by CR 0 townsfolk who you’re more likely to be charged to protect. It's not particularly heroic to hide behind non-adventurers.
Skills, Equipment, and Other Proficiencies:
Where they lack any kind of beneficial features, they make up for it a bit with some unique skill offerings and great bonus proficiencies.
Animal Handling and Survival go hand and hand and tell a story; you’re adept at making your way in the wilderness and have the empathy, strong hand, or discipline to have a decent time managing beasts. Both of these skills are easy to use as well- any place with animals offers you opportunities to engage with Animal Handling, and Survival is the one of the more common overworld travel and exploration options used to facilitate safe travel and tracking.
Any artisan’s tools of your choice is a fantastic addition as well that gives you some customization you can potentially juice for mechanical boons with the added rules they got in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. You get to start with the chosen tool as well if you opt for the background equipment alongside a handy shovel and an odd iron pot.
You also get land vehicle proficiency, making you the default controller of carriages and overland navigator. Settings can empower this further- the world of Eberron and other fantasy-tech settings can give you mechanical boons to making checks using plenty of unique vessels. It won’t be a common occurrence at most high-fantasy tables, but at least a handful of times per campaign I’d expect this odd bonus to be helpful.
A Hero for Player’s Handbook Characters
If you and the rest of your party are sticking to the basic backgrounds or similar ones to those in the PHB, missing out on a feature isn’t a huge deal, and you get a decent smattering of fun and useful proficiencies. If anyone is getting a feat with their background, you’ll probably want to go with a different background that offers one as well.
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