### **Martial Backgrounds**

| Background        | Skill Increases (+1)                     | Description                                                                  |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Squire**        | **Melee**, **Ride**, **Etiquette**       | Trained in arms and service under a knight or warrior lord.                  |
| **Militia Guard** | **Melee**, **Command**, **Athletics**    | Served as a city or village guard, maintaining the peace and enforcing law.  |
| **Mercenary**     | **Melee**, **Tactics**, **Intimidation** | Hardened by campaigns fought for coin and survival.                          |
| **Adventurer**    | **Melee**, **Shields**, **Survival**     | A battle-hardened wanderer accustomed to defending caravans and settlements. |

---

### **Social Backgrounds**

| Background    | Skill Increases (+1)                           | Description                                                            |
| ------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Courtier**  | **Persuasion**, **Etiquette**, **Lore**        | Raised among nobility, skilled in politics, manners, and subtle games. |
| **Performer** | **Performance**, **Deception**, **Persuasion** | Learned to charm audiences and mask truths on stage and in the street. |
| **Diplomat**  | **Command**, **Persuasion**, **Navigation**    | Negotiated treaties and trade on behalf of lords or guilds.            |
| **Merchant**  | **Trade**, **Streetwise**, **Persuasion**      | Skilled at negotiation, finance, and the undercurrents of markets.     |

---

### **Nature / Wilderness Backgrounds**

| Background           | Skill Increases (+1)                                | Description                                                             |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Hunter / Trapper** | **Tracking**, **Survival**, **Bows**                | Lived by bow and snare, feeding families or settlements from the wilds. |
| **Warden**           | **Tracking**, **Survival**, **Command**             | Patrolled wilderness roads and borders, keeping travelers safe.         |
| **Nature Acolyte**   | **Attune**, **Survival**, **Lore (Spirits)**        | Studied the cycles of nature and the guidance of ancestral spirits.     |
| **Beast Handler**    | **Animal Handling**, **Survival**, **Intimidation** | Trained to tame, rear, and work alongside beasts in peace and war.      |

---

### **Civic Backgrounds**

| Background    | Skill Increases (+1)                            | Description                                                                  |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Farmer**    | **Survival**, **Trade**, **Animal Handling**    | Grew food and cared for stock, ensuring the survival of rural communities.   |
| **Craftsman** | **Crafting**, **Trade**, **Masonry / Smithing** | Learned a skilled trade, building or repairing the goods society depends on. |
| **Scholar**   | **Lore**, **Occultism**, **Empathy**            | Dedicated years to study and philosophy in libraries, monasteries, or cults. |
| **Healer**    | **Medicine**, **Herbalism**, **Empathy**        | Trained in treating wounds and illness using remedies and prayer.            |

---

### **Magical Backgrounds**

| Background          | Skill Increases (+1)                        | Description                                                                 |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Shrine Acolyte**  | **Attune**, **Empathy**, **Etiquette**      | Raised in sacred service, tending to the faithful and learning basic rites. |
| **Occultist**       | **Occultism**, **Lore**, **Stealth**        | Dabbled in hidden texts and esoteric rites to gain power or insight.        |
| **Apprentice Mage** | **Occultism**, **Crafting**, **Attune**     | Trained in magical theory and ritual by a mentor or cabal.                  |
| **Spirit Medium**   | **Attune**, **Empathy**, **Lore (Spirits)** | Gifted or cursed with the ability to communicate with the dead and unseen.  |

---

### **Underworld / Street Backgrounds**

| Background        | Skill Increases (+1)                      | Description                                                           |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Street Urchin** | **Stealth**, **Streetwise**, **Brawl**    | Learned to survive by wit, quick hands, and knowing who to avoid.     |
| **Thief**         | **Stealth**, **Deception**, **Locks**     | Specialized in burglary and infiltration for personal gain or a crew. |
| **Smuggler**      | **Streetwise**, **Navigation**, **Trade** | Mastered moving contraband and people across borders and blockades.   |
| **Assassin**      | **Stealth**, **Poisoning**, **Melee**     | Trained to stalk, study, and eliminate targets with precision.        |