Details
- Abilities: Strength, Constitution, Wisdom
- Skills: Athletics, Insight
- Tool: Carpenter's Tools
- Feat: Tough
Description
You have dedicated yourself to the care and upkeep of important places or objects, often working behind the scenes to maintain order and stability. Your resilience and practical skills help you endure long hours and demanding tasks. You read people well, sensing their intentions, and your steady hands and strength allow you to repair and build with care and precision.
Equipment
Choose A or B: (A) Carpenter's Tools, a bedroll, a set of traveler’s clothes, a waterskin, 10 GP; or (B) 50 GP
At a glance
- Table role: Frontline endurance
- Family: Craft & Trade
- Primary pillar: Combat
- Secondary pillar: Exploration
- Themes: maintenance and repair, hidden labor, steadfast resilience, insightful observation, physical endurance
What this background is good for
Choose Custodian if you want a character who turns maintenance and repair, hidden labor, steadfast resilience, insightful observation, and physical endurance into usable table momentum. Its skill package points toward Athletics and Insight, so the background naturally rewards players who ask questions, notice patterns, and act on practical details. As a Craft & Trade background, it gives the character a clear place in the world instead of just a mechanical bonus. The Tough feat, Carpenter's Tools, and Strength, Constitution, and Wisdom abilities help define how this character contributes before initiative is rolled.
Play this if...
- You want to play a Silent Protector rather than a generic adventurer.
- You want scenes built around maintenance and repair, hidden labor, steadfast resilience, insightful observation, and physical endurance.
- You are considering Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, and Barbarian and want the background to support that identity.
How to play this background
You quietly ensure vital places and objects remain functional, enduring hardship while reading those around you with steady hands and strong resolve.
Table cues
- Identify who controls access to key locations.
- Note signs of recent repairs or modifications.
- Watch for characters who quietly observe others.
- Track who benefits from maintained infrastructure.
For Dungeon Masters
Use Custodian when the campaign benefits from scenes about maintenance and repair, hidden labor, steadfast resilience, insightful observation, and physical endurance. The Craft & Trade angle gives you a quick way to attach NPCs, locations, favors, and complications to the character. Build scenes where Athletics, Insight, and Carpenter's Tools can reveal information, open a route, or change how an NPC reacts. A simple recurring cue: identify who controls access to key locations.