Details
- Abilities: Dexterity, Intelligence, Charisma
- Skills: History, Persuasion
- Tool: Calligrapher's Supplies
- Feat: Alert
Description
You serve as a trusted messenger and announcer, skilled in delivering news and proclamations with clarity and presence. Your keen awareness keeps you alert to danger, while your knowledge of history and your persuasive manner help you navigate courts and gatherings. Your deft hand and eye for detail make your written words as compelling as your spoken ones.
Equipment
Choose A or B: (A) Calligrapher's Supplies, a Traveler's Clothes, a Pouch containing 10 GP; or (B) 50 GP
At a glance
- Table role: Scout and early warning
- Family: Courtly
- Primary pillar: Social
- Secondary pillar: Exploration
- Themes: formal announcements, court intrigue, public speeches, historical knowledge, persuasive diplomacy
What this background is good for
Choose Herald if you want a character who turns formal announcements, court intrigue, public speeches, historical knowledge, and persuasive diplomacy into usable table momentum. Its skill package points toward History and Persuasion, so the background naturally rewards players who ask questions, notice patterns, and act on practical details. As a Courtly background, it gives the character a clear place in the world instead of just a mechanical bonus. The Alert feat, Calligrapher's Supplies, and Dexterity, Intelligence, and Charisma abilities help define how this character contributes before initiative is rolled.
Play this if...
- You want to play a Loyal Messenger rather than a generic adventurer.
- You want scenes built around formal announcements, court intrigue, public speeches, historical knowledge, and persuasive diplomacy.
- You are considering Bard, Rogue, Wizard, and Paladin and want the background to support that identity.
How to play this background
You deliver urgent news and proclamations with precision, navigating courts and crowds while staying alert to hidden threats.
Table cues
- Identify who controls the message flow
- Observe reactions to public announcements
- Track shifts in court alliances
- Note signs of eavesdropping
- Spot opportunities for persuasion
For Dungeon Masters
Use Herald when the campaign benefits from scenes about formal announcements, court intrigue, public speeches, historical knowledge, and persuasive diplomacy. The Courtly angle gives you a quick way to attach NPCs, locations, favors, and complications to the character. Build scenes where History, Persuasion, and Calligrapher's Supplies can reveal information, open a route, or change how an NPC reacts. A simple recurring cue: identify who controls the message flow.