Expanded Character Backgrounds

This page contains the expanded list of character backgrounds available in Wyrdwood.

These backgrounds exist to help players ground their characters in the world — their past, upbringing, profession, or circumstances before arriving in Wyrdwood. They are narrative tools, not classes, roles, or fixed paths.

Choosing a background from this list does not lock your character into a future direction, nor does it guarantee specific skills, equipment, or advantages. Instead, backgrounds provide context and justification, helping staff understand who your character is and how they came to be.

You may select a background from this list, use it as inspiration, or adapt it to suit your character concept. Players may also propose custom backgrounds using “Other (Requires Explanation)”, subject to review.

As with all character creation, depth, clarity, and consistency matter more than labels. A background is most useful when it supports a believable character history rather than a mechanical goal.

Martial & Militia Backgrounds

These backgrounds represent characters who have lived with violence, discipline, or organised defence as part of their daily lives. This does not mean they are professional soldiers or lifelong warriors — many were ordinary people forced to learn how to fight to survive.

Martial backgrounds often suit characters familiar with weapons, formations, patrols, or physical hardship, but they do not define personality, morality, or future direction.

Village Militia Member

A civilian who trained part-time to defend their home against raids, beasts, or unrest. Likely familiar with basic weapons, drills, and standing watch rather than formal warfare.

Town Watch Recruit

Someone who served as a guard, watchman, or lawkeeper within a settlement. More accustomed to patrols, arrests, and crowd control than open battle.

Caravan Guard

A hired escort protecting merchants and travellers along roads and trade routes. Exposure to ambushes, long journeys, and the dangers of the open road.

Mercenary’s Squire

An assistant or trainee attached to a professional fighter or sellsword. Learned through observation, labour, and occasional combat rather than command.

Archer in a Local Levy

A bow-trained civilian called up during times of need. Likely experienced in hunting, target practice, and defensive skirmishes rather than prolonged campaigns.

Skirmisher or Scout

A lightly equipped fighter accustomed to movement, observation, and hit-and-run encounters. Often operated on the edges of larger forces.

Dockside Tough / Enforcer

A brawler or hired muscle working around ports, warehouses, or rough urban districts. Familiar with intimidation, violence, and close-quarters conflict.

Rural & Wilderness Backgrounds

These backgrounds represent characters raised in isolated, labour-heavy, or untamed environments. Life away from towns and cities tends to produce practical skills, resilience, and an intimate relationship with the land.

Rural and wilderness backgrounds often suit characters familiar with animals, weather, foraging, travel, and self-reliance, but they do not imply isolation, ignorance, or lack of culture.

Farmer’s Child or Field Hand

Raised working the land from a young age. Familiar with long days, seasonal rhythms, basic tools, and the realities of feeding a community.

Shepherd or Goatherd

Spent much of life tending animals in open country. Accustomed to solitude, vigilance, and the practical care of livestock.

Hunter or Trapper

Lived by tracking, trapping, or hunting wild game. Likely experienced in reading terrain, animal behaviour, and surviving far from settlements.

Woodcutter or Charcoal Burner

Worked in forests or borderlands felling timber or producing fuel. Used to hard physical labour and time spent away from civilisation.

Fisher or Net-Mender

Made a living from rivers, lakes, or coastal waters. Familiar with tides, weather shifts, and the dangers of working near water.

Forager or Herbal Gatherer

Collected plants, roots, fungi, or medicinal materials. Developed keen awareness of local terrain and seasonal change.

Swamp or Marsh Dweller

Grew up navigating wetlands, bogs, or floodplains. Comfortable in difficult terrain and aware of hidden dangers others might miss.

Urban & Service Backgrounds

These backgrounds represent characters shaped by towns, cities, and structured communities. Life in settled areas tends to foster social awareness, specialised trades, and familiarity with hierarchy, commerce, or daily public life.

Urban and service backgrounds do not imply wealth, comfort, or safety.
Many such lives are defined by hard labour, crowding, and constant negotiation with others.

Market Porter or Cart Hand

Earned a living moving goods through streets, docks, or marketplaces. Accustomed to physical work, time pressure, and crowded environments.

Tavern Worker or Innhand

Worked serving food, drink, or lodging. Likely familiar with people, gossip, conflict resolution, and the rhythms of public life.

Shop Assistant or Apprentice

Trained under a craftsperson or merchant. Learned basic trade skills, customer dealings, and the value of reputation.

Messenger or Runner

Carried messages, parcels, or information between people or places. Relied on speed, memory, and discretion.

Rat-Catcher or Pest Control

Handled vermin and infestations in dense settlements. Developed toughness, resourcefulness, and familiarity with unpleasant work.

Dockhand or Cargo Unloader

Worked loading and unloading ships or barges. Used to teamwork, heavy labour, and the dangers of waterfronts.

Street Performer or Entertainer

Survived by drawing attention and entertaining others. Developed confidence, adaptability, and an eye for crowds.

Scribe’s Assistant or Clerk

Performed basic record-keeping or copying tasks. Familiar with documents, routine administration, and formal language.

Trades & Craft Backgrounds

These backgrounds represent characters who learned a practical trade or craft, often through apprenticeship, family work, or long-term labour. Craft backgrounds tend to produce patience, precision, and an understanding of materials, tools, and process.

Having a trade does not imply mastery. Many characters with these backgrounds are still learners, helpers, or assistants rather than accomplished artisans.

Blacksmith’s Apprentice

Spent years assisting at the forge — tending fires, preparing materials, and learning the fundamentals of metalwork through repetition and observation.

Armorer’s Helper

Worked shaping, fitting, or maintaining protective gear. Familiar with how equipment wears, breaks, and is repaired over time.

Carpenter or Joiner

Built or repaired structures, furniture, or tools from wood. Used to measuring, shaping, and solving practical construction problems.

Bowyer or Fletcher’s Assistant

Helped craft bows, arrows, or related equipment. Learned about balance, materials, and precision work.

Leatherworker or Tanner

Prepared hides or crafted leather goods. Familiar with preservation, tooling, and the less pleasant aspects of material preparation.

Weaver, Spinner, or Tailor

Worked with textiles, thread, and cloth. Developed patience and attention to fine detail.

Potter or Clay Worker

Produced containers, tools, or tiles from clay. Learned kiln work, shaping, and material limits.

Brewer, Meadmaker, or Baker

Prepared food or drink for others. Familiar with fermentation, timing, and consistency rather than glamour.

Mason or Stoneworker

Worked with stone, brick, or mortar. Used to heavy labour, precision placement, and long-term projects.

Lore, Learning & the Arcane Backgrounds

These backgrounds represent characters shaped by knowledge, study, service, and the strange forces of the world — from scholars and healers to ritualists and elemental students.

In Wyrdwood, there are no gods, but there is magic: traditions aligned to Light, Dark, and Neutrality, as well as elemental disciplines (Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Shadow, and others). This category includes both the people who study the world and those who have been touched by it.

Scholar or Researcher

A person devoted to study, inquiry, and collecting knowledge — formal or self-taught. Curious, methodical, and often dangerously persistent.

Scribe, Archivist, or Record-Keeper

Trained in writing, copying, cataloguing, and maintaining documents. Familiar with bureaucracy, secrets in plain sight, and the power of accurate records.

Cartographer or Map-Maker

A traveller and observer who measures the world, charts routes, and records landmarks. Often practical, meticulous, and quietly fearless.

Physician or Healer’s Apprentice

Trained to treat injury and illness through observation, care, and hard-earned practice. Not miraculous — simply skilled, steady, and often exhausted.

Herbalist or Apothecary’s Helper

Learned plants, remedies, tinctures, and practical preparation. May overlap with folk-magic or purely mundane healing depending on the character.

Mortician, Undertaker, or Grief-Keeper

A person who tends the dead and supports the living — preparing bodies, maintaining burial customs, and understanding what loss does to communities.

Astrologer or Celestial Observer

Studies patterns of the sky for calendars, navigation, seasonal prediction, and symbolism. Rooted in observation, not divine prophecy.

Ritual Practitioner or Circle Ward

Assisted structured rites, wards, or ceremonial practices. Familiar with preparation, discipline, timing, and the belief that symbols matter.

Light-Aligned Initiate

Raised or trained in a tradition that values restraint, clarity, protection, and preservation. Learns that power is a responsibility, not a right.

Dark-Aligned Adept

Exposed to practices that embrace secrecy, sacrifice, or harsh truths. Not automatically evil — simply willing to look where others refuse.

Neutral or Balanced Practitioner

Trained to walk between extremes, seeking equilibrium and control rather than dominance. Focused on consequences, trade-offs, and stability.

Elemental Student

Exposed to one or more elemental traditions — Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Shadow, and others. Often shaped by the environment, materials, and forces they study.

Survivor of Magical Exposure

Not a practitioner by choice, but shaped by proximity to magic — war, disasters, experiments, or unstable forces. Carries understanding born of consequence rather than study.

Using This Background List

This expanded list is intended as a reference and inspiration tool when creating a character.

You may select a background from this page, adapt one to suit your concept, or use it as a starting point for something more personal. Backgrounds are not classes, and choosing one does not lock your character into a fixed role or future path.

What matters most is that your background:

– Feels believable within the world of Wyrdwood
– Supports your character’s skills, experiences, and outlook
– Provides staff with enough context to help bring your character to life

Players are encouraged to focus on clarity, consistency, and narrative depth rather than optimisation or labels.

Once you are ready, return to the Character Creation page to submit your character or update an existing one.

Back to Character Creation