A D&D background gives your character a past—and, depending on the rules edition, a different set of mechanical benefits. In the 2024 rules, your background supplies ability score increases, an Origin feat, two skill proficiencies, one tool proficiency, and starting equipment. The 2014 version instead grants a background feature and proficiencies, with no ability score increases. Use one edition consistently unless your DM has approved a specific conversion.
This guide explains the difference, shows how to choose a background for a character concept and class, and offers roleplaying prompts that make the choice matter after character creation.
Rules edition: 2024 and 2014 backgrounds are different
Rules edition: The main character-creation advice below uses the 2024 rules. Older background features and equipment guidance are labeled 2014. A background is not a species or class, and its benefits do not automatically transfer from one book version to another.
| Background detail | 2024 rules | 2014 rules |
|---|---|---|
| Ability scores | Lists three scores; increase one by 2 and another by 1, or increase all three by 1. | No ability score increases from the background. |
| Feat or feature | Grants a specified Origin feat. | Grants a background feature, generally a narrative or social benefit. |
| Proficiencies | Two skills and one tool proficiency. | Two skills; some backgrounds also grant tools or languages. |
| Starting gear | Choose the listed equipment package or 50 GP. | Use the background’s listed equipment, subject to the 2014 starting-wealth rules. |
In 2024, ability score increases come from the background rather than the species. In 2014, backgrounds do not raise scores; ability score increases came from the character’s race and later class features. Do not add an old fixed racial bonus on top of a 2024 background increase unless the campaign’s compatibility rules specifically call for it.
How to choose a 2024 background
- Start with the character’s past. Decide what they did before adventuring: served a temple, worked a trade, studied, survived on the road, or trained for war.
- Check the listed ability scores. Choose a background that includes the scores your class uses. You may raise one listed score by 2 and another by 1, or raise all three by 1; no increase can take a score above 20.
- Read the Origin feat. The feat is a significant mechanical part of the 2024 background. Make sure you understand how it works and that it supports the way you want to play.
- Look at skills and tools. Pick for the character’s role in the party and campaign. Perception, Stealth, Insight, and relevant tools can matter as much outside combat as a small damage increase matters in it.
- Choose the equipment package or 50 GP. Compare the listed gear with your class’s starting equipment and the campaign’s starting assumptions.
The free 2024 Basic Rules present Acolyte, Criminal, Sage, and Soldier backgrounds; the 2024 Player’s Handbook contains a broader selection. Your table may allow other published backgrounds or custom options. Use the version and source your DM approves, especially when a background comes from an older book.
Choosing for a class without losing the story
A background should support your character, not dictate a single optimal build. First choose the ability scores that matter for your class, then compare the feats and proficiencies among backgrounds that fit your story. It is usually a poor trade to take a background that conflicts with your concept just to gain a minor bonus you may rarely use.
- Paladins: Look for a background whose listed scores can support Strength or Dexterity and Charisma, then weigh the Origin feat against the skills your party lacks. See our 2024 Paladin background guide.
- Monks: Dexterity and Wisdom are common priorities, but mobility, scouting, and social skills may matter more to your campaign. Our Monk background rankings compare those tradeoffs.
- Clerics: Wisdom is central to many Cleric builds, while the background’s skills, tool, and feat can reflect the character’s service or community. See our Cleric background guide.
These are starting points, not requirements. A Fighter can be an academic, a Cleric can be a criminal, and a Wizard can come from a farm. The rules give you benefits; your story explains how they came together.
Using an older 2014 background
In the 2014 rules, a background describes your character’s former life and grants its own background feature, two skill proficiencies, and possibly tool or language proficiencies. It also offers starting equipment and suggested personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws. Those suggested characteristics are prompts—you may choose or adapt them rather than roll randomly.
The 2014 rules also give guidance for customizing a background with your DM. The background feature is not the same thing as a 2024 Origin feat, and the 2014 package has no background ability score increase. If you are using a 2024 class with a 2014 background, check the official compatibility guidance and agree with your DM on how to handle the feature and equipment before play.
Turn your background into roleplay
Choose one person, place, obligation, or unfinished problem from your character’s past. Then answer three questions: Why did you leave? What do you miss or avoid? What would make you return? These answers give the DM usable story hooks without requiring the campaign to revolve around your character.
- An Acolyte might still protect a community even after losing faith in its leaders.
- A Criminal might owe a former partner—or be trying to repair the damage left behind.
- A Sage might have found a clue that challenges everything they were taught.
- A Soldier might have deserted, survived a failed mission, or kept a promise to a former comrade.
Use the background’s skill and tool proficiencies in scenes that fit that history. Invite other characters into the story: ask who helped you leave, who recognizes your name, or which party member shares an old connection. That turns the background from a one-time bonus into a source of choices during play.
Official Rules Sources
- D&D Beyond 2024 Basic Rules: Character Origins and backgrounds.
- D&D Beyond 2014 Basic Rules: Personality and Background.
- D&D Beyond: 2024 Player’s Handbook updates and compatibility.
Frequently asked questions
Do 2024 backgrounds give ability score increases?
Yes. A 2024 background lists three ability scores. Increase one by 2 and another by 1, or increase all three by 1, subject to the rules’ maximum. The species does not provide a fixed ability score increase in the 2024 character-creation rules.
Do 2024 backgrounds have background features?
They grant a specified Origin feat instead. The older 2014 backgrounds grant a background feature, so do not treat the two benefits as interchangeable.
Can I use a 2014 background with a 2024 character?
Often, but use the compatibility guidance for the specific older option and confirm the details with your DM. In particular, do not stack an old ability score increase with a 2024 background increase by default.
