Rank 2 – Traveler
- Ability scores: Dexterity, Wisdom, Charisma
- Talent: Lucky
- Skills in which you are proficient: Insight and Stealth
- Tool with which you are proficient: Thieves’ tools
- Equipment: Either A) two daggers, thieves’ tools, gaming set (any), backpack, two bags, travel clothes, and 16 gold, or B) 50 gold
The traveler as a background is a strong choice as it suits almost any class. They can offer the flair of a brooding loner but also suit sociable and outgoing candidates who have made strong acquaintances on their travels.
Either through this quiet and stealthy observation or frequent exchanges with various people from different cultures, travelers are very good at recognizing motives, which is a really strong feature in Dungeons & Dragons.
With the ability scores of Dexterity, Wisdom, and Charisma, many classes can benefit from the traveler as a background without having to sacrifice ability points.
Moreover, travelers receive one of the best talents in D&D: They are simply lucky.
Lucky characters receive what is called Luck points equaling their proficiency bonus, which they can use for personal advantages and distributed disadvantages: they either gain an advantage on saving throws or give a hostile character a disadvantage on their attack roll.
This can, similarly to the Heroic Inspiration of the entertainer, influence entire story arcs and decide life or death in some cases.
The traveler simply fits for nearly every backstory. Because who plays Dungeons & Dragons without traveling? With this background, you have made your travels not just part of your routine but your profession (and somehow been rewarded with intense luck. Don’t question it, just accept it).
