Backgrounds of Liminal

Player's Handbook

• Acolyte: Acolytes serve as the ordained priesthood of the land, a personage in service to the Gods, whether Empyrean or Talion. These priests have taken oaths of service and devotion, and frequently also tend to a congregation or other population of the faithful, performing the sacred rites of that faith.
• Charlatan: Con men and mountebanks, the lands of Rinhony abound with those who use deceit to make their way in the world. The shirefolk are notorious for their quick hands at games of chance, and the forgery of false documents, while it's said that the mountebanks of Guild trade-towns are masters of coin-clipping and the sales of goods that don't belong to them...or don't even exist at all!
• Criminal: Those who break the law in order to make a living - or just for the excitement of it - are plentiful in all the lands of Rinhony. Most such folk about in cities, where there is plenty of anonymity and wealth in one place to ply their trade.
• Entertainer: Though it is rare to find entertainers who are so broadly-traveled as there once were in the days of Liminal, those who perform for the joy of an audience still wander the roads, seeking out warm inns in which to trade song and story for a bit of coin and a bit of ale.
• Folk Hero: With the lands of Rinhony torn apart by war and the Incursion, there are plenty of folk who have cause to rise up and defend their allies in this era.
• Gladiator (Entertainer Variant): Fallen are the great gladiators of Liminal's height. No more do these celebrities bleed for thousands of screaming adorers - the art of the gladiator has been reduced to back-alley fisticuffs exhibitions and bar-basement sport fighting just to make ends meet.
• Guild Artisan: The craftsfolk of the Guilds are inheritors of an old system of dwarven craftsmanship and artisan's brotherhood. Though the ancient dwarven kings are long extinct, the Guilds remain and continue to ply their trade, gaining in power through wealth and trade power.
• Guild Merchant (Guild Artisan Variant): The Guilds do not merely craft goods, but also sell them - this is the specialty for members of the Mercantilists' Guild. They may run a market, master a caravan, invest in others' businesses or something similar.
• Hermit: There is a long-standing tradition in Rinhony of the hermit in the wilderness, escaping the pressures and distractions of civilized life in order to contemplate the mysteries that haunt or fascinate them.
• Noble: The myriad lands of Rinhony are scattered with petty nobility. For the most part, their authority and nobility is observed only in their home dominion, although their wealth is usually welcome everywhere.
• Knight (Noble Variant): There are many knights - that is, warriors of somewhat elevated birth (if not quite noble) who serve a lord. Knighthood isn't just a title, but a profession, including a period of apprenticeship (when they are called squires) to other knights. Only a knight can confer the title of knighthood onto a squire, and usually do so only after a great deed or a period of faithful service.
• Outlander: There are many barbarian tribes, from the orcish clans and the human nomads of the Hordemarches to the Frostfell tribes, from small nomadic bands of wood elves in the forests of Rinhony to the hill-folk in the foothills of the Ilandor and Thunder Peak mountains.
• Pirate (Sailor Variant): Pirates are relatively rare in Rinhony - most of them are human and half-orcs from the lands south of the Ilandors. There are some notorious pirate vessels who haunt the inlet sea between the Sunset Peaks and the River Kingdoms, but they are few and far inbetween. Probably the most numerous are the corsairs who infest the seemingly innumerable small islands off the coasts of the Empire of the Nine, preying on imperial and Guilds ships.
• Sage: Scholars and masters of lore, sages are ubiquitous in urban areas. These scholars tend to also be the sort of folk who maintain libraries and the like. Since the fall of Liminal - which boasted the largest concentration of scholars and loremasters in Rinhony - men and women of learning have scattered to the lands that will have them.
• Sailor: Sea travel is fairly uncommon - much of Rinhony is land-bound, and those areas that aren't are often wild lands. The main exception is the Empire of the Nine, who maintain a strong trading presence within its own borders and with some of its neighbors along the eastern shores, and the Guildships most often found along its western shores.
• Spy (Criminal Variant): With the destruction of Liminal, there are spies aplenty in all the lands, each reporting to some master or another...or simply selling what they discover to the highest bidder.
• Soldier: A profession found everywhere, with the fall of Liminal and its mediators, as most problems between nations are now handled on the battlefield.
• Urchin: The poor urban dweller is as ubiquitous now as it ever was - more so, in some areas, where the fall of Liminal has created a lack of trade, and thus an increase in those who have neither home nor families.

New Backgrounds

• Almanni Theocrat: More than just a priest or a bureaucrat, you are one of the ordained clergy of the Theocracy's faith - for you, there is no difference in serving your god and in making sure your nation runs well.
• Astrologer: One steeped in the lore of the Starry Wisdoms, astrologers use their knowledge of the movement of the celestial bodies through the vault of the heavens to understand more about others, and to foretell the future.
• Crown-Forged: Though the Three Destinies of the Dwarven Kings - the Crown, the Hammer, and the Anvil - are long lost, and the kings thrown down, there are some such as yourself with a proven lineage to those kings. Whether you try and recreate the dwarven monarchy, or believe it best gone and simply try to keep a low profile, you are different from your kin.
• Cultist: You are a member of a secret cabal that idolizes and possibly even worships an otherworldly power other than the gods - perhaps a devil or demon, the Primordials, one of the Dark Powers of the Shadowfell, or some other entity. You may also be a worshipper of the gods in a place where the gods are not welcome, such as among wood elves or in the Empire of the Nine.
• Hospitaler: An order of knights, healers, and mercy-givers, the Hospitalers go to where their help is needed, and render aid. They frequently establish chapterhouses to provide healing and sanctuary to any who need it, and their members frequently ride the roads, seeking to be of assistance where they can.
• Janissary: Tattooed and mysterious, the janissaries are the sworn servants of the Genie Courts, those elemental kings with an interest in the goings-on of the world of mortals.
• Knight of the Starry Blade: The old defenders of fallen Astrapola, the Knights of the Starry Blade are astrologer-warriors - many of whom also wielded astrological magic in addition to the talents of mundane astrology.
• Magocrat of the Nine: You are a magus of House Taldiress, one of the magocrats of the Empire of the Nine. Whether a natural son of the House, or one who was married into it by virtue of possessing magical skill, you are a part of the House's intrigues.
• Shaman: A servant of the spirits among the people who worship the Primal Spirits, you act to give advice and guidance to your people for living peacefully with those great spirits of the land.
• Tamousan Nobility: You are a noble of the Empire of Tamous, and an adherent to the Faith of the Holy Throne.

Other Info

• 5e Backgrounds Template