In Dungeons & Dragons, backgrounds used to primarily provide flavor for your character, acting as a framework to shape their backstory. The background would grant them a proficiency or a minor feature that had limited mechanical impact on the character but served as an excellent foundation for developing a meaningful story for that character.
As a result, the backgrounds of many characters might have been overshadowed by their class, which granted additional features as they advanced in levels. However, Gate Warden stands out in this regard. Unlike its predecessors, Gate Warden offers the opportunity to grant your character an impactful feat simply by choosing the background, providing your character with enhanced versatility and utility.
What Is The Gate Warden Background?
The Outlands, being interconnected with all other planes, enables the emergence of portals or areas of planar influence. Gate-towns frequently arise in proximity to these portals, benefiting from the convergence of different planes. These gate-towns typically adopt the cultural aspects associated with the specific portal around which they are centered.
A Gate Warden typically spends a significant amount of time in the vicinity of these areas of planar influence. A character with a Gate Warden background would be accustomed to engaging with beings from other planes, possessing the knowledge and skills to navigate the diverse moralities and belief systems of creatures such as fiends, elementals, and celestials.
Alternatively, your Gate Warden might be exceptionally familiar with manifestations of planar power, showing little surprise or reaction to sudden outbursts of divine energy.
While the Gate Warden background is ideally suited for the Planescape setting, it is not limited to it. Portals can be found throughout the realms of Dungeons & Dragons, and the Gate Warden background can adapt to various established lore systems as long as there is some form of planar influence present.
This background will also offer you a set of six suggested characteristics to aid in roleplaying your character, should you desire a foundation to build upon. However, it is important to note that these characteristics are not definitive or necessary for character creation.
Characters with the Gate Warden background can be dynamic due to their exposure to diverse cultures and worldviews, making them adaptable when it comes to making plans. On the other hand, another Gate Warden character might be suspicious or untrusting towards the various personalities they encounter in a campaign, having been betrayed or deceived by fey or fiends on multiple occasions.
Species And Class Suggestions
Certain species such as tritons, genasi, aasimar, tieflings, and changelings may naturally possess this inherent planar influence. Additionally, classes like ranger and sorcerer may also be suitable for characters affected by the convergence of planes. Furthermore, locations like the Domains of Dread function as demiplanes, providing even more options for portals within the Dungeons & Dragons canon.
If you wish to fully maximize the potential of the Gate Warden background, it is advisable to avoid selecting species or subclasses that already possess resistance to damage types associated with specific planes. For example, it would be better to avoid playing a fallen aasimar from the Evil Outer Plane or an Aberrant Mind Sorcerer from The Outlands, as they already have built-in resistance to those plane's damage types.
Gate Warden Background Features
The Gate Warden Background begins by granting you the ability to find and obtain free housing and food within the society where you were raised. However, this provision usually does not extend to nobility. Nonetheless, it does offer you and your party the opportunity to have a (mostly) safer night compared to being on the road, even in an area where genies are causing havoc, to the extent that safety is possible in such circumstances.
As a Gate Warden, you will gain proficiency in the Persuasion skill, as well as another skill proficiency of your choice. Additionally, you will be able to select two languages of your preference, and your choice may be influenced by the plane of influence you select for your character.
The features of the Gate Warden Background set it apart from other sourcebooks by granting you the Scion of the Outer Planes feat right from the beginning.
Scion of the Outer Planes | You will select a plane to originate from: Chaotic, Evil, Good, or Lawful. Once you choose your plane of influence, this feature will provide you with a cantrip and resistance to a specific type of damage. The cantrips, resistances, and the corresponding planes are as follows:
You can cast the cantrip without requiring material components, and you have the flexibility to choose your spellcasting ability from either Intelligence, Charisma, or Wisdom. This is particularly advantageous for those who are already playing a spellcasting class, as it allows them to utilize their highest ability score. While slightly less beneficial for martial classes, it still provides them with the opportunity to make better use of the cantrip than they would with a fixed ability score. |
Starting Equipment For The Gate Warden Background
You can cast the cantrip without requiring material components, and you have the flexibility to choose your spellcasting ability from either Intelligence, Charisma, or Wisdom. This is particularly advantageous for those who are already playing a spellcasting class, as it allows them to utilize their highest ability score. While slightly less beneficial for martial classes, it still provides them with the opportunity to make better use of the cantrip than they would with a fixed ability score.
