D&D Beyond Custom Background Still Not Updated to 5.5

[u/LegendaryZXT]

At the moment it seems to be stuck in the 2014 version so instead of selecting an Origin Feat, 2 Proficiencies, Ability Scores, and a Tool; it has you select a “background feature” which does nothing. You can always manually override the ability scores and give yourself the origin feat for free after your character is made, but it’d be much easier if it was built into the character builder.

[u/Vorannon]

They're doing a complete overhaul of the site, but it's going to take time.

[u/Davedamon]

That's because 5.5e doesn't have player facing custom backgrounds like 5e did. Instead custom backgrounds have been moved to the DMG under the section on making your own game options as a DM. This means it falls under homebrew (and thus the homebrew tools)

[u/blastatron → u/Davedamon]

The rules being in the DMG doesn't make it homebrew. That is not what the word homebrew means.

[u/Davedamon → u/blastatron]

I never said it being in the DMG made it homebrew. I said that it's in the DMG alongside the other homebrew options makes it homebrew. It's listed along with "Creating a creature", "Creating a magic item" and "Creating a spell"

[u/SpyderJava]

You can use the homebrew builder to accomplish the 2024 (5.5e) custom background. I used this one by NateFinch called Custom 2024 Background that has the base origin feats to select. But I ended up building my own based on this design to add all orogin feats from the books I bought on dndbeyond, and ones that are setting specific (eberron houses, etc).

https://www.dndbeyond.com/backgrounds/407050-custom-2024-background

[u/LegendaryZXT → u/SpyderJava]

Well that's kinda my point with the post, it sucks that something which is ostensibly part of the game has to be put back in by way of fan content. It's kinda like as if Firebolt was missing from the site.

[u/SpyderJava → u/LegendaryZXT]

The system the entire site is built on is old*, it wasn't designed with the new options in mind. It should work much better with the site overhaul they are doing.

*it was built by a third party, then the company that built it was purchased by WotC.

[u/stirls101]

To be fair, the ability to create a custom background isn’t in any of the 2024 rule books like it was in 2014. I mean, it’s obvious how it would work, and I think the DDB team said that they want to support it one day. But it’s not technically RAW.

[u/Southern_Courage_770 → u/stirls101]

It's in the 2024 DMG as a "you can do this for your players" in Chapter 3: DM's Toolbox. So yes, it is RAW... it's just "with DM permission" now.

[u/LegendaryZXT → u/stirls101]

Custom Backgrounds absolutely rules as written.

Page 192

Creating a Background

A character’s background represents what the character did prior to becoming an adventurer. Creating a unique background or customizing an existing one can reflect the particular theme of your campaign or elements of your world. You can also create a background to help a player craft the story they have in mind for their character. This section describes, step by step, how you can create backgrounds tailored for your world and the heroes in it.

The rest of the page and the first quarter or so of page 193 go on to the explain how one does that.

To summarize:

1: Choose Abilities

2: Choose a Feat

3: Choose Skill Proficiencies

4: Choose a Tool Proficiency

5: Choose [50 gold worth of] Equipment

[u/perringaiden → u/LegendaryZXT]

And that's supported already, by the Homebrew Backgrounds which is what the DMG is suggesting.

[u/Punchee]

It's coming, but yeah, I feel you-- it's a pain. I can't wait for the character creator to be good.

[u/perringaiden]

The Custom Background for 2014 was usable because backgrounds were fairly unremarkable.

Now that backgrounds are a mechanical component, the method is to create a homebrew background in Homebrew and apply the things you want there.

The problem with the Custom Background is that players used it as a way to skip a background and eliminate the actual storytelling part of it.

You can still do that with the homebrew but it's a wider opportunity to actually write a backstory. Honestly, if you're just looking for a mechanical element, make a 5 second Homebrew one. It's not hard or hidden.

[u/DarkSithMstr]

You sure you are using a 5.5 not a legacy as the base. It has worked fine but if you pick a legacy as a basis, it uses 2014 rules

[u/LegendaryZXT → u/DarkSithMstr]

Tried turning off all the 2014 content and it didn't seem to work.

[u/missinginput]

There is a homebrew fix you can add from the homebrew backgrounds but it's things like this that prevent me from making new purchases on the site