You have some sort of wisdom, training, or expertise that is your responsibility to pass on to others. Given the wide breadth of specialized knowledge that exists and the even wider range of teaching and leadership roles that exist, this can manifest in a truly dizzying number of ways.
What do you teach? Did you seek the role of mentor out or was it thrust upon you? Is your mentorship formal or informal? Do you enjoy it, or see it as an unpleasant duty? Who do you learn from, and how do you keep your own skills sharp? Why are you adventuring rather than at an academy?
Ability Score Increases: +1 to Intelligence and one other ability score.
Skill Proficiencies: Two chosen from Culture, Engineering, History, and Performance
Tools: One artisan toolset and one musical instrument
Suggested Equipment (Cost 36 gold): Robes, book (blank), ink and pen
Feature: Mentor’s Aptitude. You gain an expertise die with one of the skills or tools you gained from this background. When a friendly creature within 60 feet of you fails a check using the chosen skill or tool while making a check that requires more than an action to complete, you can use a reaction to grant that creature a reroll. The creature must use the new roll, even if it is worse.
Adventures and Advancement: As you teach others and help them grow, you may be granted greater responsibility and prestige, which can provide you with a Moderate lifestyle as long as you maintain a teaching schedule of a couple of sessions per week.
| d10 | Connection |
|---|---|
| 1 | The student who has become a mentor in their own right and comes to you for guidance. |
| 2 | The former pupil who thinks you were full of it and seeks to expose you. |
| 3 | The fellow mentor you relied on for support. |
| 4 | Your own teacher, now very old. |
| 5 | The promising student who returns to visit from time to time. |
| 6 | The creator of a new teaching method who is constantly pestering you for feedback. |
| 7 | The fellow mentor with a style different than yours, probably a rival. |
| 8 | The parent, sibling, or significant other of a student who pressured you to give them special treatment. |
| 9 | The practitioner of the skill you taught that you enjoyed comparing thoughts with. |
| 10 | The mysterious patron who sponsored your teaching but never partook of it. |
| d10 | Memento |
|---|---|
| Your faithful old abacus that you have used for many years. | |
| A letter of recommendation from one of your own mentors. | |
| Your formal credentials certifying your expertise. | |
| A journal you’ve kept of students over the years. | |
| Your faithful old tools, books, or instrument that you use to teach. | |
| A drinking vessel proclaiming your merit as a teacher. | |
| The manuscript for a new educational text you have been working on. | |
| An obsolete textbook that you still treasure. | |
| A collection of research notes. | |
| A set of formal clothing or jewelry that indicates your station as an educator. |