Community Instead of Background (from Daggerheart)

The new Daggerheart rules have replaced the Background common in many games with Community. They are quite similar to backgrounds from 5e or PF2e (e.g. highborne = noble), though I think the reframing is important. Both the name and the descriptions focus on how the character fits into the game world. Each campaign frame (like a pitch and rough outline) includes a section with additional detail on how these communities exist and fit into the specific campaign world.

It strikes me that this concept could be adapted to most systems and fit nicely in with proactive games by having players think about where the character comes from and how they are shaped or react to that experience and community. E.g. Wanderborne, do you travel nomadically by choice, by tradition, because you were exiled, ...

I think for my PF2e games, I might outline five or six communities (highborne/noble; loreborne/academic; orderborne/code; slyborne/criminal; wanderborne/traveler; ridgeborne/wilderness) in the campaign pitch and then sort some of the 206 official PF2e backgrounds as suggestions in each community. Maybe the community should shape some of the character web questions as much as the class.

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