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Avowed’s character creation has plenty of options available, but the one area that may leave you scratching your head are backgrounds. To help you out, we’ve put together a handy guide.
There are five background options to choose from in Avowed, each providing a detailed description of the lore available:
- Arcane Scholar
- Court Augur
- Noble Scion
- Vanguard Scout
- War Hero
We’ve outlined what each background is below, alongside an explanation of the choice you face.
What are backgrounds in Avowed?
Backgrounds in Avowed are selected when creating your character before starting the game, fleshing out the story of your created character before the events of the story. They add to the RPG elements of the game, providing deeper lore to your character that can influence how you act in the game itself—although it doesn’t force you down a particular path.
All equipment and abilities are available to you in Avowed regardless of the background you choose. Rather than locking you to a particular class, backgrounds instead provide unique dialogue options to choose from when interacting with characters.
For example, a Vanguard Scout background provides dialogue options that are useful in situations where you’re exploring the wilderness, although it won’t lock you out of completing particular quests or greatly influence the direction of the main story.
All Avowed backgrounds
The table below shows all the available background options in Avowed when creating your character, along with the details provided and starting weapon. Use this to compare the choices available to settle on a decision that’s best suited to you.
We’ve also listed the recommended starting stats the game suggests when selected a background, though you can tweak these to however you want.
| Background | Details | Recommended Starting Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Arcane Scholar | After graduating with honors from Bragganhyl Academy, you published a treatise on soul lineages that threatened the legitimacy—and drew the ire—of a local lord. When he had you arrested, the emperor intervened and recruited you into the archives of the imperial court. Your mind is a bottomless well of occult knowledge, legal precedent, historical observation, and poetry. You’ve forgotten more than most people learn. | – Might: 2 – Constitution: 0 – Dexterity: 2 – Perception: 2 – Intellect: 3 – Resolve: 1 |
| Court Augur | When your village’s crops failed, your strange insights and unsettling manner earned your neighbors suspicion. You foresaw the torches and pitchforks and fled to Highcrown, where the emperor recognized your talents and elevated you from back-alley fortuneteller to his personal mystic. You have learned how to wield power from the shadows. All it takes is a dash of influence and a pinch of deception. | – Might: 0 – Constitution: 0 – Dexterity: 2 – Perception: 3 – Intellect: 3 – Resolve: 2 |
| Noble Scion | You were born into a noble house of great influence, middling wealth, and questionable morals. When scandals and succession disputes saw your family cast down, you threw yourself on the emperor’s mercy, and he shielded you. Canny yet refined, you have become a formidable force at court and an invaluable ally to the emperor. | – Might: 2 – Constitution: 1 – Dexterity: 2 – Perception: 2 – Intellect: 2 – Resolve: 1 |
| Vanguard Scout | Born to humble beginnings and driven to desperation by famine, your life was destined to end on the executioner’s block until the emperor spared you. You’re more at ease in the wilderness than in court, but your cleverness and observant nature have made you one of the emperor’s most trusted operatives. Whether tracking prey or spying on enemies, your skills are put to work both inside and outside of the throne room. | – Might: 1 – Constitution: 2 – Dexterity: 2 – Perception: 3 – Intellect: 1 – Resolve: 1 |
| War Hero | You distinguished yourself on the field of battle fighting a violent Skaenite uprising, and the emperor honored you with a place among the elite Tall Grass spearman. Some of your scars are less obvious than others, but you wear them all with pride. The emperor values your loyalty, your grit, and your martial prowess. | – Might: 3 – Constitution: 2 – Dexterity: 1 – Perception: 1 – Intellect: 0 – Resolve: 3 |
All Avowed backgrounds’ recommended weapons
In Avowed, class fluidity is a crucial component, and each and every background and class has access to all weapon types and equipment, regardless of what you might have chosen for roleplaying purposes. But given how different starting backgrounds have different stats as we’ve described above, they might prove more proficient with certain types of weapons off the bat based on their stats. So, here’s a quick list of recommended weapons for each background (keep in mind you can always multiclass and swap to something else; you’re not locked to any choice in Avowed).
- Arcane Scholar: Wands, Grimoires, Daggers
- Court Augur: Wands, Grimoires, Bows
- Noble Scion: Wands, Grimoires, Bows, Daggers, Swords, Maces, Spears, Axes
- Vanguard Scout: Bows, Arquebuses, Pistols, Daggers, Swords, Maces, Spears, Axes
- War Hero: Swords, Maces, Spears, Axes, Great Axes, Great Hammers, Great Swords
As stated, these are just the first weapon types your character will be good with, but it doesn’t mean they’re locked out of the other options. With only a few levels, and the free ability points you get in the character creation, each and every background and character can be made to look and play the same, which is the very point of Avowed‘s system that aims for multiclassing and broader options rather than specific builds.
Best background to choose in Avowed
As backgrounds in Avowed are merely lore-based, there’s no right or wrong choice to make. You can choose whichever option you like and tweak your equipment and abilities however you please, even if you feel it doesn’t quite match the background you chose.
Ultimately, it depends on how strict you want to be with your character and whether you will allow yourself to be flexible or whether you want to make an early choice for your playthrough and stick to it—though I’d recommend the former.
I came into Avowed with the intention to focus on long-ranged combat, but it quickly became apparent that didn’t work for me, so I switched into a shield-and-axe combo. Having that flexibility to shift my style of play around on the fly is a welcome bonus, especially as you can respec your abilities at any time if you want to shake things up.
If you do want to be strict with it from an RPG perspective, I’ve outlined each of the backgrounds alongside potential weapon choices below.
- Arcane Scholar: This is a great option for anyone planning to be a master of the mystic arts, utilizing sorcery and wands to inflict status effects and deal damage to enemies.
- Court Augur: Another option for sorcerers, the Court Augar is the ideal background for those utilizing spells and wands in a more supportive role for your companions, providing healing and buffs.
- Noble Scion: This background is one of the most flexible from an RPG perspective, though the best choices will be smaller one-handed weapons like daggers, swords, and axes.
- Vanguard Scout: For anyone planning to play as a ranger, dealing damage from distance with bows, Vanguard Scout is the perfect background. You can also utilize daggers for up close and personal combat scenarios.
- War Hero: Think of this background as the juggernaut, utilizing two-handed weapons like great axes and longswords. You’ll be front and center in combat situations, tanking damage from enemies to protect your companions.
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