Which Background Should You pick In Avowed?

Avowed follows Obsidian’s trademark ability to enable an incredible amount of player choice when it comes to role-playing in their worlds, and the character creator in Avowed starts the process off beautifully in the RPG. There are a lot of different customization options, and all of them work to give you more ownership over your character.

One of the most impactful role-playing choices you make when you create your character is choosing their background. This is going to create the template from which a lot of what your character can say in the world extends, so making the right choice for your character is important.

What Is A Character Background?

Your character background in Avowed works as a way to establish your character’s earlier years and give your character unique dialogue options in numerous situations throughout the game.

There are five different character backgrounds to choose from.

• Arcane Scholar
• Court Augur
• Noble Scion
• Vanguard Scout
• War Hero

Each of these gives your character dialogue options for different situations, marked with the name of the background inside the dialogue option when in-game.

Each option also distributes your Attribute Points in a certain wayand determines the first weapon you find in the game.

You will find more weapons extremely early in the game, making the starting weapon of very little importance overall.

While your background allocates your Attribute Points in a certain way, you can change the point allocation to your liking during character creation. You’re also free to allocate Attribute Points however you decide from there on out.

Regardless of your background choice, every weapon and ability choice is going to be available throughout the game.

Arcane Scholar

Arcane Scholars are some of the most well-learned characters around. If you choose this background, your character will have graduated from an Academy, having published a paper that challenged the legitimacy of the rule of a certain lord, and been recruited into the Imperial Court.

Arcane Scholar Starting Attributes

If you pick an Arcane Scholar, your starting attributes will be:

This background boosts most stats slightly but without putting much stock in stats that are going to keep you alive in difficult circumstances. You won’t start with any extra maximum health, making this unwise for builds that center around being able to take a beating.

The extra damage and extra Essence are going to allow you a lot of spellcasting potential.

Court Augur

Court Augur’s see more than most, capable of impossible insight and fortune-telling. If your character strikes you as someone who works well in the shadows, gaining power without others being the wiser, then a Court Augur could be a good choice.

Court Augur Starting Attributes

If you choose to be a Court Augur, your default attribute point allocation will be:

Court Augurs are a good fit for any build that utilizes a heavy amount of stamina and Essence, but does not have the ability to brush off a few hits. With that stamina, you’ll be able to dodge and attack quite a bit, and the extra essence will allow you to cast more spells.

A character that uses a bow and wand combo could do particularly well with this background.

Noble Scion

Noble Scions come from a long line of people who either are or claim to be, important. They come from a family who’s fallen out of grace, and your character begged the emperor for mercy. They granted it to you, and your character worked your way up to being useful from there.

Noble Scion Starting Attributes

Noble Scion’s have the following starting attributes:

Noble Scions are some of the most well-rounded characters from the start, with Attributes placed all across the board. Their lowest values impact their max health and max stamina, pushing them more into the category of a high-damage character than a character stacked with a lot of ability to sustain themselves. That damage can be dealt in just about any way.

Vanguard Scout

Vanguard Scouts come from a family that had little, forcing your character to find their own means of survival. You were on a path to being unceremoniously executed until the Emperor stepped in to save your life. You’re at home when you find yourself in nature.

Vanguard Scout Starting Attributes

If you choose to be a Vanguard Scout, you’ll have the following starting attributes:

Vanguard Scouts are a background with no holes in the Attribute distribution, capable of branching off into many directions. They have some solid starting health and fantastic critical chance.

Their default attack damage might not be high, but boost their Might level with Perception, and they could be capable of some serious damage.

War Hero

War Heroes are exactly what they sound like: characters who have publicly proven themselves in battle. That doesn’t mean that being so familiar with battle hasn’t taken a toll, but it’s a toll that you’ve learned how to pay.

War Hero Starting Attributes

As a War Hero, you’ll start with attribute point allocation looking like this:

War Heroes might have a little bit of meathead in them, but they pack a serious punch. They have the highest possible starting Might and Resolve, meaning their attacks are going to deal a lot of damage, and they’ll be able to attack with regularity.

Their Intellect is non-existent, and they are not very perceptive, but playing to the strengths of a War Hero can make for a very punishing build