Backgrounds are a great way of giving your character’s personality a base. Aside from a story, each background in BG3 gives proficiency with two extra skills and dialog options.
Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) is based on Dungeons and Dragons, which is heavily dependent on roleplaying. In honor of the original, we recommend creating your character mostly based on what roleplaying experience you want. Choosing features not only on stats but also on what makes sense for your character’s story.
I created a Dragonborn Ranger with the Folk Hero background because they were created by a Druid group that adopted them after being abandoned in the forest, in return, they swore to protect the group, hence the Folk Hero.
Because they grew up with Druids, it also makes sense for my character to have proficiency with Animal Handling and Survival. That’s how you can create a more intricate story that will help you roleplay while also taking advantage of the stats.
Best Ranger backgrounds in Baldur’s Gate 3
We recommend picking a background that has at least one skill under the Dexterity and Wisdom skill umbrellas, prioritizing Dexterity skills.
This means all backgrounds that have Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, and Survival are a good fit for Rangers. Here are the best five backgrounds for Rangers in BG3:
Folk Hero
Proficiencies:
- Animal Handling
- Survival
The common people see you as their hero, protecting them from monsters and criminals. It’s a great start for your journey of greatness. This background implicates a good moral but not necessarily a lawful one.
Urchin
Proficiencies:
- Sleight of Hand
- Stealth
The Urchin is the street kid. You had a rough childhood that taught you how to live with little while using your smarts to survive. This background has more space for evil and chaotic characters. You can plead revenge against nobles or seek to correct the inequality you saw as a child.
Outlander
Proficiencies:
- Athletics
- Survival
Outlanders grew far from the cities and learned how to survive in the wilds. Rangers with this background might have a lower charisma since they grew up surrounded by nature and not civilization. Growing far from civilization may explain a lack of respect for laws, for example.
Charlatan
Proficiencies:
- Deception
- Sleight of Hand
Chalartans are the masters of manipulation, they will use lies and half trues to get what they want without making too much effort. This background can justify a higher Charisma skill in your build and allow for more dialog options than the previous backgrounds since they are more useful outside of conversations.
Criminal
Proficiencies:
- Deception
- Stealth
The Criminal background is what the name suggests. This background is for characters who deal with illegal activities, but that doesn’t mean your character must still be a criminal. A background can only be about your past, what if your character decided to change his ways and use their skills for good?
