Dungeons & Dragons' Background Changes are a Good Sign for 6th Edition

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As a game that's nearly 50 years old, it's no surprise that Dungeons & Dragons today is almost unrecognizable when compared to its original form. Over generations of players and developers, the game has constantly morphed and change to get to the acclaimed modern 5th edition. Still, it's interesting to see how Dungeons & Dragons 5e itself has transformed since its debut. In the latest several years, Wizards of the Coast has made major changes to class features, racial abilities, and much more. Even now, D&D fans can see WotC's next target through the lens of recent expansions and Unearthed Arcana: backgrounds.

D&D 5e's backgrounds are one of the edition's most fundamental features, providing players with skills and items based on where they come from. While the base system works, Wizards of the Coast seems determined to improved it, based on recent evidence. That's a great thing, since background features leave something to be desired in 5e. What's more, it's an encouraging sign for the general direction of Dungeons & Dragons in the upcoming backwards-compatible edition. Wizards of the Coast's changes to backgrounds imply a focus on player empowerment that could mean it has a lot of exciting ideas in store for D&D 6e.

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Backgrounds have always offered a good spread of personality traits and ability choices that flesh out a D&D 5e character, but the features for many of these leave a lot to be desired because they don't have compelling mechanical benefits. For instance, the Acolyte's ability to find shelter at a temple or the Criminal's knowledge of underground crime networks both seem like something that a player can simply put into their backstory with