DnD 5e Backgrounds

Charlatan 5e Background Guide

Published on December 15, 2024, Last modified on December 28th, 2024

Explore the Charlatan background in D&D 5e, its benefits for agile and roguish characters, and how it can boost your swashbuckling character’s utility.

A Charlatan Rogue deceives an innocent passerby

Scott Murphy - Wizards of the Coast - Sleight of Hand

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What Is the Charlatan Background in D&D?

The Charlatan is a DnD 5e background for characters who thrive on deception and quick thinking. As a Charlatan, you’ve spent your days perfecting the art of the con—whether that’s selling fake potions, forging noble lineages, or spinning comforting lies to gullible marks. This background suits characters who excel in social manipulation and who might see adventuring as another opportunity to spin a profitable scam.

How Does the Charlatan Background Work?

The Charlatan background provides the following features:

  • Ability Scores: Receive a +2 bonus to one ability and +1 to another, or a +1 bonus to all three: Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma.
  • Feat: Skilled. This feat allows you to gain proficiency in three skills or tools of your choice.
  • Skill Proficiencies: Deception and Sleight of Hand.
  • Tool Proficiency: Forgery Kit.
  • Equipment:
    • Option A: Forgery Kit, Costume, Fine Clothes, 15 GP.
    • Option B: 50 GP for a more customizable loadout.

Let’s break down the benefits:

Ability Scores: This ability score split is perfect for Charisma-based casters and Dexterity-focused martial characters. You can +2 your primary focus (Charisma for spellcasters, Dexterity for Ranged of Finesse weapon-wielders) and +1 your secondary focus, likely Constitution. Charisma-based characters who want to do a bit of swashbuckling battle, like College of Valor Bards or Swashbuckler Rogues may also want to consider boosting all three ability scores by 1.

Skilled Feat: The Skilled feat offers a decent bonus to skill-focused characters. The only downside with this feat is a bit redundant for these characters, who usually already have a ton of skill proficiencies and the ability to choose whichever proficiencies they’re most focused on. One thing to note is that the 2024 Player’s Handbook  has given tools more mechanical effects, so they’re a decent option if you’ve exhausted useful skill proficiencies. For instance, picking up a proficiency in Thieves’ Tools will give you Advantage on picking locks thanks to the Sleight of Hand proficiency you pick up from the Charlatan background.

Deception and Sleight of Hand Proficiencies: Deception is a great social skill and will come in handy often, especially if you’re playing a more roguish character. Sleight of Hand is another very useful proficiency, whether your picking locks or picking pockets.

Forgery Kit: As we’ve mentioned the 2024 Player’s Handbook updates have given tool proficiencies clear mechanical benefits. While the Forgery Kit doesn’t provide anything to craft, it allows you to create forged documents or alter existing ones. For example, you can mimic 10 or fewer words of someone else’s writing with a DC 15 check or duplicate a wax seal with a DC 20 check.

What Type of Character is the Charlatan Background For?

If you’re looking to play a Bard, Rogue, or Ranger the Charlatan background fits like a glove. Dexterity boosts Ranged weapon attacks or attacks made with Finesse weapons, AC, Stealth checks, and helps with the all-important Dexterity saving throw. Charisma is a great secondary skill for these expert classes (or primary skill for Bards). Or you could pick up Constitution to help keep you on your feet. The Skilled feat is ideal for these classes that thrive on versatility—letting you add extra skill and tool proficiencies, which are gold for Bards, Rangers, and Rogues.

Finally, the skill proficiencies offered are perfect pickups and likely once you’d be interested in taking with Skilled or your class’s skill proficiencies anyway, leaving room to take more niche options.

Which 5e Classes Make the Most of the Charlatan Background?

The color code below has been implemented to help you identify, at a glance, how good the Charlatan 5e background is for a specific class/subclass.

  • Red : Isn’t going to contribute to the effectiveness of your character build at all
  • Orange : Situationally good, but a below-average option otherwise
  • Green : A good option
  • Blue : A great option, you should strongly consider this option for your character
  • Sky Blue: An amazing option. If you do not take this option your character would not be optimized

Artificer: Without a Intelligence boost, there's not much here for an Artificer.

Barbarian: Without a Strength boost, there's not much here for a Barbarian.

Bard: You can +2 Charisma and +1 Dexterity or Constitution, depending if you want to boost AC or Hit Points. Plus, the Skilled feat goes great with the Bard's utility knife-playstyle, as do the Deception and Sleight of Hand proficiencies.

Cleric: Without a Wisdom boost, there's not much here for a Cleric, though it could be a thematic pick for a Trickery Domain Cleric.

Druid: Without a Wisdom boost, there's not much here for a Druid.

Fighter: You can +2 Dexterity and +1 Constitution, which is a solid base for a more agile-minded Fighter. The extra skill proficiencies help round you out outside of combat as well.

Monk: You can +2 Dexterity and +1 Constitution, so Monks will be happy with this initial bump. The skill-focused nature of this background can give you some extra things to do outside of combat.

Paladin: You can boost Charisma and Constitution and gain some extra skills to use outside of combat. Good for Paladins who are a bit more unscrupulous.

Ranger: Boosting Dexterity and Constitution is solid, as are all of the additional skill proficiencies offered by the Skilled feat and as part of the background. Overall a solid pick.

Rogue: You can +2 Dexterity and +1 Charisma or Constitution, depending if you want to be the party face or increase your Hit Points. Plus, the Skilled feat goes great with the Rogues' utility knife-playstyle, as do the Deception and Sleight of Hand proficiencies.

Sorcerer: You can boost Charisma and Constitution, and get some useful skill proficiencies to use outside of combat. Overall a great pick for Sorcerers.

Warlock: You can boost Charisma and Constitution, and get some useful skill proficiencies to use outside of combat. Overall a great pick for Warlocks.

Wizard: Without a Intelligence boost, there's not much here for a Wizard.

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Mike Bernier

Mike Bernier is the lead content writer and founder of Arcane Eye. He is a Adamantine best-selling author of Strixhaven: A Syllabus of Sorcery on DMs Guild and is a contributing author at D&D Beyond. Follow Mike on Twitter.