DnD 5e Backgrounds

Farmer 5e Background Guide

Published on December 27, 2024

Explore the Farmer background in D&D 5e and how it can be foundational for a tough marital or caster character.

A Farmer character in a field with the shadow of a much more grown adventurer behind him.

Kai Carpenter - Wizards of the Coast - Folk Hero

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What Is the Farmer Background in D&D?

The Farmer is a DnD 5e background that represents a character who spent their early life cultivating the earth, tending livestock, and enduring the physical demands of rural labor. This background provides mechanical benefits in the form of additional resilience and practical skills, making it an excellent choice for robust martial builds or characters looking for a survivability boost.

How Does the Farmer Background Work?

The Farmer background offers the following features:

  • Ability Scores: Receive a +2 bonus to one ability and +1 to another, or a +1 bonus to all three: Strength, Constitution, and Wisdom.
  • Feat: Tough. This feat grants additional Hit Points equal to twice your level.
  • Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling and Nature.
  • Tool Proficiency: Carpenter’s Tools.
  • Equipment:
    • Option A: Sickle, Carpenter’s Tools, Healer’s Kit, Iron Pot, Shovel, Traveler’s Clothes, and 30 GP.
    • Option B: 50 GP for a customizable loadout.

Let’s break down the benefits:

Ability Scores: Strength and Constitution boosts are perfect for melee martial classes, giving the ideal mix of increased damage and survivability. Wisdom and Constitution is also a great spread for Wisdom-based casters.

Tough Feat: The Tough feat always effective, the only downside is it’s a little boring. An 2 extra Hit Points per level goes a long way for front-line characters, like Barbarians and Fighters, who will be soaking damage, as well as casters, who normally have a lower Hit Dice.

Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling and Nature are two synergistic skills that will be beneficial when dealing with the more natural aspects of the exploration pillar, though they are both much more situational than something like Stealth or Perception.

Carpenter’s Tools Proficiency: Every tool and mundane item has been given mechanical benefits in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, so while Carpenter’s Tools are better than they were previously, they’re still relatively unimpressive. Unfortunately, these tools can’t craft anything that useful (save for maybe a portable ram), and their only function outside of crafting is to pry open sealed doors.

What Type of Character is the Farmer Background For?

For Barbarians, Strength-based Fighters and Rangers, and potentially Wisdom-based casters, the Farmer background offers a rugged foundation. Strength improves your melee attacks, while Constitution boosts your hit points and helps you maintain concentration on spells. Wisdom is essential for a Cleric, Druid, or Ranger’s spellcasting, improving your spell attack rolls and saving throw DCs.

The Tough feat adds a hefty chunk to your hit points, making this background excellent for front-liners or anyone who plans to be in the thick of combat. With Animal Handling and Nature proficiencies, you’re well-equipped to handle creatures in the wild and understand the natural world, making it a great fit for classes that thrive outdoors.

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

The color code below has been implemented to help you identify, at a glance, how good the Farmer 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: Boost your Strength, Constitution, and get an further boost to Hit Points from the Tough feat. Basically everything the Barbarian is looking for.

Bard: Without a Charisma boost, there's not much here for a Bard.

Cleric: Boost Wisdom, Constitution, and get some more Hit Points from the Tough feat. All in all a great choice for Clerics.

Druid: Boost Wisdom, Constitution, and get some more Hit Points from the Tough feat, which helps you stay Wild Shaped longer in the 2024 rules. Plus, you get proficiency in Nature and Animal Handling. A perfect background for Druids.

Fighter: Boost your Strength, Constitution, and get an further boost to Hit Points from the Tough feat. Basically everything a Strength-focused Fighter is looking for.

Monk: No Dexterity makes this a hard choice, but you can +2 Constitution, +1 Wisdom, and grab the Tough feat if you want to create the foundation for a more hearty Monk build.

Paladin: Boost your Strength, Constitution, and get an further boost to Hit Points from the Tough feat. Basically everything a Paladin is looking for.

Ranger: For a martial-minded Ranger that wants to swing a Strength-based weapon, this could be the ideal background. You get Strength, Constitution, more Hit Points from the Tough feat, and Nature and Animal Handling as a cherry on the cake. The Farmer background is also a decent start for Dexterity-based Rangers, because it allows you to boost Wisdom and Constitution, then you can invest more heavily in Dexterity when choosing your ability scores.

Rogue: Without a Dexterity boost, there's not much here for a Rogue.

Sorcerer: Without a Charisma boost, there's not much here for a Sorcerer.

Warlock: Without a Charisma boost, there's not much here for a Warlock.

Wizard: Without an 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.