Zhentarim Mercenary

Maybe you needed the money. Maybe you longed for a family, no matter how dubious. Or maybe you're just good at getting the job done by any means necessary. Whatever your reason, you enlisted with the Zhentarim, the most notorious mercenary guild in the Realms. Though the Zhentarim's leaders insist the organization is more like a family than a shadowy syndicate, few families exhibit as much dishonesty, nepotism, and corruption as this one. You've honed your cunning, reflexes, and blade to climb the guild's ranks.

A background lists three of your character's ability scores. Increase one by 2 and another one by 1, or increase all three by 1. None of these increases can raise a score above 20.

You gain the following benefits.

Exploit Opening. When you roll damage for an Opportunity Attack, you can roll the damage dice twice and use either roll against the target.

Family First. If you have Heroic Inspiration when you roll Initiative, you can expend it to give yourself and your allies Advantage on that Initiative roll.

Each background gives a character proficiency with one tool—either a specific tool or one chosen from the Artisan's Tools category.

Choose A or B: (A) Club, Dagger, Forgery Kit, Fine Clothes, Hooded Lantern, Oil (3 flasks), 2 Pouches, String, Tinderbox, 11 GP; or (B) 50 GP