Backgrounds

Acolyte (PHb p.127): You have spent your life in the service of a temple to a specific god or pantheon of gods.
Anthropologist (ToA p.191): You have always been fascinated by other cultures, from the most ancient and primeval lost lands to the most modern civilizations.
Archaeologist (ToA p.192): An archaeologist learns about the long-lost and fallen cultures of the past by studying their remains-their bones, their ruins, their surviving masterworks, and their tombs.
Aspirant (EE p.123): You have spent your life in the service of a druidic sect, serving as an intermediary between civilization and the wild.
Athlete (MOT p.31): You strive to perfect yourself physically and in execution of everything you do.
Auditor (EE p.125): Your job is testing security systems, finding the flaws in vaults, prisons, and other secure systems.
Cadet (EE p.126): You were commissioned as an officer, but you never actually made it to the battlefield.
Changeling Traveler (MMi p.205): You're an urban nomad, wandering from city to city, a force for change— much like the Traveler who bestowed you with your supernatural gifts.
Charlatan (PHb p.128): You have always had a way with people.
Chronicler (EE p.127): People need news, and you're the one to provide it— an investigative reporter searching for issues of national importance.
City Watch (SCAG p.145): You have served the community where you grew up, standing as its first line of defense against crime.
Clan Crafter (SCAG p.145): The Stout Folk are well known for their artisanship and the worth of their handiworks, and you have been trained in that ancient tradition.
Cloistered Scholar (SCAG p.146): In your younger days, you found your way to one of Khorvaire's great institutes of learning, where you were apprenticed and taught that knowledge is a more valuable treasure than gold.
Courtier (SCAG p.146): In your younger days, you were a personage of some significance in a noble court or a bureaucratic organization.
Criminal (PHb p.129): You are an experienced criminal with a history of breaking the law.
Entertainer (PHb p.130): You thrive in front of an audience.
Faceless (BGDA p.203): You've left your old face behind, taking on a new persona, becoming something more.
Faction Agent (SCAG p.147): You served as an agent of a particular faction in Khorvaire. You might have operated openly or secretly, depending on the faction and its goals.
Far Traveler (SCAG p.148): You are from a distant place, one so remote that few of the common folk of Khorvaire realize that it exists.
Fisher (GoS p.29): You have spent your life aboard fishing vessels or combing the shallows for the bounty of the ocean.
Folk Hero (PHb p.131): You come from a humble social rank, but you are destined for so much more.
Guild Artisan (PHb p.132): You are a member of an artisan's guild, skilled in a particular field and closely associated with other artisans.
Haunted One (VRR p.34): You are haunted by something so terrible that you dare not speak of it. You've tried to bury it and run away from it, to no avail.
Hermit (PHb p.134): You lived in seclusion— either in a sheltered community such as a monastery, or entirely alone— for a formative part of your life.
Inheritor (SCAG p.150): You are the heir to something of great value— an object that has been entrusted to you and you alone.
Knight of the Order (SCAG p.151): You belong to an order of knights who have sworn oaths to achieve a certain goal.
Marine (GoS p.31): You were trained for battle on sandy beaches and rocky shores.
Mercenary Veteran (SCAG p.152): As a sell-sword who fought battles for coin, you're well acquainted with risking life and limb for a chance at a share of treasure.
Noble (PHb p.135): You carry a noble title, and your family owns land, collects taxes, and wields significant political influence.
Outlander (PHb p.136): You grew up in the wilds, far from civilization and the comforts of town and technology.
Sage (PHb p.137): You spent years learning lore. You scoured manuscripts, studied scrolls, and listened to the greatest experts on the subjects that interest you.
Sailor (PHb p.139): You sailed on a seagoing vessel for years.
Shipwright (GoS p.33): You have sailed into war on the decks of great ships, patching their hulls with skill and prayers.
Smuggler (GoS p.34): You know the blind spots in every port and checkpoint, and you've turned them into a profitable career.
Soldier (PHb p.140): War has been your life for as long as you care to remember.
Urban Bounty Hunter (SCAG p.153): Your life was already full of conflict and excitement, because you made a living tracking down people for pay.
Urchin (PHb p.141): You grew up on the streets alone, orphaned, and poor.
Uthgardt Tribe Member (SCAG p.153): Your people have always tried to hold to the old ways. Tradition and taboo have kept your clan strong.
Waterdhavian Noble (SCAG p.154): You were born into one of Sharn's powerful noble families— ancient names that have shaped the city's politics, economy, and society for centuries.

Book Abbreviation Legend

BGG: Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
EE: Exploring Eberron
GoS: Ghosts of Saltmarsh
MMi: Morgrave Miscellany
MOT: Mythic Odysseys of Theros
PHb: Player's Handbook
SCAG: Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
ToA: Tomb of Annihilation
VRR: Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft