Random Medieval Backgrounds

In my youth, I had a sweet tooth for Chivalry and Sorcery. It had extensive character background tables. I present here a set of tables inspired by those old C&S d100 charts, which use the "Roll Them All" style that uses one of each type of die (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20). The complexity is handled by using two sets of "Roll Them All" tables. The usage of each die in the second set of rolls varies depending on what you get in the Social Status Table. So, first look up the character's base social class, then apply all the die rolls according to the tables for that social class. Some classes only use a few of the various dice. There is one extra roll needed if your parent is a prince, princess, or the monarch.

Enjoy!

Medieval Background Generator

Part I: Circumstances of Your Birth

Roll one of each (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20)

Family Status Table
d4	1	Favored child
	2-3	Average child
	4	Family rebel or disgrace

Family Size Table
d6	1	Only child
	2	2 children
	3	3 children
	4	4 children
	5	5 children
	6	d4 + 5 children

Sibling Rank Table
d20	1-4	Bastard
	5-7	6th-9th Son/Daughter (d4+5)
	8-10	5th Son/Daughter
	11-13	4th Son/Daughter
	14-15	3rd Son/Daughter
	16-17	2nd Son/Daughter
	18-19	1st Son/Daughter
	20	Inheritor
If the rolled Rank is higher than the number  of children, the character is the last child.  If Bastard, roll a d6: 6 = acknowledged.  Unacknowledged bastards take the  Social Status of their mother and her  father. First roll father's status, then roll  mother's status.

Parents Mortality Table
d8	1-5	Both Parents Alive
	6	Father Alive
	7	Mother Alive
	8	Both Parents Dead

Horoscope Table
d12	1	Aries
	2	Taurus
	3	Gemini
	4	Cancer
	5	Leo
	6	Virgo
	7	Libra
	8	Scorpio
	9	Sagittarius
	10	Capricorn
	11	Aquarius
	12	Pisces

Astrological Influence Table
d10	1-3	Favorable horoscope
	4-7	Neutral horoscope
	8-10	Unfavorable horoscope

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Part II: Social Status

Roll one of each (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20)

Social Status Table
d12	1-5	Serf
	6-8	Yeoman
	9-10	Townsman
	11	Guildsman
	12	d8 = 1-7	d8 = 8
		Noble	Royal

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Serf

Serf Occupation Table
d4	1-2	Farmer
	3	Herder
	4	Castle Servant

Castle Servant Table
d10	1-2	Stablehand
	3-4	Kitchen Wench
	5	Blacksmith’s Assistant
	6	Armorer’s Assistant
	7	Animal Trainer's Assistant
	8-10	Other Servant

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Yeoman

Yeoman Occupation Table
	d4	Rural Freeman ( 1-2)		Liveried (3-4)
d20	1-10	Farmer		Man-at-Arms
	11-13	Livestock breeder		d6 Even	d6 Odd
				Townsman Occupation	Guildsman Occupation
	14-16	d6 Even	d6 Odd	d6 Even	d6 Odd
		Forester	Fisherman	Armorer	Blacksmith
	17	Miller		Animal Trainer
	18	Cartwright		Falconer
	19	d6 Even	d6 Odd	Cook
		Carpenter	Mason
	20	Rural Innkeeper		Forester

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Townsman

Townsman Type Table
d6	1-2	Master
	3-6	Employee

Townsman Occupation Table
d20	1	Innkeeper	11	Miller
	2	Brothel Owner	12	Taverner
	3	Blacksmith	13	Moneylender
	4	Baker	14	Stable owner
	5	Butcher	15	Tinker
	6	Cobbler	16	Haberdasher
	7	Cartwright	17	Fueler
	8	Beer Seller	18	Wine Seller
	9	Grocer	19	Landlord
	10	Peddler	20	Spicer

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Guildsman

Coastal Town Table
d8	1-3	Ship Man's Guild
	4-8	Other Guild

Guild Type Table
d6	1-4	Craft/Trade Guild
	5-6	Professional Guild

Professional Guild Table
d20	1-2	Scholars and Scribes Guild  (in Royal Bureaucracy)
	3-6	Scholars and Scribes Guild
	7-11	Mercenaries Guild
	12-14	Thieves Guild
	15-16	Lawyers Guild
	17-18	Physicans Guild
	19	Military Engineers Guild
	20	Wizards Guild

Craft/Trade Guild Table
d20	1-5	Builders Guild
	6-8	Artists and Entertainers Guild
	9-10	Merchants Guild
	11	Clothiers Guild
	12	Bankers Guild
	13	Perfumers Guild
	14	Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Guild
	15	Glassblowers Guild
	16	Shipbuilders Guild
	17	Armorers Guild
	18	Foundry Man's Guild
	19	Chefs Guild
	20	Cabinetmakers Guild

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Noble

Noble Title Table
d20	1-14	Landed Knight
	15-16	Bannerette
	17-18	Baron
	19	d10 < 6	d10 >= 6
		Earl	Count
	20	d10 < 8	d10 >= 8
		Marquis	Duke

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Royal

Parent's Relationship to Monarch
d10	1-7	Cousin
	8	Uncle
	9	d6 Even	d6 Odd
		Brother-in-law	Father-in-law
	10	Prince/Princess/Monarch
If Prince/Princess/Monarch, roll d20 on  Sibling Rank Table above. Reroll Bastard  result. Inheritor result = Father is King.

Royal Title Table
d20	Cousin	Uncle	Brother -in-Law	Father -in-Law	Title
	1-12	1-4	1-8		Landed Knight
	13-15	5-8	9-11		Bannerette
	16-17	9-13	12-14	1-8	Baron
	18	14-16	15-17	9-15	d6 Even	d6 Odd
					Earl	Count
	19	17-18	18-19	16-17	Marquis
	20	19	20	18-19	Duke
		20		20	Neighboring King

Prince/Princess Table
d4	1	Mother is a Princess
	2-4	Father is a Prince

Princess' Husband's Title Table
d20	1-8	d6 Even	d6 Odd
		Earl	Count
	9-12	Marquis
	13-16	Duke
	17-19	Neighboring Prince
	20	Neighboring King

Prince Title Table
Birth Order	Title
5th or 6th Prince	Baron
4th Prince	d6 Even	d6 Odd
	Earl	Count
2nd or 3rd Prince	Marquis	Duke
1st Prince	Duke

Additional Prince Title Table
d20	1-12	Landed Knight
	13-14	Bannerette
	15-17	Baron
	18-19	d6 Even	d6 Odd
		Earl	Count
	20	Marquis	Duke

Example

Let's call this character, Isabeau. My first Roll Them All (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20) comes up: 2, 6, 8, 10, 1, 9. (Yes, I really rolled that.) So checking on each of the first set of charts we get:

Family Status: Average
Children: 6 (flip a coin for the gender of each)
Parents: both dead
Astrology: Aries (unfavorable)

For the next Roll Them All roll, I get: 2, 5, 4, 5, 6, 14. First off, check the Social Status Table with the d12. That makes Isabeau's father a yeoman. Now we check the Yeoman Occupation Table. The d4 roll is a 2, putting Isabeau into the Rural Freeman column. The d20 came up 14, so we have to check the d6 to choose between Forester and Fisherman, leaving Isabeau's father a rural freeman forester. Probably knows how to shoot a long bow. Might have taught his daughter, perhaps?