Backgrounds are a shorthand way of coming up with - and combining, in an in-world way - four elements of your character:
SOCIAL STANDING - within your Culture, what class or caste do you hail from?
FAITH - which of the Immortals, if any, do you go to when things are their darkest?
PROFESSION - what Skilled Ability do you possess that represents how you make your daily wage?
FACTION ALIGNMENT - which of the world’s powers have you interacted with enough to catch their notice?
Each of these describes how you’ll interact with a different aspect of your game:
BACKGROUND ELEMENT
IN-GAME EFFECT
SOCIAL STANDING
Starting resources, cultural affinities and enmities
FAITH
Ethical guidelines - following these accrues Divine Favor which can be spent for Intervention
PROFESSION
A free Skilled Ability at the highest Rank available to your Campaign Type
FACTION ALIGNMENT
Each Session, you can roll several d6 to see if a faction you’re aligned with can help you.
Each Background Element can all be independently determined if you want to build a more customized character, but the standardized ones below will give you a way to finalize your character and get into play! Additional cultural common backgrounds are described in each Culture’s detail page - this table gives you enough to get started with two common adventuring archetypes for each Culture.