Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Thank_Dog Aug 12, 2014 21:47:08	To customize a background, you can replace one feature with any other one, choose any two skills, and choose a total of two tool proficiencies or languages from the sample backgrounds.
#2 Zephirum Aug 13, 2014 0:02:00	as in its not on any of the sample backgrouds so you can't choose from it....  maybe.     The differenece in language of any skills vs language and tools from the sampls implies it.    All other profiecencies are covered so if they had really meant that I'd expect them to have made and explicit exception instead of a wording that requires that level of attention to even notice excluded one item. In general responses from Mike Mearls about rules give me the impression that the rules aren't meant to be that pedantic or densly encoded. The surface reading of just make the background that fits your character is what I'd go with. Even if its intended to exclude poison making. I'd just let a player have it if it's thematically consistent,  there aren't a lot of backgrounds where making poison is thematically appropriate Who else bedsides an assassin does that? Guild artisan alchemist I suppose. maybe a medecine themed one. You can train any tools with time and money so its not a balance hinderance. And poision appears to be expensive so its not much use at low levels before you can train it anyway.