This tool is based on the work of user Arachobia on RPG Crossing with his permission. He had taken a list of tables from Dragon magazine #422 in an article called "Building Character" by Matt Sernett and updated them for 5th edition. I've turned them into an automatic tool for generating a characters background.

Instructions: Refresh the page to generate a new background story. As always, you can use it however you like and fill in your own details. Your age and acquired proficiencies are listed at the bottom and are based on the results you got. Try to pick a Race/Class/Background combo that fulfills all the proficiencies. Your age may also result in ability score modifiers that can be applied after building your character.

...or ignore everything and do whatever you want. Whatever.
Background Generator

(T.101): One of your parents was a scholar and teacher. You will have proficiency in History.

(T.102): One of your parents was a merchant.

(T.2): You were separated from your siblings at birth. Re-roll on this table to determine who they were, ignoring a result of 1, 2 or 20

(T.2): An older sister.

(T.3): Someone in your family wanted to use you for some horrible purpose. You fled. Roll on Table 19

(T.19): You are captured and imprisoned on Table 21.

(T.21): You share a cell with another: roll on Table 15 to see their crime. You both manage to orchestrate an escape: flee on Table 19.

    >>>> (T.15): Forgery.

(T.19): Fate interrupts your flight on Table 17.

(T.17): A violent storm forces you to seek shelter from a location on Table 8.

(T.8): A private hunting grounds owned by a noble. Try to explain your way out of it at Table 28.

(T.28): You manage to eke out some success, but one of the conditions is that you, personally, are taken away from one of the angered parties. You are escorted to Table 8.

(T.8): A private hunting grounds owned by a noble. Try to explain your way out of it at Table 28.

(T.28): You are so bad at trying to negotiate that you actually may have started a war. At any rate, you find you are pressed into service on Table 22.

Choose one...
(T.22): You survive your time as a soldier, but not without cost. One of your limbs has been lost and replaced with a prosthetic. You learn to compensate for your loss, becoming stronger than before. You will have proficiency in Athletics. You have begun your life of adventure after the war.
(T.22): You survive your time as a soldier, but not without cost. One of your limbs has been lost and replaced with a prosthetic. You learn to compensate for your loss, becoming stronger than before. You will have proficiency in Athletics. You can roll on Table 11 to try searching for a magical false limb.

(T.11): You discover you need more information to find what you seek. You will have proficiency in Investigation. Roll on this table again, but regardless of what you were searching for originally, you now are seeking information.

(T.11): In your search, you turn up the activities of a villain. Roll on Table 5 to determine which villain. Then try escape their wrath on Table 19.

    >>>> (T.5): A fey creature.

(T.19): You spy your pursuers long before they see you, and cunningly arrange for them to run into some of their own enemies. They won't be bothering you again. You gain a reputation for sharp eyes and a sharp wit: you will begin with proficiency in Perception and Deception. Your life of adventure begins.


Total Rolls: 19
Your age is ADULT
Adults are at the most equalized stage of development. From here their physical body will begin to weaken while their minds and personalities benefit from experience.
Adults have no modifiers to their attributes.

Proficiencies:
History
Athletics
Investigation
Perception
Deception