What Background Should You Choose in Pentiment?

Pentiment is a game drenched with artistic style. A mix between visual novel and point-and-click genres, this adventure from Obsidian Entertainment (yes, that Obsidian!) enwraps you in a medieval-styled package of beautiful illustrations and thrilling intrigue. Set in 16th-century Germany, the medieval atmosphere gives wonderful framing of a tale chock full of murder, scandals, and more. It’s a story that will expect you to make many choices along the way. One of the very first choices is a short while after Andreas’ dream at the start of the game. After leaving the ramshackle Gertner family inn that you awake in you will meet a character named Big Jorg (pictured below) on the left-hand side of your screen. Click on him to start the dialogue tree.

Talking to Big Jorg will lead you into a short conversation. There, you then can pick from a few backgrounds for Andreas. These are the start of many choices that will affect your character’s choices going forward. To those uninitiated with the visual-novel genre, these choices are often the basis of re-playability. Selecting one will make your playthrough different than someone else’s! Skill choices will be at the very start of each of the three Acts of Pentiment, starting with Act 1.

What Background Should You Choose in Pentiment in Act 1?

Big Jorg will ask you about your Wanderjahre: the years Andreas would have spent traveling as a craftsman to improve his skills. Big Jorg will ask you about the places you’ve been and the hobbies you had. Basically, this is the chance for you to set up which skills Andreas has honed in his life so far.

Past Residence

You will be given three options to choose from: Basel, Flanders, and Italy. Basel will give you options for Italian and French, Flanders for Dutch and French, and Italy for Italian and Greek. While the language choices will change which books you can read and which characters you can interact with, any of these three choices can be used to finish the game. For those with decision anxiety, Flanders seems to be a good generalist option.

What’s Your Hobby?

You get to decide what Andreas does in his free time. Again, this choice is one that exists mostly for flavor. Chose the option that tickles your personal playstyle for the game!

• Hedonist: The iconic flirt. Andreas here is certainly a charmer, spending plenty of time on acts of debauchery and vice. A Hedonist Andreas is one that might be able to understand those around him a bit better or is able to find ways to cope while faced with a torrent of trouble.
• Craftsman: For a game with a heavy theme in art, the Craftsman might be a great way to go if you are interested in exploring more of those themes! For an Andreas that excels at his work and is respected by his peers, this is the way to go.
• Bookworm: If you want an Andreas that spends all of his time with his nose tucked into research and study, then try Bookworm. Most peasants you can interact with don’t know how to read. However, you may get an in with royalty and some abbots through your shared interest in higher learning.
• Rapscallion: The common thief and a bit of a fool, your Andreas will be a bit of a troublemaker. However, he’s one who can wiggle himself out of a sticky situation. This is another background you can pick that will open up some of the funnier moments in the game. It’s also a good choice if you want a character who isn’t afraid to defend himself.
• Businessman: This is a hobby that goes all in on concepts like investments, business expenses and checkbook balancing. Andreas here knows what does and doesn’t work for a business, giving you an edge on financial discussions with a credible edge.

What Does Andreas Study?

After your conversation with Big Jorg, you’ll be doing a bit more exploring, leading into a chat with Lorenz, Baron of Rothvogel. You’re given a few more options here to pick from for what skill you have the most knowledge of Theology, Imperial Law, or Medicine. This choice will be what unlocks and locks what tasks Andreas will be able to do down the line.

• Theology: A great one for relating to peers at the church or abbey. Religion is another one of Pentiment’s big subject focuses, so there’s a lot of dialogue to explore here.
• Imperial Law: The Holy Roman Empire is a mess of fractured systems with many states, and in picking this Andreas will know the basics of how it all works. You will know what you can or can’t get away with or know how fix a situation according to the law.
• Medicine: Andreas with this study knows a lot about the basics of human biology and how he can go on to treat someone that’s ill. Expect this choice to open a lot of dialogue options that may arise regarding ailments and healing.

Favorite Subject

You get to pick two of the choices presented here. As before, these options will open up dialogue choices or actions that can change the course of your game.

• Latinist: This is a subject that works synchronously with the Bookworm as a hobby. Andreas with this subject excels at wordplay. He also has a vast number of quotes and passages ready in his toolbelt to use at any time.
• Logician: There are a lot of complex puzzles in Pentiment and Logician is a great one if you need a little help in solving them. It is a subject that pairs well with the Business hobby since you’re already caught up with numbers and formulas.
• Orator: If your goal is to be a master socialite, Orator is what will help you most with passing most if not all of the dialogue checks you’ll need with a lot of NPCs. Match this up with the Hedonist to go above and beyond making Andreas adored.
• Occultist: A subject that has a lot of flavors, a sure-fire one to pick purely for the optional dialogue trees it gives you. When matched with Theology Andreas will have a totally encapsulated understanding of all things relating to religion and spirituality.
• Heavens and Earth: Heavens, in this circumstance, is talking about the study of astrology and heavenly bodies. Earth, here, is of plants and animals. Why chose this? Experience with animals and plants can go a long way if you have the study of Medicine and its unassuming nature adds plenty of unique dialogue further into the game.

So Which Backgrounds Should I Pick?

If you take anything from this article, know that the choices you ultimately make will not inhibit you from completing the game or bar you from succeeding. These are choices that entirely exist to change and personalize the story of Pentiment for you. The specifics of what dialogue branches you will see change depending on the choices you pick. Essentially, we’re giving Andreas new strengths and weaknesses to work with. However, these choices won’t solve the mystery of Pentiment for you: you will still need to choose your own words carefully as you navigate the rest of the story.

Check out other guides for Pentiment here on Gamer Journalist as they go live!