diff --git a/client/src/data/backgrounds.ts b/client/src/data/backgrounds.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..69427f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/data/backgrounds.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+export interface Background {
+  name: string;
+  skill: string;
+}
+
+export const BACKGROUNDS: Background[] = [
+  { name: "Urchin",              skill: "You are never lost in a city and can always find food and shelter in urban areas." },
+  { name: "Wanted",              skill: "You know how to move unseen and blend into crowds to avoid pursuit." },
+  { name: "Cult Initiate",       skill: "You know the rituals, symbols, and secrets of a dark cult." },
+  { name: "Thieves' Guild",      skill: "You can pick locks, pocket items, and recognize guild signs." },
+  { name: "Banished",            skill: "You can survive in the wilderness indefinitely and sense approaching weather." },
+  { name: "Orphaned",            skill: "You can beg, scrounge, and identify charity-givers in any settlement." },
+  { name: "Wizard's Apprentice", skill: "You can read and identify magical writing and recognize common spell effects." },
+  { name: "Jeweler",             skill: "You can appraise gems, metals, and jewelry with accuracy." },
+  { name: "Herbalist",           skill: "You know which plants heal, harm, or alter the mind in any terrain." },
+  { name: "Barbarian",           skill: "You can track creatures and navigate by the stars in any wilderness." },
+  { name: "Mercenary",           skill: "You know the going rate for violence and can always find hired work." },
+  { name: "Sailor",              skill: "You can navigate by stars and read weather patterns at sea or in the open." },
+  { name: "Acolyte",             skill: "You know the prayers, calendar, and hierarchy of a major religion." },
+  { name: "Soldier",             skill: "You can read a battlefield and know the tactics of common military units." },
+  { name: "Ranger",              skill: "You can move silently through wilderness and identify animal tracks." },
+  { name: "Scout",               skill: "You can estimate distances, draw rough maps, and spot ambushes." },
+  { name: "Minstrel",            skill: "You can perform music, recite epics, and always find a crowd willing to listen." },
+  { name: "Scholar",             skill: "You can read most languages and recall obscure historical and arcane lore." },
+  { name: "Noble",               skill: "You know the etiquette, rumors, and politics of the upper class." },
+  { name: "Chirurgeon",          skill: "You can stabilize the dying and treat wounds to prevent infection." },
+];
+
+export const BACKGROUND_NAMES = BACKGROUNDS.map((b) => b.name);