From D&D 3.5 to 5.0(5E) - 11 - Traits, Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws

I mentioned traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws in my last post with little detail.  These four attributes are all part of your character background.  I'm sure your DM would allow you to skip choosing one, but I think they are a great aid for those of us desiring to role play our characters; and by role play I mean that we want to get into the mind of our characters and try to think like they would think and act like they would act; not simply do what I as a player knows is most likely to lead to success and rewards.

Here are a few examples of each from the sage background.  If you choose the sage as a background for your character you have:
Eight traits to choose from, two of which are:

• I love a good mystery
• I am awkward in social situations

Six ideals to choose from (ideals also have alignments they best apply to), two of which are:

• Knowledge: I can improve through knowledge (any alignment)
• Power: Knowledge is the path to power (appropriate for evil alignments)

Six bonds to choose from, two of which are:

• I've been searching my whole life to the answer to one question
• It is my duty to protect my students

Six flaws to choose from, two of which are:

• I am easily distracted by the promise of information
• I overlook obvious solutions in favor of complicated ones