Backgrounds

 Pre-Made Character Incentives: These are "backstory/incentives" for your character. You may choose 1 or you can choose to create your own backstory. If you choose of the ones below, there are some minor advantages associated with it. 

• Story: See the story feats from pathfinder. Your background and goals are aligned with one of those story feats. You gain the story feat as a bonus feat, and you are driven to accomplish the story to gain the improved story feat benefit. 
• Racial Outcast: You come from a race that is not standard for the civilized areas (such as orcs or goblins), and probably the subject of discrimination. People naturally distrust you, and guards may watch you suspiciously. You've learned a bit on how to get by outside your race, and while people don't trust you, you're starting to become more like them. Choose a core race- you are treated as that race along with your own race as if you had the Racial Heritage feat. 
• Hunted: You are here to escape something or someone. Perhaps you are wanted for a crime (whether your are guilty or not), or you are hunted by an NPC or creature. Perhaps you were banished. In any case you came here so that no one would know your name and no one would think to look for you here. Gain stealth as a class skill or skill focus(stealth) if it's already a class skill.
• It's a Living- You adventure for wealth and treasure, plain and simple. This is your job, and you intend to build yourself a nice nest egg and retire some day. Crafting is nice for some people, but if you can make it as an adventurer you can be set for life instead of working for forty years. Because you adventure as a living, you're less likely to want to do pro bono work unless you suspect you can make some money out of it somewhere, or you think it will benefit you down the line. You can choose as a bonus feat any of the feats that grant +2 to two skills (such as acrobatic), or you may choose Tool Optimizer or Endurance as bonus feats.  
• Guild Man- You are dedicated to a particular guild. It could be a magic guild, bardic college, or it could be a church or even a craftsman's guild. You will favor missions from this guild, and you tend to side with things that benefit your guild. This could create ethical dilemmas for you if the thing that favors your guild conflicts with your alignment. Your favor with the guild grants you the Associate feat, and you can take Guild Partner as a trait instead of a feat if you like(at any time). Alternately, you could take Underworld Connections as your feat and take Guild Emissary as a trait instead of a feat if your guild is disreputable in nature (like a thieves guild or assassin guild). 
• Celebrity: You seek fame (or infamy). You adventure so that everyone will speak of you. You have a hard time turning down quests that would gain you prestige, and you're unlikely to want to use disguise (though stealth is fine to complete a quest). You definitely want to be party leader! Others get a +2 on any attempts to recognize you, gather information about you, or on knowledge checks related to you. You get diplomacy as a class skill (or skill focus diplomacy if it's already a class skill). If you gain the leadership feat, your leadership score increases by 2. 
• Historian: You seek to explore for research, either Magical / Historical / or Technological. This is more to expand your knowledge than to find "treasure", though there's no harm in getting rich on the way. If your research is magical in nature, you gain spellcraft as a class skill (or skill focus spellcraft if its already a class skill). If it's historical in nature you gain knowledge(history) as a class skill (or skill focus knowledge:history if it's already a class skill), and if your research is techological you gain "Technologist" as a bonus feat. 
• Challenger: You adventure for the challenge- you want to improve yourself. Treasure and such is nice, but you want to be challenged by dungeons puzzles and challenging combats. Gain your choice of Toughness, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, or Great Fortitude as a bonus feat. 
• Hunter: You are here looking for someone or something specific. Perhaps it's someone who escaped justice, perhaps it's a very specific lost artifact or magical item. In any case, you've come here in search of your McGuffin. Gain perception as a class skill or skill focus(perception) if it's already a class skill. 
• Along for the Ride: You are mainly here because you're best buddies with another PC, and you're here to help them. You didn't have much else to do. Of course, you're loyal to your friend. (Not EVERYONE can have this, or you guys are just wandering around for no reason). You can treat your buddy has possessing your teamwork feats for determining if you get a bonus from a teamwork feat you possess, but your buddy still must meet the other requirements of the feat (such as positioning or actions). This is like the inquisitor's solo tactics ability but only for your buddy PC. Your buddy must still have the teamwork feat if he is to get the benefit of it. What's more, your buddy does not count as another person for "Solo" style feats (such as solo maneuvers). Failing to back your buddy's play, or betraying them is treated as a broken geas until you atone. 
• Soldier: You are here to provide military support to the city. You might have been sent from another location to help support the city, or you might have just decided to "join the watch" as it were. You are a lawful character. You might gain special social benefits associated with being part of the military. You gain your choice of Weapon Focus, Shield Focus, or Armor Focus as a bonus feat. These feats all have a +1 BAB requirement which is waived for you, but you still must be proficient in whatever piece of equipment is modified by the feat. Alternately, you could take Exotic Weapon Proficiency a bonus feat instead. 
• Monster Researcher: You came down specifically to do research on or battle a specific type of monster. Gain "Creature Focus" as a bonus feat with that type of creature. If you have the "favored enemy" class feature, you may replace creature focus with another feat that uses favored enemy as a prerequisite.
• Meddler- You enjoy meddling in things. Usually this is for good characters who want to get involved for the good of everyone, but an evil character could take this if he just enjoys getting involved in other people's affairs. You must not be neutral on either axis. You basically gain a code of conduct (similar to a paladin- but based on your own alignment). Acting against your code of conduct subjects you to the penalties of a geas until you atone. You gain the aura feature as if you were a cleric with your alignment. You also gain the domain powers (but not spells) of the domains that match your alignment (not subdomains). These domain powers use your character level as your cleric level.