Backgrounds as presented in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition are a fairly important part of the character creation process. They tell you where your character came from as well as giving you additional mechanical benefits in the form of proficiencies and abilities that have the opportunity to become powerful storytelling tools. But so often I see people recommending the combinations that make the most sense – the Cleric who grew up as an acolyte or the Fighter that was a soldier before he took up the mercenary lifestyle. There are so many rich stories that can be told if you think a little outside the box in terms of your character’s background. This week we look at Lady Lisette Focault, a young noble who hides a larcenous secret behind her pampered upbringing.
Lady Lisette Focault
Human Rogue 1
Armor Class 14
Hit Points 8 (1d8)
Proficiency Bonus +2
Speed 30 ft
Alignment chaotic good
Languages Common, Elven, Dwarven
Ability Scores
Strength 9 (-1)
Dexterity 16 (+3)
Constitution 11 (+0)
Intelligence 14 (+2)
Wisdom 13 (+1)
Charisma 15 (+2)
Attacks
Melee Attack: Rapier +5 1d8+3 piercing damage, finesse
Ranged Attack: Shortbow +5 1d6+3 piercing damage, ammunition, range 80/320, two-handed
Melee or Ranged Attack: Dagger +5 1d4+3 piercing damage, light, finesse, range 20/60
Skills Acrobatics +5, Animal Handling +1, Arcana +2, Athletics +1, Deception +2, History +4, Insight +1, Intimidation +2, Investigation +2, Medicine +1, Nature +2, Perception +1, Performance +2, Persuasion +4, Religion +2, Sleight of Hand +5, Stealth +5, Survival +1
Equipment rapier, shortbow and quiver of 20 arrows, burglar’s pack, leather armor, two daggers, thieves’ tools, set of fine clothes, signet ring, scroll of pedigree, and a purse containing 25 gp.
Class Features
Proficiencies
Armor Proficiencies: Light armor
Weapon Proficiencies: Simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, and shortswords
Tool Proficiencies: Thieves’ tools, chess
Saving Throws: Dexterity and Intelligence
Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, Stealth
Expertise: You may double your proficiency bonus on any Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) or Charisma (Persuasion) check you make.
Sneak Attack: Once per turn, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or ranged weapon. You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 5 feet of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Thieves’ Cant: You have learned a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in otherwise normal conversations. Only other creatures that know thieves’ cant understand such messages. It takes four times as long to convey a message through thieves’ cant. In addition, you understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run.
Background: Noble
Position of Privilege: Thanks to your noble birth, people are inclined to think the best of you. You are welcome in high society, and people assume you have the right to be wherever you are. The common folk make every effort to accommodate you and avoid your displeasure, and other people of high birth treat you as a member of the same social sphere. You can secure an audience with a local noble if you need to.
Personality Traits: My eloquent flattery makes everyone I talk to feel like the most wonderful and important person in the world.
Ideals: Independence. I must prove that I can handle myself without the coddling of my family.
Bonds: The common folk must see me as a hero of the people.
Flaws: I hid a truly scandalous secret that could ruin my family forever.
History: Lisette Focault is the youngest daughter of the Focault family. Early on in life she found that her role in life was largely superfluous as far as the family was concerned. Her older siblings were the ones that were being married to secure alliances with other families or to strengthen existing ties of friendship. She was able to spend the majority of her time doing as she pleased. And what she pleased was sneaking off to play with the common children, much to the annoyance of her parents and the guards whose supervision she so often slipped. But it was while she was making friends that she discovered the difference in lifestyle from everyone else’s. As she grew older, she began to understand and see how their life made her lifestyle possible, and she made a promise to herself that she would do what she could to help return some of the wealth that was taken from them to support the ruling class by any means necessary. While attending balls and other social functions she would often find chances to slip away and “liberate” small amounts of coin before slipping into the city to fill the church poorbox. She made contacts within the undercurrent of society that would move merchandise like jewelry and other small pieces of art that would not be missed or easily recognized by their owners. She grew to be very good at this, and she grew to be very bold – too bold. One night while she was meeting a contact to sell some merchandise, a young nobleman by the name of Ricard DuBon showed up, accompanied by a Focault house guard whose gaze she thought she had slipped. He was missing a ring that was taken from his bedside table, a ring that looked very much like the one that Lisette was in the middle of fencing. She returned the ring to him and begged and pleaded for his forgiveness, explaining what she had been spending her time trying to do. To her surprise Ricard was supportive of her efforts. But, he knew also knew that he had leverage that could bring House Focault down in scandal should word get out. He promised Lisette that he would keep her secret and allow her to continue to crusade on one condition – that he be brought on board as her handler, giving her targets to acquire and taking a cut off the top of her earnings. What he didn’t tell her was that he planned to use her as a weapon against rival houses in order to weaken them financially, or at the very least make them suspicious of one another. House DuBon could find its status propelled upwards if he played his cards right. The guard was sworn to secrecy on the matter as well, and would act as the muscle and protection for Lisette’s operations should she need it.
Roleplay Tips: Lisette has always been a bit of a tomboy, ready and capable to get dirty if she needs to. Still she is not above using her beauty and feminine wiles to get what she wants as well. Cunning and charming, she likes to think that she is always two steps ahead of everyone else in the room. Most of the time she is, but those times she isn’t spell trouble for her. She knows what she is doing is wrong, but she knows that she is doing it for the right reasons.
Advancement: Lisette was created with an eye towards the Thief Archetype. Continue to pump her Dexterity and her Charisma in order to get her access to places either through a stealthy approach, or charming her way through whatever defenses stand in between her and her target. Athletics and either Stealth or her thieves’ tools are great choices for her level 6 Expertise choices. She’s a rather straightforward character mechanically, but there’s a lot that can be done with her background and history to make her a very interesting and compelling character to portray. Deciding and describing how she joined an adventuring party could be a fun session in and of itself.
Ben Erickson
