In the city of Whitebarrow, there are no orphans, no street urchins begging on corners or living in abandoned buildings. Any children whose parents are killed, or who may have been abandoned, are either taken in by neighbors or the local temple of Selune. Any child over ten winters may be taken as an apprentice by a master craftsman. And at sixteen winters they are considered old enough to make their own way.

But there are always some children that fall outside of the city’s charity, or notice. And these younglings always disappear. Always.

Many residents whisper about the beast in the city sewers that snatch unruly or abandoned children to feast on their flesh. This ‘boogeyman’ story is used to keep the young ones in families in line. But there are a very few people who know the truth – that those abandoned by society are picked up by agents of the crown to be whisked away to a secret training academy miles away from the city. There, these rare few individuals are trained to be agents of the Queen according to their individual talents. At the age of fifteen they begin their final year of training at the academy, and at sixteen they are moved back to the city and given a new life. Most people never know these young people have special training – they blend in with their neighbors. Like the secret agents they are, these specially-trained and uniquely talented people lead double lives.

They call themselves The Queen’s Bastards – partly because the Queen herself visits the academy regularly and refers to all in the program as “her precious children,” – and partly because of the missions they embark on once they leave. Assassination, espionage, counter-insurgency, sabotage…things that make the Queen’s enemies hate them.

Skill Proficiencies: Choose one physical (strength, dexterity, or constitution) and one mental (intelligence, wisdom, or charisma) -based skill

Tool Proficiencies: None.

Languages: A special, non-verbal language consisting of hand signs known only to other members of The Queen’s Bastards.

Equipment: A trinket from your past (PHB pg 160-161), a masterwork dagger (+1 attack and damage), a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp.

Suggested Characteristics

I always have a plan for what to do when things go wrong.

I am always calm, no matter what the situation. I never raise my voice or let my emotions control me.

I am incredibly slow to trust. Those who seem the fairest often have the most to hide.

I lie about almost everything, even when there’s no good reason to.

I change my mood or my mind as quickly as I change key in a song.