Noble Adopted Urchin

You grew up on the streets alone, orphaned, and poor. You had no one to watch over you or to provide for you, so you learned to provide for yourself. You fought fiercely over food and kept a constant watch out for other desperate souls who might steal from you. You slept on rooftops and in alleyways, exposed to the elements, and endured sickness without the advantage of medicine or a place to recuperate. You’ve survived despite all odds, and did so through cunning, strength, speed, or some combination of each.

You then were adopted into a noble famile.

You understand wealth, power, and privilege. You carry a noble title, and your family owns land, collects taxes, and wields significant political influence. You might be a pampered aristocrat unfamiliar with work or discomfort, a former merchant just elevated to the nobility, or a disinherited scoundrel with a disproportionate sense of entitlement. Or you could be an honest, hard-working landowner who cares deeply about the people who live and work on your land, keenly aware of your responsibility to them.

Work with your DM to come up with an appropriate title and determine how much authority that title carries. A noble title doesn’t stand on its own—it’s connected to an entire family, and whatever title you hold, you will pass it down to your own children. Not only do you need to determine your noble title, but you should also work with the DM to describe your family and their influence on you.

Is your family old and established, or was your title only recently bestowed? How much influence do they wield, and over what area? What kind of reputation does your family have among the other aristocrats of the region? How do the common people regard them?

What’s your position in the family? Are you the heir to the head of the family? Have you already inherited the title? How do you feel about that responsibility? Or are you so far down the line of inheritance that no one cares what you do, as long as you don’t embarrass the family? How does the head of your family feel about your adventuring career? Are you in your family’s good graces, or shunned by the rest of your family?

Does your family have a coat of arms? An insignia you might wear on a signet ring? Particular colors you wear all the time? An animal you regard as a symbol of your line or even a spiritual member of the family?

These details help establish your family and your title as features of the world of the campaign.

Skill Proficiencies: Your choice of:

• Sleight of Hand, Stealth or
• History, Persuasion

Tool Proficiencies: Disguise kit, thieves’ tools, one type of gaming set, or one musical instrument

Languages: One of your choice

Equipment: A map of the city you grew up in, a token to remember your parents by, a set of fine clothes, a signet ring, some sealing wax, a scroll of pedigree, and a purse containing 25 gp

Suggested Characteristics

Urchins are shaped by lives of desperate poverty, for good and for ill. They tend to be driven either by a commitment to the people with whom they shared life on the street or by a burning desire to find a better life. 

Nobles are born and raised to a very different lifestyle than most people ever experience, and their personalities reflect that upbringing. A noble title comes with a plethora of bonds—responsibilities to family, to other nobles (including the sovereign), to the people entrusted to the family’s care, or even to the title itself. But this responsibility is often a good way to undermine a noble.

You are a combination of both you are thankful for your noble family and for the benefits they have bestowed on you. You also remember your urchin lifestyle. You are free to determine how the two shape your future.

d20	Personality Trait
1	I hide scraps of food and trinkets away in my pockets.
2	My eloquent flattery makes everyone I talk to feel like the most wonderful and important person in the world.
3	I ask a lot of questions.
4	The common folk love me for my kindness and generosity.
5	I like to squeeze into small places where no one else can get to me.
6	No one could doubt by looking at my regal bearing that I am a cut above the unwashed masses.
7	I sleep with my back to a wall or tree, with everything I own wrapped in a bundle in my arms.
8	I take great pains to always look my best and follow the latest fashions.
9	I eat like a pig and have bad manners.
10	I don’t like to get my hands dirty, and I won’t be caught dead in unsuitable accommodations.
11	I think anyone who’s nice to me is hiding evil intent.
12	Despite my noble upbringing, I do not place myself above other folk. We all have the same blood.
13	I don’t like to bathe.
14	My favor, once lost, is lost forever.
15	I bluntly say what other people are hinting at or hiding.
16	If you do me an injury, I will crush you, ruin your name, and salt your fields.
17	I’m always polite and respectful.
18	I enjoy being strong and like breaking things.
19	I have a crude sense of humor.
20	I order around the people near me as if they were my servants.

d12	Ideal
1	Respect. All people, rich or poor, deserve respect. (Good)
2	Respect. Respect is due to me because of my position, but all people regardless of station deserve to be treated with dignity. (Good)
3	Community. We have to take care of each other, because no one else is going to do it. (Lawful)
4	Responsibility. It is my duty to respect the authority of those above me, just as those below me must respect mine. (Lawful)
5	Change. The low are lifted up, and the high and mighty are brought down. Change is the nature of things. (Chaotic)
6	Independence. I must prove that I can handle myself without the coddling of my family. (Chaotic)
7	Retribution. The rich need to be shown what life and death are like in the gutters. (Evil)
8	Power. If I can attain more power, no one will tell me what to do. (Evil)
9	People. I help the people who help me — that’s what keeps us alive. (Neutral)
10	Family. Blood runs thicker than water. (Any)
11	Aspiration. I’m going to prove that I’m worthy of a better life.
12	Noble Obligation. It is my duty to protect and care for the people beneath me. (Good)

d12	Bond
1	My town or city is my home, and I’ll fight to defend it.
2	I will face any challenge to win the approval of my family.
3	I sponsor an orphanage to keep others from enduring what I was forced to endure.
4	My house’s alliance with another noble family must be sustained at all costs.
5	I owe my survival to another urchin who taught me to live on the streets.
6	Nothing is more important than the other members of my family.
7	I owe a debt I can never repay to the person who took pity on me.
8	I am in love with the heir of a family that my family despises.
9	I escaped my life of poverty by robbing an important person, and I’m wanted for it.
10	My loyalty to my sovereign is unwavering.
11	No one else should have to endure the hardships I’ve been through.
12	The common folk must see me as a hero of the people.

d12	Flaw
1	If I’m outnumbered, I will run away from a fight.
2	I secretly believe that everyone is beneath me.
3	Gold seems like a lot of money to me, and I’ll do just about anything for more of it.
4	I hide a truly scandalous secret that could ruin my family forever.
5	I will never fully trust anyone other than myself.
6	I too often hear veiled insults and threats in every word addressed to me, and I’m quick to anger.
7	I’d rather kill someone in their sleep than fight fair.
8	I have an insatiable desire for carnal pleasures.
9	It’s not stealing if I need it more than someone else.
10	In fact, the world does revolve around me.
11	People who can’t take care of themselves get what they deserve.
12	By my words and actions, I often bring shame to my family.