Former Courtier

Exiled Noble • Royal Servant • Keeper of Forbidden Secrets

                                                                                                         “Crowns may fall, but secrets have a way of surviving.”

Introduction

Once, you belonged to the Court.

Perhaps you served royalty directly. Perhaps you entertained nobles, poured their tea, maintained their gardens, guarded their chambers, recorded their histories, or whispered secrets into royal ears. Whatever your station, you learned how the Court truly functioned.

Then the Deck fell.

The crowns cracked. Palaces emptied. Royal families scattered, disappeared, or became targets themselves. The customs that once governed Underland became little more than fragments of a dead age.

But you remember.

You remember the names behind the titles, the alliances behind the ceremonies, and the secrets hidden beneath polished floors. You know which doors once opened for a royal seal and which smiles at Court concealed a knife.

And there are things the surviving Queens would very much prefer you forget

Ability Scores:

Ability Score Increase

Your years among nobility taught you how to read people, navigate complicated social situations, and remember the details others overlook.

Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Feat:

Skilled

Your time at Court required you to become useful in several different ways.

You gain proficiency in any combination of three skills or tools of your choice.

If you already have proficiency with a chosen skill or tool, you may choose another proficiency instead

Skill Proficiencies:

Skill Proficiencies

Deception, History

Skill Proficiencies Description

Your position at Court taught you that knowledge is power and appearances are everything.

You learned how to conceal uncomfortable truths behind polite words, recognize important historical events and figures, and understand the complicated history of the Deck and its royal houses.

Tool Proficiencies:

Tool Proficiencies

Choose one:

• Calligrapher's Supplies
• One Musical Instrument of your choice

Tool Proficiencies Description

Courtiers were expected to possess refined skills. You may have copied royal documents, composed letters, entertained nobility, or learned an instrument for Court performances.

Languages:

Languages

Common and one language of your choice.

Languages Description

The Court was a place where kingdoms, noble houses, merchants, diplomats, and foreign dignitaries constantly crossed paths. You learned Common as a matter of necessity and picked up another language through your service.

Equipment:

Equipment

You begin with the following equipment:

• Fine but damaged court clothing
• A signet ring bearing an obsolete royal emblem
• Calligrapher's supplies
• A sealed royal letter
• A small ceremonial weapon
• 15 gp

Alternatively, you may take the starting wealth determined by your DM.

Spell List

Spell List Introduction

Your exposure to Court magic, royal rituals, forbidden libraries, or magical tutors has given you access to a small collection of spells.

If your campaign uses background-granted spells, you may add the spells below to the spell list available to your spellcasting class.

 

Spell Level	Spells

Spell List Extended

Former Courtier Spells

Spell Level	Spells
1st	Charm Person, Comprehend Languages
2nd	Detect Thoughts, Suggestion
3rd	Clairvoyance, Tongues
4th	Arcane Eye, Charm Monster
5th	Legend Lore, Modify Memory

 

Suggested Characteristics

Suggested Characteristics

Your experiences within the Courts shaped how you interact with power, status, secrets, and ordinary people.

Personality Traits

d8	Personality Trait
1	I maintain perfect manners even while covered in blood.
2	I know everyone's proper title.
3	I secretly miss the old Court.
4	I despise the old Court.
5	I can identify expensive clothing from twenty feet away.
6	I always sit where I can see the exits.
7	I collect rumors.
8	I have absolutely no idea how normal people behave.

Ideals

d6	Ideal
1	Justice. The people deserve better than another tyrant.
2	Tradition. Some old ways are worth preserving.
3	Reform. Underland cannot return to what it was.
4	Loyalty. I serve people, not crowns.
5	Truth. The history of Underland must not be rewritten.
6	Freedom. No crown should have the power to decide another person's worth.

Bonds

d6	Bond
1	I served a Royal I still secretly love.
2	Someone from the Court betrayed me.
3	I possess evidence that could destroy a royal house.
4	My family expects me to reclaim our position.
5	I promised someone at Court that I would return.
6	I know what truly happened on the night the Court fell.

Flaws

d6	Flaw
1	I am arrogant about my education.
2	I struggle to trust commoners.
3	I cannot resist political intrigue.
4	I have secrets I refuse to discuss.
5	Part of me still craves the luxury of the old world.
6	I instinctively judge people by their manners, clothing, and status.

Contacts

Contacts Description

Your years within the Court left you with connections scattered throughout Underland.

Some contacts are loyal friends. Others owe you favors. Some fear what you know. A few may desperately want information you possess.

Your contacts might include former servants, nobles, guards, scribes, academics, merchants, entertainers, spies, or other survivors of the old Court.

Court Contact

d6	Contact
1	A former royal servant who still operates an underground information network.
2	A disgraced noble hiding under a false name.
3	A former royal guard who knows what really happened during the fall.
4	A scholar at Argent Pavilion who owes you a favor.
5	A former Court entertainer who hears everyone's secrets.
6	A mysterious former royal advisor who refuses to tell you which side they were truly on.