I'm putting together a Rogue class with a Spy subclass. I think this is how it is termed. I used the following to build it out. I want to play a Harper and didn't know if there is anything I should be considering in building this out. Not sure if the Spy thing is official per DnD. Also, I'm not entirely sure a spy is a criminal per se in the traditional sense and don't know if there is another way to class it??
Spy is a background. Because spies use similar should and told as criminals, they have the same background skills and equipment with different fluff.
That means you still will have to choose a subclass at some point. I think most of the rogue subclasses could be decent spies so the world is your oyster.
My two cents the criminal/spy background is a little redundant to what the rogue already has. The only thing it brings is your criminal/underworld contact, but you speak Thieves Cant, so you probably already have your introduction into the social fringes. There is a background called "Faction Agent" in the Sword Coasts Adventurers Guide. If you don't want to buy the book here, you could just purchase the background, or look at it in print and homebrew it. It's specifically for characters with connections to the Harpers, Emerald Enclave, really and of the secret societies of the Forgotten Realms, and gives you some things you wouldn't get as a Rogue.
For subclass as a spy or Faction Agent, I'd go with Inquisitive most over most other subclass options. Maybe Scout or Swashbuckler. Mastermind is possibility. But really most of the Rogues subclasses can comport well in each their own way with spying, reconnaissance, infiltration, etc.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
You are looking at this wrong. You don't look at the various Rogue sub-classes and backgrounds for one that is a Spy. You look at the various sub-classes and backgrounds and choose the ones that would make the most sense to support BEING a spy.
A lot of that depends on the world the DM has crafted or the set piece the DM is using.
Consider: Arcane Trickster: Disguise Self and a enhanced Mage Hand, plus Message, Charm Person...all awesome features for a Spy
Assassin: Though a subclass I would consider sub-optimal, still has features that make for a good spy.
Same thing applies for Inquisitive and Mastermind. Anyone of the 4 sub-classes has aspects that support being a good spy. But in my opinion, Arcane Trickster is THE Rogue sub-class for overall flexibility, and in your case, Spying.
Take Half-Elf, Arcane Trickster, and you can do just about anything in the espionage world.
Also consider feats and/or multiclassing. Was considering battle master mixed in to mostly arcane trickster for a spy themed character. Martial adept and picking up superior technique fighting style might work as well. Some of those maneuvers look to have a nice synergy with spy/rogue. Haven’t had a chance to try it out as my new table isn’t allowing multiclassing or variant human, but might still go for it at 4th level.
This is great. I had no idea there was a Faction Agent thing?? I was thinking a Scout as the character backstory was he was a King's Messenger, the elite of the Royal Scouts of the Purple Dragons of the Cormyr army.
a background is the character's past...what it WAS. i think it'd be very difficult for a DM to have a spy character who wants to play as a spy and actually do spy things. I'd say most spies (at least my idea of spies) pretty much go solo and don't actually fight (which is 1/2 of D&D). Its political intrigue and espionage with obscure networks and obscure goals...that wouldn't make for very exciting group play without a TON of DM work (and huge execution risk of actually pulling it off and making it fun). if i were to approach this topic as a DM, i wouldn't even do the spy stuff during organized play with the group at all...it'd be offline one-on-one through email (again - much planning and work for the DM).
And on that note, there wouldn't really be a special spy build or class (again imo)...the town baker? he's a spy. the village newsy, spy. The castle's grain clerk, huge spy. The armed & armored rogue walking around with a backpack full of adventuring gear and traveler's clothes, not a spy - no one trusts shifty rogues. There's no spy build imo.
I think the idea is to encourage multi-faceted characters. Ok, you're a spy - what else? Rather than taking the Spy background and the Spy class and the Spy subclass, you take one of those things and round out who you are with the others. Even if you're looking to enhance your 'spyness' through all of your character elements, there are still very different paths you can take. Rogues are the go-to, but bards, warlocks, wizards and artificers can also be very good at conventional spying.
Or you could play against type and find something really interesting - what would a druid spy look like? Certainly Wild Shape is an excellent tool for infiltration and surveillance. This could be a really compelling character.
After doing some reading, factions like the Harpers act as spies. Yes, the baker could be a spy but there is someone handling that "spy" who would be the professional on the other end. This is what I gather the Harpers do. The skills are there and no one trusts the rogue, correct. Depending on how you play the rogue, they are not flashy so as to not attract lots of attention. Spies are competent fighters depending on training.
I'm still new to this so trying to figure out the class and subclass thing. My impression was that Rogue was the class and Spy was the subclass. I do have the character bio all done. I did incorporate these aspects and spy training and he is now a Harper.
After doing some reading, factions like the Harpers act as spies. Yes, the baker could be a spy but there is someone handling that "spy" who would be the professional on the other end. This is what I gather the Harpers do. The skills are there and no one trusts the rogue, correct. Depending on how you play the rogue, they are not flashy so as to not attract lots of attention. Spies are competent fighters depending on training.
I'm still new to this so trying to figure out the class and subclass thing. My impression was that Rogue was the class and Spy was the subclass. I do have the character bio all done. I did incorporate these aspects and spy training and he is now a Harper.
Hello and welcome to D&D. I think your character concept is perfectly fine, please don't take all the criticism too seriously. Your first D&D character is going to be one which you use to feel out the system and your preferred play style. Later on you may find that you want to tweak your build or your story to enhance the fun, but that is something that you will learn as you play, so don't feel so pressure by all the advice to make some sort of "perfect" character. Just give it a try and remember that the goal is to have fun!
That said, when you make your character in D&D you first choose race, then background, then class. Spy is actually a background, part of your character's history that happens before you start adventuring and is not technically part of your class or subclass. You can technically take the Spy background and be of any class. Your background gives you a few mechanical benefits, but tends to more be a part of your back story, whereas your class and subclass are what give you most of the abilities you're going to be using during your adventures.
There currently isn't a subclass of Rogue named "Spy" though there are a few of them that lend themselves to spycraft. You also don't have to choose a Rogue subclass until you hit level 3, so if you're starting the game at level 1 you won't have to think about this choice for a session or two. The currently available Rogue subclasses are: Arcane Trickster, Assassin, Inquisitive, Mastermind, Phantom, Scout, Soulknife, Swashbuckler, and Thief. Of those I would say the Assassin, Inquisitive, and Mastermind seem like the ones that lend themselves to spycraft. Maybe the Phantom if you want to add a little ghostly flavor.
If you want to share your bio, maybe we'd have a better idea of the kind of character you want to play and could better make suggestions tailored to what you want. Again, welcome to D&D and I hope you have great gaming!
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
After doing some reading, factions like the Harpers act as spies. Yes, the baker could be a spy but there is someone handling that "spy" who would be the professional on the other end. This is what I gather the Harpers do. The skills are there and no one trusts the rogue, correct. Depending on how you play the rogue, they are not flashy so as to not attract lots of attention. Spies are competent fighters depending on training.
I'm still new to this so trying to figure out the class and subclass thing. My impression was that Rogue was the class and Spy was the subclass. I do have the character bio all done. I did incorporate these aspects and spy training and he is now a Harper.
Hello and welcome to D&D. I think your character concept is perfectly fine, please don't take all the criticism too seriously. Your first D&D character is going to be one which you use to feel out the system and your preferred play style. Later on you may find that you want to tweak your build or your story to enhance the fun, but that is something that you will learn as you play, so don't feel so pressure by all the advice to make some sort of "perfect" character. Just give it a try and remember that the goal is to have fun!
That said, when you make your character in D&D you first choose race, then background, then class. Spy is actually a background, part of your character's history that happens before you start adventuring and is not technically part of your class or subclass. You can technically take the Spy background and be of any class. Your background gives you a few mechanical benefits, but tends to more be a part of your back story, whereas your class and subclass are what give you most of the abilities you're going to be using during your adventures.
There currently isn't a subclass of Rogue named "Spy" though there are a few of them that lend themselves to spycraft. You also don't have to choose a Rogue subclass until you hit level 3, so if you're starting the game at level 1 you won't have to think about this choice for a session or two. The currently available Rogue subclasses are: Arcane Trickster, Assassin, Inquisitive, Mastermind, Phantom, Scout, Soulknife, Swashbuckler, and Thief. Of those I would say the Assassin, Inquisitive, and Mastermind seem like the ones that lend themselves to spycraft. Maybe the Phantom if you want to add a little ghostly flavor.
If you want to share your bio, maybe we'd have a better idea of the kind of character you want to play and could better make suggestions tailored to what you want. Again, welcome to D&D and I hope you have great gaming!
Wow!! Thanks!! I didn't realie there were that many subclasses. I have no idea what most are. I played DnD a handful of times in HS but that was probably 30 years ago. The pandemic has renewed my interest as a way to connect with people seeing as most stuff is not really open much. So, I wanted to see about getting into it as an adult.
I did create a bio, LN, human, Rogue. I don't know how to add or insert an image but the bio is below.
Desslok Greyshadow was raised by a moneylender mother and carpenter father. He took the name Greyshadow to protect his family when he left home during his time in the Royal Scouts. Desslok Greyshadow is a rogue spy who was formerly in the service of the Purple Dragons, the regular army of Cormyr, the professional standing army that directly serves the Crown in the defense of the Forest Kingdom. They are famous throughout Faerûn for their professionalism, skill, valor and loyalty to their King. That professionalism and skill comes in large part from the training they receive, but what many pay little attention to is that it also comes from the discipline of working within a professionally-organized military hierarchy and structure. The Purple Dragons, or any other military force for that matter, don't develop that high degree of professionalism and discipline from just being a mob of armed men led by a few lords or knights; it comes from having an entire military culture in which the chain of command is made clear through hierarchical structure and military virtues are instilled through long-held traditions. The military of Cormyr, in its many centuries of devoted defense of the Forest Kingdom, has had ample time to develop such military organization and traditions. The Purple Dragons have so impressed all of Faerûn. Greyshadow was a Royal Scout, which are another special kind of Purple Dragon. The Royal Scouts are an elite force of Purple Dragons who have demonstrated skill at stealthy movement and survival. Royal scouts serve a variety of functions. Many Royal Scouts are fully integrated into the unit structure and serve with all units of any size, and often serve as point men or flankers to units as they move so that the unit commander knows what is about him and can avoid ambushes, or in larger units serve as messengers to relay orders to subordinate units and return replies to the unit commander. They are also deployed individually or in small groups on special missions of their own, in which case they are used as messengers and spies. Greyshadow served as both messenger and spy. In the latter role, they can be found anywhere in the Dragonreach and along the Dragon coast. Greyshadow was one of the very best of the Royal Scouts and was assigned to a special unit composed entirely of Royal Scouts called the King's Messengers. Greyshadow held the title/rank of Roadcaptain in the Royal Scouts. Members of the Purple Dragons will leave the service of King and Cormyr for a variety of reasons. Some may leave because their family needs them, they grow tired of rigid military discipline, or they feel the call of adventuring for their own profit. Greyshadow, like most who enter the Purple Dragons feel a true dedication to serving the Forest Kingdom, though, and will serve until either injury or age render it more difficult for them to lead the arduous life of a soldier. Most Purple Dragons realize the time has come once they enter middle age, if injury does not force the issue sooner, when they have begun the gradual physical decline of old age yet are not so old that it is too late to make a new life as a civilian. Such a retirement after a long and honorable service is called "mustering out." Greyshadow left for his own profit and turned to being a sell-sword. In order to ease the transition to a productive civilian life and to give thanks for loyal service and sacrifice, the Crown will usually give a lump sum of money that is called mustering-out pay. A Purple Dragon must either have served at least two full years or have participated in one military campaign involving combat in order to be eligible for mustering-out pay. This pay is often used by a retiring solder to help equip him for his new civilian livelihood, although those less wise may squander some or all of it. The amount of money a retiring soldier is paid depends on their current rank and how long he or she has served. The mustering out pay is equal to three months pay at the Purple Dragons' current rank plus five golden lions per full year served. The bonus for time in service does not vary by rank to provide an extra incentive for those having little chance for promotion to remain in the Purple Dragons. For those retiring soldiers who wish it, the Crown may grant them a tract of land to work in lieu of some or all of their mustering-out pay. Many soldiers who originally came from a farming background select this option and return to their roots. The soldier may request a tract of land in a location of his choosing, or the Crown may suggest a location of its own preference. Whether this land grant is in lieu of the entire amount of the mustering-out pay or only part of it will depend on the value of the tract of land, the potential danger of the area it is in, and whether the Crown has a specific interest in seeing the area settled and tamed. Greyshadow took his mustering-out pay after 3 years of service in the Royal Scouts of the Purple Dragons. A former soldier of the Purple Dragons is, in addition to whatever mustering-out benefit he receives, allowed to keep his personal weapon and armor and is required to maintain them, for despite the fact that he is no longer actively serving he is still under an obligation to the Crown. The King can issue a royal writ to recall retired Purple Dragons to service at need, and if this happens the retired soldier will be required to supply his own gear so that he is ready to serve as quickly as possible. Greyshadow joined the Harpers, or Those Who Harp, were a semi-secret organization dedicated to promoting good, preserving history (including art and music of old), and maintaining a balance between civilization and nature by keeping kingdoms small and the destruction of animal and plant life to a minimum. They considered the elven empire of Myth Drannor shortly before its fall to be the pinnacle of civilized history and strove to recreate the world in that image. Greyshadows preferred weapons are dual kukris. He continues his search for magic kukris to replace his conventional ones.
Ahh, thank you! That does help. So it seems that your character's particular take on spycraft is about being an unobtrusive messenger with the ability to observe the situation and keep themselves alive long enough to report in, rather than infiltrating, deceiving, seducing, stealing, sabotaging, or the like. As such I would change my recommendation and actually say the Scout subclass would probably be the best fit IF that is the kind of gameplay you find yourself wanting to do. If you start at level 1, though, your idea for how you want your character to develop their abilities might change by the time you hit level 3, so let's just shelve that for the moment.
Here's what I would suggest for level 1. Take the Variant Human race and choose the Mobile Feat as your free feat. This feat makes you faster on your feet, able to pass through difficult terrain with ease, as well as slip away from enemies without provoking attacks of opportunity as long as you have attempted to hit them. This compliments your weapons of choice, which I am going to say will probably best be represented in this system by dual short swords. Then take the Faction Agent Background, as this is the plot you seem interested in. I think the Soldier Background would also fit, but would suit you less, mechanically. With your first level of Rogue, I would suggest choosing to take Expertise in Stealth and Perception. I think this really fits the back story you have given us.
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
We have a person in our campaign playing a spy of sorts. Inquisitive rogue. Such a good subclass if you build the character around perception/investigating/insight as that guy who just wants to know what si going on. Expertise and feats like observant are just crazy good at finding things out.
Ahh, thank you! That does help. So it seems that your character's particular take on spycraft is about being an unobtrusive messenger with the ability to observe the situation and keep themselves alive long enough to report in, rather than infiltrating, deceiving, seducing, stealing, sabotaging, or the like. As such I would change my recommendation and actually say the Scout subclass would probably be the best fit IF that is the kind of gameplay you find yourself wanting to do. If you start at level 1, though, your idea for how you want your character to develop their abilities might change by the time you hit level 3, so let's just shelve that for the moment.
Here's what I would suggest for level 1. Take the Variant Human race and choose the Mobile Feat as your free feat. This feat makes you faster on your feet, able to pass through difficult terrain with ease, as well as slip away from enemies without provoking attacks of opportunity as long as you have attempted to hit them. This compliments your weapons of choice, which I am going to say will probably best be represented in this system by dual short swords. Then take the Faction Agent Background, as this is the plot you seem interested in. I think the Soldier Background would also fit, but would suit you less, mechanically. With your first level of Rogue, I would suggest choosing to take Expertise in Stealth and Perception. I think this really fits the back story you have given us.
Thanks so much for your help. I really had no idea about the variety of subclasses. Yes, I found out about the Purple Dragons and go the Cormyr guide and did some homework with some videos. The King's Messengers were basically messengers and spies but probably more akin to scouting gathering that ye of intelligence rather than traditional espionage per se. But, I am fairly certain in the Royal Scouts, King's Messengers, he would be given some espionage training as well as basic scouting, land navigation, etc. Although, those espionage skills are probably pretty good to have. I want to play a Harper and will have to see about the Faction Agent background. The video on the Harpers I saw has different levels.
Hey All,
I'm putting together a Rogue class with a Spy subclass. I think this is how it is termed. I used the following to build it out. I want to play a Harper and didn't know if there is anything I should be considering in building this out. Not sure if the Spy thing is official per DnD. Also, I'm not entirely sure a spy is a criminal per se in the traditional sense and don't know if there is another way to class it??
Rogue
Spy is a background. Because spies use similar should and told as criminals, they have the same background skills and equipment with different fluff.
That means you still will have to choose a subclass at some point. I think most of the rogue subclasses could be decent spies so the world is your oyster.
My two cents the criminal/spy background is a little redundant to what the rogue already has. The only thing it brings is your criminal/underworld contact, but you speak Thieves Cant, so you probably already have your introduction into the social fringes. There is a background called "Faction Agent" in the Sword Coasts Adventurers Guide. If you don't want to buy the book here, you could just purchase the background, or look at it in print and homebrew it. It's specifically for characters with connections to the Harpers, Emerald Enclave, really and of the secret societies of the Forgotten Realms, and gives you some things you wouldn't get as a Rogue.
For subclass as a spy or Faction Agent, I'd go with Inquisitive most over most other subclass options. Maybe Scout or Swashbuckler. Mastermind is possibility. But really most of the Rogues subclasses can comport well in each their own way with spying, reconnaissance, infiltration, etc.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
You are looking at this wrong. You don't look at the various Rogue sub-classes and backgrounds for one that is a Spy. You look at the various sub-classes and backgrounds and choose the ones that would make the most sense to support BEING a spy.
A lot of that depends on the world the DM has crafted or the set piece the DM is using.
Consider: Arcane Trickster: Disguise Self and a enhanced Mage Hand, plus Message, Charm Person...all awesome features for a Spy
Assassin: Though a subclass I would consider sub-optimal, still has features that make for a good spy.
Same thing applies for Inquisitive and Mastermind. Anyone of the 4 sub-classes has aspects that support being a good spy. But in my opinion, Arcane Trickster is THE Rogue sub-class for overall flexibility, and in your case, Spying.
Take Half-Elf, Arcane Trickster, and you can do just about anything in the espionage world.
Also consider feats and/or multiclassing. Was considering battle master mixed in to mostly arcane trickster for a spy themed character. Martial adept and picking up superior technique fighting style might work as well. Some of those maneuvers look to have a nice synergy with spy/rogue. Haven’t had a chance to try it out as my new table isn’t allowing multiclassing or variant human, but might still go for it at 4th level.
This is great. I had no idea there was a Faction Agent thing?? I was thinking a Scout as the character backstory was he was a King's Messenger, the elite of the Royal Scouts of the Purple Dragons of the Cormyr army.
I am new to this and it is all so confusing. Arcane Trickster is like a magic user, I think. I will do more research on that.
I found info on the Faction Agent.
https://dndtopics.com/backgrounds/faction-agent/#:~:text=In the faction agent background dnd 5e the,societies and also the conspiracies in such lands.
a background is the character's past...what it WAS. i think it'd be very difficult for a DM to have a spy character who wants to play as a spy and actually do spy things. I'd say most spies (at least my idea of spies) pretty much go solo and don't actually fight (which is 1/2 of D&D). Its political intrigue and espionage with obscure networks and obscure goals...that wouldn't make for very exciting group play without a TON of DM work (and huge execution risk of actually pulling it off and making it fun). if i were to approach this topic as a DM, i wouldn't even do the spy stuff during organized play with the group at all...it'd be offline one-on-one through email (again - much planning and work for the DM).
And on that note, there wouldn't really be a special spy build or class (again imo)...the town baker? he's a spy. the village newsy, spy. The castle's grain clerk, huge spy. The armed & armored rogue walking around with a backpack full of adventuring gear and traveler's clothes, not a spy - no one trusts shifty rogues. There's no spy build imo.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
I think the idea is to encourage multi-faceted characters. Ok, you're a spy - what else? Rather than taking the Spy background and the Spy class and the Spy subclass, you take one of those things and round out who you are with the others. Even if you're looking to enhance your 'spyness' through all of your character elements, there are still very different paths you can take. Rogues are the go-to, but bards, warlocks, wizards and artificers can also be very good at conventional spying.
Or you could play against type and find something really interesting - what would a druid spy look like? Certainly Wild Shape is an excellent tool for infiltration and surveillance. This could be a really compelling character.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
After doing some reading, factions like the Harpers act as spies. Yes, the baker could be a spy but there is someone handling that "spy" who would be the professional on the other end. This is what I gather the Harpers do. The skills are there and no one trusts the rogue, correct. Depending on how you play the rogue, they are not flashy so as to not attract lots of attention. Spies are competent fighters depending on training.
I'm still new to this so trying to figure out the class and subclass thing. My impression was that Rogue was the class and Spy was the subclass. I do have the character bio all done. I did incorporate these aspects and spy training and he is now a Harper.
Something that might be confusing you is not all classes choose a subclass at level 1, also each class has a different name for sub class.
As a rogue you don't choose your subclass and the rogue subclasses are called Archetypes.
All characters pick a background at level 1.
Hello and welcome to D&D. I think your character concept is perfectly fine, please don't take all the criticism too seriously. Your first D&D character is going to be one which you use to feel out the system and your preferred play style. Later on you may find that you want to tweak your build or your story to enhance the fun, but that is something that you will learn as you play, so don't feel so pressure by all the advice to make some sort of "perfect" character. Just give it a try and remember that the goal is to have fun!
That said, when you make your character in D&D you first choose race, then background, then class. Spy is actually a background, part of your character's history that happens before you start adventuring and is not technically part of your class or subclass. You can technically take the Spy background and be of any class. Your background gives you a few mechanical benefits, but tends to more be a part of your back story, whereas your class and subclass are what give you most of the abilities you're going to be using during your adventures.
There currently isn't a subclass of Rogue named "Spy" though there are a few of them that lend themselves to spycraft. You also don't have to choose a Rogue subclass until you hit level 3, so if you're starting the game at level 1 you won't have to think about this choice for a session or two. The currently available Rogue subclasses are: Arcane Trickster, Assassin, Inquisitive, Mastermind, Phantom, Scout, Soulknife, Swashbuckler, and Thief. Of those I would say the Assassin, Inquisitive, and Mastermind seem like the ones that lend themselves to spycraft. Maybe the Phantom if you want to add a little ghostly flavor.
If you want to share your bio, maybe we'd have a better idea of the kind of character you want to play and could better make suggestions tailored to what you want. Again, welcome to D&D and I hope you have great gaming!
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
Wow!! Thanks!! I didn't realie there were that many subclasses. I have no idea what most are. I played DnD a handful of times in HS but that was probably 30 years ago. The pandemic has renewed my interest as a way to connect with people seeing as most stuff is not really open much. So, I wanted to see about getting into it as an adult.
I did create a bio, LN, human, Rogue. I don't know how to add or insert an image but the bio is below.
Desslok Greyshadow was raised by a moneylender mother and carpenter father. He took the name Greyshadow to protect his family when he left home during his time in the Royal Scouts. Desslok Greyshadow is a rogue spy who was formerly in the service of the Purple Dragons, the regular army of Cormyr, the professional standing army that directly serves the Crown in the defense of the Forest Kingdom. They are famous throughout Faerûn for their professionalism, skill, valor and loyalty to their King. That professionalism and skill comes in large part from the training they receive, but what many pay little attention to is that it also comes from the discipline of working within a professionally-organized military hierarchy and structure. The Purple Dragons, or any other military force for that matter, don't develop that high degree of professionalism and discipline from just being a mob of armed men led by a few lords or knights; it comes from having an entire military culture in which the chain of command is made clear through hierarchical structure and military virtues are instilled through long-held traditions. The military of Cormyr, in its many centuries of devoted defense of the Forest Kingdom, has had ample time to develop such military organization and traditions. The Purple Dragons have so impressed all of Faerûn. Greyshadow was a Royal Scout, which are another special kind of Purple Dragon. The Royal Scouts are an elite force of Purple Dragons who have demonstrated skill at stealthy movement and survival. Royal scouts serve a variety of functions. Many Royal Scouts are fully integrated into the unit structure and serve with all units of any size, and often serve as point men or flankers to units as they move so that the unit commander knows what is about him and can avoid ambushes, or in larger units serve as messengers to relay orders to subordinate units and return replies to the unit commander. They are also deployed individually or in small groups on special missions of their own, in which case they are used as messengers and spies. Greyshadow served as both messenger and spy. In the latter role, they can be found anywhere in the Dragonreach and along the Dragon coast. Greyshadow was one of the very best of the Royal Scouts and was assigned to a special unit composed entirely of Royal Scouts called the King's Messengers. Greyshadow held the title/rank of Roadcaptain in the Royal Scouts. Members of the Purple Dragons will leave the service of King and Cormyr for a variety of reasons. Some may leave because their family needs them, they grow tired of rigid military discipline, or they feel the call of adventuring for their own profit. Greyshadow, like most who enter the Purple Dragons feel a true dedication to serving the Forest Kingdom, though, and will serve until either injury or age render it more difficult for them to lead the arduous life of a soldier. Most Purple Dragons realize the time has come once they enter middle age, if injury does not force the issue sooner, when they have begun the gradual physical decline of old age yet are not so old that it is too late to make a new life as a civilian. Such a retirement after a long and honorable service is called "mustering out." Greyshadow left for his own profit and turned to being a sell-sword. In order to ease the transition to a productive civilian life and to give thanks for loyal service and sacrifice, the Crown will usually give a lump sum of money that is called mustering-out pay. A Purple Dragon must either have served at least two full years or have participated in one military campaign involving combat in order to be eligible for mustering-out pay. This pay is often used by a retiring solder to help equip him for his new civilian livelihood, although those less wise may squander some or all of it. The amount of money a retiring soldier is paid depends on their current rank and how long he or she has served. The mustering out pay is equal to three months pay at the Purple Dragons' current rank plus five golden lions per full year served. The bonus for time in service does not vary by rank to provide an extra incentive for those having little chance for promotion to remain in the Purple Dragons. For those retiring soldiers who wish it, the Crown may grant them a tract of land to work in lieu of some or all of their mustering-out pay. Many soldiers who originally came from a farming background select this option and return to their roots. The soldier may request a tract of land in a location of his choosing, or the Crown may suggest a location of its own preference. Whether this land grant is in lieu of the entire amount of the mustering-out pay or only part of it will depend on the value of the tract of land, the potential danger of the area it is in, and whether the Crown has a specific interest in seeing the area settled and tamed. Greyshadow took his mustering-out pay after 3 years of service in the Royal Scouts of the Purple Dragons. A former soldier of the Purple Dragons is, in addition to whatever mustering-out benefit he receives, allowed to keep his personal weapon and armor and is required to maintain them, for despite the fact that he is no longer actively serving he is still under an obligation to the Crown. The King can issue a royal writ to recall retired Purple Dragons to service at need, and if this happens the retired soldier will be required to supply his own gear so that he is ready to serve as quickly as possible. Greyshadow joined the Harpers, or Those Who Harp, were a semi-secret organization dedicated to promoting good, preserving history (including art and music of old), and maintaining a balance between civilization and nature by keeping kingdoms small and the destruction of animal and plant life to a minimum. They considered the elven empire of Myth Drannor shortly before its fall to be the pinnacle of civilized history and strove to recreate the world in that image. Greyshadows preferred weapons are dual kukris. He continues his search for magic kukris to replace his conventional ones.
Ahh, thank you! That does help. So it seems that your character's particular take on spycraft is about being an unobtrusive messenger with the ability to observe the situation and keep themselves alive long enough to report in, rather than infiltrating, deceiving, seducing, stealing, sabotaging, or the like. As such I would change my recommendation and actually say the Scout subclass would probably be the best fit IF that is the kind of gameplay you find yourself wanting to do. If you start at level 1, though, your idea for how you want your character to develop their abilities might change by the time you hit level 3, so let's just shelve that for the moment.
Here's what I would suggest for level 1. Take the Variant Human race and choose the Mobile Feat as your free feat. This feat makes you faster on your feet, able to pass through difficult terrain with ease, as well as slip away from enemies without provoking attacks of opportunity as long as you have attempted to hit them. This compliments your weapons of choice, which I am going to say will probably best be represented in this system by dual short swords. Then take the Faction Agent Background, as this is the plot you seem interested in. I think the Soldier Background would also fit, but would suit you less, mechanically. With your first level of Rogue, I would suggest choosing to take Expertise in Stealth and Perception. I think this really fits the back story you have given us.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
We have a person in our campaign playing a spy of sorts. Inquisitive rogue. Such a good subclass if you build the character around perception/investigating/insight as that guy who just wants to know what si going on. Expertise and feats like observant are just crazy good at finding things out.
Thanks so much for your help. I really had no idea about the variety of subclasses. Yes, I found out about the Purple Dragons and go the Cormyr guide and did some homework with some videos. The King's Messengers were basically messengers and spies but probably more akin to scouting gathering that ye of intelligence rather than traditional espionage per se. But, I am fairly certain in the Royal Scouts, King's Messengers, he would be given some espionage training as well as basic scouting, land navigation, etc. Although, those espionage skills are probably pretty good to have. I want to play a Harper and will have to see about the Faction Agent background. The video on the Harpers I saw has different levels.
https://youtu.be/54EbVTJNP2Y
https://youtu.be/mEQJzxjAIj4
How do you attach a picture?? I am going to use a straight human. Less to think about at least to start.
I saw this info for Faction Agent.
https://dndtopics.com/backgrounds/faction-agent/
You are the best for helping me out. I just need to find a game. I got one offer but it was pay game which is not an interest.....
There is a forum here where you can ask around for a group to play with: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/looking-for-players-groups
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!