Contessa noir

 

From the collected whispers of “Velvet Blades: Tales of the Hidden Courts”

 

 

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The Tale

 

They say there was once a fencing master — a man of unmatched grace and impossible pride.

In an age when nobles killed as easily with rumor as with steel, his art was coveted but his temper unforgivable.

 

When a duke demanded to be taught his fencing style and failed to match his teacher’s elegance, fury followed.

The duke accused the master of hiding a final lesson. The master refused to yield, and for that defiance he was disgraced — cast from the courts, stripped of title, exiled to his country estate.

There, bitter and alone, he swore never again to teach another man on this plane or any other.

 

Yet he had four daughters — clever, spirited girls who lived beneath the same shadow of politics and danger.

He could not shield them with power, so he gave them movement.

Each dawn he drilled them in secret: how to step aside instead of back, to turn a bow into a feint, a curtsy into a dodge.

He named the discipline La Danse Noire — The Black Dance — defense hidden in grace.

 

At first it was a game of elegance.

But genius, as the bards say, rarely sleeps in peace.

The daughters pushed the art beyond defense, until beauty and death were one continuous motion.

 

Lirenne — The First Blade

The eldest, solemn and proud, perfected her father’s lessons: every step exact, every strike mirrored.

Her Swords Dance was precision incarnate, a duel set to rhythm.

Her disciples became the sworn guards of queens, blades hired to protect with poise. She never modified or devated but stuck to the fundamentals

 

Seraphine — The Second Petal

Radiant and theatrical, she saw beauty as distraction.

Her Fleur des Flèche — the Flourish of Arrows — made twin blades shimmer like ribbons.

Her courtesans and spies killed behind perfume and applause.

 

Virette — The Third Note

Quiet and meticulous, she found cadence in blood.

Her Tempo Macabre struck precisely on the beat between breaths, each kill a musical measure.

Her assassins timed murder to the toll of distant bells.

 

Aveline — The Fourth Veil

Gentle, almost shy, she sought beauty not in battle but in its end.

Her Crimson Waltz flowed so softly that blood seemed to follow like a lover’s step.

She vanished one winter night, leaving only a red slipper in the snow.

 

When their father died, the sisters parted ways.

Each founded a secret school — dueling halls beneath theatres, salons lit by candlelight, finishing academies that taught noblewomen to curtsy … and to kill.

 

Centuries blurred the art into myth.

Men dismissed it as a poet’s fancy; women of the court whispered otherwise.

Those who mastered all four dances — precision, flourish, rhythm, and stillness — became something more than mortal.

 

They earned a name spoken only in breath and fear: Contessa Noir, the Black lady

When she smiles, the wise listen for music — because when the music stops, her blade has already fallen.

 

The legend endures.

Some claim La Danse Noire hides within assassin guilds that pose as ballet troupes.

Others insist it lingers in finishing schools where noble daughters learn to bow, to charm,

Most laugh — until a diplomat dies mid-waltz, untouched but for a thin crimson line at the throat.

Then, as silence fills the ballroom, someone always whispers:

 

a Contessa Noir

 

The Fourth Veil

 

> In noble salons, a rumor persists that Aveline never died.

A shadowed woman visits certain daughters of the court, teaching them a dance that ends in silence.

Those girls vanish from public life within the year but on moonless nights, witnesses claim to see them again.

They are called the Red Ladies: figures draped in gowns dripping crimson the untimely and mysterious death if a king emperor or saint soon behind, faces hidden behind porcelain masks, moving too swiftly for the eye to follow.

Where they pass, music never falters a waltz of crimson at there feet left behind only rose petals

Sword dance

 

Unarmored Defense

When not wearing armor or wielding a shield, your agility and confidence protect you as well as any armor could.

Your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Charisma modifier.

Swift Strikes

Your fighting style is a blur of motion, rhythm, and grace.

Once per turn, when you make an attack with a light melee weapon, you can immediately make one additional attack with a different off-hand light melee weapon.

This additional attack deals normal weapon damage, plus your Performance skill bonus. This Feature is instead of using your bonus action to make a additional attack 

You can draw and stow 2 wepons at a time 

Additionally if you make a thrown meleee wepon attack with a light melee weapon you can draw a light melee weapon as part of that attack and it still counts as dule wielding for the perpous of the class fetures until end of turn if you end your turn with only one weapon in your hand you lose the dule wielding property for the purpose of these abilitys 

You gain proficiency with scimitars.

You must be wielding two light melee weapons to use these features and you cannot benefit from it if you are wearing armor, restrained, or on difficult terrain.

 

Flourish of Fleur des flèche

Level 9 — Fleur des flèche

 

You blend grace, speed, and performance into every motion, transforming your Rogue’s Cunning Action into a fluid dance of motion and misdirection.

Your Cunning action can be modified im various ways 

Fast Footwork

When you use your Cunning Action to Disengage, your movement speed increases by 30 feet until the end of your turn.

Hidden Intentions

When you use your Cunning Action to Hide, you may instead choose if you have moved at least 10 feet this turn to grant yourself advantage on all attack rolls you make until the start of your next turn 

 

Sachet

When you take the Dash action, your movements carry you in graceful leaps and bounds.

Until the end of your turn, your jump distance increases by a number of feet equal to 5 × your Performance skill bonus.

You must be wielding light melee weapons and not wearing armor to benefit from this feature.

tempo macabre

Level 13 — tempo macabre

 

Your rhythm in battle is relentless — every strike carries you into the next, a flowing performance of precision and danger.

When you land a critical hit, deal Sneak Attack damage, or reduce a creature to 0 hit points with a melee weapon attack, you may immediately move up to 10 feet toward another creature.

If, after this movement, that creature is within your melee weapon’s reach, you may make one additional melee attack against it for free This attack deals damage equal to wepon damage plus preformcance skill 

This movement provokes opportunity attacks from creatures you pass within reach of, but those attacks are made with disadvantage as you weave through the fray with blinding grace. 

If this feature triggers as part of an opportunity attack you make, you may still move up to 10 feet as described, but you cannot make an additional attack 

You may not use this feature if you are whereing armour or not welding two light melee wepons you cannot use this feture on difficult terrain or if your restrained 

During Your tempo movement you still take opertuinity attacks even if your under a effect like mobile 

 

Crimson waltz

You may spend your bonus action to enter a crimson waltz this emphasizes emotion and lethality you move with inhuman speed and agility

You are immune to restrained paralysis and difficult terrain 

You may spend your bonus action as if it was a full action 

Your movement speed increases by 10ft and 

You may make one cunning action move per turn at no cost

Attacks made with this may add there performance skill instead of Dexterity to there damage roll unless they are already adding there preformcance skill to the damage roll 

This effect ends if you lose consintration as if you where consintrating on a spell when crimson waltz ends you may not move or take actions or bon

us actions until the end of your next turn 

you may do this a number of times equal to your Charisma bonus and this effect lasts for 1 minute

You must be dule welding light melee weapons and you cannot be whereing armour casting a consitration spell ends crimson waltz 

Virettes beat optional feature

While under the effects of tempo if you have the mobile feat you can choose to use your reaction to add your Dexterity to your ac as a Perry 

Dance of the red lady optional feature

Pre requisite fighting initiate thrown weapons master 

When you make an attack with a Raiper you may make a thrown wepon attack with a dagger as a bonus action the Raiper counts as light for the perpous of fulfilling this subclasses requirements 

The dagger instead of Dexterity deals additional damage equal to preformcance skill 

You may draw a dagger as part of this attack

If you have a weapon in one hand and no weapon in the other for the perpous of these class fetures you are dule wielding 

 

Level 9: Avaleens technique

If you have taken the dule wielder feat you gain extra functionality 

You can draw and stow a third wepon per turn 

You no longer need the light property to benefit from your class fetures 

Longswords become finesse wepons 

And

 

if you throw a dagger as part of a attack and that dagger hits a creature you can choose to teleport to the dagger as if you casted misty step that dagger is returned to your hand this can only be done once per turn and can only be done 

Charisma bonuses times per day regaining uses per short or long rest