Category: Roleplaying

So with her family history and her personal history established, I needed to give the DM pieces to play with – story for him to weave into what was happening but far enough in advance he can take it in a completely different direction if he wanted. As it turned out the game fell apart after two sessions – the first to make the characters and the second was the first adventure.

Even though I never really got a chance to fully explore Rafella, I really like her and her family. They have gone through a lot. I wonder what happened next in her life.

*** Rafella de Sable (Part 4) – The Groomspeaker arrives soon

The wedding contract is to be finalized on her twenty-fifth birthday, which will double as the engagement party should the groomspeaker be pleased with the final product. Nearly immediately after the wedding is to take place. Which is good, since the family is nearly out of money again. Paying for the dowries of her two sisters, arranging for her brothers marriage, and maintaining the house for three families (grandfather, brother and sister), as well as her own training, consumed the initial payment. The final payment is scheduled for delivery after the wedding night. Then that Rafaela will leave with her husband and never have to see her family again. A prospect she eagerly awaits. She respects the old man as much as she hates him. Her sister is a prig and her husband an overweight wannabe. And her brother is a sniveling, self-centered jerk and his wife is a worthless ditz. Her other two sisters are long gone and never understood her. She will be able to finish her obligations to the family that raised her and start paying her obligation to the person that paid for her to learn magic.

Rafaela is curious about the next few weeks. She has never been certain if the groomspeaker arranged for the contract for himself, his son or his benefactor. The man is at least twenty years her senior, which means he is over forty-five; if he is meant to be her husband, she just might break him on the wedding night. In under nine days she will walk into her engagement ball and officially meet her fiancée the first time. Her grandfather has arranged everything; she hasn’t even talked directly to the groomspeaker since her sister’s wedding sixteen years ago. Sometimes she would be called into the office and paraded in front of him with them asking questions around her but never to her, but that is it. One month after that the wedding is scheduled, enough time to do the final planning, while not making the families make two trips. She has started saying goodbye to her true friends, the thieves’ guild. A handful of the higher-ups even know who she is in real life and have been invited to the party (some of them are high enough in the social structure that it was automatic, but others should raise a few eyebrows).

Her life is going to totally change when she walks down the main staircase from the Gallery of Elders and places her gloved hand in the hand of the man standing at the bottom of the steps. She plans to look long and hard at the person she will be vowing to spend the rest of her life with. Because of obligations owed, she won’t try to run if she doesn’t like what she sees, but she is hoping to have the change of luck that comes to her family when they change their name.

NOTES TO DM:

• The curse to the line may actual or just perceived.
• The story the old woman told her may be actual or a malicious lie.
• The old thief may still be alive somewhere and they meet him outside.
• The sister’s wedding could have been in the local kingdom or out-of-kingdom so her paramour could come from a different set of traditions (including slavery).
• Don’t know anything about her husband, where he is from, what he is like, etc other than he knows people that have access to money and want him to marry a mage.
• Don’t know where they will be going after the wedding.
• The engagement party is to take place in SEVEN TO NINE DAYS game time.

(Words 600, first written for game 9/23/2005; first published 3/8/2020)

The challenge with game mechanics is creating a character with a history to match. I wanted a character who was (1) a noble, (2) a thief, and (3) a magic user.

*** Rafella de Sable (Part 3) – Wild Child

And so he did, only this time the miscarriage killed the mother as well. Andre refused to eat with his father thereafter and had nothing to do with the two children that he knew on some level were not his. Bereft of both mother and father, ignored by her grandfather in all but her schooling and then held the strictest standards, Rafaela began to run wild outside the house. In the house, she was the model child, trying to gain attention by good deeds and behavior. But the eldest child was already engaged to be married to an ancient line (the grandfather wanted to keep that line pure in case the eldest child ended up inheriting). The tutor, though loving a student as good with languages as Rafaela, had to put the last touches on his finest product. The middle two girls were wondering what marriages were in store for them. (The grandfather needed money, so he was going to sell them off to the highest bidders. )  And what little energy was left in the house was aimed at the Heir – Andre de Sablehart the Fifth, a sickly, weak child. The boy remained the center of attention for the house and was spoiled rotten, in the true meaning of the phrase.

While running wild, Rafaela caught the eye of a thief in her neighborhood. The old townhouse was in the in-between area, where the new rich can buy the first of their titles and the old rich can sell the last of their possessions. Charismatic and welcomed in most of houses, Rafaela was a treat for the second-story man. He taught her the tricks of the trade while she cased houses for him. Initially he just brought the information up in conversation, but eventually he took her into his confidence for real – about the same time he took her into his bed. She was ten. But all good things must come to an end, and the old guildmaster started making mistakes. Seeing the way the wind was blowing and being high up enough in the guild to have to choose sides in the upcoming power change, the thief introduced her to the three possible next guildmasters, turned her over to the guild teachers as an apprentice and booked out of town. Rafaela is forever grateful to both the thief and the guild.

When she was nine, she attended her oldest sister’s wedding. The girl was about seventeen. Being a second son, the boy had tried adventuring to make his fortune. He succeeded enough for de Sablehart to consider him a good prospect, if one keeps in mind his lineage. After the marriage, the couple moved into the Sablehart manor. But at the wedding, Rafaela joined the other children running everywhere. She kept in mind her training from her street friend and went into every corner of the house. Once she was caught exploring, tried to wiggle her way out physically and for the first time of her life did not succeed in her squirming. Falling back on her last resort she managed to charm her way out of it. That person was intrigued and investigated enough to find out the child was too intelligent for her own good, able to do any slight of hand magic trick if shown how to do it once and was absolutely adorable in her willingness to please adults.

He bought her before the wedding feast had finished. Not that it was called that, but marriage contracts were signed. Enough money traded hands that the grandfather no longer had to sell his other two assets cheaply (not that it was ever going to be cheap, but now he could hold out for titles and age appropriate grooms). The contract was long and complicated, as the buyer wanted a magic user of some sort and was willing to pay for all training. The brideholder was to find the instructors for this to happen and provide lodging for the same.

It took de Sablehart awhile to find a mage with enough knowledge to teach, who didn’t want to play hermit or join an academy, and who needed money. So, while Rafaela does not have the best mage in the world as her instructor, she did learn magic. Her teacher was an illusionist, a broken man dealing with more tragedy (in his opinion) then one man should have ever faced. With his need to escape reality, Rafaela was able to get him addicted to a drug she had access to through the thieves’ guild and being his supplier, manipulated the man unmercifully.

Her comings and goings were no longer questioned. She merrily switched time between the guild, the etiquette teacher and the mage. And she discovered her basic nature. She needed to prove herself. Realizing she would never be able to do that to her grandfather or the man she called father, she is driven to prove herself against nature – the very thing that seemed to have it in for the family. She loves court intrigue, even in a small backwater town like she lives in, as it challenges her mind. She loves missions from the guild, as it forces her physically to limits and the pass-fail option is very obvious. And most of all she loves illusionist magic, partially to see if she can really fool people in what they think is real and partially for the rush of raw chaos through her body that threatens to consume it even as she forces the magic into submission.

(Words 921, first written for game 9/23/2005; first published 3/8/2020)

The history of a noble’s line is as important as the history of the person. With her family line established, next I needed to share with the Dungeon Master the history of the character. How did she become an adventurer and get the skills needed to be a D&D character? (Yes, I think all my characters through this thoroughly. No doubt part of why I am a writer.)

But first a side story from her childhood, which shaped her.

*** Rafella de Sable (Part 2) – A Malicious Servant

This next part of the story Rafaela heard from a vindictive house servant at age six while her hair was being prepared for a local festival celebration.

“Oye, you are just the splitting image of your father, ” said the white haired servant as she put the pins into the girl’s blue-black locks.

Rafaela wrinkled her nose. Her father had brown slightly wavy hair and piercing green eyes, her hair had to be ironed to bring is even close to wavy and her eyes were an unremarkable hazel. The color never pleased her, it was neither brown nor green and could not decide to be either, leaving it looking like the puddle in the street after too long between rains. Being somewhat of a hellion, who never managed to sit still enough to get her hair iron and never left a puddle unjumped in, the six-year old argued, “I do not!”

“What?” the crafty woman muttered and then returned more strongly. “Oops, did I say that out loud?  I shouldn’t have said that out loud. ”

Not realizing that the woman was baiting her, the child wiggled in the seat. “Why not?”

“Because you are not to know who your father is. Oh, no. I shouldn’t have said that. ”

After begging and going back and forth with the bitter old woman, who had recently been cast out of the old Lord’s bed for a new amour, the story unfolded. Andre had all his survival drives killed by the fever, and his wife’s mentality was that of a very young child. Sex was messy and uncomfortable for them. The girl hated it and being pregnant and giving birth and feeding the babies even with someone else taking care of them. Her babydolls were so much more fun. Andre liked his playmate and since she didn’t want to do it anymore, he refused to do it to her. For the first time in his life he stood up to his father, because his friend needed him to. Three children were all there was going to be. All this, the old lady told the child. Rafaela knew her parents were unusual but hearing the old woman refer to them in the terms she used, gave her the first clue of just how off of norm it was.

“But I am the fourth child. ”

“Aye, your grandfather still needed an heir after your da. So he went into the droolgirl’s bedroom and did what he needed to do. Beat her when she tried to run away, held her down, and did it again and again until she got fatter then she normally is. So your granddad is actually your dad and that is who you look like. ”

“He is not, ” said the girl. She knew how her daddy treated her and all the kids and none of it is like how granddad treated her.

“He is too. And he hates you for it, ” assured the old lady. “Because he still needed a boy. So when your mom was ready again, you tore her up something awful when you came out so he had to wait a long time, he did it again and litt’ Andie was born. And he did it again after that since he wanted a spare, only it was too quick and your mom miscarried. I suspect he will start doing her again soon since he wants another son real bad. ”

(Words 576, first written for game 9/23/2005; first published 2/9/2020)

The old flashes have run out, so I am doing my old D&D and other roleplaying games. I created Lady Rafella de Sable for a D&D campaign in 2005 while I lived in Texas. We played one game. This is her background Part 1. 

*** Rafella de Sable (Part 1)

To understand Rafaela’a history, you need to know about her grandfather. He is the Lord de Sablehart, and when he had inherited the line, it had been in a state of decline for a long time.

The present dynasty ruling the kingdom came into power because the heir of Argenthuse betrayed the old crown for the love of a woman.

As a thank you, the new King let the young man marry his elder sister and renamed him Duke de Sable in recognition of his close blood-ties to the crown and his betrayal of the old crown. The story of love faded in time; the story of betrayal so clearly shown in their name being changed to “Black Heart” stayed. Few were willing to trust the line in the political or business arenas. Slowly the glorious old line of Argenthuse, now de Sablehart, faded from lack of new contracts and contacts. In addition, the name is said to be cursed by the old dynasty for the betrayal. None remember the story of love, or that the heir had never sworn fealty to the old crown. The last of the Argenthuse had been sickened at how corrupted the court life had become, and made moves to protect his country.

All that is remembered is that this is a line of traitors.

The grandfather inherited the cursed, bankrupt title though he was the third son.

Over the years, the ducal lands were mortgage to maintain the lifestyle required of the title until eventually they had to be sold back to the crown. Though the title of Duke was never rescinded, once the lands were gone the family stopped using the title; they did not wish any indication that they were close family to the crown that had treated them so poorly. But they were still nobility, with a line that stretched back for four royal dynasties. Debt remounted until one Lord de Sablehart had to go to unreputable moneylenders. In his older years, he realized he could no longer borrow from Peter to pay Paul and informed his debtors of his state. The Guild took exception, as the old man still had family jewels, a country manor, a few townhouses – in the capital and elsewhere, and a number of other assets still visible. So they removed old lord and all but his youngest (and presumably, most malleable) son.

The new Lord de Sablehart understood the message, though saddled with death taxes as well as the backbreaking debt his father had been welching on.

He sold everything but an old townhouse in a backwater town to which he shipped the items that simply could not be sold – the family portraits, family-crested heirlooms (both the old Argenthuse arms – sable, a castle argent, and the new arms – sable, on side sinister a dagger impaling a heart argent) and the like. He had the moneylenders go through all the items until they agreed that nothing left was of any value except to him. Even the gems were removed from the old ducal cornet and the silver melted down. The townhouse had not been used in years, and had not been modernized with new amenities in over a hundred years. The roof leaked so bad that there were trees on the second floor.

Using this wretched building as a base, the young lad traveled with merchant caravans to other kingdoms using the only thing at his disposal, his training as a nobleman. His knowledge of etiquette, heraldry and languages held him in good stead was he tried to put coin in his pocket. On one such journey, he noticed a lady watching from the shadows. He discovered that she was the eldest of the royal house, but had been caught in a bed fire as a child. Badly scarred, no one with taste wanted the broken princess, and the family had too much pity to force her to marry any of the fortune hunters that sought out a quick title. De Sablehart saw the opportunity and spent a year courting the older lady. His family was cursed for the love of a princess; he thought it would be ironic if the fortune were restored because of the same.

His wife was appalled when she saw her new home, but her generous dowry paid for the basic fixing up. Being miserly from years of deprivation, de Sablehart only used enough make the building usable; he did not modernized any room but the kitchen. The balance of the money was invested in businesses in the area, including the Thieves’ Guild. Still hating them (though this was a different guild) for killing his father and brothers, de Sablehart’s sense of the ironic found cold comfort in them paying for his maintenance. His wife gave birth to four children, and the family line seemed to prosper.

Just when he thought he could make the next move to moving the family back to its old glory, the curse reared its ugly head in the form of Scarlet Fever. It took his precious wife (with whom he did fall in love and treated like the princess she was) and three of his children. One of his sons did survive, for the curse could not continue without the line existing, but the fever had damaged his hearing and maybe his personality for after that the heir never showed personal drive or initiative again. His father dictated his actions and Andre responded instantly and without imagination. The death taxes wiped out what little prosperity they had.

Forced to sell his share in all his businesses, de Sablehart went back to work – though this time he was deliberately sought out the solution of marriage for his son. And found it in ancient dukedom during his travels, making him wonder just how much the gods took personal delight in making his life perverse. Scarlet fever had touched that house as well, and the fever had stole all the wits from one of the daughters. Making certain his son and the brainless woman were caught in comprising situations that could only be interpreted as a romantic courtship, by those not aware of how little sexual drive either of simpleton adults had. When de Sablehart made overtures of consideration of marriage, the foreign coronet breathed a sigh of relief at getting rid of a major embarrassment.

The new dowry made the repairs to the house, bringing it up to the comfort of de Sablehart’s childhood, and the balance was invested to produce a maintenance income. Back on track, de Sablehart encouraged the two to produce offspring. It was not an easy task, but eventually the lady got pregnant and produced a daughter. Not something the Lord of the House wanted, as each daughter would need a dowry. The second try also produced a daughter and likewise the third. Refusing to give up, he hired a elven tutor to teach his granddaughters how to be ladies for that is the only asset they were to him. Items to sell off for money or politics. He paid special attention to the eldest, whom might end up being his heir. The upside for the girls is that the family curse does not seem to follow once their name is changed.

(Words 1208, first written for game 9/23/2005; first published 1/12/2020)