Male Courtesan goes Adventurer! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Male Courtesan goes Adventurer! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Enverxis
03-08-08, 04:53 AM I've got a really good idea for a character (perhaps not necessarily a D&D character for a tabletop game, but I might use him as an NPC or even a story character). The problem I am having is that I have come to a point in the general overview of the story where I am not sure how he would react to a certain situation, I think this would be a good place to ask for ideas, opinions.

The character I have in mind is a child born to a young human woman of a noble house who has a fling with a charming elven rogue who disappears the following day and is never seen again.
She decides to give the child up for adoption and gives it to a courtesan of a very respectable Bordello in the upper part of the city.
The child happens to be male, however looks very feminine.
Due to this, and the fact that there were no opposing male figures around, the courtesan raised the child a lot like a girl, and was even dressed as such a lot of the time.
The boy started his life out in the Bordello as a male courtesan who filled a niche for ladies who enjoyed younger, even girlier men.
One evening, the young man was performing a dance dressed as a lady at the bordello, and caught the eye of a particular countess; who payed a large sum to spend the evening with him.
Unknown to the Countess, the Count's Wizard was watching her through a scrying dish and informed the Count, who was furious. He decided that he would have her followed and on her next visit to the bordello, his men would kill the boy in front of her.
Sure enough, she came back a few days later.
The Count's men forced their way into the brothel at the protest of many of the patrons and entered the room at a most untimely moment, and seized the boy.
The brutes raked his back with a spiked whip on the bed and forced her to watch, and when they were about to remove his manlihood, in burst the brothel's owner (who is actually a vampire) and the young man's guardian (the courtesan), who killed the guards and helped the young man escape the city (although still wearing the outfit the countess had him wear).
The Wizard was onto this however, and riders were sent on horseback to go and kill him. They chased him across field, hill and dale before he made it to a forest, although they outmaneuvered him and trapped him at a waterfall, in which he was forced to take the plunge.
He wakes up upon a Halfling boat many miles down river, but blacks out again and then wakes up in my "point of light style" village.

Now I've worked out many character quirks such a character would have and relative ability scores, although what I'm having trouble figuring out is how he would immediately react to the environment he finds himself in / and how it would react to him. Now this town has is a multi-racial "safe place" from the surrounding lands that has stood for about one hundred years and has a good mix of humans, halflings, half-elves, elves and dwarves, with a few eladrin, tiefling and one dragonborn, who has lost his clan (good subplot hook there).

Factors that would affect this:
*Having no fatherly figure in his life
*Being raised by a Courtesan
*Become one at a Certain age
*Never traveling outside the city walls, and rarely the upper part of the city

This character will be a more mentally focused character with high Charisma, Wisdom and Intelligence scores, but say 8 Str, 10 Con, 12 Dex . His diplomacy and whatnot will be *very* good, and I imagine he would talk in a husky, seductive voice with a penchant for alliteration (as he was taught at the Bordello)

However because of his feminine looks, the fact that he's wearing suggestive clothing of the opposite gender ... the village may react a little strangely to him.

One thing I can think of is that he would be fascinated the the beauty of the natural world (such as the forest) in comparison to the city.

What I am asking for here is some help determining the reactions between this character and his new surrounding, and perhaps some enlightenment on how some of the above factors would affect one's personality.
The_Shaman
03-09-08, 06:42 PM I'd generally say rogue or bard - probably rogue - but I'd strongly encourage you to improve his physical stats if it were possible. Perhaps he's naturally graceful, and took dancing lessons? Also, being able to survive a serious beatdown (the whip accident) does require a certain stamina.

The other things are a matter of skill choice, really. Not every rogue needs to be a good trapfinder, although it is never a bad idea. Perhaps he picked a thing or two from the Hin - they have a certain reputation in the field. I'd say he could be rather naive in some ways - though he'd know much more about the aristocracy than the common folk, rather afraid of fights (he hasn't had that many, really) and trying to get along with people of all kinds. It's how he's been raised, after all. It might be funny to see his tricks from the bordello fail against village girls who have a rather different taste.

Eventually, he might pick up more confidence as he gains experience. He would probably retain a penchant for discretion; he may avoid combat, but may learn to relish it, becoming a fine swashbuckler (with or without levels in the class)

But first, growing up. How old is this guy, anyway? I mean, elves, halflings and gnomes tend to be fairly liberal about upbringing, but a guy of marriable age dressling like a girl would probably raise a few eyebrows - and be told a few words.
Enverxis
03-10-08, 12:51 PM oh I'd say 20 or so.

I posted a similar thread on ENWorld and got some more storyline ideas from there; I should have probably revealed my mechanical intentions for this character as well.

I do not plan to play this character in a game, he may feature as an NPC in a homebrew campaign of mine but I also like to write, and I thought a character like this would be fun to write about.

Originally, I wanted him to be a kensai style character who wears no armor and uses dual katanas. However over time that idea began to bore me, so I thought well how about I take a very different approach to a light melee fighter and make him completely ****-weak, but mentally capable and say, have him learn to become capable with a mithral katana (light to offset the low str) through sorcery or psionics.

As far as the last part of your post goes, that's what I am trying to figure out. Who raises the eyebrows and who doesn't, how does he react to the community and vice versa.

The halflings that pulled him out of the water he won't have any trouble getting along with, although I'd say the Humans and the Dwarves would be like o_O !!
Terjon of the Blue Rose
03-13-08, 02:56 AM First I see a bit of contradition in the idea of loving the beauty of forest glades. You are city boy, born and raised. Further you have always relied upon the kindness of strangers... err of others around you, to protect yourself. You probably feel lost and even a little cared when alone or outside of a city. You know full well that you aren't the strongest and so you use others strengths where you know yourself to be weak.

You are a clever manipulator who is at his best surrounded by people. You prefer to talk your way out of conflict rather than fight. Using this method you probably weave a story to explain your strange appearance based off the truth but not telling it completely. I see a few options for stories you can tell the people here.

1)Rather than a courtesan you were a commoner who dared to woo a noble, who returned your affection. Rather than being taken and beaten you fought valiantly against a half dozen or more foes and despite your determination could not hold off all of them. The clothes were an insult added to your injuries. You likely take to a more common fashion of dress soon after arriving in town in order to better insinuate yourself. Consider Bard, Rogue, or Swashbuckler.

2)You are the victim. Your story to the people is one of terrible woe. You were born and raised in a borthel and had nowhere to go outside of it. You were victimized because some pathetic noble, who could not please his wife, became jealous that whe favored you. You have done nothing but attempt to survive and even that offends and so there is no place for you. In this version the locals need to convince you of your own worth and aid you in any way they can because they feel sorry for you. You may well keep your style of dress as a constant reminder of the horrible life you have endured. Consider Bard, Rogue, or Sorcerer.

3)You become vengeance. You continue to dress in a courtesan's clothes but rather than seeking acceptance you use it to start fights, picking up on the slightest of insults. The few friends you attain understand that you fight because, lacking strength or great natural talent, you feel the need to become stronger. You fight whereever possible seeking the strongest foes and taunting them to battle knowing that whatever does not kill you makes you stronger. You are alway preparing for the day you will walk openly into that city again, this time prepared to make those who caused your suffering to pay. To lighten this you may well add in or even choose to focus upon protecting the few who protected you once upon a time. Consider Hexblade or Rogue with a possible small time multiclass into barbarian.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Enverxis 03-08-08, 04:53 AM	I've got a really good idea for a character (perhaps not necessarily a D&D character for a tabletop game, but I might use him as an NPC or even a story character). The problem I am having is that I have come to a point in the general overview of the story where I am not sure how he would react to a certain situation, I think this would be a good place to ask for ideas, opinions. The character I have in mind is a child born to a young human woman of a noble house who has a fling with a charming elven rogue who disappears the following day and is never seen again. She decides to give the child up for adoption and gives it to a courtesan of a very respectable Bordello in the upper part of the city. The child happens to be male, however looks very feminine. Due to this, and the fact that there were no opposing male figures around, the courtesan raised the child a lot like a girl, and was even dressed as such a lot of the time. The boy started his life out in the Bordello as a male courtesan who filled a niche for ladies who enjoyed younger, even girlier men. One evening, the young man was performing a dance dressed as a lady at the bordello, and caught the eye of a particular countess; who payed a large sum to spend the evening with him. Unknown to the Countess, the Count's Wizard was watching her through a scrying dish and informed the Count, who was furious. He decided that he would have her followed and on her next visit to the bordello, his men would kill the boy in front of her. Sure enough, she came back a few days later. The Count's men forced their way into the brothel at the protest of many of the patrons and entered the room at a most untimely moment, and seized the boy. The brutes raked his back with a spiked whip on the bed and forced her to watch, and when they were about to remove his manlihood, in burst the brothel's owner (who is actually a vampire) and the young man's guardian (the courtesan), who killed the guards and helped the young man escape the city (although still wearing the outfit the countess had him wear). The Wizard was onto this however, and riders were sent on horseback to go and kill him. They chased him across field, hill and dale before he made it to a forest, although they outmaneuvered him and trapped him at a waterfall, in which he was forced to take the plunge. He wakes up upon a Halfling boat many miles down river, but blacks out again and then wakes up in my "point of light style" village. Now I've worked out many character quirks such a character would have and relative ability scores, although what I'm having trouble figuring out is how he would immediately react to the environment he finds himself in / and how it would react to him. Now this town has is a multi-racial "safe place" from the surrounding lands that has stood for about one hundred years and has a good mix of humans, halflings, half-elves, elves and dwarves, with a few eladrin, tiefling and one dragonborn, who has lost his clan (good subplot hook there). Factors that would affect this: Having no fatherly figure in his life Being raised by a Courtesan Become one at a Certain age Never traveling outside the city walls, and rarely the upper part of the city This character will be a more mentally focused character with high Charisma, Wisdom and Intelligence scores, but say 8 Str, 10 Con, 12 Dex . His diplomacy and whatnot will be very good, and I imagine he would talk in a husky, seductive voice with a penchant for alliteration (as he was taught at the Bordello) However because of his feminine looks, the fact that he's wearing suggestive clothing of the opposite gender ... the village may react a little strangely to him. One thing I can think of is that he would be fascinated the the beauty of the natural world (such as the forest) in comparison to the city. What I am asking for here is some help determining the reactions between this character and his new surrounding, and perhaps some enlightenment on how some of the above factors would affect one's personality.
The_Shaman 03-09-08, 06:42 PM	I'd generally say rogue or bard - probably rogue - but I'd strongly encourage you to improve his physical stats if it were possible. Perhaps he's naturally graceful, and took dancing lessons? Also, being able to survive a serious beatdown (the whip accident) does require a certain stamina. The other things are a matter of skill choice, really. Not every rogue needs to be a good trapfinder, although it is never a bad idea. Perhaps he picked a thing or two from the Hin - they have a certain reputation in the field. I'd say he could be rather naive in some ways - though he'd know much more about the aristocracy than the common folk, rather afraid of fights (he hasn't had that many, really) and trying to get along with people of all kinds. It's how he's been raised, after all. It might be funny to see his tricks from the bordello fail against village girls who have a rather different taste. Eventually, he might pick up more confidence as he gains experience. He would probably retain a penchant for discretion; he may avoid combat, but may learn to relish it, becoming a fine swashbuckler (with or without levels in the class) But first, growing up. How old is this guy, anyway? I mean, elves, halflings and gnomes tend to be fairly liberal about upbringing, but a guy of marriable age dressling like a girl would probably raise a few eyebrows - and be told a few words.
Enverxis 03-10-08, 12:51 PM	oh I'd say 20 or so. I posted a similar thread on ENWorld and got some more storyline ideas from there; I should have probably revealed my mechanical intentions for this character as well. I do not plan to play this character in a game, he may feature as an NPC in a homebrew campaign of mine but I also like to write, and I thought a character like this would be fun to write about. Originally, I wanted him to be a kensai style character who wears no armor and uses dual katanas. However over time that idea began to bore me, so I thought well how about I take a very different approach to a light melee fighter and make him completely ****-weak, but mentally capable and say, have him learn to become capable with a mithral katana (light to offset the low str) through sorcery or psionics. As far as the last part of your post goes, that's what I am trying to figure out. Who raises the eyebrows and who doesn't, how does he react to the community and vice versa. The halflings that pulled him out of the water he won't have any trouble getting along with, although I'd say the Humans and the Dwarves would be like o_O !!
Terjon of the Blue Rose 03-13-08, 02:56 AM	First I see a bit of contradition in the idea of loving the beauty of forest glades. You are city boy, born and raised. Further you have always relied upon the kindness of strangers... err of others around you, to protect yourself. You probably feel lost and even a little cared when alone or outside of a city. You know full well that you aren't the strongest and so you use others strengths where you know yourself to be weak. You are a clever manipulator who is at his best surrounded by people. You prefer to talk your way out of conflict rather than fight. Using this method you probably weave a story to explain your strange appearance based off the truth but not telling it completely. I see a few options for stories you can tell the people here. 1)Rather than a courtesan you were a commoner who dared to woo a noble, who returned your affection. Rather than being taken and beaten you fought valiantly against a half dozen or more foes and despite your determination could not hold off all of them. The clothes were an insult added to your injuries. You likely take to a more common fashion of dress soon after arriving in town in order to better insinuate yourself. Consider Bard, Rogue, or Swashbuckler. 2)You are the victim. Your story to the people is one of terrible woe. You were born and raised in a borthel and had nowhere to go outside of it. You were victimized because some pathetic noble, who could not please his wife, became jealous that whe favored you. You have done nothing but attempt to survive and even that offends and so there is no place for you. In this version the locals need to convince you of your own worth and aid you in any way they can because they feel sorry for you. You may well keep your style of dress as a constant reminder of the horrible life you have endured. Consider Bard, Rogue, or Sorcerer. 3)You become vengeance. You continue to dress in a courtesan's clothes but rather than seeking acceptance you use it to start fights, picking up on the slightest of insults. The few friends you attain understand that you fight because, lacking strength or great natural talent, you feel the need to become stronger. You fight whereever possible seeking the strongest foes and taunting them to battle knowing that whatever does not kill you makes you stronger. You are alway preparing for the day you will walk openly into that city again, this time prepared to make those who caused your suffering to pay. To lighten this you may well add in or even choose to focus upon protecting the few who protected you once upon a time. Consider Hexblade or Rogue with a possible small time multiclass into barbarian.