How to Play as Carmen Sandiego in DnD 5e
It’s been a while since I last made a purely melee character, so I thought I’d try my hand at crafting the Lady in Red, V.I.L.E. operative Black Sheep. Carmen has a lot of tools and gadgets, but those will just have to be items. The real meat and potatoes of this build is going to be working all of her skills into her character.
As tempting as it is to make Carmen a Variant Human for the bonus feat, the only real justification for that would be that she was raised by a thieving school. If that’s reason enough for you, great, but for me, I have to chalk her up as a Standard Human.
Carmen is a modern day Robin Hood who steals from other thieves. She’s Chaotic Good.
Carmen’s background is pretty obvious. We’ll call her a Faction Agent for Insight and Perception, since V.I.L.E. is far more underground than your standard crime ring.
Stats, Proficiencies, and Expertise
For this build, we need Dexterity and Wisdom to be maxed out at 20 each. Constitution should be around 16 or 14. We’re a tough cookie but we’re not exactly a living brick wall. Strength, Intelligence, and Charisma will all sit at the 10 point level, since they only need to be high enough so that we don’t have any negative modifiers.
Of course as a master thief, Carmen’s most important ability is Sleight of Hand, which we’ll need to have Expertise in. However, we’re also much more observant than the average person, and having a ridiculously high Perception is very important when stealing from an underground criminal organization. In the show, Carmen’s not that subtle, I mean she robs people in a very noticeable red coat and hat, but as a master thief, stealth is a vital tool, and one Carmen has shown herself capable of displaying. We’ll be sure to have expertise in Stealth. Our last expertise will be in Acrobatics so we can run on rooftops, climb through windows, and balance on a narrow ledge. Black Sheep was raised by a team of nannies who taught her to speak their languages and understand their cultures. This gives Carmen proficiency with History. A proficiency with Athletics will ensure that we’re able to outrun law enforcement, Deception will allow us to cover our tracks, and Investigation will help us find clues to follow V.I.L.E. and A.C.M.E.’s plans. We’ll finish off our list of tricks with our proficiency in Insight so we’ll know who to trust, and who to rob blind.
To pull off this array of skills, we’ll start with Insight and Perception as a Faction Agent, and then take our first level as a rogue and pick up Acrobatics, Athletics, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth. We’ll increase our yield by taking the Skilled feature and adding Investigation, History, and Deception to our bag of tricks. As we level up in Rogue, we’ll get to choose four skills to make our expertise. We’ll choose to be an expert at Acrobatics, Perception, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth.
This one is pretty short, sweet, and simple. We’re a master thief. So, we’ll be a Thief Rogue, and we’ll take a 1 level dip into Monk to get their Unarmored Defense because Carmen is a slippery little bugger.
Name: Carmen Sandiego
Race: Human
Background: Faction Agent
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Class: Thief Rogue (19)
Monk (01)
Base Stats:
Strength: 10 (0)
Dexterity: 20 (+5)
Constitution: 16 (+3)
Intelligence: 10 (0)
Wisdom: 20 (+5)
Charisma: 10 (0)
Saving Throws:
Strength: 0
Dexterity: +11
Constitution: +3
Intelligence: +6
Wisdom: +11
Charisma: 0
Combat Stats:
HP: 163
AC: 20
Speed: 30
Initiative: +5
Proficiency Bonus: +6
Passive Perception: 27
Dark Vision: 0 feet
Proficiencies and Expertise:
Acrobatics
Athletics
Deception
History
Insight
Investigation
Perception
Sleight of Hand
Stealth
Skills:
Acrobatics: +17 Medicine: +5
Animal Handling: +5 Nature: 0
Arcana: 0 Perception: +17
Athletics: +6 Performance: 0
Deception: +6 Persuasion: 0
History: +6 Religion: 0
Insight: +11 Sleight of Hand: +17
Intimidation: 0 Stealth: +17
Investigation:+6 Survival: +5
Martial Arts. Unarmed Strikes and Monk weapons deal 1d4+5 damage.
Cunning Action. Aim, Dash, Disengage or Hide as a bonus action.
Fast Hands. Use your Cunning Action to make Sleight of Hand checks, use Thieves’ Tools, or take the Use an Object action.
Martial Arts. Make an extra unarmed strike when you make an attack.
Uncanny Dodge. Take half damage from an opponent you can see when hit.
Blindsense. Know location of hidden or invisible creatures within 10 feet of you.
Elusive. Creatures can’t have advantage on you unless you’re unconscious.
Evasion. When you succeed on a DEX save to reduce damage, take 0 damage.
Reliable Talent. Rolls below 10 become 10 on proficient skill checks.
Safe Haven. You have a secret headquarters in San Diego where you can rest between jobs, and your allies can provide you with clothes, money, and info.
Second-Story Work. Climbing costs no extra movement, and jump +5 feet.
Skilled. You gain three skill proficiencies. History, Investigation, and Deception.
Sneak Attack. Deal 10d6 extra damage when attack with advantage.
Supreme Sneak. Advantage on stealth when moving half your walking speed.
Thief’s Reflexes. Two actions on first turn, second is Initiative roll - 10.
Thieves’ Cant. Speak and understand hidden meaning in conversations.
Use Magic Device. Ignore race, class, and level requirements on magic items.
