My Characters 3: Marianne
Continuing on with this special, we have another noble turned adventurer!
Marianne Haldeverre was the middle child of a wealthy family. As such, she fell into the trap of having to work twice as hard to receive acknowledgement, while being judged even more harshly for misbehavior. As such, she developed a deep desire for attention, but also a bitterness regarding authority.
This complicated set of feelings needed an outlet, and it found it in minor acts of conspicuous thievery, She took things that would be missed, but would leave them in places where they could be found, all without her getting caught.
This clandestine form of validation delighted her, and she soon began to plan more audacious heists, not for the money, but rather for that rush and the thrill of power she got from having the potential to take from her fellow nobles, but choosing not to. She began leaving behind silk roses at the scene of her thefts, and soon came to be known as The Silk Rose, though aside from disguising herself when performing her heists, she hasn’t really adopted the persona as her own.
Exactly how she joins up with the party is something I hope to explore when I finally try out this character.
Marianne is clever, well-educated, and witty, and can hold a conversation with the best of them. Depending on who it is she is talking to, however, she might share her thoughts on any number to a friend, or she might draw a foe into conversation as a convenient distraction. Beneath her sociable outer demeanor lies self-doubt and a woman who rarely relaxes, constantly reading the situation around her and planning. In her guise as The Silk Rose, she can be silent as the grave, or as ostentatious as she needs to be, whichever serves her needs as a thief.
Sporting stunning looks and a dancer’s physique, Marianne cuts a noticeable figure wherever she walks openly. Her skin sports a pale complexion, compounded by her general lack of sunlight, all beneath wavy locks of reddish-brown hair.
As a noble and a thief, she has as many outfits as she needs for whatever social gatherings she attends, but her typical outfit for her endeavors as The Silk Rose is a dark grey leather armor with cloak and bandana mask, embellished with a white silk rose on the clasp of the cloak, leaving no question of who is behind her latest escapade.
When I play her, I’m building Marianne as an unchained rogue with the phantom thief archetype, taking advantage of those skill buffs and the ability to take multiple magical rogue talents and vigilante social talents. In particular, she would take feats and talents to be a skilled rapier combatant, magic talents to pick up silent image and obscuring mist to help cover her movements, and vigilante talents like case the joint and everyman to help blend in and prepare for each heist. Proper rogue talents that she would take might include cunning trigger to help cover her escape route, and so on.
While I’ve never played Marianne, I would certainly love to in a campaign, particularly one with a focus on the city.
