Over the last ano I've been slowly creating D&D characters based off of the DPs, and I spent so much time on them that I really wanted to share them here. I'll be posting a series of articles, one for each DP, in which I explain why I chose the classes, subclasses, etc. for each princess, and share the backstory I wrote for each. I'll also be crossposting these artigos to the disney Princess club. All the characters will be level 3 to ensure that they all have a chosen subclass. Sourcebooks used to build these characters include the Player's Handbook, Volo's Guide to Monsters, Xanathar's Guide to Everything, and Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. Anything written in italics is an author's note explaining my reasoning behind certain character choices.
Aurora
Human Ranger - Fey Wanderer / Background - Hermit
This might be a slightly controversial choice, since I think most people might want to make Aurora a círculo of Dreams druid because ~sleeping~, but I personally think there are some mais interesting things about her besides the fact that she sleeps. Since she's at início in the forest I thought ranger would be great, and since she was literally raised por fadas and given magical gifts from them, Fey Wanderer was the obvious choice for subclass. Even though she was born a princess, she wasn't raised that way, so I thought the hermit background would be mais fitting.
Character Stats
Level 3
STR -1 (9) DEX +3 (16) CON +2 (14) INT 0 (11) WIS +2 (15) CHA +1 (13)
I used the standard array to generate stats. I tried to assign them in a way that would allow for a strong D&D character while still remaining mostly true to the attributes of the character in the film.
HP 28
AC 14 (leather)
Initiative +3
Speed 30 ft.
Saving throws: Str +1, Dex +5
Skills: Animal Handling +4, Medicine +4, Nature +2, Performance +5, Religion +2, Survival +4 (For her class skills I chose Animal Handling, Nature, and Survival. We know she's excellent with animals, and given the amount of time she spent in the forest growing up I think she'd know a lot about the natural world and how to survive in it. Medicine and Religion were granted por her background, and Performance was fittingly granted por her subclass.
Languages: Common, Elvish, Infernal, Sylvan (Having been raised por fairies, it would make sense that she was fluent in Sylvan. Growing up in the forest I imagine elves wouldn't be an uncommon encounter, so I expect she'd speak at least conversational Elvish. Infernal she learned from years of studying Maleficent and her fiendish minions.)
Tools: Herbalism Kit
Features and Traits
Favored Enemy: You have advantage on Survival checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on INT checks to recall information about them. You also learn one language of your choice that is spoken por your favored enemies, if they speak one at all. - Fiends: Fiends are creatures of wickedness that are native to the Lower Planes. A few are the servants of deities, but many mais labor under the leadership of archdevils and demon princes. (I did a little internet research and determined that Maleficent and her minions would most likely be fiends, so that's what I went with for favored enemy.)
Natural Explorer: You have a favored terrain type. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for proficient skills when you make an INT or WIS check related to it. While traveling for an hora or mais in your chosen terrain, difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel, your group can’t become lost except por magical means, you remain alert to danger even when you are engaged in another activity, you can mover stealthily at a normal pace (while alone), you find twice as much comida while foraging, and while tracking creatures, you learn the exact number, sizes, and how long atrás they passed through the area. - Forest (A no-brainer, she was raised in the forest and definitely knows her way around that terrain.)
Fighting Style: You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. - Druidic Warrior : You learn two cantrips of your choice from the druid spell list. They count as ranger spells for you, and Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for them. (A struggled a bit to pick a fighting style, but I eventually settled on Druidic Warrior. Perhaps she learned it from the fadas or elves.)
Dreadful Strikes: When you hit a creature with a weapon, you can deal an extra 1d4 psychic damage to the target, which can take this extra damage only once per turn.
Otherworldly Glamour: Whenever you make a CHA check, you gain a +2 bonus to the check.
Spells
Modifier: +2
Spell attack: +4
Save DC: 12
Cantrips (at will): Shillelagh, Thorn Whip
1st level (3 slots): Charm Person, Goodberry, Hunter's Mark, Speak with Animals
Man I'm so sad Sleep isn't on the Ranger spell list lol. But Charm Person and Speak with animais make a lot of sense for her and I gave her Goodberry since she collects berries in the movie.
Actions
Longbow: +5 to hit, 1d8+3 piercing damage
Shortsword: +5 to hit, 1d6+3 piercing damage
Primeval Awareness: As an action, you can expend one ranger spell slot (1 minuto per level of spell slot) to sense whether any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, or undead are present within 1 mile of you (or within up to 6 miles if you are in your favored terrain). This feature doesn’t reveal the creatures’ location or number.
Backstory
Backstories have been created with a combination of the stories from the films and rolling randomly on the aleatório tables in the "This Is Your Life" section of Xanathar's Guide to Everything, which is why some of these backstories have some wild things that really come out of left field lol.
Growing up, I knew nothing of my parentage or my birthplace. My whole life I've lived deep in the forests in an old woodcarver's cottage, raised por my three kindly "aunties", as I call them. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, my three fey guardians, have been training me since birth to fight the devils and demons that crawl their way into our forest and wreak havoc. They tell me that my destiny is to vanquish Maleficent, the Mistress of Evil who hails from the Abyss.
For as long as I can remember, I've been training to learn everything there is to know about the forests that are my home, as well as how to destroy the devils that encroach upon it. I've trained in survival, combat, and spellcasting, and I've studied my enemies' language, habits, and tactics. They destroy sections of my beloved forest home, burning ancient trees to the ground and causing choking vines to grow, smothering what little remains. Not only do I ready myself for my destiny, but I take pleasure in seeking revenge on nature's behalf for my foes' transgressions.
My aunties have also always pressed upon me the strange stipulation that I must avoid spinning wheels at all costs.
Outside of training, I lived what I believe to be an ordinary childhood. The four of us lived in an old woodcarver's cottage. I've always had a way with animals, and I considered many of them my friends growing up. I also had a few friends among the elves who also lived in the forests, though their society was reclusive and thus I did not see them often. Fresh, seasonal flores sprout from my hair each dawn. Having never met another human until recently, I do not realize that this is abnormal.
About a ano ago, the demons and devils threatened to overrun our forest. The elves were gearing up for all out war with them, and my aunties decided it was time for me to test my skills in the coming battle. I was eager for the fight, and the elves gifted me with a quiver of ancient elven arrows ahead of the battle.
I fought savagely, relishing in the chance to take down my enemies. One por one, however, the other members of my contingent fell to their wicked, glinting talons. I tried in vain to help my fallen comrades. Finally it was just me and my final Arqueiro against the remaining demons. They snarled as they approached me, moving to surround me. I had one hand poised to knock my last arrow.
And then I fled. Though that act saved my life, I still feel shame for my cowardice, and I vow that it won't happen again. I have since thrown myself into my studies with a renewed vigor.
Recently, when out gathering berries, I met a young human man in the forest. He calls himself Phillip. I was distrustful at first, but he won me over. We kept our meetings secret for a time, knowing that my aunts would not appreciate me cavorting about with a stranger. I couldn't keep my budding romance a secret for long though, and eventually my happiness bubbled forth and I told them all.
They were incensed. My training was on the verge of completion, and they wanted me to focus all my energy on that. They commanded I stop my dalliance with this boy. When I pressed for a mais solid reasoning, they revealed to me my true identity: Princess Aurora, daughter of King Stefan and queen Leah, and betrothed already to a prince I'd met only once when I was still in a cradle.
Furious, I fled into the forest. Torn in three directions, I'm unsure who I should seek out next: Phillip, the King and Queen, or Maleficent herself.
Out of all the backstories I did, this one is my favorite. I amor the "trained from birth to be a deadly weapon" trope and I thought it would be super fun to apply it to Rose. I feel like this keeps the original spirit of the story while still being a viable backstory for a D&D character.
