2020
New tiger dropped. Panne is a former maid at the Berringold Estate, who fantasized dancing and socializing with the very people she was tasked to dote on. She took up adventuring when the estate was attacked, and the attitudes of the elites caused the scales to fall from her eyes. She definitely witnessed a murder or two in her time at the estate, and was definitely a character in more than one investigative thrillers. She's a monk with a dandy dedication. She grew up regularly training at a martial arts school of little renown in her home village up in the mountains, but her experience working for and around the social elite has given her the skills and knowledge to navigate high life and high profile social situations.


These are passages from my character build/backstory page on her:

Theme
A former maid who practiced martial arts on her days off before she started doing it full time as an adventurer. Nowadays, she has no problem slipping into high society spaces as an adventure of clout, connections, and renown, though she has no love for the elite. Very good at locking down opponents with extended techniques and takedown. While working as a maid, she has definitely witnessed a murder and been a suspect in the investigation. She’s skilled in deception and well-versed in tailoring and fashion, and can throw together a convincing disguise and associated persona if she needs.

If she takes the Stumbling Stance line, it should be flavored as Wing Chun, Baguazhang, Bajiquan and other similar styles, rather than Drunken Boxing.

Summary
Panne lived for high society. That is to say, she was one of seven maids who maintained the esteemed Berringold Estate. Constantly understaffed, she worked to keep the property ready for the Berringold's many soirees, functions, galas, balls, and garden parties. Her frustrations with her position warred with her desire to be out there on the floor as one of the elite.

On her days off, she would return to her village in the mountains and train at a small martial arts school of little renown, as she had since she was a child. This training was instrumental when a gala for foreign dignitaries was sabotaged by assassins. Panne, along with an enlisted adventuring party, was tasked with investigating reports of these assassins, but almost every noble, elite, and dignitary she spoke to was so short-sighted and full of themselves that they would not give Panne the time of day, even when their own lives depended on it. So Panne's frustrations boiled over, and immediately after foiling the assassins, she quit.

Since then, Panne has lived the life of an adventurer. Her time in the Berringold Estate has taught her all the right things to do, say, and wear to fit right into high-class spaces. Her new clout and renown as adventurer of class and tact has made her a person of interest among some circles, which she will gladly leverage when she needs to, but the scales have long since fallen from her eyes and she has no love for nobility. On the other side, her adventuring has focused her martial arts training and sharpened her skills, making her formidable in her own right. Now she navigates both the social scene and the battlefield with equal grace, armed with nothing but an open hand and a knowing smile.

Other Notes
Many of Panne’s family and friends still work at the Berringold estate. When she comes home to visit, she prefers to drop by the estate first before heading up the mountain to the village. Any time she crashes a party, her friends and family stop what they’re doing to flock to her to hear her stories as she passes out whatever amazing, exotic gifts she picked up on her adventures. She gives all her attention to them, and not the nobles actually attending the party, much to the Berringolds’ chagrin.

Backstory
Panne lived for high society. That is to say, she was one of seven maids who maintained the esteemed Berringold Estate. Each day, she, along with six other maids, five butlers, three gardeners, an understaffed kitchen, and two couriers, maintained the property for the Berringolds and their many soirees, functions, galas, balls, and garden parties. She cleaned and prepped, but at night, when the foyer came alight with music and chatter, Panne found herself yearning to be out there on the floor, with nobles and emissaries calling for her by name, instead of waiting patiently to be called. Her frustrations with her station warred constantly with her desire to be on the other side. She had friends in high places who wished her the best, but they could never understand how figuratively and literally she lived for high society.

Each week, on her two days off, Panne would take the four hour hike up into the mountains to visit her village. There, she would spend much of her time training at a small martial arts school of little renown, a routine she maintained from before she first left. With increasing frequency found herself daydreaming about the estate, and with equal frequency, her teacher told her, "You're getting sloppy, watch where you're swinging!" He once told her, "You come here because it makes you a better person. You don't need a pedigree or title to tell you that you are worth something. You could wear the finest perfume this mountain has to offer and those nobles would still turn their noses up at you, so why do you crave their approval?"

There was little Panne's teacher could do each week to dissuade her from her notions before she'd inevitably return to the Berringold Estate. Her musings came to a swift end in one harrowing night, during a gala for foreign dignitaries. A party of adventurers arrived, employed by the head of the Berringold Estate, to investigate rumors of potential sabotage. Panne was insistent on helping, but found no help from her fellow staff, who were too preoccupied with their guests; nor from the nobles, who were lost in their own vanity; nor the foreign dignitaries, who were too muddled with politics and appearances; not even from her friends in high places, for whom the problem was out of their hands. So invested in their own problems were they all that they would not concern themselves with a potential danger to all of them.

The night came to a head when the adventurers, with Panne's help, confronted the assassins in the main banquet hall. They made an absolute mess of things in the process, a fact which, in the nobles’ eyes, took precedence over the fact that the party had just saved everyone's lives. The adventurers shrugged off the nobles' jeers and insults, but Panne, ragged and fed up, unleashed all her years of frustration towards them in one angry diatribe and very spicy resignation. When she finally stopped to catch her breath, she was met with stunned silence. Flustered and confidently unemployed, she was gently led out of the room by the adventuring party's very impressed rogue.

About a mile from the Berringold Estate, at a tavern in town, Panne joined the adventuring party for a mission post-mortem. After far more drinks than was responsible, each of them revelled in a job well done and a hefty pay day, and even entertained the notion of allowing Panne to join their party. It was a lot all at once for the newly unemployed Panne to consider, but it shocked her how easy it was to say yes.

Slamming back her fifth shot that night, Panne laughed and considered what life as an adventurer would be like. Certainly better than being a maid. Before she considered that too deeply, she had enough spite in her to leave the Berringold Estate with one last gift. Through the gentle buzz of imported rum, she thought of all the embarrassing little things she'd heard over her years in proximity with those stuffy elites, who all expected her to know her place, spoke as if she were invisible and expected her to keep her mouth shut. With a devious smirk, she made a mental checklist of every guest that did her wrong, quickly spun a yarn, and leaned in towards the bartender.

"So did you hear about what happened at the Berringold Estate?"