Art by my beloved soulmate  Spirit.Wolf.

Name: Game of Chance
Race: Tabaxi
Age: 28
Height: 7’ 6”
Weight: 190 lbs
Skin/Fur: Black Panther
Hair: Purple hair in a debonair quiff
Eyes: Dark Magenta
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Homeland: Faerûn
Hometown: Candlekeep
Faith: Mask

History

Chance’s parents, like many Tabaxi, were swept up in the slave trade, but freed by wandering adventurers. They started a new life in Faerûn, settling down in Candlekeep. Chance’s Father, Faithful Scabbard, joined the city guard and rose through the ranks as a skilled fighter and leader. His mother, Cloudy Prism, used her shaman training to become a beloved healer, bookkeeper, and sage.

The two of them worked hard for years to earn a reputation in Candlekeep, build up a modest fortune, and obtain a small countryside estate. It was there they had Chance. It wasn’t easy, given many on the Sword Coast had a low opinion of tabaxi. Candlekeep itself was welcoming to them, save for a fringe minority that saw them as ignorant savages, but Prism was loved by those in Candlekeep who met her.

Nobles in Baldur’s Gate learned of these well-to-do tabaxi. Fearing their hold over certain sages in Candlekeep could be threatened, they began plotting to have them assassinated and their reputation to be soured, with the blame pointed to followers of Bhaal.

Chance’s childhood was a modest but happy one with a few bumps. Being the only tabaxi child in Candlekeep, half the other kids were fascinated by him, and the rest despised him for being different. He made a few friends, whom he played dice, Dragonchess, and Three-Dragon Ante with regularly, as well as getting up to mischief around the Castle of Lore.

When Chance was ten years old, Scabbard was murdered in a brutal stabbing in the night. Falsified evidence was planted on his body suggesting Prism was using him to cover for her as she hoarded forbidden knowledge and burned books. Disguised as a sage and city guards, assassins raided the estate in the night. Prism, though caught off guard, was able to use her magic to retaliate.

Chance found himself afraid and unsure of what to do, his mother pleading with him to run. He refused until he watched helplessly as the assassins struck her down. With no other choice, Chance leaped out a window into Prism’s herb garden and sprinted for the stables, making his escape north from Candlekeep on horseback. He rode until he was exhausted and sore, going off-road before eventually collapsing off his horse in exhaustion.

As he slept, Mask took pity on him and visited him in his dreams, offering him the means to avenge his parents, punish those who wronged him, and ensure a place of power and security for himself. Upon waking, Chance felt himself brimming with confidence as it seemed he had luck on his side. Continuing on horseback, he made his way to Baldur’s Gate, where he would begin slowly tugging the strings from the shadows.

For almost two decades, Chance posed as a charming and suave charlatan, conning people out of their coin left and right. He also went on multiple heists, claiming artifacts to consolidate power alongside his growing ill-gotten wealth. He paid the Harpers to find out who was responsible for his parents’ deaths and his exile from Candlekeep. Upon learning this information, he hunted each of them down one by one, killed them in slow and painful ways, and exploited every loophole he could find to claim all that they owned.

Not wanting to become a target like his parents, Chance used his charms to befriend influential people all over the Sword Coast, to whom he liquidated many of his assets. The artifacts he kept to himself in a vault of dwarven make deep under Baldur’s Gate, occasionally retrieving one to use its magic to aid him in his quest for power, influence, and wealth. Eventually, Chance became the Chessmaster of Baldur’s Gate and a staunch ally and member of the Harpers.

He had his claws in every single pie, calling several members of the Lord’s Alliance his friends and allies, as well as the Council of Four. Baldur’s Gate being Baldur’s Gate, none of them trusted Chance as far as they could throw him, though the same was true of his feelings toward them. But, given his connections, they didn’t dare try to cross him, and in turn, he let bygones be bygones.

Ultimately, Chance seeks a position on the Council of Four, and then the Lord’s Alliance. From there, he hopes to spread his influence all over Faerûn, before uplifting the Tabaxi of Maztica and Chult to become the rulers of the lands.

Appearance
Chance is a black panther tabaxi with a quiff of purple hair, piercing dark magenta eyes, and a charming smirk accentuated with cute fangs. He wears a silk shirt with a floral print design that matches his eye color, an emerald green long coat with silver buttons and accents and silver epaulets. On his lower half, he wears tight leather trousers that go down to his digitigrade heels. He carries an ornate walking cane that is also a concealed rapier.

Personality
Chance is cunning and calculating. It’s rare for him ever to trust anyone other than himself, and usually, to him, others are a means to an end. He hasn’t ever really maintained a relationship, out of fear that he would be betrayed. After years of luxury, he enjoys fine wine, decadent sweets, large steaks served rare, sparkling liquor, and more. He’s still a gamer as well, particularly enjoying Dragonchess, and isn’t above gambling over a game of cards or dice.

For most, he puts on a mask of debonair charm and noble innocence that both make him irresistible in social circles. He’s sought after by men and women, and possibly disregarded by just as many, the most fatal mistake for any whose fortunes or jewelry catch the glint of his eye. Those who earn his ire soon feel the sting of scathing insults and venomous sarcasm. Chance will very seldom suffer a fool.

This can and often does get him into trouble, but his connections in the criminal underworld come in handy for evading various undesirable situations. However, he is clever enough to bite his tongue when addressing any of a higher station than himself, choosing instead to manipulate them to suit his designs using his charm.

Characteristics

Traits

- Sarcasm and insults are my weapons of choice.
- Flattery is my preferred trick for getting what I want.

Ideals

- Aspiration. I’m determined to make something of myself. (Any)

Bonds

- I come from a noble family, and one day I’ll reclaim my lands and title from those who stole them from me.

Flaws

- I hate to admit it and will hate myself for it, but I’ll run and preserve my own hide if the going gets tough.
- I can’t resist swindling people who are more powerful than me.

Greatest Fears
- Losing all his wealth, influence, and power.
- Falling in love and losing the person he loves in any way.
- Having anyone he genuinely loves be used against him or turned against him.
- His reputation being besmirched.
- Being betrayed by any of his connections, such as the Harpers.
- Dying alone.
- A slow, painful death.
- Going to a negative afterlife, separate from whichever afterlife his parents went to.
- His charm, luck, and skill as a thief/charlatan failing him.
- Being publicly humiliated.