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Mythological Figures: Julie d'Aubigny aka La Maupin (5E)

Today's entry in Mythological Figures is another historical figure that’s taken hold of some zeitgeist and earned a place in today's popular culture. Julie D'Aubigny ("La Maupin") started appearing on social media last year and for good reason--she was a straight up badass.

Today's entry in Mythological Figures is another historical figure that’s taken hold of some zeitgeist and earned a place in today's popular culture. Julie D'Aubigny ("La Maupin") started appearing on social media last year and for good reason--she was a straight up badass.

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Many of us have seen one of the memes or articles article so I’ll keep it short:

  • Went around on the run with a fencing buddy and made it as a traveling minstrel (who crossdressed in men’s clothing, though never claiming to be a man). She was so good she joined the opera from here.
  • I’m just going to quote the wikipedia page on this one because wow:
Eventually, she grew bored of Sérannes and became involved with a young woman. When the girl's parents put her away in the Visitandines convent in Avignon, La Maupin followed, entering the convent as a postulant. In order to run away with her new love, she stole the body of a dead nun, placed it in the bed of her lover, and set the room on fire to cover their escape…La Maupin was charged in absentia—as a male—with kidnapping, body snatching, arson, and failing to appear before the tribunal. The sentence was death by fire.

  • Naturally she went back to singing on the road. Before too long she gets insulted by a young nobleman, duels him and wounds him, then visits him and they became lovers (and lifelong buddies).
  • Still a fugitive, her incredible singing talents get her a pardon so she can perform in the Paris Opera.

Mademoiselle Maupin’s habit and talent for winning duels (and singing like a champ when she wasn’t on the run from the law for beating people up) continued until she found true love, her paramour perished, and she shuffled off her own mortal coil at the age of just 33.

As ever the list of Mythological Figures is open to more entries so tell us who you want to see get a statblock!


Julie d'Aubigny (La Maupin, Mademoiselle Maupin)

Medium humanoid (human), chaotic good rogue (duelist) 9/fighter (master of battle) 7
Armor Class 16 (padded armor)
Hit Points 111 (9d8+7d10+32)
Speed 30 ft.

STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
14 (+2)20 (+5)14 (+2)12 (+1)10 (+0)16 (+3)
Saving Throws Dex +10, Int +6
Skills Athletics +7, Deception +13, Insight +5, Perception +10, Performance +13, Persuasion +13
Senses passive Perception 20
Languages English, French, German, Italian
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Background: Virtuoso. La Maupin is never without a stage or room to sing for entertainment whether in a queen’s castle or a tavern. She receives free accommodations (including a room and meal) each night she performs and is recognized while going about a settlement where she’s sung at least one evening (and is typically well-liked for her vocal talents).

Action Surge (1/short rest). On her turn, La Maupin can take an additional action on top of her regular action and a possible bonus action.

Cunning Action. La Maupin can take a bonus action on each of her turns in combat. This action can be used only to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.

Duelist’s Edge. La Maupin has a +3 bonus to initiative rolls.

Evasion. When La Maupin is subjected to an effect that allows her to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, she instead takes no damage if she succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if she fails.

Maneuver Master (5d8 maneuver dice/short rest). La Maupin can expend a maneuver dice to perform a single maneuver with an attack.

  • Counter. La Maupin uses her reaction to make a melee attack against a creature that misses her with a melee attack, dealing 1d8 additional damage on a hit.
  • Disarm. A creature La Maupin has hit with a melee attack takes 1d8 additional damage and makes a DC 18 Strength saving throw or drops one held item of her choice
  • Feint. La Maupin can use her bonus action to feint against one creature within 5 feet. She has advantage on her next attack roll against that creature as long as it made is before the end of her turn. On a hit she deals 1d8 additional damage.
  • Lunge. La Maupin increases her reach by 5 feet for one attack, dealing 1d8 additional damage on a hit.
  • Menace. On a successful hit with a melee weapon, La Maupin deals 1d8 additional damage and the target makes a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or is frightened of her until the end of La Maupin’s next turn.

Martial Footing.
When La Maupin makes a melee attack against a creature on her turn, she does not provoke opportunity attacks from it until the end of her turn.

Rakish Edge. La Maupin can use an action to make a Charisma (Persuasion) check opposed by a Wisdom (Insight) check from a creature able to hear and understand her. On a success, for 1 minute creatures other than La Maupin do not provoke opportunity attacks from the target and the target has disadvantage on attack rolls against anyone but her. The effect ends if a creature other than La Maupin attacks the target or until she is more than 60 feet away from the target. When La Maupin uses this feature on a creature that is not hostile, the target is charmed for 1 minute or until she or her companions harm it.

Second Wind (1/short rest). On her turn, La Maupin can use a bonus action to regain 1d10+7 hit points.

Sneak Attack (1/turn). La Maupin deals an extra 31 (9d6) damage when she hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of La Maupin that isn’t incapacitated and she doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll. La Maupin also deals her Sneak Attack damage if the only creature within 5 feet of her is the target of her attack and she doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.


ACTIONS

Extra Attack. La Maupin attacks twice.

Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d8+7) piercing damage.

Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/40 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d4+5) piercing damage.

Hand Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 8(1d6+5) piercing damage.


REACTIONS

Uncanny Dodge.
When an attacker La Maupin can see hits her with an attack, she can use her reaction to halve the attack’s damage against her.
 

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Mike Myler

Mike Myler

Tony Vargas

Legend
history was not a 4e fighter skill.
Separating the background from the class to open up skill proficiency selection is a change.
4e Background was separate from class, and you could become trained in a background skill not on your class list (or gain a bonus in one, your choice).

So, no not much new, though 5e backgrounds are dialed up a bit, a reasonable progression from thier introduction by 4e.
 
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cbwjm

Seb-wejem
Even in 2e, kits became decoupled from class and were just a background. Of course this was in the players option series which a lot of people don't seem to want to remember.
 


Ashrym

Legend
4e Background was separate from class, and you could become trained in a background skill not on your class list (or gain a bonus in one, your choice).

So, no not much new, though 5e backgrounds are dialed up a bit, a reasonable progression from thier introduction by 4e.

Unless I missed something, background was just a character background description early in the 4e PHB and adding the skill was via a feat. It was the equivalent of the skilled feat in 5e.

5e approached backgrounds from the opposite end. Instead of using class features to build towards mechanics for the background we see a free background adding to the mechanics of the character.

For example, I could make a fighter in 3e or 4e and say he's a musician or historian but I need to use the class resources as he's built and leveling to apply mechanics that would back that up.

In 5e, instead of spending a feat to learn a skill, I simply select a matching background and the skills are added the the character's proficient skill list. Cross-classing perform or knowledge in 3e (or forced to MC), or spending a feat for 1 skill skill training in 4e, is rather expensive in comparison to the straightforward mechanic of selecting a background that adds a few proficiencies to support the background.

It's not new to have backgrounds but the approach is very different.
 

pemerton

Legend
Why CG and not CN?

To put it another way - if this real-life person does not count as CN (per the 5e Basic PDF, "follows her whims, holding her personal freedom above all else") then who would?
 



Ancalagon

Dusty Dragon
Excellent choice! A true adventurer.

I understand perfectly the class choice (she wasn't a spellcaster was she?), but if you wanted the "spirit" of the person in a more traditional d&d game, surely a bard college of swords would have done.
 

GloomyGus

Villager
I think I would lower her Strength and Constitution. Based on the information presented here, her DEX should be through the roof, but there's no clear indication that she was much of a STR-based bruiser. Unless at some point in her life she ran marathons or lifted weights or something. As for CON, if anything I would make that low. Mostly because she died young. I'd put STR at 10-12, and CON at 8-10. Maybe put those extra points into CHA or even WIS.
 

Tony Vargas

Legend
Unless I missed something, background was just a character background description early in the 4e PHB and adding the skill was via a feat. It was the equivalent of the skilled feat in 5e.
That, too, but Backgrounds were added to 4e early. They were optional - you didn't give up a skill if you didn't take one - and 4e didn't have non-adventuring skills like 3e did, so there were fewer mechanics involved.
If your background did imply a skill not on your class list, though, you could take it, or if you picked a background skill you already had access to, you got a bonus.

5e expanded that, two skills & a tool coming only from the background instead of one skill added to your list or a bonus. It means backgrounds are a more substantial, 'less optional' build resource, you lose the equivalent of two or three skills (depending on the usefulness of the tool feature) if you don't take one.

It's not new to have backgrounds but the approach is very different.
The approach is very similar to 2e Kits, but for them being tied to class, and to 4e Backgrounds & Themes, both of which were class-independent. 5e backgrounds are more elaborate than 4e Backgrounds, but less so than Themes, which could grow with the character through the heroic tier.
 
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