Edge Free Rogue Backstories?

[Yakmala]

I enjoy playing Rogues, and for the most part, have always tried to go against the usual edge lord stereotype the class tends to have. There's no tragic backstory, their parents are typically alive, or at least didn't die horribly and they aren't haunted by events from their past.

I'm interested in hearing from others that have taken a similar route with their Rogues as it's fun to bounce ideas off of other like-minded individuals.

So, for this exercise, if you are so inclined, post a sentence or two about your non-edgy rogue. Their subclass, a line or two of backstory and why they became an adventurer.

Here are a few I've played.

Thief: Wanted to be a healer but didn't have the money or connections to go to medical school or aptitude to be a magical healer. He ended up interning at a free clinic that helped those in need, no questions asked. He became pretty good at it (Healer Feat) but needed more money to expand the operation. thus adventuring.

Scout: Wood Elf whose family founded an organization called The Green Ghosts. They would venture out of their forest to put their skills in stealth, tracking and archery to use, protecting travelers and nearby villages from bandits, raiders and wandering monsters. The character became something of a folk hero and started getting requests from villages further afield. Before he knew it, he was essentially an adventurer.

Phantom: Was born into his family's funeral business. He was a carpenter and stonemason, focusing on bespoke caskets and gravestones. He's been chatting with spirits since he was old enough to talk and didn't realize that wasn't something everyone did until he was older. Became an adventurer after striking up a friendship with the ghost of a former adventurer who filled his head with exciting tales.

[Mud Puppy]

Swashbuckler: Half-orc ship captain with the smuggler background who's ship and crew were lost in a storm and so has an irrational fear that he's cheated death (think Final Destination) and is currently unwillingly adventuring, but as far inshore as possible.

[Jak]

Arcane trickster:

Wizard school student who was expelled for repeated offenses of mischief. Started adventuring because it turns out his talent for "mischief" is something people are willing to pay money for. Scare this, find that, steal those type things.
He/she likes the money, but doesn't really have an aim or goal. Lives for the moment, and is confident enough in their abilities to think nothing bad will happen to them whilst adventuring.

[nickl_2000]

Max, my current AT/Wizard isn't edgy, but has some tragedy in his back story. Parents weren't worth much of anything, so he decided to leave and go off on his own. He grew up on the streets, leaving magic and skills by watching Wizard school training through windows while hidden in a tree. Used his skills to gain money to care for orphans in the city and teach orphans to survive. He has found his happy place, he likes who he is and what he is doing. He is really a pleasant person who is confident in themselves.

He is modelled after Gavroche in Les Mis.

TL:DR kind of edgy back story that he is past, happy pleasant character.

[Psyren]

I had a pretty cheery soulknife back in 3.PF, simply because his day-job was to hunt aberrations and combat agents of the Far Realm (or Dal Quor, Xoriat, etc.) We established that negative emotions and thoughts gives them a mental foothold, so he was glib, flippant, and pretty quick-witted with his party. While his skills were geared towards mindflayers and the like, he could just as easily help them take down some fiends or a vampire if needed.

He was more of a frontliner or vanguard in that edition, but if I were to build him in PF he'd be predominantly a Soulknife with maybe a splash or two of Ranger and designed more like an agent or assassin.

[TheCleverGuy]

I haven't actually played this character yet, but I've had an idea kicking around for a long time for a Thief Rogue who comes from a minor noble family. He takes up thievery out of boredom and just really enjoys the challenge of a good heist. What he's actually stealing isn't important, and he'll even give it back sometimes, if he can do so without getting caught. Otherwise, most of his gold goes to charity, because he doesn't need it.

[Dualight]

A character I am still looking for a campaign for is a Swashbuckler X/ Dragon sorcerer 1, a blacksmith's apprentice whose dragon blood calls them to adventure. No real sadness, just someone who is driven to adventure for adventure's sake. Could have lived quietly, but being even slightly dragon-like makes that unappealing.

[Sorinth]

Himbo High Elf who flunked out of Bladesinger school and is now an Arcane Trickster/Soulknife/Swashbuckler could be fun.

[KorvinStarmast]

My only rogue of recent vintage:

High Elf. Rogue/Thief. Elf Cantrip was Mage Hand. Background Criminal/Spy Variant...sort of a secret agent working for someone important in elf land as a professional operative

He had been sent out to find out what was going on in this city (where we all started at level 1) and report back.
We ran a few sessions doing disaster assistance, and I sneaked into a few places I wasn't supposed to, as we investigated a few buildings for paranormal/monster evidence after a monster had wrecked some parts of the city.
Then the group broke up.

I was enjoying it.

[Sigreid]

Happy go lucky gambler. A rogue can seriously abuse the Xanathar gambling downtime rules.

[LibraryOgre]

My standard dwarf thief background was of a tunnel ranger... go through, find and clear traps, fight some of the humanoids. Didn't need to be tragic, just doing a job.

[sithlordnergal]

Goblin Arcane Trickster: Is a noble of waterdeep, and had a really good life. In order to prove himself to his family, he decided to become an adventurer. He leaned into his natural Goblin talents by learning how to creep around and pick locks.

[Rukelnikov]

I played an Eladrin Thief Entertainer who was part of a travelling faire and would sometimes put a costume and fight crime, dunno if that counts as edgy :P He eventually was approached by a group of people investigating some disappearances and ended up in a party.

[strangebloke]

You've seen legally blond?

Go for that. She's not evil. She's not edgy. Quite the opposite! She's just excellent at everything she does. She fiddles with the lock for a second, pops it open, and when people are surprised by her skill, she shugs. "Like. Is that supposed to be hard?"

Make more or less serious as needed.

For a more fantastic approach, just be a secret agent. Family guy, good dude, but absolutely 100% committed to the goals of his order.

[RazorChain]

I played a Scout/Hunter wood elf who was the equivalent of a county marshall. I took the investigator background, no tragic backstory, he had family and friends, liked to spend evenings at the pub or go hunting. He had his job sitting at the porch of his office smoking his pipe and, catching thieves, keeping the peace and hunting down criminals. He became and "adventurer" after a family of farmers in his county were kidnapped and while tracking them down and their kidnappers he met the rest of the party. He found out that the kidnappers were a slavers and and formed a posse out of the party to bring down this ring of slavers.

[ChaosStar]

Swashbuckler/Fey Wanderer Shifter, Folk Hero background. Basically, his parents were former adventurers who retired to Nobility and raised him and his sister on stories of their adventures. One day he encountered a sprite who told him he had a great destiny and asked his parents' permission to go adventuring.

Scout/Celestial Warlock Tabaxi, Archeologist background. Born in Maztica, grew up exploring ruins, enamored with the idea of exploring ruins around the world, went off to join Candlekeep.

My other Rogues have had something tragic motivate them.

[ImproperJustice]

I like this:

Dwarf Mastermind: Sailor Background

Garvey Saltbeard hailed from a Dwarven family that sought its fortunes in the docks, and merchant stalls along the sea. At a young age he was apprenticed to his Uncle who taught him the art of sale and sails.

He could read the winds and and read the markets by the time he was in his teens.
When he was ready to become a man and take his final place within the Clan company, he instead cashed out his share, and walked away.

“One day, I’ll return. I will be Captain of my own ship, with my own crew. But I need to make my own way. Prove I am worthy of leading our Clan.”

So with the simple dream of making his own way in the world and gaining his own ship, Garvey cast his lots with an untested band of thrill seekers and treasure hunters bound for some mysterious land called Barovia.

[Mastikator]

I made a fairy arcane trickster witchlight hand that was a circus performer and used his acrobatics and magic for his show. The personality trait "I live by my own set of weird and wonderful rules." and the bond "Change is good, which is why I live by an ever-changing set of rules." I just came up with rules that conform with whatever we were doing on the fly and just gave each rule a random number.
Why is he adventuring and not with the carnival? Road less traveled, see the world, explore mysteries, meet new people and make friends.

Super whimsical and fun.

[Sigreid]

Have you seen or read Harry Potter? I think Fred and George have a few levels of rogue because they think it's funny.

[nickl_2000]

Have you seen or read Harry Potter? I think Fred and George have a few levels of rogue because they think it's funny.

They may very well be the definition of an Arcane Trickster.

[KorvinStarmast]

Dwarf Mastermind: Sailor Background

Garvey Saltbeard hailed from a Dwarven family that sought its fortunes in the docks, and merchant stalls along the sea. At a young age he was apprenticed to his Uncle who taught him the art of sale and sails.

He could read the winds and and read the markets by the time he was in his teens.
When he was ready to become a man and take his final place within the Clan company, he instead cashed out his share, and walked away.

“One day, I’ll return. I will be Captain of my own ship, with my own crew. But I need to make my own way. Prove I am worthy of leading our Clan.”

So with the simple dream of making his own way in the world and gaining his own ship, Garvey cast his lots with an untested band of thrill seekers and treasure hunters bound for some mysterious land called Barovia. I so love this, I will probably steal it if my CoS PC dies.

[RickAsWritten]

Merrick Halfagain - Halfling Bladecloak (see my signature) Rogue

He was a law officer/travelling magistrate for several Halfling communities; somewhat based around The Greatcoats series. Had a happy upbringing and a family, unfortunately he never made it Out of the Abyss.

[animorte]

I have a Ghostwise Halfling old lady Arcane Trickster that is actually my first PC ever that carries herself with full authority and takes zero crap from mischief makers. Most of my characters are a weird blend of timid and charismatic. Anyway, it comes out eventually that she was actually a high ranking officer in the military and has the respect of many comrades. She also makes it a solid point to stay in contact with family as much as possible given the travel just because she likes to maintain a comfortable sense of camaraderie.

[Amechra]

I've sadly never had a chance to play my Halfling Arcane Trickster who is actually a student wizard thank-you-very-much (she has a spellbook from Ritual Caster and everything!) who happens to be a night climber (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_climbing) and an aficionado of the in-universe version of the MIT Lockpicking Guide.

Turns out that "college student" and "rogue" have a surprisingly large overlap in their skillsets.

[Vhaidara]

I've got one from 4e who is kind of a rogue/paladin multiclass. His human parents are dead, but it was a "died when he was less than a year old" deal. A halfling caravan found him and a couple adopted him, raising him no different from anyone else. He's an upstanding, honorable, and forthright individual, a proud servant of Yondalla, but his natural skillset is much more roguish and sneaky, which drew the attention of the Whisperknives, servants of Yondalla's "sister" goddess Dallah Thaun (see the 3.5 Races of the Wild). So he's a paladin by temperament and desire, and a rogue by training and talent. The fact that they don't line up annoys him, but not really in an edgy way.

Development ensued, and now he's a leading member of the church, with his own knightly order for those with similar dispositions and talents to him, kind of a public extension of the Whisperknives. Mom and pop halfling are still alive and happy for him, he's got a handful of other foundlings in his order (including a troll who got adopted like he did), and he's got a boyfriend with a super sweet relationship.

[Martin Greywolf]

You may as well look at Discworld and rip off backtories of the Ankh-Morpork's (in)famous Night Watch. Being some degree of sneaky scoundrel seems to be practically a job requirement, even for Carrot. Especially for Carrot if my headcannon is true and he knows perfectly well what he is doing. The only edgy backstories I can remember are Vimes (but only once he got worn down by life), Angua and edgiest and most shocking of all, Nobby.

Then there are the historical ninjas - have your character come from a group of people that traditionally provided spies and scouts to armed forces in the area and you're good to go.

[Psyren]

I've sadly never had a chance to play my Halfling Arcane Trickster who is actually a student wizard thank-you-very-much (she has a spellbook from Ritual Caster and everything!) who happens to be a night climber (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_climbing) and an aficionado of the in-universe version of the MIT Lockpicking Guide.

Turns out that "college student" and "rogue" have a surprisingly large overlap in their skillsets.

Instead of RC, why not just multiclass wizard? AT goes very well with enchantment and illusion builds due to Magical Ambush.

[nickl_2000]

Instead of RC, why not just multiclass wizard? AT goes very well with enchantment and illusion builds due to Magical Ambush.

I can attest to this being a good way to go. I'm running a level 10 AT/ Level 5 War Wizard and it is amazing. I rarely ever fail a save and when I do I still can reduce damage.

[Amechra]

Instead of RC, why not just multiclass wizard? AT goes very well with enchantment and illusion builds due to Magical Ambush.

Eh, that spoils the joke (which is that she's meh at magic because she spends a bunch of time going off and getting in trouble).

[OldTrees1]

Oh there are so many things you can do.

Dun the dungeon tour guide grew up fascinated by tales of dark dungeons and ancient tombs. They apprenticed as part of a dungeon tour guide guild. They honed their dungeoneering skills with a special focus on traps. They were hired by an NPC party to help them through a heavily trapped dungeon. They showed up near the PCs (also interested in the same dungeon) and mistook the PC party as their clients.

Ghost is curious spirit that is entertained by following adventurers. They were probably a reckless adventurer themselves in their past life. However there is not much to do day to day, might as well follow and watch these adventurers. Maybe help remove obstacles like locked doors or warn the group about imminent ambushes. (Even death in the background does not require edge)

[SociopathFriend]

I've had a few Rogue backstories I've thought were funny and relatively free from edge. However they were from older editions so I dunno how to translate all of them into 5e.



The easiest example is the Tailored Assassin.

He was raised in a strict family that valued cleanliness and order above all else- and I do mean ALL else. Eating took three times as long as any other family due to how carefully they all had to consume the meal without a bit of food being lost or spilled. This, among other things, led to a severe disinterest in human life while instead valuing things that look good and orderly.

The child eventually became a man who quite literally would not be caught dead in some of the unfashionable rags other people like to wear. It's just he won't catch you dead in bad clothing either. Whenever he's given a contract for a kill it WILL have a clause in there insisting the target must be fashion-assessed first.

If they're dressed horribly then as part of the assassination- the Tailor Assassin will design an excellent death outfit for them. If they're dressed well then he'll go out of his way to avoid spoiling their clothing.

"He might be dead- but he'll look good for it."

[Angelalex242]

Edge free rogue? ...If he's CG, he's basically Robin Hood with rogue levels instead of ranger levels.

[Keravath]

Human rogue with the sailor background who loved exploring at every port they landed at. Was hiking in a forest to get a view of the coast from the local peak near the town where they had made port the day previously when he encountered the most beautiful woman he had ever met on the trail.

He lived happily with her for almost a century (sustained by her magic) but events in the outside world caught up with them and some sort of curse appeared to be interfering with resurrection magic and killing any creature that had died and been brought back. After some discussions, his partner sent him back out into the world again to try to discover the nature of the curse and put an end to it since it was affecting some of her friends.

Returned to the world, his skills as a rogue and with magic increased as he adventured to discover the cause of the death curse and eliminate it.

Arcane trickster rogue/fae warlock (his partner is his patron) - played through Tomb of Annihilation and had a great time :)

[Nidgit]

A beloved town scamp who wants to give back to his community after all his mischief as a youth and thus sends a big portion of his earnings home each time.

A disavowed spy who's out on her own while working on leads to clear her name (edge optional).

A thief from a long line of famous master thieves trying to live up to the family name.

An ambitious and lovestruck fool who keeps trying to steal better and more extravagant engagement gifts.

[Lord Kristivas]

So, for this exercise, if you are so inclined, post a sentence or two about your non-edgy rogue. Their subclass, a line or two of backstory and why they became an adventurer.

Fenton Yarick - Human - Assassin: Neither rich nor poor, Fenton's father was a banker and his mother a seamstress. It was the "fun" Uncle Anton who was supposed to apprentice the boy in jewel crafting, but upon recognizing Fenton's natural talent, decided to enlist him in the other side of the family's business (that mom and dad were oblivious to). Uncle Anton was an officer of the local guild/mafia. Fenton was a great shot, so he was put to work as enforcer/lookout and made money.

Then, a job went bad. An important person was a casualty. It was no fault of Fenton's (other stuff was popping off at the scene when he did the job), but he became an easy scapegoat. While no one yet knew who was directly responsible (he was masked at the time), the bounty for information was too high to risk waiting around while everyone and their brother played amateur detective. An excuse from Uncle Anton to the parents about Fenton going to apprentice under a Gnomish master jeweler was all it took and off he went into the wide world while the heat died down.

More then a sentence, my bad. A lot happened lol.

[Zetakya]

Back in 3.5 I had a Dwarven Locksmith/Engineer; he would object very strongly if you implied there was anything less than legal about his skills. Traps, locks and devices were a skillset, and a highly-regarded one at that, thank you very much.

[Psyren]

Back in 3.5 I had a Dwarven Locksmith/Engineer; he would object very strongly if you implied there was anything less than legal about his skills. Traps, locks and devices were a skillset, and a highly-regarded one at that, thank you very much.

My artificer did the same.


Eh, that spoils the joke (which is that she's meh at magic because she spends a bunch of time going off and getting in trouble).

I mean, multiclassing would certainly make you meh at magic compared to a straight wizard, but I understand.

[ChaosStar]

A thief from a long line of famous master thieves trying to live up to the family name.

So, Sly Cooper but without the dead family.

[Chronos]

My first 5e character was an arcane trickster with the Sage background. He started off as a student of archaeology, who decided that instead of sitting in a boring office and buying antiquities to study off of the occasional passing merchant, it was much better to go out to ancient ruins and such and find the antiquities himself. Meanwhile, he'd been sneaking into the restricted section of the library after hours, where he found and learned to use a ritual book (human, starting feat Ritual Caster).

I never mentioned his parents in his backstory-- Presumably they're still alive and kicking and doing whatever irrelevant thing it is they do. And his old academic advisor is definitely still alive and kicking, and even more definitely irrelevant.

[LibraryOgre]

My first 5e character was an arcane trickster with the Sage background. He started off as a student of archaeology, who decided that instead of sitting in a boring office and buying antiquities to study off of the occasional passing merchant, it was much better to go out to ancient ruins and such and find the antiquities himself. Meanwhile, he'd been sneaking into the restricted section of the library after hours, where he found and learned to use a ritual book (human, starting feat Ritual Caster).

I never mentioned his parents in his backstory-- Presumably they're still alive and kicking and doing whatever irrelevant thing it is they do. And his old academic advisor is definitely still alive and kicking, and even more definitely irrelevant.

The AD&D thief is actually ideal for Indiana Jones. In 5e? 1st level Expertise in History would go a long way, even if it is an unusual choice (I'd say Indy has History and Religion as expertise)

[Sigreid]

Edge free rogue? ...If he's CG, he's basically Robin Hood with rogue levels instead of ranger levels.

Classic Robin Hood would be LG, maintaining his loyalty to England and the True King. IMO anyway.

[Vodahim]

Back in 3.5 I played a Spymaster/Invisible Blade who was the brother of a friend PC.
I don't remember his build but it was using the feat that let you progress in your main feature AND the main feature of an other class (Rogue/Scout/Ranger).

We grew in an orphanage BUT we were happy. The old man was an old warrior mercenary who sheltered orphans and provided them what he could offer.
He was such a nice guy that all the villager were fond of us, giving us food, wood and blankets during winter.

The rest of the party liked the concept and finally we were all friends from the same village. We started our adventures in order to provide for the village and the orphanage.

[Angelalex242]

Classic Robin Hood would be LG, maintaining his loyalty to England and the True King. IMO anyway.

I'll give you NG at best, but he IS still robbing the rich to feed the poor.

[Sigreid]

I'll give you NG at best, but he IS still robbing the rich to feed the poor.

Well, he's taking the excessive taxes back from the rich...

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Phantom: Dragged her lover back to life with magic and sheer force of will. The bond goes both ways, though, so just as her girlfriend is pulled closer to the living side of things (race: Revenant), she's pulled closer to the other side, letting her talk with and channel the recently dead. Now they're leaving their old lives behind, to make something new and exciting.



Classic Robin Hood would be LG, maintaining his loyalty to England and the True King. IMO anyway.


I'll give you NG at best, but he IS still robbing the rich to feed the poor.

Depends on how far back you go. The oldest versions of Robin Hood didn't give to the poor at all, just had a code against robbing farmers or women, and certainly weren't serving the true king. The myth got iterated on quite a bit; Overly Sarcastic Productions has a great video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mshRaY8gTs) on it.

[SociopathFriend]

Hmmm just making this up on the spot but- the Rogue Who Stole Nothing?



Basically a Lawful Good man (or woman) that never had any intention of stealing anything from anyone.

But one day some manner of authority (perhaps even an evil baron or the like?) swore that they did and set the guards on them.

And the rest is history- our lovable Rogue has never stolen anything in their life. But through constantly having to avoid bounty hunters, guards, and even other thieves upset at the outsider on their turf- our Rogue has steadily gained access to the full Rogue skillset.

Why do they know Thieves' Cant? Because they keep coming across messages left telling others to get our Rogue.

Why are they proficient in Stealth and whatnot? Because they constantly must sneak, lie, and disguise themselves to avoid the other thieves.

You COULD run this as dark but- frankly- there's a lot of room to run it as funny too.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

You COULD run this as dark but- frankly- there's a lot of room to run it as funny too.

They rapidly develop a reputation as a silver-tongued liar. So convincing are they that, if you didn't know better, you could almost believe they're innocent of all wrongdoing.

[Sigreid]

They rapidly develop a reputation as a silver-tongued liar. So convincing are they that, if you didn't know better, you could almost believe they're innocent of all wrongdoing.

Weird, that quote is from someone other than me.

[Witty Username]

The AD&D thief is actually ideal for Indiana Jones. In 5e? 1st level Expertise in History would go a long way, even if it is an unusual choice (I'd say Indy has History and Religion as expertise)

I would add athletics for the cardio and whip nonsense. But this definitely tracks.

[OvisCaedo]

I usually think of the generic rogue as being more of a "plucky thief" than anything particularly edgy. Unless they're an assassin.

[Corran]

Is it edgy to have a nemesis?

Jack (rogue2/valod bard 1, eventually thief 3/bard 5, campaign didnt go past that unfortunately) was part of a team of equally talented professionals. Their talents revolved around music, cons and stealing. Essentially they travelled around the land as a band of musicians (they were just a little famous, though they could make it appear as they were a big deal; their playing was not too bad either), but that was a ruse (rouge?) to allow them to steal some big scores (mostly jewlery).

Then they heard f a big job. A community of gians that strangely lived at the top end of a huge beamstalk had at their possession a special goose that laied golden eggs. The job was different this time. They would perform the same routine of getting there as passers-by (well, fliers-by this time) and on route to a big gig, offering to entertain the giants with their music in return for a night's hospitality. The difference was that this time the score was so big, that even though one plan was hatched in unison, each member of the team had their own plan of how to get everything for themselves.

Jack ended up being the one climbing down the beamstalk with a bag of (what appeared as) golden eggs in a hurry and under the closing sounds of angry giants. Thrill gave its place to disbelief when he saw something he would have never imagined. Pete, his former colleague and current nemesis, floating his way down to the ground holding from a goose! The same goose that laid the golden eggs. Pete had shouted something. Jack couldn't make out the words, but he thought he heard "eggs". He realized the meaing when he made it on ground, and found out that the golden eggs were props, and no golden at all, only ome golden paint.

Well, that's what started the whole SKT deal in our campaign world, and while the rest of the players were tring to save the day, mine was just going along in order to find clues about the whereabouts of his nemeis, who had "stolen" from him, but more importantly, who had outwitted him.

Technically it's edgy, but here's the thing. If it's silly enough, the edginess doesn't get noticed.

[SociopathFriend]

What's the cat race? Tixibatti or something?

There's an easy edge-free Rogue right there. You want everything and everything is yours- right up until you don't want it anymore at which case anything- anything at all- has no value and can be tossed aside.

In fact you'll actually go out of your way to make sure someone else has it via sneakily stowing it away with them/on them rather than keep it.

Admittedly that's more of a, "Play a cat" backstory but I don't think anyone will argue with the idea that cats and thieves have some serious overlap!

[Psyren]

What's the cat race? Tixibatti or something?

There's an easy edge-free Rogue right there. You want everything and everything is yours- right up until you don't want it anymore at which case anything- anything at all- has no value and can be tossed aside.

In fact you'll actually go out of your way to make sure someone else has it via sneakily stowing it away with them/on them rather than keep it.

Admittedly that's more of a, "Play a cat" backstory but I don't think anyone will argue with the idea that cats and thieves have some serious overlap!

You can do this with a Kenku too, and play up their "thieving magpie" angle.

[sethdmichaels]

I played an Eladrin Thief Entertainer who was part of a travelling faire

love this. i think you can make an ethical version of the thief rogue by reflavoring them as a circus kid who learned knife-throwing, climbing, sleight-of-hand and skill expertise from various relatives.

[Amnestic]

The husband for one of my characters was a House Phiarlan assassin whose wife (my character), child, and extended family was all alive and well. Now he was an assassin, and killed for money and work, but there was no tragedy in his history to speak of. Just a professional guy doing professional things who loved his family and his House.

I have wanted to do an investigator Inqusitive Sherlock Holmes-type rogue, maybe with a knowledge cleric dip/multiclass for bigger brain and also some divination spells. Not had a game to do it in yet, but there'd be no need for edge there either, just a guy who likes solving CRIMES.