Well “endrowed”
Jarlaxle is a roguish drow male and leader of the Bregan D’aerthe, a mostly drow group of mercenaries that operate both above the surface and within the underdark. Jarlaxle is a charming man capable of making an ally of many a would be enemy. He is also one of the most powerful males among the drow being both a skilled warrior as well as wielding a huge amount of political and militaristic power due to his huge network of spies and mercenaries.
In fact, Jarlaxle is one of few males among the drow that wields any kind of influence within drow society. Typically, women are the ones that rule the cities and the constantly warring houses. Jarlaxle, however, has managed to form a large and powerful group of mercenaries comprised primarily of houseless males and outcasts. While no self-respecting matron mother would desire to see such an influential male in their midsts, they want to use his powerful group of highly trained mercenaries even more to further their own plans and machinations and so he is seen as a necessary and very useful annoyance. Of course, Jarlaxle is only useful when his client’s wishes intersect with his own (usually because those wishes involve becoming richer), but he can often be found pitting one group against another while somehow, always coming out of any situation on the winning side (usually the side with the most coin).
Description
Like most drow, Jarlaxle has dark skin. He is handsome with a well-toned, muscular physique. He tends to wear bright, garish clothes both within the human spectrum of light, as well as the infra-red spectrum visible to drow. This is because he spends considerable time operating on the surface as well as within the darkness of the underdark. He commonly wears high boots, a cape, a hat and an eye patch that observant acquaintances might notices switches between each of his eyes. His very appearance is a rebellion to typical drow culture where hair style and appearance tend to denote one’s status. For this reason, he keeps his head clean-shaven.
Personality
Jarlaxle is a charismatic man with a dislike for the drow’s matriarchal society and its vicious cruelty. While he’s not opposed to underhanded methods to get his ways, he generally finds the cruelty and the unnecessary taking of life that’s so common among the drow, unpleasant. He prefers to deal in information, favours and manipulations, often keeping someone alive if he feels he can gain from their life.
Above all else, Jarlaxle is ambitious, not for power within drow society, but for power throughout the lands as well as great wealth. As he has grown older, Jarlaxle has come to realise that he also has an insatiable curiosity, often preferring to travel across Faerun and adventuring rather than quietly enjoying his considerable wealth.
Unusually for a drow, Jarlaxle has no qualms dealing with the “lesser” races. He finds the value in the information and favours that such creatures can provide. Jarlaxle will often put on a foolish, happy-go-lucky facade, behind which is a fierce intelligence that others often do not realise until it’s too late.
Jarlaxle Baenre Stat Block
The following stat block is the official stat block published by Wizards of the Coast for Jarlaxle Baenre.
- Medium Humanoid (Drow), Chaotic Neutral
- Armour Class: 24 (+3 leather armour, suave defence)
- Hit Points: 123 (19d8 + 38)
- Speed: 30ft
| Str | Dex | Con | Int | Wis | Cha |
| 12 (+1) | 22 (+6) | 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 20 (+5) | 19 (+4) |
- Saving Throws: Dex (+11), Wis (+8)
- Skills: Acrobatics (+11), Athletics (+6), Deception (+14), Perception (+8), Sleight of Hand (+11), Stealth (+16)
- Senses: Darkvision (120ft), passive perception (18)
- Languages: Common, Abyssal, Draconic, Dwarvish, Elvish, Undercommon
- Challenge: 15 (13,000xp)
Special Equipment: Jarlaxle wears +3 leather armor, a hat of disguise, a bracer of flying daggers, a cloak of invisibility, a knave’s eye patch, and a ring of truth telling. He wields a +3 rapier and carries a portable hole and a wand of web. His hat is adorned with a feather of diatryma summoning.
Evasion: If he is subjected to an effect that allows him to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, Jarlaxle instead takes no damage if he succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if he fails. He can’t use this trait if he’s incapacitated.
Fey Ancestry: Jarlaxle has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put him to sleep.
Legendary Resistance (1/Day): If Jarlaxle fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Master Attuner: Jarlaxle can attune to up to five magic items, and he can attune to magic items that normally require attunement by a sorcerer, warlock, or wizard.
Sneak Attack (1/Turn): Jarlaxle deals an extra 24 (7d6) damage when he 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 Jarlaxle’s that isn’t incapacitated and Jarlaxle doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Suave Defense: While Jarlaxle is wearing light or no armor and wielding no shield, his AC includes his Charisma modifier.
Sunlight Sensitivity: When not wearing his knave’s eye patch, Jarlaxle has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
ACTIONS
Multiattack: Jarlaxle makes three attacks with his +3 rapier or two attacks with daggers created by his bracer of flying daggers.
+3 Rapier: Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (1d8 + 9) piercing damage.
Flying Dagger: Ranged Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d4 + 6) piercing damage.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Multiattack: Jarlaxle makes three attacks with his +3 rapier or two attacks with daggers created by his bracer of flying daggers.
History
Jarlaxle was the third born male of Yvonnel Baenre, the matron mother of house Baenre and the first house (and therefore, most powerful) of Menzoberranzan. Due to his status as the third born male of the family, he was due to be sacrificed to Lolth as an infant, but the sacrificial blade failed to pierce him, instead, the second-born male, Doquaio died from the kinetic energy intended for Jarlaxle’s feeble body. Matron Baenre took this as a sign that Jarlaxle was a fated child and feared him for this.
It’s interesting to note the similarities between Jarlaxle’s near sacrificial death as 3rd born male, and that of Drizzt who also miraculously survived such intentions. Both became males independent of the influence of the matron mothers. Both despise the drow’s cruel society and both are powerful in their own right. While Drizzt ends up walking a more altruistic path, his and Jarlaxle’s paths often crossed and Jarlaxle couldn’t help but become in some ways envious of Drizzt’s heroic path, at times, even trying to walk that same path.
Braegen D’aerthe
Jarlaxle later rejected house Baenre, striking out on his own and forming the Braegen D’aerthe, his mercenary group. At this time, he also took on himself the name Jarlaxle D’aerthe. The Braegen D’aerthe were a group formed of male drow without houses. In the matriarchal society that the drow adhere to, they are something of an anomaly as they have great power and knowledge of many of the secrets of the drow meaning that they wield considerable power for male drow. Of particularly great advantage is their excellent training in combat, which is often used to bolster one house or another’s own forces.
The Braegen D’aerthe are often involved in many of the events in and around Menzoberranzan and the other drow cities of the underdark including during the fall of house Do’Urden, Drizzt’s own house when it was destroyed by house Baenre. They had played both sides, switching allegiances as and when it suited their own desires (and the gold that could line their pockets).
Adventures
Jarlaxle’s curiosity and zest for life led him on many adventures. While roguish at heart, later in life, Jarlaxle would often play the part of a hero, enjoying the praise and recognition lavished upon him when accomplishing heroic deeds. Some of the more significant ventures he embarked on include:
- Fighting the dracolich Urshula and invading a replica fortress of Castle Perilous
- Turning Luskan into a free port, destroying the host tower of the arcane and killing Deudermont (a pirate hunter)
- Expedition into Gauntlgrym, which led to the accidental release of a fire primordial which destroyed the city of Neverwinter. Jarlaxle returned to Gauntlgrym to right this wrong with Drizzt Do’Urden, Bruenor Battlehammer and Athrogate. They succeeded, but Bruenor was killed during this encounter and Drizzt presumed Jarlaxle and Athrogate were also consumed by the primordial’s fires (though they did in fact escape)
- Rescuing Drizzt, Dahlia and Artemis from the Netherese
Abilities
Jarlaxle is hugely proficient with a pair of long swords. When fighting lesser opponents, he will often use a more showmanship style of combat in the form swashbuckling. He possesses a set of magical daggers that can be launched in a fan of 3 where only 1 of the daggers is real, the other 2 illusory daggers being there to distract his foes. While Jarlaxle is a formidable swordsman, he prefers to use his array of magical trinkets as a first resort, preferring trickery to endangering his own life.
Jarlaxle is fluent in many tongues including common, drow, abyssal, goblin, svirfneblin and halfling tongues. He is also able to speak any tongue fluently with the aid of his many magical items.
Appearances
As a renowned character throughout Faerun, Jarlaxle has appeared in many D&D related books and games including the following:
- Novels – While Jarlaxle features in many of the books in the Drizzt series, there are 3 books focused on his own adventures, those being; Serveant of the Shard, Promise of the Witch King and Road of the Patriarch
- Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn – Jarlaxle appears briefly as part of a mission in the underdark
- Waterdeep: Dragon Heist – Jarlaxle is one of the 4 main villains in this WOTC published D&D adventure
- Miniatures – Alongside the release Dragon Heist was a series of miniatures that included Jarlaxle
- Dungeon! The Board Game – Jarlaxle appears as one of the playable characters in this 2014 board game