Secretary | A Roguish Archetype, and on lyrics as feature names

"Why do you write like you're running out of time? Write day and night like you're running out of time?"

I've made homebrew referencing The Legend of Zelda, homebrew referencing Demon Slayer, homebrew referencing A Little Princess, and yes, now homebrew referencing Hamilton: An American Musical. What can I say? The songs and music were all stuck in my head! And so, Alexander Hamilton: A Roguish Archetype was born.

This was an interesting challenge. Like the Oath of Benevolence, I was trying to take someone who wasn't a warrior and adapt them into being a warrior. Hamilton was a soldier and a military officer, but bayonets and rifles doesn't necessarily translate well to Fifth Edition. Plus, that part of Hamilton's life isn't what the musical has made iconic. No, instead, the musical turns Hamilton's secretarial skills, legal career, and public service into gripping drama and roller coaster adventure.

Furthermore, I really wanted to use song lyrics for the feature names. Since I wasn't using imagery from the musical—while I have used comparatively unusual artworks to complement homebrew before, such as Ethel Franklin Bett's Victorian works, using a photo of Lin Manuel-Miranda seemed a brook too far—I wanted the feature names to make the reference apparent. In the end, all but two features come from lyrics word for word, and Heart on Your Sleeve is a reference to a line when Hamilton says he's always worn his opinion "on his sleeve." However, using lyrics for feature names places a creative constraint on the project, as I want to write features that fit the names.

In the end, I think it turned out very well. The Secretary offers interesting Sneak Attack mechanics, a straightforward defensive boon, creative ribbons, and a powerful and unique capstone. It also bears clear references to the musical Hamilton and to its portrayal of Alexander Hamilton, a nonstop writer-debater-statesman who lived and died by his convictions. Using lyrics as feature names was a constraint, but it encouraged creativity, and I think that helps the features point the way to Hamilton.

This is not the first roguish archetype I've created. It isn't even the first roguish archetype I've created as a direct reference to another media work! Hopefully I will have the opportunity to share my other roguish archetypes here on the blog as well in the future.