1. Esquival the Freshmaker - Obese baker with dreams of being a knight. Surprisingly tough, but gets winded easy, -4 Svs vs Exhaustion from travel. Treat as always carrying a Medium Load. Excellent income means he comes with a coat of scales (let out to acccomodate his bulk, only +3 armor bonus), longsword, sturdy wood shield and enough supplies for a week in the wilds. Pay as soldier.
2. Zelga the Begger - Former Guild-Thief. Maimed (foot sawed off) as punishment for prior thefts. Reduced to begging in the town square. Speed reduced to 20ft and -2 AC but Skill Focus in Perception/Disable Device. Starts out with no gear but cloak, crutch and beggar's bowl. She will accept the lowest level of pay despite her skills.
3. Pol - A draper's son, claims to be 17 but clearly younger. Ran away or disowned. Literate and excellent with figures. Useless at physical labor. Offers himself as a clerk (skilled pay) but will take job as linkboy. Has a dagger, pot of tar and a few torches.
4. The Dragon - Fire-swallower. This former circus performer is well-muscled but recalcitrant. Has an oroborous tattoo over chest and stomach. Lost his taste buds long ago. Does not start with gear, shirt or shoes. Can be hired as unskilled labor (in which case he won't fight) or as soldier (skilled brawler but will eventually demand equipment).
5. Jon the Bargeman - Tall and hiresut with knotty, powerful muscles. His broken bargepole makes for a quarterstaff. No one his age should be as strong as he is. Sharp-eyed, rarely speaks. Hire as labor or combatant--will do either without complaint. Mourning his wife. 15% chance every day he departs without a word.
6. Brian the Chicken-Infested Peasant - A former crofter, Brian suffers from a curse that causes chickens to spontaneously appear inside his clothing. This is definitely uncomfortable for him (the chickens claw, bite and often immediately shit) but a boon to any party that will adopt him. Brian produces 1d4 chickens every day unless he is naked or constantly observed (the chickens only appear when no one's looking). The fowl are violent-tempered and immediately try to escape. Brian dearly wants the money to pay for a Remove Curse and might do anything to get it. He has no equipment.
7. Llewyn of Blauders - Llewyn is a skilled rogue who was born into a minor religious sect. A total pacifist, he refuses to carry weapons or participate in combat even to save himself. Nonetheless Llewyn is an excellent acrobat, trap-disabler and has a talent for making himself scarce. Pay as an expert hireling with hazard pay. He has leather armor, thieves' tools, a bag of marbles and a collapsible 10-foot pole.
8. Arecilia Dantwidge - This pale, death-obsessed young woman is a noble scion and terrible poet looking for "experience." She wants to witness combat, poke dead bodies, and examine monsters up close. She will make a game effort at being a hireling but has no idea how to do basic things like start a fire, dig a pit, etc., tires easily. Can be a clerk, linkgirl or unskilled labor. Has a wardrobe worth 35 gp, purse of 100 gp and set of masterwork daggers. A gang of bounty hunters hired by her parents will arrive to collect her in 2d4 weeks.
9. Vaughn Meachum - An ex-miner and mason with many useful skills. Stonecunning as a dwarf, able to recognize metal veins, coal seams etc. Starts with a shovel, which he wields with deadly skill, and a manual of architecture and engineering. He is in fact a budding revolutionary and will attempt to secretly organize the party's hirelings against them.
10. Chauncey St. Claire and His Amazing Pigs - This swineherd (Com3, Skill Focus Handle Animal) has a staff, wallet and three puckish pigs he has drilled to near-perfection. The pigs are watchier than watchdogs, excellent at foraging and can fight viciously as a coordinated team. Give them 8 tricks, teamwork feats, alertness and trapsense +3. Chauncey will expect to be treated as a full party member and also a stream of constant flattery to his handsome and clever animals. He will not brook sending his pigs alone into danger. The animals actually know no loyalty and will will eat anyone left alone and vulnerable, including Chauncey.
11. Ebard the Touched - Once a teller of false fortunes and seller of fake relics, Ebard has since become known as a wild-eyed mountebank. A wallet of food, some torches and a ratty old robe are all he brings. He claims that dreams and visions have summoned him to the deep chambers of the earth, there to sublime his mortal existence before an immensity he calls The Caller in Dreams. He will perform any task so long as a party takes him into the deeps beneath the earth. Once below he manifests supernatural abilities--either give him the Oracle class or Sanctuary and Know Direction as (Sp)s. Ebard will continue to serve the party faithfully until an encounter with a Gelatinous Cube, Ochre Jelly or other ooze---whereon he will charge forth to be devoured by the thing, crying "as I dreamed! I go to join the world-mind! This mortality is over!"
12. Jack Ville - The son of poor but proud farriers, this well-muscled youth desires experience and to collect some interesting stories before settling down. No equipment and knows none but his father's trade, but will shoulder his burden however tasked. The joke with this guy is he is exactly what he appears to be. See how long it takes for your players destroy his innocence, for science.
Showing posts with label NPCs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NPCs. Show all posts
Friday, April 20, 2018
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Three NPC Adventuring Parties
Shameful Editorial Admission: I have no idea if I would ever fully use the Van Hoeks as written below in my own campaign. I think my campaign is (or was, before we paused it for Maze of the Blue Medusa) approaching a point where I really might. However "haha you ran over a land mine now you are dead" is always a tricky thing to drop onto a player. On the other hand, my players were truly embracing the Combat as War philosophy; I think it not impossible that if I ever do drop the Van Hoeks on their heads it won't take them long to realize exactly what's happening...
1. The Lucky Bobs
Sir Robert Strong (LN Human Fighter [Free-Hand Fighter] 4)
Big, bluff, blonde-bearded; lowlander scots accent. Wears a dashing long green-plaid surcoat and yellow-blue tabard with gold boar ensign, carries a poleaxe and heirloom knight's sword with greater magic weapon +3 etched onto the steel (doesn't have the UMD to use it). Haunted by an ancestral ghost, which he wrongly believes is a guardian spirit. The sly poltergeist wants him to die so it can wreak havoc freely.
Build Notes: Balances roles between tying up opponents while fighting one-handed or charging/tripping with poleaxe. Potions of Cat's Grace, Agile Breastplate important to build.
Maester Taft (TN Human Alchemist 4)
Long-faced alchemist who makes a show of never laughing at Sir Bob's jokes. Wants to open an apothecary and retire quietly somewhere. Will stay faithful til the end.
Build Notes: Infusion discovery allows him to share his extracts with party members (as potions). Doesn't like to use his bombs. After buffing allies he drinks a Dex mutagen and plonks away from a safe distance with crossbow.
Tul-Uq (TN Orc Fighter [Border Defender] 3)
This orc of the "tamed" Northern Nation wears a heavy gold icon of Beatrix around his neck. Always an opportunity for an impromptu prayer; very eager to show his piety. Actually a nervous coward. Hates fairies and sees their workings everywhere.
Build Notes: Heavy shield and bastard sword. As a Border Defender he's the party anchor, meant to lock down mobile/aggressive opponents. Too bad he'll always be the first to run.
Bryce Peppers, Bachelor Arcanis (CN Human Wizard 3)
Cocky duelist wizard, always combing his coiffed hair, collar perpetually popped. Wears three big medallions won in school dueling competitions. Autonarrates in combat. Carries a double wheellock pistol and knows how to use it. Hates dirt.
Build Notes: Key spells Mage Armor, True Strike, Ear-Piercing Scream and Spray of Ice (as Burning Hands but cold damage). Will have scrolls of Mage Armor and True Strike ready for his allies.
Accompanied By: 1d4+1 hirelings (porters, groom; Bryce has got light covered) and pack-goat. 1d3 mercenaries (guarding supplies/loot only). Well-treated and reasonably loyal though there is some racism towards the orc.
What's the Deal?
The Lucky Bobs are out for gold and glory but they're pretty much as nice and reasonable a band of tomb-raiders as you'll ever meet. They might be willing to divide areas of the dungeon, trade info or even combine wilderness camps for protection. If the PCs act sketchy, Tul-Uq may force a confrontation out of sheer nerves. The poltergeist will repeatedly try to spook the PCs into attacking and sabotage Sir Bob only at the most critical moment.
*
2. The Murakami Brothers
Hideo Murakami (LN Human Samurai [Sword Saint] 5)
Handsome, expressionless and impatient. The elder Murakami is ruthless and bad-tempered but doesn't kill casually. Loves the oracle, Chizu.
Build notes: Offense. Built to charge and power attack, spring back and do it again.
Maseo Murakami (LN Human Samurai [Yojimbo] 4)
The more heavily- armored younger sibling, still wears his green goblin faceplate into battle. Loves the oracle, Chizu.
Build notes: Defense. Class ability lets him help his brother evade blows. Stays positioned to keep enemies off Hideo's flanks.
Chizu (TN Human Oracle 3)
Ex-prostitute, taken along with the Murakami brothers. They have her gratitude but not her love. She's blind but can augur success via a bundle of sticks, and talks with birds. The brothers never do anything without consulting her, but usually they already know the answer they want to hear.
Accompanied by: Both Samurai have one personal servant apiece to act as porter, messenger and dogsbody. 1d4+2 well-trained local mercenaries (lvl 3 warriors, 2:1 spearmen:archers; one out of six will be a lvl 3 fighter). The mercenaries have been ordered to protect Chizu at all costs, but their loyalty to a triad of foreigners is low.
What's the Deal? In the land of their birth, the brothers were simple warrior-retainers locked into an ironclad feudal code. In the "new" land, they are free to be explorers, entrepreneurs and plunder as they will. They always fight as a pair, watching each other's flanks and charging opponents as one. They both love the beautiful, blind augur named Chizu and know one day it will be the death of one of them. If encountered they'll be unfriendly and try to warn the PCs off their claim, but won't attack first--at least not with Chizu in harm's way.
*
3. The Van Hoek Brothers
It's pronounced "heck."
"Captain" Janek Van Hoek (Human Gunslinger 7)
The elder and the brains. Ranks in Use Magic Device, crafting traps and mundane bombs (although he's no alchemist). Wields a snaphance rifle and two double-barreled wheellock pistols, all masterwork, all with True Strike inscribed on their plating. Carries four additional pistols besides. At point blank range, he always makes called shots for the head.
"Sir" Bodvyjn Van Hoek (Human Fighter [Armor Master] 5)
He's a big guy and he doesn't talk much. Carries a hollow-hilted greatsword with Oil of Greater Magic Weapon +2 on a trigger release, main potions are Bear's Endurance and False Life, wears full plate. He is largely there to be big and obvious and quasi-invulnerable while his brother shoots preferably from somewhere hidden.
+ One Trap Guy, one Talky Guy, at least one (preferably two) Wilderness Guys. These will be 1st to 3rd level but may be equipped as one level higher.
Accompanied By: As many men as they can hire. Draining the local hireling pool is one of their established tactics. They'll arrive with at least 18 armed mercenaries: twelve with spears and six with crossbow-blunderbuss combiweapons (made by Janek himself), one out of six being a third-level serjeant who will have a healing potion and two acid-bombs. These eighteen men think since Janek personally equipped and trained them he wouldn't just throw away their lives. They're wrong.
What's the Deal?
The Van Hoeks aren't just murderhobos. They're the murderhobos. They're the guys who keep an ear to the grapevine to hear tell of someone somewhere making a big score, then swoop in and blast anyone between them and fast lucre.
They're not civilized enough to be called a mafia, but you couldn't say they were just brutes either. Just enough low cunning and secondhand polish to pose as civilized gentlemen in short bursts. They're relentless, highly and particularly skilled. At once calculating, sometimes insanely bold, spiteful, will casually endure brutal privation, and move and fortify with the manic speed of army ants playing minecraft.
In short, they're PCs.
You're not really playing NPC Adventurers. You're playing a pair of rival PCs who treat your setting just like the coldest power gamer ever did. I don't know why I made them Dutch but I apologize to the good people of the Netherlands.
Use your cunning, and every book about bush warfare, trench warfare, frontier living, caving, and real life criminal organizations you ever read. These guys are the Final Boss of mundane human enemies who use quasi-realistic weaponry and tactics and aren't wizards or dragons or whatever-the-shit. If your players manage to beat these guys you should never feel the need to have them fight a squad of goons with billhooks and blunderbusses in a muddy trench ever again.
The Van Hoeks aren't meant to be a purely "random" encounter exactly. They shouldn't enter the campaign until the PCs have cleared or at least hauled a good amount of wealth out of at least one dungeon, dealt with at least 2-3 rival adventuring parties and have a good idea of what sort of tactics are effective in your campaign. When the Van Hoeks arrive they'll know the PCs by reputation and already be maneuvering to have the advantage when they're confronted.
Think of it as an all-points attack on your PCs. You have, loosely, three fronts: The Town (social), the Wilderness (strategic), the Dungeon (tactical). The Van Hoeks will take time (no more than a few days) to lie low and study their adversaries, listen to scuttlebutt, catch sight of them via telescope, whatever. Figure out what the weakest link in your PCs' operation is and hit it. Allies, contacts or patrons in the town might be bribed, subverted or otherwise neutralized. Sabotage supplies, animals, hirelings. Anybody they can dig up who has beef with the PCs, any advantage they can deprive them of, any likely place they can begin setting up an ambush.
Be an asshole, but play within the rules. I would give the Van Hoeks a maximum amount of disposable cash equal to the gear value of a lvl 5 + a lvl 7 Heroic NPC (roughly 10,000 gp)---but I wouldn't give them more than whatever the total amount of cash value the PCs extracted from their last dungeon was. That should still be in the ballpark of a couple thousand GP minimum--plenty for bombs, bullets, bags of sand, caltrops, alchemical gadgets, precious combat potions, and the wages of a small army of goons, hirelings and agents.
*
They won't take your loved ones hostage (they assume any worthy adversary must be as ruthless as themselves), they won't introduce themselves by stepping into the light dramatically and they will never willingly speak more than a sentence without intermediaries. It's unlikely the players will ever learn their names. These are not colorful archenemies to be placed like set dressing in your PCs' path. They are PC Killers.
Three-quarters cover; elevation; difficult terrain; called shots; True Strike; Darkness; Mirror Image; acid flasks; alchemist's fire; barricades, berms, cave-ins and pit-falls; area-denial, kiting, sniping; it's a simple formula. Repeat until your players are beaten or limp away and leave the treasure behind. After all, the Van Hoeks are there for the money.
If you somehow get to Close Quarters Combat with them (within 80' and a relatively unimpeded area of movement) you've pretty much already won. Janek might--with amped Init, a True Strike called shot and quickdraw--bag one or two of the squishier PCs with headshots before the Action Economy Death Conga brings him down. Bodvyjn will fight on forlornly and silently, a failed final sentinel. Asking for quarter would never occur to either of them.
1. The Lucky Bobs
Sir Robert Strong (LN Human Fighter [Free-Hand Fighter] 4)
Big, bluff, blonde-bearded; lowlander scots accent. Wears a dashing long green-plaid surcoat and yellow-blue tabard with gold boar ensign, carries a poleaxe and heirloom knight's sword with greater magic weapon +3 etched onto the steel (doesn't have the UMD to use it). Haunted by an ancestral ghost, which he wrongly believes is a guardian spirit. The sly poltergeist wants him to die so it can wreak havoc freely.
Build Notes: Balances roles between tying up opponents while fighting one-handed or charging/tripping with poleaxe. Potions of Cat's Grace, Agile Breastplate important to build.
Maester Taft (TN Human Alchemist 4)
Long-faced alchemist who makes a show of never laughing at Sir Bob's jokes. Wants to open an apothecary and retire quietly somewhere. Will stay faithful til the end.
Build Notes: Infusion discovery allows him to share his extracts with party members (as potions). Doesn't like to use his bombs. After buffing allies he drinks a Dex mutagen and plonks away from a safe distance with crossbow.
Tul-Uq (TN Orc Fighter [Border Defender] 3)
This orc of the "tamed" Northern Nation wears a heavy gold icon of Beatrix around his neck. Always an opportunity for an impromptu prayer; very eager to show his piety. Actually a nervous coward. Hates fairies and sees their workings everywhere.
Build Notes: Heavy shield and bastard sword. As a Border Defender he's the party anchor, meant to lock down mobile/aggressive opponents. Too bad he'll always be the first to run.
Bryce Peppers, Bachelor Arcanis (CN Human Wizard 3)
Cocky duelist wizard, always combing his coiffed hair, collar perpetually popped. Wears three big medallions won in school dueling competitions. Autonarrates in combat. Carries a double wheellock pistol and knows how to use it. Hates dirt.
Build Notes: Key spells Mage Armor, True Strike, Ear-Piercing Scream and Spray of Ice (as Burning Hands but cold damage). Will have scrolls of Mage Armor and True Strike ready for his allies.
Accompanied By: 1d4+1 hirelings (porters, groom; Bryce has got light covered) and pack-goat. 1d3 mercenaries (guarding supplies/loot only). Well-treated and reasonably loyal though there is some racism towards the orc.
What's the Deal?
The Lucky Bobs are out for gold and glory but they're pretty much as nice and reasonable a band of tomb-raiders as you'll ever meet. They might be willing to divide areas of the dungeon, trade info or even combine wilderness camps for protection. If the PCs act sketchy, Tul-Uq may force a confrontation out of sheer nerves. The poltergeist will repeatedly try to spook the PCs into attacking and sabotage Sir Bob only at the most critical moment.
*
2. The Murakami Brothers
Hideo Murakami (LN Human Samurai [Sword Saint] 5)
Handsome, expressionless and impatient. The elder Murakami is ruthless and bad-tempered but doesn't kill casually. Loves the oracle, Chizu.
Build notes: Offense. Built to charge and power attack, spring back and do it again.
Maseo Murakami (LN Human Samurai [Yojimbo] 4)
The more heavily- armored younger sibling, still wears his green goblin faceplate into battle. Loves the oracle, Chizu.
Build notes: Defense. Class ability lets him help his brother evade blows. Stays positioned to keep enemies off Hideo's flanks.
Chizu (TN Human Oracle 3)
Ex-prostitute, taken along with the Murakami brothers. They have her gratitude but not her love. She's blind but can augur success via a bundle of sticks, and talks with birds. The brothers never do anything without consulting her, but usually they already know the answer they want to hear.
Accompanied by: Both Samurai have one personal servant apiece to act as porter, messenger and dogsbody. 1d4+2 well-trained local mercenaries (lvl 3 warriors, 2:1 spearmen:archers; one out of six will be a lvl 3 fighter). The mercenaries have been ordered to protect Chizu at all costs, but their loyalty to a triad of foreigners is low.
What's the Deal? In the land of their birth, the brothers were simple warrior-retainers locked into an ironclad feudal code. In the "new" land, they are free to be explorers, entrepreneurs and plunder as they will. They always fight as a pair, watching each other's flanks and charging opponents as one. They both love the beautiful, blind augur named Chizu and know one day it will be the death of one of them. If encountered they'll be unfriendly and try to warn the PCs off their claim, but won't attack first--at least not with Chizu in harm's way.
*
3. The Van Hoek Brothers
It's pronounced "heck."
"Captain" Janek Van Hoek (Human Gunslinger 7)
The elder and the brains. Ranks in Use Magic Device, crafting traps and mundane bombs (although he's no alchemist). Wields a snaphance rifle and two double-barreled wheellock pistols, all masterwork, all with True Strike inscribed on their plating. Carries four additional pistols besides. At point blank range, he always makes called shots for the head.
"Sir" Bodvyjn Van Hoek (Human Fighter [Armor Master] 5)
He's a big guy and he doesn't talk much. Carries a hollow-hilted greatsword with Oil of Greater Magic Weapon +2 on a trigger release, main potions are Bear's Endurance and False Life, wears full plate. He is largely there to be big and obvious and quasi-invulnerable while his brother shoots preferably from somewhere hidden.
+ One Trap Guy, one Talky Guy, at least one (preferably two) Wilderness Guys. These will be 1st to 3rd level but may be equipped as one level higher.
Accompanied By: As many men as they can hire. Draining the local hireling pool is one of their established tactics. They'll arrive with at least 18 armed mercenaries: twelve with spears and six with crossbow-blunderbuss combiweapons (made by Janek himself), one out of six being a third-level serjeant who will have a healing potion and two acid-bombs. These eighteen men think since Janek personally equipped and trained them he wouldn't just throw away their lives. They're wrong.
What's the Deal?
The Van Hoeks aren't just murderhobos. They're the murderhobos. They're the guys who keep an ear to the grapevine to hear tell of someone somewhere making a big score, then swoop in and blast anyone between them and fast lucre.
They're not civilized enough to be called a mafia, but you couldn't say they were just brutes either. Just enough low cunning and secondhand polish to pose as civilized gentlemen in short bursts. They're relentless, highly and particularly skilled. At once calculating, sometimes insanely bold, spiteful, will casually endure brutal privation, and move and fortify with the manic speed of army ants playing minecraft.
In short, they're PCs.
You're not really playing NPC Adventurers. You're playing a pair of rival PCs who treat your setting just like the coldest power gamer ever did. I don't know why I made them Dutch but I apologize to the good people of the Netherlands.
Use your cunning, and every book about bush warfare, trench warfare, frontier living, caving, and real life criminal organizations you ever read. These guys are the Final Boss of mundane human enemies who use quasi-realistic weaponry and tactics and aren't wizards or dragons or whatever-the-shit. If your players manage to beat these guys you should never feel the need to have them fight a squad of goons with billhooks and blunderbusses in a muddy trench ever again.
The Van Hoeks aren't meant to be a purely "random" encounter exactly. They shouldn't enter the campaign until the PCs have cleared or at least hauled a good amount of wealth out of at least one dungeon, dealt with at least 2-3 rival adventuring parties and have a good idea of what sort of tactics are effective in your campaign. When the Van Hoeks arrive they'll know the PCs by reputation and already be maneuvering to have the advantage when they're confronted.
Think of it as an all-points attack on your PCs. You have, loosely, three fronts: The Town (social), the Wilderness (strategic), the Dungeon (tactical). The Van Hoeks will take time (no more than a few days) to lie low and study their adversaries, listen to scuttlebutt, catch sight of them via telescope, whatever. Figure out what the weakest link in your PCs' operation is and hit it. Allies, contacts or patrons in the town might be bribed, subverted or otherwise neutralized. Sabotage supplies, animals, hirelings. Anybody they can dig up who has beef with the PCs, any advantage they can deprive them of, any likely place they can begin setting up an ambush.
Be an asshole, but play within the rules. I would give the Van Hoeks a maximum amount of disposable cash equal to the gear value of a lvl 5 + a lvl 7 Heroic NPC (roughly 10,000 gp)---but I wouldn't give them more than whatever the total amount of cash value the PCs extracted from their last dungeon was. That should still be in the ballpark of a couple thousand GP minimum--plenty for bombs, bullets, bags of sand, caltrops, alchemical gadgets, precious combat potions, and the wages of a small army of goons, hirelings and agents.
*
They won't take your loved ones hostage (they assume any worthy adversary must be as ruthless as themselves), they won't introduce themselves by stepping into the light dramatically and they will never willingly speak more than a sentence without intermediaries. It's unlikely the players will ever learn their names. These are not colorful archenemies to be placed like set dressing in your PCs' path. They are PC Killers.
Three-quarters cover; elevation; difficult terrain; called shots; True Strike; Darkness; Mirror Image; acid flasks; alchemist's fire; barricades, berms, cave-ins and pit-falls; area-denial, kiting, sniping; it's a simple formula. Repeat until your players are beaten or limp away and leave the treasure behind. After all, the Van Hoeks are there for the money.
If you somehow get to Close Quarters Combat with them (within 80' and a relatively unimpeded area of movement) you've pretty much already won. Janek might--with amped Init, a True Strike called shot and quickdraw--bag one or two of the squishier PCs with headshots before the Action Economy Death Conga brings him down. Bodvyjn will fight on forlornly and silently, a failed final sentinel. Asking for quarter would never occur to either of them.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
NPC Adventurer - Dr. Wong King
Will be encountered on the highways of Gardenwall or Stormcrown or in the hill-roads passing through the Eastwylde. May be stopped at Last Stand Meadery in Mossgather or the Silver Dragon Inn in Grifflet. He is accompanied by the siblings Furio, Canio, and Gryffina (whose name is sort of a slurred devolution of Agrippina).
Dr. Wong is a traveler from the far east who has come to this continent to found a school for the martial arts. He wants someplace suitably remote and has chosen the frontier of the Shield Baronies as the perfect place. The doctor has already picked up two disciples from the port city where he entered the continent---the brothers Furio and Canio, two street toughs (both level 1 brawlers) who believe the portly doctor can turn them into great warriors. Traveling along is the brothers' older sister Gryffina (expert 2). Having taken care of the boys since they were all children, she continues now out of habit and Wong is happy to use her as cook, maid, pack mule and all-purpose dogsbody.
Doctor Wong takes his title from his expertise in the medical arts: his specialties being chiefly chiropractic therapy and herbatives (although as he is largely unfamiliar with the names of western flora this is now limited to the small supply of tinctures carried in his pack). He does that thing with the hot cups and also the needles. He has a bunch of crazy anatomical diagrams showing the chakras and spinal vertebrae in [Chinese]. He is technically a priest although the details are hazy and irrelevant since he is so far from the land of his gods, as he puts it. That little topknot is an actual thing Tao Priests wear. None of this really matters---he doesn't talk much about his own country and the people he travels with aren't curious.
Currently he has visited four of the six barons. Like everyone in the last 50 years he was denied a face to face meeting with Baroness Spellwise. He concluded that Baron Silas was too suspicious and grasping to permit an independent school of martial arts in his land. Baron Ogrebane seemed a good man, but unimaginative and slow to accept foreign ideas not in line with his Order of St. Justin's teachings. Lightning Van Hussel seemed too eager to look for trouble from the Eastwylde, still a young man eager for glory at heart. Dr. Wong is winding his way towards the courts of Baron Greatsword of Stormcrown and Baron Silvertongue of Gardenwall, in no particular hurry, stopping and interviewing just about everyone he meets---what sort of man is the baron, how safe is his territory, how permissive is he to the flow of ideas and the founding of new institutions, etcedera. By the way, one a scale of one to ten how interested would YOU be in mastering the arts of combat and inner perfection?
Incidentally, Furio and Canio are wanted men. It's a fact they were already somewhat notorious in the streets of their hometown as a pair of robbers, but Dr. Wong is far too kind to mention to strangers how he recruited the brothers after they made the mistake of trying to rob him. That's all water under the bridge, as far as the Doctor is concerned---part of becoming his disciples means their moral fortitude will improve along with their physical conditioning. For their part the brothers are fine spending a few years away from their hometown so long as they can return armed with the Deadly Arts of the East.
If Dr. Wong and his triad of followers are encountered, be sure to take the measure of how the PCs come across. If like mine they are bristling with weapons and grizzly trophies and basically look terrifying, the Doctor will urge his charges to hide somewhere by the road and pretend to be alone. He is confident enough in his skills to attempt to take on even a squadron of mounted men, but if pressed hard he may flee for a nearby copse or brush. He will fight to the death to protect the siblings, however. He is somewhat venal and lazy but ultimately Lawful Good. However unless your players are really unreasonable (.....) violence shouldn't break out---Doctor Wong will simply ask them the same questions he asks of everyone he meets, about their opinion of the local Baron and his governance, and perhaps about any monsters known to haunt the area. If they are friendly and it is approaching evening he may suggest combining camps. He carries a great supply of wine and is simultaneously generous and greedy with it. This could be a great excuse to surprise your players with a carousal roll in the middle of the woods.
If left to his own devices for long enough, Wong will eventually establish a foundation for his school somewhere in the Shield Baronies. More disciples of varying skill levels, including part-timers, will begin to appear and if a whole year passes without his interference the PCs may find their locality shifting pastiches from Lord of the Rings to Shaw Bros.
Dr. Wong King - Middle-Aged Human Monk (Unchained) 7 - Med. Humanoid | HD: 7d10+24 (59 hp) | Init: +5 | Spd: 40 ft (-10 fatass) | AC: 20 (+5 Dex, +3 Wis, +1 Class, +1 Dodge) Touch 20, FF 14 | BaB: +7 | CMB: +9 (+11 trip) | CMD: 24 (26 v. Trip) | Atks: Unarmed Strike +9 melee (1d8+2 x2 bludg) or MW hvy iron triple-section staff +9 melee (1d10+3 19-20/x2 bludg.), or acid-spray nozzle +11 touch 1d6/1 splash x2 acid, DC 12 Fort or blinded 1d4 rounds) | S/R: 5/5 ft | SA: Flurry of Blows, Stunning Fist (Fort DC 16), Ki Strike (as long as 1 pt in ki pool) treat unarmed as magic/cold iron/silver, Style Strike: Headbutt | SQ: Fvrd Class Monk (+3 HP/+1 ki pool), Heart of the Mountains (+2 Climb/Acrobatics on slopes), Ki Powers: High Jump, Ki Guardian; Evasion, Purity of Body, Still Mind | Svs: Fort +7, Ref +10, Will +5| Ablts: Str 14, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 12 | Ki Pool: 9 points
Skills (7/35) - Acrobatics +15* (+17* slope), Climb +10(+12 slope), Escape Artist +13, Heal +9(+11 first aid/treat illness), Kn. Religion +6, Kn. Nature +8, Perception +10, Ride +9, Stealth +13, Handle Animal +6, Survival (cc) +4
(*+18/+20 jump, always has running start)
Feats: Imp. Unarmed Strike (class), Dodge, Combat Expertise, Mobility, Imp. Trip, Spring Attack, Deflect Arrows, Whirlwind Attack
Traits: Iron Liver (+2 v. poison/drugs, +4 v. alcohol), Accelerated Drinker (quaff potion as move actn), Honored Fist (+1 ki pt)
Drawbacks: Fatass (-10 ft spd, Fort svs e. round to keep running after 10 rnds)
Equipment:Big skin of wine, two bottles of cheap choujiu, iron and gold 3-section staff. The gold is just a thin boss over good steelwork.
The staff has the heavy iron quality giving it a -1 to hit penalty. The sections are hollow and actually contain the connecting chains and fit together via grooves within the gold lips joining each section so you can turn the thing into a really heavy jangling quarterstaff if you want. At one end is a sculpted steel head in the shape of a frog's mouth. This head is set over a collapsible wood slider so you can grip it and pull it back to connect with the iron section---this opens the frog's mouth, and if you twist the head 90 degrees as you bring it back, it releases a puff of acid through a wire screen under the mouth, into the square directly in front of you. This abrasive compound has little chance of directly bringing someone down, but it can badly sting and momentarily blind an opponent.
Potions -
Bull's Str x1
Bear's End. x2
Cat's Grace x2
OMW +1 x3
Haste x1
Pint (16 oz.) of Wong's special eye-irritant acid. Each use eats up 1 oz.
Waterproof medical bag with medical chart scrolls, books, first aid gear and a couple glass jars of herbatives (mostly simple decongestants, also one powerful laxative).
NOTES
Feats
AC v AoOs moving 24 (26 Ct's Grc)
Cmbt Exprts up to -5 atk/+5 AC (dodge)
No AoO on trip; can mv, atk, mv up to 40' ttl
if not FF can negate 1 arrow/bolt hit for no dmg
can use FAA to atk every enemy in reach
Ki Powers
High Jump: +1/2 lvl jump, always rnng strt
Ki Guardian: immed. actn, spend ki pts = ppl effectd. If u & allies are in AoE or multiple target effect, they roll w/ur sv bonus - if they fail, u fail
Flurry - +9/+9 (+9/+9/+9 if 1pt in ki pool)
Fl Atk + Flurry - +9/+4/+9 (+9/+4/+9/+9)
--One of these is the style strike (Head Butt, 1 ki pt: CMB v. Target's CMD (-8v. non humanoids) - if successful, target staggered 1 rnd.
Bear's End. -+ 14 hp, Fort +9
Cat's Grace: AC 22, Ref +12, Init +7; acrobatics +17 (+21 jump), +19/+23 slope; escape artist +17, stealth +15
Bull's STR + OMW+1 + Haste :
Staff +13 (1d10+7)/Unarmed +12 (1d8+4)
Fl Atk + Flurry + Ki Pool + Haste + Bull's STR + OMW+1 :
+13/+8/+13/+13/+13 (1d10+7 staff & headbutt 1d8+4, CMB+11 to stagger)
Gryffina - Human Exp 2 (Med. Humanoid) | HD: 2d6+4 (10 hp) | Init: +0 | Spd: 30 ft | AC: 10 or 14 (can use big sack for cover) | BaB: +1 | CMB: +3 | CMD: 13 | Atks: iron skillet +4 melee d4+2 x2 bludg.) | SQ: Fvrd Class Expert (+2 hp), +1 skill pt/lvl | Svs: Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +4 | | Str 14, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 13, Cha 8
Feats - Endurance, Weapon Fcs (skillet)
Skills (2/18) - Profession (cook) +6, Profession (tailor) +6, craft (weaving & stitchery) +6, Kn. Local +6, Kn. Nature +7, Heal +9 (+2 kit), craft (dress & butcher) +6, Sense Motive +6, Climb +7, Appraise +6, Stealth (cc) +1, handle animal (cc) +0
Traits - Extraordinary strength. For purposes of lifting and dragging quadruple her strength score.
Equipment - Use your imagination on this one. She's basically carrying a well-stocked campsite on her back.
Furio - Human Brawler 2, Med. Humanoid | HD: 2d10+5 (15 hp) | Init: +1 | Spd: 30 ft/rnd | AC: 16 (+1 Dex, +4 mailshirt, +1 buckler), Touch 11, FF 15 | BaB: +2 | CMB: +5 | CMD: 16 | Atks: Arming sword |5 melee (1d8+3 19-20/x2 slash & pierce), or hunter's bow +3 ranged 60 ft (1d8 x3 pierce), or unarmed strike +5 melee (1d6+2 x2 bludg.) or shield bash +5 melee (1d6+2 x2 bludge) | S/R: 5/5 ft | SA: N/A | SQ: Fvrd class brawler (+1 hp/+1 skill), brawler's cunniing & martial training, martial flexibility (1 feat, st. actn), heart of the streets - +1 ref/AC adj. at least 2 allies, crowds not difficult terrain
Feats: Power Attack, Imp. Shield Bash, Combat Expertise, Imp. Unarmed Strike (class)
Skills (2/7) - Kn. Local +4, Climb +4*, Acrobatics +3*, Intimidate +6, Escape Artist +1*, Bluff (cc) +2
*-3 armor & shield chk pen.
Equipment: Mailshirt, arming sword, buckler, bow & 10 arrows, light traveling accouterments in pigskin bag
Canio - Human Brawler 1, Med. Humanoid | HD: 1d10+2 (7 hp) | Init: +2 | Spd: 30 ft/rnd | AC: 16 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge, +3 jack of plates) Touch 13, FF 13 | BaB: +1 | CMB: +3 | CMD: 15 | Atks: Unarmed Strike +3 melee (1d6+2 x2 bludg), spear +3 melee (1d8+2 x2 pierce), hunter's bow +3 ranged 60 ft (1d8 x3 pierce) | S/R: 5/5 ft | SA: N/A | SQ: Fvrd Class brawler (+1 hp), heartr of the streets, martial flexibility, martial training, brawler's cunning | Svs: Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +0 | Ablts: Str 14, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 08, Wis 10, Cha 12
Feats - Imp Unarmed Strike (class), Dodge, Mobility
Skills (1/3) - Acrobatics +5*, Climb +5*, Escape Artist +5*
*-1 armor chk pen.
Equipment: jack of plates over padded jacket, bow & 10 arrows, spear, light traveling accouterments in an old flour sack
ALSO NOTE - I derive HP for NPCs by just halving their HD max before adding Con bonus/fvrd class points etc. If you want your NPCs to be a little more surviveable probably change that.
 |
| Yes I cut off the top of the page and taped it to the bottom to get his feet in. |
Dr. Wong is a traveler from the far east who has come to this continent to found a school for the martial arts. He wants someplace suitably remote and has chosen the frontier of the Shield Baronies as the perfect place. The doctor has already picked up two disciples from the port city where he entered the continent---the brothers Furio and Canio, two street toughs (both level 1 brawlers) who believe the portly doctor can turn them into great warriors. Traveling along is the brothers' older sister Gryffina (expert 2). Having taken care of the boys since they were all children, she continues now out of habit and Wong is happy to use her as cook, maid, pack mule and all-purpose dogsbody.
Doctor Wong takes his title from his expertise in the medical arts: his specialties being chiefly chiropractic therapy and herbatives (although as he is largely unfamiliar with the names of western flora this is now limited to the small supply of tinctures carried in his pack). He does that thing with the hot cups and also the needles. He has a bunch of crazy anatomical diagrams showing the chakras and spinal vertebrae in [Chinese]. He is technically a priest although the details are hazy and irrelevant since he is so far from the land of his gods, as he puts it. That little topknot is an actual thing Tao Priests wear. None of this really matters---he doesn't talk much about his own country and the people he travels with aren't curious.
 |
| Gryffina. Shit-tier peasants don't get surnames. |
Incidentally, Furio and Canio are wanted men. It's a fact they were already somewhat notorious in the streets of their hometown as a pair of robbers, but Dr. Wong is far too kind to mention to strangers how he recruited the brothers after they made the mistake of trying to rob him. That's all water under the bridge, as far as the Doctor is concerned---part of becoming his disciples means their moral fortitude will improve along with their physical conditioning. For their part the brothers are fine spending a few years away from their hometown so long as they can return armed with the Deadly Arts of the East.
 |
| Until I can draw a proper picture of the brothers, this will suffice |
If left to his own devices for long enough, Wong will eventually establish a foundation for his school somewhere in the Shield Baronies. More disciples of varying skill levels, including part-timers, will begin to appear and if a whole year passes without his interference the PCs may find their locality shifting pastiches from Lord of the Rings to Shaw Bros.
Dr. Wong King - Middle-Aged Human Monk (Unchained) 7 - Med. Humanoid | HD: 7d10+24 (59 hp) | Init: +5 | Spd: 40 ft (-10 fatass) | AC: 20 (+5 Dex, +3 Wis, +1 Class, +1 Dodge) Touch 20, FF 14 | BaB: +7 | CMB: +9 (+11 trip) | CMD: 24 (26 v. Trip) | Atks: Unarmed Strike +9 melee (1d8+2 x2 bludg) or MW hvy iron triple-section staff +9 melee (1d10+3 19-20/x2 bludg.), or acid-spray nozzle +11 touch 1d6/1 splash x2 acid, DC 12 Fort or blinded 1d4 rounds) | S/R: 5/5 ft | SA: Flurry of Blows, Stunning Fist (Fort DC 16), Ki Strike (as long as 1 pt in ki pool) treat unarmed as magic/cold iron/silver, Style Strike: Headbutt | SQ: Fvrd Class Monk (+3 HP/+1 ki pool), Heart of the Mountains (+2 Climb/Acrobatics on slopes), Ki Powers: High Jump, Ki Guardian; Evasion, Purity of Body, Still Mind | Svs: Fort +7, Ref +10, Will +5| Ablts: Str 14, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 12 | Ki Pool: 9 points
Skills (7/35) - Acrobatics +15* (+17* slope), Climb +10(+12 slope), Escape Artist +13, Heal +9(+11 first aid/treat illness), Kn. Religion +6, Kn. Nature +8, Perception +10, Ride +9, Stealth +13, Handle Animal +6, Survival (cc) +4
(*+18/+20 jump, always has running start)
Feats: Imp. Unarmed Strike (class), Dodge, Combat Expertise, Mobility, Imp. Trip, Spring Attack, Deflect Arrows, Whirlwind Attack
Traits: Iron Liver (+2 v. poison/drugs, +4 v. alcohol), Accelerated Drinker (quaff potion as move actn), Honored Fist (+1 ki pt)
Drawbacks: Fatass (-10 ft spd, Fort svs e. round to keep running after 10 rnds)
Equipment:Big skin of wine, two bottles of cheap choujiu, iron and gold 3-section staff. The gold is just a thin boss over good steelwork.
The staff has the heavy iron quality giving it a -1 to hit penalty. The sections are hollow and actually contain the connecting chains and fit together via grooves within the gold lips joining each section so you can turn the thing into a really heavy jangling quarterstaff if you want. At one end is a sculpted steel head in the shape of a frog's mouth. This head is set over a collapsible wood slider so you can grip it and pull it back to connect with the iron section---this opens the frog's mouth, and if you twist the head 90 degrees as you bring it back, it releases a puff of acid through a wire screen under the mouth, into the square directly in front of you. This abrasive compound has little chance of directly bringing someone down, but it can badly sting and momentarily blind an opponent.
Potions -
Bull's Str x1
Bear's End. x2
Cat's Grace x2
OMW +1 x3
Haste x1
Pint (16 oz.) of Wong's special eye-irritant acid. Each use eats up 1 oz.
Waterproof medical bag with medical chart scrolls, books, first aid gear and a couple glass jars of herbatives (mostly simple decongestants, also one powerful laxative).
NOTES
Feats
AC v AoOs moving 24 (26 Ct's Grc)
Cmbt Exprts up to -5 atk/+5 AC (dodge)
No AoO on trip; can mv, atk, mv up to 40' ttl
if not FF can negate 1 arrow/bolt hit for no dmg
can use FAA to atk every enemy in reach
Ki Powers
High Jump: +1/2 lvl jump, always rnng strt
Ki Guardian: immed. actn, spend ki pts = ppl effectd. If u & allies are in AoE or multiple target effect, they roll w/ur sv bonus - if they fail, u fail
Flurry - +9/+9 (+9/+9/+9 if 1pt in ki pool)
Fl Atk + Flurry - +9/+4/+9 (+9/+4/+9/+9)
--One of these is the style strike (Head Butt, 1 ki pt: CMB v. Target's CMD (-8v. non humanoids) - if successful, target staggered 1 rnd.
Bear's End. -
Cat's Grace: AC 22, Ref +12, Init +7; acrobatics +17 (+21 jump), +19/+23 slope; escape artist +17, stealth +15
Bull's STR + OMW+1 + Haste :
Staff +13 (1d10+7)/Unarmed +12 (1d8+4)
Fl Atk + Flurry + Ki Pool + Haste + Bull's STR + OMW+1 :
+13/+8/+13/+13/+13 (1d10+7 staff & headbutt 1d8+4, CMB+11 to stagger)
Gryffina - Human Exp 2 (Med. Humanoid) | HD: 2d6+4 (10 hp) | Init: +0 | Spd: 30 ft | AC: 10 or 14 (can use big sack for cover) | BaB: +1 | CMB: +3 | CMD: 13 | Atks: iron skillet +4 melee d4+2 x2 bludg.) | SQ: Fvrd Class Expert (+2 hp), +1 skill pt/lvl | Svs: Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +4 | | Str 14, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 13, Cha 8
Feats - Endurance, Weapon Fcs (skillet)
Skills (2/18) - Profession (cook) +6, Profession (tailor) +6, craft (weaving & stitchery) +6, Kn. Local +6, Kn. Nature +7, Heal +9 (+2 kit), craft (dress & butcher) +6, Sense Motive +6, Climb +7, Appraise +6, Stealth (cc) +1, handle animal (cc) +0
Traits - Extraordinary strength. For purposes of lifting and dragging quadruple her strength score.
Equipment - Use your imagination on this one. She's basically carrying a well-stocked campsite on her back.
Furio - Human Brawler 2, Med. Humanoid | HD: 2d10+5 (15 hp) | Init: +1 | Spd: 30 ft/rnd | AC: 16 (+1 Dex, +4 mailshirt, +1 buckler), Touch 11, FF 15 | BaB: +2 | CMB: +5 | CMD: 16 | Atks: Arming sword |5 melee (1d8+3 19-20/x2 slash & pierce), or hunter's bow +3 ranged 60 ft (1d8 x3 pierce), or unarmed strike +5 melee (1d6+2 x2 bludg.) or shield bash +5 melee (1d6+2 x2 bludge) | S/R: 5/5 ft | SA: N/A | SQ: Fvrd class brawler (+1 hp/+1 skill), brawler's cunniing & martial training, martial flexibility (1 feat, st. actn), heart of the streets - +1 ref/AC adj. at least 2 allies, crowds not difficult terrain
Feats: Power Attack, Imp. Shield Bash, Combat Expertise, Imp. Unarmed Strike (class)
Skills (2/7) - Kn. Local +4, Climb +4*, Acrobatics +3*, Intimidate +6, Escape Artist +1*, Bluff (cc) +2
*-3 armor & shield chk pen.
Equipment: Mailshirt, arming sword, buckler, bow & 10 arrows, light traveling accouterments in pigskin bag
Canio - Human Brawler 1, Med. Humanoid | HD: 1d10+2 (7 hp) | Init: +2 | Spd: 30 ft/rnd | AC: 16 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge, +3 jack of plates) Touch 13, FF 13 | BaB: +1 | CMB: +3 | CMD: 15 | Atks: Unarmed Strike +3 melee (1d6+2 x2 bludg), spear +3 melee (1d8+2 x2 pierce), hunter's bow +3 ranged 60 ft (1d8 x3 pierce) | S/R: 5/5 ft | SA: N/A | SQ: Fvrd Class brawler (+1 hp), heartr of the streets, martial flexibility, martial training, brawler's cunning | Svs: Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +0 | Ablts: Str 14, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 08, Wis 10, Cha 12
Feats - Imp Unarmed Strike (class), Dodge, Mobility
Skills (1/3) - Acrobatics +5*, Climb +5*, Escape Artist +5*
*-1 armor chk pen.
Equipment: jack of plates over padded jacket, bow & 10 arrows, spear, light traveling accouterments in an old flour sack
ALSO NOTE - I derive HP for NPCs by just halving their HD max before adding Con bonus/fvrd class points etc. If you want your NPCs to be a little more surviveable probably change that.
Monday, February 6, 2017
NPC Adventurer - Glorianna Maltese
Glorianna Maltese - Human Fighter 3
Will be encountered leading a party of 1d4 fellow adventurers and 2d4 hirelings, or trying to recruit such in taverns throughout Stormcrown Barony.
Claims to be a noble knight. Is neither. Everything about her---including the name Glorianna Maltese---is a fraud (she is really a peasant woman from Hochsump named Lette Schunk). It all began when she stumbled across a dead man in a bog wearing an out-of-date but very fancy suit of armor. Since then she's run various scams pretending to be a knight for nearly a decade. Has inhabited the role of Glorianna so long that she has actually learned how to fight very well, but only out of self-preservation, and if personally threatened she will flee at the first opportunity. Her current scheme is to recruit a large number of followers and "lead" from the rear while they excavate treasure from the ruins in the Wylde, then collect the lion's share of the loot under terms of a signed contract. She has a hundred stories of her own heroism (all of them in conveniently distant lands: "This is like that little job I took for the Sultan of Transpooria..." "You think this is wet, let me tell you about the time I did an errand for an Archmage on the Elemental Plane of Water...") but is brilliant at inventing excuses at the last minute--an old injury flare-up, a spat of pneumonia, she has just learned of her beloved husband's death---whenever called to actually do something.
Quirks: Is constantly just making up bullshit to convince people she's a veteran adventurer like, "did you know wyverns can only turn clockwise when they fly?" "did you know goblins spontaneously generate in dead cows?" "Did you know if you rub a ruby over a wound it stops any sickness?" "There really is a country where they walk backwards, I've seen it." a lot of this is taken from bestiaries and childrens' storybooks. She has a thing for kids and tries to amuse them when she meets one.
Alignment: Probably Chaotic Neutral tending towards evil. Not a murderer (if exposed she will try to bluff or bargain but not kill to protect her fake name). Is haunted by some of the things she's done---once took the money a village scraped together to hire an Ogre-hunter and never actually hunted the Ogre. Wonders what happened to that village sometimes. Her notions of knighthood are taken straight from goofy Romance stories and she believes a lot of silly stuff like: you can have your knighthood revoked if you don't protect the innocent, or all priests can curse a knight who doesn't do good, so in this way it is actually fairly easy to guilt her into spontaneous acts of selflessness.
Stats for Pathfinder
Human Fighter [Tower Shield Specialist] 3 - Med. Humanoid; HD 3d10+6 (21 hp); Init: +7; Spd: 20 ft (x3 run heavy armor); AC: 19 (+1 Dex, +8 half plate) Touch 11, FF 18 (24/12/22 tower shield); Atks: Pistol +7 ranged (+8 PBS) 20 ft (1d10 x3 bludg/pierce) or dual pistols +5 ranged (+6 PBS), or springblade pistol +6 ranged 15 ft (1d4 19-20/x2 pierce) or short sword +4 melee (1d6+1 19-20/x2 pierce); S/R: 5/5 ft; SA: N/A; SQ: Fvrd Class: Fighter (+3 HP), Heart of the Streets (+1 AC/Ref adj. at least two allies, crowds not difficult terrain), Burst Barrier (+1 Ref vs AoE spells behind Tower Shield) Armor/Tower Shield Training 1 - (-3 chk pn/+2 max dex tower shield, -1/+1 armor); Svs: Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +0; Ablts: Str 13 Dex 16 Con 12 Int 13 Wis 08 Cha 15
Feats - Imp. Init, Weapon Focus [Pistol], Quickdraw, Two Weapon Fighting, Point Blank Shot, Flick of the Wrist
Skills (3/9) - Bluff (cc) +4, Diplomacy +7, Sleight of Hand (cc) +0*, Ride +1*, Handle Animal +6, Perform: Tall Tales +6, Stealth +1*
*-6 armor chk pn.
Traits - Barroom Tale-Spinner (+1 Diplomacy & Perform: Tall Story, both class skills); 1x/week roll Int for chance of knowing a legend or story of relevance.
Slippery - +1 stealth and considered a class skill.
Equipment - Ornate & Antique Suit of Plates (Half-Plate Armor, +300 gp value), six pistols--four matchlock and two snaphance, short sword w/OMW release, pair of springblade pistols, ox powderhorn, six brass cartridges, bag of shot, extra coil of slowmatch, mechanical bootblade
oil of magic weapon +1 x2 (one in sword)
potion cat's grace
potion CLW x2
books:
Houses of the Red March, History & Deeds (+5 kn. history/nobility concerning noble houses of Redmarch, can make kn. rolls untrained)
Wych Lurkes Beelowe - (+3 kn. Dungeoneering to identify underground creatures, can make checks untrained. If a check is successful (i.e. the monster is in the book, roll 50% chance for misinformation.)
A Seemple Ladey's Mirror (+3 kn. nobility for ettiquette and behavior, can make kn. checks untrained)
Letters Patent of nobility, a poor fraud (as a further obfuscation, written in the language of Dasan. Anyone familiar with the language will note obvious grammatical errors)
Letter from the Printing House of Mr. Jon Peter of Windwake, rejecting for publication The Complete Truth of a Dame's Adventures & Strange Tales of Wars Abroad on the ground of it being "clear fabrication without merit in turgid and self-aggrandizing prose." The manuscript is being held for return at an address in Rubene.
Springblade Pistol: Of gnomish make, these extremely skinny pistols have 7" barrels of bore about the width of a coin, and grips so small as to disappear in the hand. They fire a three-sided, sharp-pointed metal dart which fits over the barrel by means of a mechanical steel spring and pressurized air. The pistol can shoot no further than 15 feet.
NOTE - Glorianna keeps her springblade pistols in special holders attached to opposite sides of her gauntlets with the grips at the elbows. Her springblades use all-metal furniture, meaning they are disguised to appear as part of her armor, with a DC 20 perception check to notice. If the pistols go unnoticed Glorianna can quickdraw them and enjoy the benefit of surprise (targeting an opponent's FF AC). She will usually try this move as a last resort, taking a called-shot to shoot her blades at an enemy's face or neck.
Boot Blade: Concealed blades such as this, released by a hard stomp of the heel, take the target by surprise and use their Flat Footed AC unless the target beats a DC 20 Perception check, but take a -2 penalty to hit.
OMW-Release: Weapons with this ability have a hollow in the hilt which contains a pool of oil of magic weapon. By pushing in a stud on the hilt the oil is released to flow down the blade, granting it the enchantment as a swift action. Weapons with the hollow suffer from an imbalance and cannot be made Masterwork.
A NOTE ON HOW I DO HITPOINTS: In my campaign, rather than roll HP for leveled NPCs I just give them half of whatever they get from their HD plus Con bonus &c. This has the effect of making NPCs fairly fragile while the players have a certain advantage over any equally-leveled NPC individually, which is how I like it. If you want to use Glorianna in your campaign and don't have my predilection for sudden death you may want to roll her hitpoints normally.
WHY ARE THE PISTOL DAMAGES WEIRD: I upgrade all ranged weapons a damage die in my campaign and brought down firearms' crit from x4 to x3.
Will be encountered leading a party of 1d4 fellow adventurers and 2d4 hirelings, or trying to recruit such in taverns throughout Stormcrown Barony.
Until I draw a proper portrait this will have to serve
Claims to be a noble knight. Is neither. Everything about her---including the name Glorianna Maltese---is a fraud (she is really a peasant woman from Hochsump named Lette Schunk). It all began when she stumbled across a dead man in a bog wearing an out-of-date but very fancy suit of armor. Since then she's run various scams pretending to be a knight for nearly a decade. Has inhabited the role of Glorianna so long that she has actually learned how to fight very well, but only out of self-preservation, and if personally threatened she will flee at the first opportunity. Her current scheme is to recruit a large number of followers and "lead" from the rear while they excavate treasure from the ruins in the Wylde, then collect the lion's share of the loot under terms of a signed contract. She has a hundred stories of her own heroism (all of them in conveniently distant lands: "This is like that little job I took for the Sultan of Transpooria..." "You think this is wet, let me tell you about the time I did an errand for an Archmage on the Elemental Plane of Water...") but is brilliant at inventing excuses at the last minute--an old injury flare-up, a spat of pneumonia, she has just learned of her beloved husband's death---whenever called to actually do something.
Quirks: Is constantly just making up bullshit to convince people she's a veteran adventurer like, "did you know wyverns can only turn clockwise when they fly?" "did you know goblins spontaneously generate in dead cows?" "Did you know if you rub a ruby over a wound it stops any sickness?" "There really is a country where they walk backwards, I've seen it." a lot of this is taken from bestiaries and childrens' storybooks. She has a thing for kids and tries to amuse them when she meets one.
Alignment: Probably Chaotic Neutral tending towards evil. Not a murderer (if exposed she will try to bluff or bargain but not kill to protect her fake name). Is haunted by some of the things she's done---once took the money a village scraped together to hire an Ogre-hunter and never actually hunted the Ogre. Wonders what happened to that village sometimes. Her notions of knighthood are taken straight from goofy Romance stories and she believes a lot of silly stuff like: you can have your knighthood revoked if you don't protect the innocent, or all priests can curse a knight who doesn't do good, so in this way it is actually fairly easy to guilt her into spontaneous acts of selflessness.
Stats for Pathfinder
Human Fighter [Tower Shield Specialist] 3 - Med. Humanoid; HD 3d10+6 (21 hp); Init: +7; Spd: 20 ft (x3 run heavy armor); AC: 19 (+1 Dex, +8 half plate) Touch 11, FF 18 (24/12/22 tower shield); Atks: Pistol +7 ranged (+8 PBS) 20 ft (1d10 x3 bludg/pierce) or dual pistols +5 ranged (+6 PBS), or springblade pistol +6 ranged 15 ft (1d4 19-20/x2 pierce) or short sword +4 melee (1d6+1 19-20/x2 pierce); S/R: 5/5 ft; SA: N/A; SQ: Fvrd Class: Fighter (+3 HP), Heart of the Streets (+1 AC/Ref adj. at least two allies, crowds not difficult terrain), Burst Barrier (+1 Ref vs AoE spells behind Tower Shield) Armor/Tower Shield Training 1 - (-3 chk pn/+2 max dex tower shield, -1/+1 armor); Svs: Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +0; Ablts: Str 13 Dex 16 Con 12 Int 13 Wis 08 Cha 15
Feats - Imp. Init, Weapon Focus [Pistol], Quickdraw, Two Weapon Fighting, Point Blank Shot, Flick of the Wrist
Skills (3/9) - Bluff (cc) +4, Diplomacy +7, Sleight of Hand (cc) +0*, Ride +1*, Handle Animal +6, Perform: Tall Tales +6, Stealth +1*
*-6 armor chk pn.
Traits - Barroom Tale-Spinner (+1 Diplomacy & Perform: Tall Story, both class skills); 1x/week roll Int for chance of knowing a legend or story of relevance.
Slippery - +1 stealth and considered a class skill.
Equipment - Ornate & Antique Suit of Plates (Half-Plate Armor, +300 gp value), six pistols--four matchlock and two snaphance, short sword w/OMW release, pair of springblade pistols, ox powderhorn, six brass cartridges, bag of shot, extra coil of slowmatch, mechanical bootblade
oil of magic weapon +1 x2 (one in sword)
potion cat's grace
potion CLW x2
books:
Houses of the Red March, History & Deeds (+5 kn. history/nobility concerning noble houses of Redmarch, can make kn. rolls untrained)
Wych Lurkes Beelowe - (+3 kn. Dungeoneering to identify underground creatures, can make checks untrained. If a check is successful (i.e. the monster is in the book, roll 50% chance for misinformation.)
A Seemple Ladey's Mirror (+3 kn. nobility for ettiquette and behavior, can make kn. checks untrained)
Letters Patent of nobility, a poor fraud (as a further obfuscation, written in the language of Dasan. Anyone familiar with the language will note obvious grammatical errors)
Letter from the Printing House of Mr. Jon Peter of Windwake, rejecting for publication The Complete Truth of a Dame's Adventures & Strange Tales of Wars Abroad on the ground of it being "clear fabrication without merit in turgid and self-aggrandizing prose." The manuscript is being held for return at an address in Rubene.
Springblade Pistol: Of gnomish make, these extremely skinny pistols have 7" barrels of bore about the width of a coin, and grips so small as to disappear in the hand. They fire a three-sided, sharp-pointed metal dart which fits over the barrel by means of a mechanical steel spring and pressurized air. The pistol can shoot no further than 15 feet.
NOTE - Glorianna keeps her springblade pistols in special holders attached to opposite sides of her gauntlets with the grips at the elbows. Her springblades use all-metal furniture, meaning they are disguised to appear as part of her armor, with a DC 20 perception check to notice. If the pistols go unnoticed Glorianna can quickdraw them and enjoy the benefit of surprise (targeting an opponent's FF AC). She will usually try this move as a last resort, taking a called-shot to shoot her blades at an enemy's face or neck.
Boot Blade: Concealed blades such as this, released by a hard stomp of the heel, take the target by surprise and use their Flat Footed AC unless the target beats a DC 20 Perception check, but take a -2 penalty to hit.
OMW-Release: Weapons with this ability have a hollow in the hilt which contains a pool of oil of magic weapon. By pushing in a stud on the hilt the oil is released to flow down the blade, granting it the enchantment as a swift action. Weapons with the hollow suffer from an imbalance and cannot be made Masterwork.
A NOTE ON HOW I DO HITPOINTS: In my campaign, rather than roll HP for leveled NPCs I just give them half of whatever they get from their HD plus Con bonus &c. This has the effect of making NPCs fairly fragile while the players have a certain advantage over any equally-leveled NPC individually, which is how I like it. If you want to use Glorianna in your campaign and don't have my predilection for sudden death you may want to roll her hitpoints normally.
WHY ARE THE PISTOL DAMAGES WEIRD: I upgrade all ranged weapons a damage die in my campaign and brought down firearms' crit from x4 to x3.
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