We all need villains or at least someone to go up
against the players. This is a low level
group of well organized highwaymen. They
are not outright evil and they do have some morals about who they steal from
and those they hurt. I often like
providing rivals shades of gray to make them more rounded and interesting. Having a notorious group of robbers who will
not harm women and children provides a quality maybe not expected. The stats provided and equipment are straight
out of the Swords & Wizardry rulebook.
Borsko
Brothers
These five brothers are the sons of Kord the Brigand,
one of the most infamous outlaws in the kingdom recently captured and executed
without trial. The local nobility did
not want to give sympathizers a chance to free the charismatic criminal. The five brothers Malcolm, Shifter, Willem,
Ash and Nickolas have taken up their father's mantle. The brothers are solemn, strong and
intelligent. They are serious about
their business and plan their heists in great detail. They have escape plans prepared if something
goes wrong and plans should one or more get captured. Because of their cautiousness and extensive
planning, their plans usually succeed.
The brothers have killed, but will avoid it if possible. They will not attack women or children unless
attacked themselves. They conduct
themselves professionally trying to put their victims at easy. Or in the case of an armored patrol, they will
attack quick and hard to demoralize the guards.
Malcolm
2nd level Fighter
S: 13, I: 14, W: 9, D: 9, C: 10, Ch: 10
HP: 10, AC: 4 (15), Dam: 1d6+2, SV: 13
Equipment: +1 chainmail, +1 spear
Malcolm, the oldest, has developed a small, but
effective group of informants. He gets
the latest information on caravans departing or arriving. He also has a handful of city guards on his
payroll. Malcolm pays them well to keep
them faithful. He lives by his father's
credo no being greedy that is better to sip from the people pockets so they
never go empty instead of taking it all at once and pay your men first. When jobs are discussed among the brothers
and if there is an argument Malcolm is deciding vote.
Shifter
4th level Thief
S: 13, I: 12, W: 10, D: 14, C: 8, Ch: 6
HP: 10, AC: 3 (16), Dam: 1d4+3, SV: 12
Equipment: +2 leather armor, +1 ring of
protection, +2 dagger, Boots of Elvenkind
Shifter is the most experienced of the group
having been in the thieves' guild for a few years before going independent with
his brothers. Although the guild was not
pleased he had kept them content by feeding some of the information on possible
jobs the brothers do not have the resources to do. Shifter has a few enemies within the guild,
namely a man called Red Wind, his former partner who resents Shifter's
leaving. Shifter is excellent at entering
and leaving a place without being noticed.
Shifter is not well liked because of his abrasive personality, picking
out every small negative detail or creating one when none are available. Even his brothers threaten his with violence
after so long.
Willem
3rd level Fighter
S: 13, I: 12, W: 9, D: 8, C: 13, Ch: 8
HP: 21, AC: 4 (15) or 2 (17) w/shield, Dam: 1d8+2
w/sword or 1d6 w/bow, SV: 12
Equipment: +2 Chainmail, +1 Shield, +1 Longsword,
Bow, 20 Arrows
The quietest brother. Like the others, he is intelligent, but will
only speak if there is a flaw in a plan.
Willem is the brother they send if killing needs done. He approaches every job with a cold
detachment that sometimes bothers the other brothers. He doesn't care for the money or luxuries
they earn, only to keep his sword sharp and his armor in top condition.
Ash
2nd level Thief
S: 13, I: 11, W: 10, D: 15, C: 12, Ch: 13
HP: 6, AC: 5 (14), Dam: 1d6, SV: 14
Equipment: +1 Leather Armor, Short Sword
Ash is the brother with the most personality and
is often the one who scouts a place. He
is very likable, often buys people drinks.
His weakness is the women. He can
distracted by a wink or a sway of a woman's hips. Malcolm has taken him to task about this a
few times and even have set him up to show him the dangers of his
obsession. Ash is serious because his
brothers are always serious, but likes to have a good laugh when they are not
around.
Nickolas
3rd level Fighter
S: 16, I: 7, W: 9, D: 11, C: 14, Ch: 11
HP: 21, AC: 0 (19) w/axe or 3 (16), Dam: 1d8+4,
SV: 12
Equipment: +2 Chainmail, +3 Battle Axe*
*This is the
Battle Axe of the Betrayer, the +3 bonus is for to hit, damage and to armor
class. It is a cursed item and it slowly
works on the wielder's mind making him paranoid especially those closest to
him. So far Nickolas has been able to
resist the axe's powers, but he is beginning to believe Malcolm is plotting to
kill him.
Nickolas is the brute of the brothers. The youngest and largest. He does not look like the others and becomes
angry when someone mentions this. He was
trained to use the axe by his father's best friend and fought one season with
the mercenary company, The Blood Wolves.
He still has many friends in the Blood Wolves and will hire them when a
job needs extra muscle. He is unaware of
what the axe is doing to him.
This is a great collection of villains. I love the cursed axe that makes the wielder paranoid. Perfect for adding tension and drama!
ReplyDeletePretty good set up
ReplyDeleteThanks Christian and LI. I like to set up group with subtle dramatics. This group here I wanted to make a smart, low end group who are methodical with their approach and yet still have a set of moral guidelines. And of course I always love throwing in a wildcard, like the axe to add to the group dynamics.
ReplyDeletePity poor old Mother Borsko when she receives the terrible news that all of her sons have been put to the sword by a rabble of adventurers! A bitter day in Borskoton...
ReplyDeleteI liked this post, it was a good read! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete