Steal this fantasy villain: Stalland Oggthorpe

I’m afraid the regular readers here will have to indulge me on my next few posts. I had a great time last week writing up Lucius, and I have since been working out some other members of his crew. What follows is the first of several that all work with the disgraced Legionnaire. After the description there will be a small section on how to work them into your current game, if you have need of such a character, and I will make sure that each can stand alone if you don’t want to take the whole set.

The first thing that stands out about Stalland is his height. Not because he is a giant of a man, as so many are who come from the Northlands, but because he is actually closer to the average height of any other city dwelling male. This makes him particularly short by Northlandish standards, but everything else about him is so obvious from that cold and empty region, that none doubt he is from where he claims. The long blond hair and brown beard, often with precious metals and gems wound into them, if he is not expecting a fight, are almost enough to give him away. Add to that the fine hand axe hanging from his belt, and the picture is almost complete. His build makes him look a little shorter, being fairly heavy set, with a barrel chest and a stomach that almost matches, means those close to him can be overheard calling him such nicknames as “half-pint” and “little brother”.

Only those whom he respects get to talk about him like that, and he is quick to respond to anyone else who thinks they have a right to insult him as such. Unlike his relatives to the North, he will not quickly draw steal and seek to insert it into his foes, instead he will disarm with this quick wit. Stalland is a poet and raconteur of the highest order, and in almost every instance can leave his tormentor at a loss for words and the subject of such carefully woven scorn that they will retreat rather than allow themselves to be mocked even more.

Sadly not everyone is so delicate, and it is at this point that his usefulness to the criminal cartels comes into play. In a flash he can throw two small hand axes with unerring accuracy, and swiftly follow them with a charge, his hand axe leading the way. Although he looks a little portly, and his style of living does nothing to help matters, he is still in his prime and fights like a beserker once he closes on his enemies. swinging his axe brutally into them, he also kicks, punches, and bites until they fall before him.

Once the dust has settled, even his closest friends know to give him some room to catch his breathe, and will do nothing but make sure his tankard is full and wait for him to compose himself. Within a few moments, all will be back to normal, and apart from some blood spatters, it is as if nothing has happened. Stalland will continue regaling the crowd with stories of his home land, breaking into fine verse with his melodious voice and making all the serving girls weak at the knees with nothing but a smile.

When there’s work to be done, Stalland uses his silver tongue to great result, holding his own with professional confidence tricksters and talking his way through locked doors and into bedrooms, all so that money can be made. His reluctance to draw a weapon is both a blessing and a curse, depending on the situation. There are times when subtly is required at all costs, but once he has been pushed too far there is little to be done to stop him in his rage. At other times swift and merciless brutality is all that is required, but without the rage taking him, Stalland’s poetic soul can often stay his arm. All that being said, he is still a very useful person to have involved in any criminal enterprise, and his friends within the cartel, and specifically inside his crew, are always happy to defend him, regardless of his faults.

Bringing Stalland into a game.

• If you are already using Lucius, then the job’s been done for me!
• If not, then Stalland is happy to be paid for his work as a bruiser on any job. As a GM, just don’t forget that he is not always to be relied upon.
• In any bar fight, there’s a chance that Stalland could be involved, maybe even the instigator. Fighting against him will be a very hard challenge, as he is an experienced warrior with a beserker’s temper. Once calmed down, he will seem like a different person, but the damage he has done to other patrons, is not something easily ignored.