Ten Guardsmen To Amuse Or Harass
Here are some NPC guardsmen to give a little flavor to a town or city district. None are meant to be a story in themselves, just color to add to a story. Pick the one that fits best or roll a d10 when you need a bit of flavor.
1. Bjorn Biskoff: Bjorn is the town bully. In a lonely town like this he is the big man, at least as far as strength goes. Unfortunately the strongest PC is stronger, Bjorn will try to prove he is stronger, but in an honest match of strength he will lose. He hates losing and will constantly bad mouth the PCs and the stronger PC in particular at every opportunity. Every time the PCs destroy something in town or miss a stealth roll he will be there and will be a constant thorn in the PCs side. He isn’t looking for a fight, but he is very bitter and can’t be bought off.
2. Little Stevos: Little Stevos is a small man and always looks nervous, he has reason to be nervous, he killed his elderly mother and is now being haunted by her ghost. A PC who can sense supernatural activity will notice Stevos has a dark aura about him. If the PCs ask about his nervousness he will break into a cold sweat and deny anything is wrong. If they follow him they will see many signs of haunting, things fall over near him, shadows seem to settle around him in the dark, etc. He is terrified, but can’t really ask for help as anyone trying to settle the spirit will have to find out why it is not resting.
3. Angry Milton: Angry Milton will never forget that (one of the PC races or nationalities) killed his brother in the last war. Angry Milton wasn’t there, but he is sure that ‘that kind’ is evil and filled with treachery. He will try to stop the PC from entering the town, but will be overridden if the PC pushes back at all. Once the PC is in they will find that they are not welcome at the Taverns or shops, the owners have been warned by Angry Milton, and when he is off duty Angry Milton and a small gaggle of his buddies will follow the PC around town and harass them. Angry Milton isn’t looking for a fight, but he will spy on, harass and generally make himself obnoxious for as long as he can to teach the ‘evil’ PC that he is on to their tricks.
4. Bryan the Book: Bryan is an unusually intelligent guardsman. He can read and write and is always dragging through any book he can lay his hands on. The PCs probably come across him supposedly on duty, but actually absorbed in a book. He reads anything and can be used to lead adventurers to local quests or to give the odd clue. The PCs can also buy him off with the occasional book or two or arrange a book as a distraction while they are sneaking past him, while he is very intelligent, he isn’t always very observant about people.
5. Sgt. Gelbert and Charnard: Sgt. Gelbert is as corrupt as a guardsman can be, he has no conscience at all and is up to his eyes with the local gangs. His whole squad is the same, except for one young guardsman, Chanard, who has gone awol after finding out what was going on. Charnard is looking for help to get evidence on Sgt. Gelbert, but Gelbert and his bully boys are looking for them intensely. Sgt. Gelbert will stop at nothing to deal with Chanard, if he thinks the PCs have met with Chanard he can make it very hard on the adventurers.
6. Anthony: Anthony works as a guardsman, but his heart is with his cats. He knows every cat in town, has many in his home and is constantly followed by a small group of cats. He doesn’t hate people, he just likes cats more. He reacts well to PCs who have cats and poorly to anyone who threatens a cat. In a fight he will seek to get his cats out of harms way before joining the fight, this may not be possible as the cats return right after being shooed away.
7. Captain Fullum: Captain Fullum is the eight son of minor nobility, but he carries himself as extremely upper crust. He has converted his guardsmen into his personal servants, driving away anyone competent and leaving no one but toadies and sycophants. He will react to the PCs by their rank and by their deference to him, if the PCs suck up to him they will be given a pretty free hand, if they show him up or abuse him they will find all hassles he and his men can rain on them.
8. Old Beedle: Old Beedle is a veteran guardsman, he has seen it all and lived to tell about it. He is the man you want next to you in the foxhole. The bad news is he will see through any bluff or cover story or at least appear to. If he is on watch sneaking about will be tough and if there is trouble he will get to the bottom of it. When I use Beedle I always add a twist, such as Beedle is a spy for the neighboring kingdom.
9. Therik: Therik is schemer, a wheeler dealer and a coward. His current mission in life is to get the Captain of the Guard removed so that he can make his illicit deals without interference. If the PCs need something he will try to get them to set the Captain up, but if they succeed he will want them gone as quickly as possible so they can’t rat him out. He will pay what he said he would, but he will then try to convince the PCs to leave town, if they don’t he will begin to plan something to discredit them as well.
10. Brazza: There is a conspiracy out there, Brazza just knows it. The missing wagon, the broken water clock, the old woman in red, and now adventurers just happen to show up? Coincidence? Of course not. Brazza isn’t sure what is up, but he will get to the bottom of it, no matter how convoluted the stories get.