The Non-Player Characters at the Sign of the Squandering Snail, Part Two
Flourette, a barmaid at the gambling den at the Squandered Snail
23 year old Female Human Commoner 2: CR 1; Size M; HD 2d4-2; hp 4; Init +5; Spd 30 ft.; AC 11; BAB +1; Atk +0 melee (1d4-1, dagger), or +2 ranged (1d4-1, dagger); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; AL CN; SV Fort -1, Ref +1, Will +1; Str 9, Dex 12, Con 8, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 16.
Skills: Balance +5, Climb +1, Escape Artist +3, Hide +2, Listen +3, Move Silently +3, Profession (barmaid) +3, Spot +3.
Feats: Agile, Improved Initiative, Simple Weapon Proficiency (dagger).
Possessions: apron, dagger, simple clothing
Background: Flourette is a child of the streets. Her father was an itinerant labourer who barely kept his family fed. Her mother was a seamstress who turned to intermittent prostitution when Flourette’s father disappeared. She has never learned if he simply left his family or if he met some deadly fate.
While Flourette had promised herself as a young woman that she would never sell her body, the Temples often forces people to ignore their own codes. She had strayed from her self-imposed path more than once, each time disappearing deeper into the underbelly of the Temples. She took on the name Flourette when she reached Causen’s Corner and the Snail. Flourette was her mother’s name. Her own real name is Adalei.
Goal: Flourette plans to make enough money to leave Bowden. She wants to travel to some small town, find work there and maybe marry a farmer.
Motivation: She is sick of the city, sick of the Temples and sick of the woman she has become. Flourette wants desperately to leave her past behind her.
What She Knows: Flourette has learned much about life in the Temples. She knows all the major players in the Temples and has become an expert on Causens’ Corner. She has stopped listening to gossip, but can’t help but hear it.
What Will She Tell: She will not tell anything. She can see no good of sharing the information she has, even for coin. If she was offered wealth enough to disappear and start anew somewhere far from Bowden, she would offer everything she knows.
Tactics: Flourette will flee or talk her way out of a fight. If she thinks her life or her tattered honour is at risk, she will fight as best she can, though always defensively.
Cornille, a barmaid at the gambling den at the Squandered Snail (background based on the Lorestaves adventure)
20 year old Female Half-elf Bard 2: CR 2; Size M; HD 2d6; hp 9; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 11; BAB +1; Atk +2 melee (club, 1d6+1), +2 melee (dagger, 1d4+1), or +2 ranged (dagger, 1d4+1); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; AL CG; SV Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +5; Str 12, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 12.
Skills: Diplomacy +3, Gather Information +3, Hide +1, Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (Geography) +6, Knowledge (History) +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +4, Listen +2, Move Silently +1, Perform (Comedy) +6, Perform (Keyboard Instruments) +5, Perform (Oratory) +5, Perform (Sing) +6, Search +2, Speak Language (Auran, Common, Elven), Spot +2.
Bard Spells Known (Level 0, 3; Level 1, 1) Level 0: Lullaby, Mage Hand, Open/Close, Prestidigitation, Summon Instrument; Level 1: Expeditious Retreat, Identify.
Feats: Scribe Scroll
Features (Bard): bardic music, bardic knowledge, countersong, fascinate, inspire courage +1
Possessions: Apron (with club hidden under apron), common clothing, 4 daggers (left sleeve, lower back, each boot).
Background: The barmaid Cornille is actually the young bard Carylle of Temelburh. The only daughter of a famed poet, Carylle took it upon herself to follow in her father’s footsteps. Karlis of Temelburh had studied at the university in Bowden, and so Carylle traveled there to study also. She did so against the wishes of both her parents, who had planned a profitable marriage for their daughter. Never one to allow another’s vision to supplant her own, Carylle ignored the wishes of her family.
She proved a capable student, however the rigorous scholarship left her bored. She found the academic atmosphere stultifying. Independent as always, she decided to visit the places of legend about which she studied rather than simply hear some old man talk about them. Carylle found much to whet her appetite for knowledge in her travels, and her love of ancient history led to her discovery of a forgotten treatise on the Elder Gods, those that existed before the One God—the Elder Gods that were not supposed to exist at all.
Her curiosity led her to dig deeper, and that has brought her to the Temples, an area left untouched by the religion of the One God.
Goal: She hopes to find clues to the fate of the Elder Gods. She always wishes to learn about history and about the world around her.
Motivation: She does not seek power, nor does she wish to defy the One God. Carylle simply wants to learn all that she can. Secrets are valuable because they are knowledge, not because they are secret.
What He Knows: Regarding the Temples, Carylle knows little. She has not been here long. She knew the Temples through the rumours and legends bandied about Bowden. She has learned little of that is true, but she has gathered little information to replace them.
What Will He Tell: She will happily discuss history and her journeys if someone realizes she is more than a simple barmaid. As a barmaid, she will tell nothing, hiding her ignorance behind a feigned fear of revealing a secret.
Tactics: Carylle do as much as possible to avoid conflict. She doesn’t want to get herself in a position in which she needs to use her magic to save her life. If forced into a fight, she’ll fight defensively, always looking for a way out, and using her guise as Cornille to get the guards at the Snail to intervene on her behalf. If she has to, she will use her magic.
Chardine, a barmaid at the tavern at the Squandered Snail
41 year old Female Human Commoner 3: CR 2; Size M; HD 3d4+9; hp 18; Init +3; Spd 30 ft.; AC 13; BAB +1; Attack +1 melee (1d6, club), or +4 ranged (1d6, club); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; AL CN; SV Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +1; Str 10, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 8.
Skills: Listen +3, Profession (barmaid) +7, Spot +5.
Feats: Run, Simple Weapon Proficiency (club), Skill Focus (Profession [barmaid]).
Possessions: Apron, artisan’s outfit, club.
Background: As a young girl, Chardine lived in one of the small farming villages surrounding Bowden. She had seen the city, going there for fairs, festivals, and the occasional market day. When she became old enough to marry, she feared that she would live the rest of her life in the same, small village with its small people. On a whim, she followed a group of players to Bowden. The players took her in and she became their maid. She cooked and cleaned for them. Sometimes she would bed one of them. When they moved on, she stayed in Bowden, finding she could make a few coins working in the taverns and inns. Sometimes those coins would be made in her bedchamber. Smart enough to realize she had no future, she returned to her village, only to find she was unwanted. Her family did not want a daughter debauched by the city, nor did any suitor.
With nothing left in her home, she returned to Bowden and the only life she knew. As time passed, leaving its mark, her prospects lessened. She has finally found herself in the Temples and fears how further she may plunge.
Goal: Chardine believes she no longer has a chance to have a child, but she still wants a family. She is, in fact, desperate for that. She sees Dunchad as her last hope for a husband, as she is told almost every day that she is old and unattractive.
Motivation: As time takes more from her, Chardine is looking back on her life and wondering why it was so hollow. She accomplished nothing. She has nothing. She fears in the future she will have less. She sees no escape for her save though marriage. With a partner in life, she feels she could better withstand fate’s cruel humour. Even were her partner taken from her, a widow is usually offered some respect, and the Church will offer some charity.
What She Knows: As with most of the staff at the Snail, Chardine hears many rumours of many nefarious plans and actions. She has seen the dark underbelly of the foulest part of Bowden, and she fears it. The things she knows gives her nightmares.
What Will She Tell: Believing her future is already in peril, Chardine will tell nothing unless the reward is such that she could escape the Temples. As she knows nothing of that value, it is unlikely Chardine will tell anything.
Tactics: Chardine is not a fighter. She will attempt to flee any combat. Only in the direst of dangers will Chardine fight, and then she won’t be fighting very effectively. In any case, Chardine will throw herself on an opponent’s mercy where there is mercy to be found.
Tathan, kitchen worker at the tavern
71 year-old Female Human Commoner 3: CR 2; Size M; HD 3d4; hp 4; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 11; BAB +1; Atk +0 melee (1d4-1, knife), or +2 ranged (1d4, knife); SV Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +3; AL NE; Str 8, Dex 12, Con 8, Int 15, Wis 15, Cha 14.
Skills: Appraise +4, Craft (cooking) +11, Listen +13, Profession +8, Spot +10.
Feats: Alertness, Skill Focus (Craft [cooking]), Skill Focus (Listen), Weapon Proficiency (knife).
Possessions: Apron, artisan’s outfit, knife.
Background: Tathan is actually Murnac’s mother, though no one knows this. She grew up in the Temples and expects to die there. She is not proud of her son, having hoped he would have amounted to more than his father, who died in a knife fight with a pimp, but she can only blame herself. Tathan raised Murnac as best she could, but considering she spent much of her time drinking or flat on her back ‘at work,’ her best wasn’t much good. Murnac was essentially orphaned at a young age. Now that he has taken her in, Tathan tastes bitterness every day. She cannot say that she loves her son—she honestly doesn’t know him. She can say that his kindness, taking her in and giving her shelter, reminds her every day of her failings as a mother.
Goal: Tathan has no goal save to help and protect her son. Her life means absolutely nothing, and she would honestly thank someone for running her through with three feet of steel. She works as some small thank you to her son. She does not know the man, but she feels the responsibility toward him as an adult that she never evidenced as a mother.
Motivation: Guilt motivates Tathan, and bitterness that she proved no better than her drunken husband, Murnac’s father. She does not know how to expunge the sense of failure that pervades her life. She hopes she can do so by proving useful in her twilight years.
What She Knows: Tathan knows everything that goes on in the Snail. The only secret is Cornille’s true identity. Other than that, she knows who wants to bed whom, and who would eagerly join a revolt against her son. She passes on her knowledge to him as best she can. They share dinner once a week, but they only talk business.
What Will She Tell: There is no way to make Tathan tell anything, unless one can provide an honest threat to her son. If one had Murnac tied up with a knife to his throat, Tathan would tell all she could. That is the only chink in her armour. Otherwise, do your worst.
Tactics: Tathan isn’t going to fight. At most, she’s going to try to flee, yelling in the hopes of alerting others or her son. She honestly isn’t afraid of death.
Toughs, the guards and other toughs hired by Murnac
Male Human Warrior 2: CR 1; Size M; HD 2d8; hp 12; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; AC 14; BAB +2; Attack +3 melee (1d6+1, club), or +3 melee (1d6+1, short sword) or +4 ranged (1d4, dagger); SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will -2; AL LE; Str 13, Dex 15, Con 11, Int 9, Wis 7, Cha 10.
Skills: Climb +1, Hide +4, Listen +1, Move Silently +3, Spot +1.
Feats: Blind-Fight, Power Attack.
Possessions: club, dagger, leather armour, short sword
Staff, miscellaneous staff
Human Expert 1: CR 1; Size M; HD 1d6+1; hp 10; Init +3; Spd 30 ft.; AC 13; BAB +0; Attack -1 melee (1d6-1, club) or +3 ranged (1d4-1, dagger); SV Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +3; AL CN; Str 9, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 13.
Skills: Diplomacy +3, Forgery +5, Hide +5, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge (history) +2, Listen +1, Move Silently +3, Profession (gambler) +3, Sleight of Hand +7, Search +5, Spot +5, Tumble +5
Feats: Skill Focus (Knowledge [local]), Toughness.
Possessions: club, dagger
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d20 System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, and Bruce R. Cordell, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
The Lorestaves: The NPCs at the Squandering Snail, Part 2 Copyright 2009 Fraser Ronald
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