"If you'll be my bodyguard, ..."

BODYGUARD (#4/30, #95/365) [POT]

SKILL: 9

STAMINA :9

ATTACKS: 1

WEAPON: See below

ARMOUR: See below

DAMAGE MODIFIER: +1 to Damage Roll

HABITAT: Towns, Anywhere their master is

NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 1 or 2-7

TYPE: Humanoid

REACTION: Unfriendly-Hostile

INTELLIGENCE: High

A BODYGUARD is similar to a Bravo, but generally hired to protect a person of some status, such as a wealthy merchant or senior cleric, from any attack or assassination attempt. They vary widely in motivation and appearance - some are paid mercenaries hiring out to the highest coin, while others may have a ceremonial or even permanent assignation to the client they are guarding. Bodyguards can struggle with the existentialist paradox at the heart of their profession, where succeeding at your job in protecting your master from an attack may actually cost you your life, and thus an inability to spend the hard-earned gold obtained from such professional heroism. As a result, some Bodguards may be loner-types, given to gloomy introspection and nihilistic fatalism.

The Bodyguard almost always has the Strongarm Talent and the Brawling Special Skill, but otherwise can vary considerably in appearance and armament. Some, such as Half-Trolls or Dwarfs may prefer traditional weapons like axes and hammers, while others may be armed with all sorts of instruments of pain-infliction. Armour is limited to different kinds of leather accoutrements, while shields are rarely used, if at all. To randomly determine what type of weapon or armour a Bodyguard may have, roll on the tables below:

Die Roll Weapon Type

1             Armoured Fist

2             Pistol (Roll: 1-3 Flintlock, 4-6 Matchlock)

3             Club

4             Blackjack

5             Needleknife

6             Martial Arts (no armour worn)

Die Roll Armour Type

1-2         Leather Cuirass

3-4         Leather Jack

5-6         Leather Hauberk

These weapons and armour are for Bodyguards engaged in urban assignments. For those encountered on the road, out in the wilderness, where as many as two to seven of them may be found protecting their client, more equipment will likely be needed, which can be generated on the table below:

Die Roll Armour and Weapon Type

1 Sword, Small Shield, Chainmail Cuirass

2 Battleaxe, Breastplate

3 Longbow, Shortsword, Leather Hauberk

4 Crossbow, Shortsword, Leather Cuirass

5 Hand Crossbow, Shortsword, Leather Hauberk

6 Repeating Crossbow, Shortsword, Leather Cuirass

Possibly the most well-known Bodyguard of recent times is the Half-Giant Nabros Darice, (see Heroes of Titan, p. 15) from Port Blacksand, who guarded Brass the Merchant, though not, as she likes to point out, when he was slain! Another was the cruel swordsman Igor, sworn servant of the Vampire Lord, Count Reiner Heydrich!

(Bonus entry)

KALAMITE (#5/30, #96/365) [TTHA]

Appearance: This is a misshapen husk-like humanoid made of wood, with a neckless head crowned with thorns, and jointed limbs similar to bamboo, that can extend at will to many meters in length, turning the Kalamite into a giant creature of sorts.

 

Distribution: Swamps and marshes across Khul.

 

Effects: The Kalamite is a weird wooden humanoid that can alter the size of its limbs to change its overall size (see Beyond the Pit, pp. 73-74). Sap from the Kalamite's body can be used to brew magical potions, but the type of potion depends on the size of Kalamite when the sap was collected. In giant form, Kalamite sap can be used to make a Growth Potion. Drinking this causes effects similar to two Grow Spells being cast. However, if the sap was harvested when the Kalamite was in its smaller size, it can be used to make a Shrinking Potion. Drinking this causes effects similar to two Shrink Spells being cast. In either case, there is no Test for Luck for an unwilling target. Regardless of potion type, the effects last for around twenty minutes before wearing off and restoring the imbiber to their normal size.

 

Cost: City 25gp, Town 50gp, Village NA (per vial)

 

Availability: Rare

 

Further Notes: Kalamites are thought to guard over the reedy fens and mires as Tree Men do to woods and forests elsewhere. Certainly, they are well known from the Bogomil Deeps in Kazan, and their presence contributes much to the eerie reputation of that trackless stretch of swampland.