Creature
Dwarven Merchant of Kaz'Nakaram
Medium humanoid, Level 2—the caste that travels, bargains, and carries gunpowder
This dwarf comes from Kaz'Nakaram, the wealthiest realm in Askenon. His caste grants him the right to sail, negotiate, and trade in the kingdom's name—and to defend himself with weapons that other castes consider beneath them: pistol and dagger. He is forbidden to make anything.
He knows nothing of mathematics or physics; those fields belong to the caste of numbers. What he possesses instead is a formidable instinctive intelligence. He repairs his ship, improvises missing parts, patches winches, and finds a way through almost any task when pushed to his limits.
Indispensable and scorned at home, he is one of the few dwarves an outsider will ever meet.
Dwarven Merchant, Level 2
Attributes: STR 5 · DEX 6 · CON 8 · INT 5 · WIS 4 · CHA 3
Speed: 30 ft per tick HP: 50 (base 10 × 5 Strength, using the general Level 2 chart) DR: 2—M2 light leather armor (1 leather, +1 quality) Reflex: +8 (DEX 6 + Level 2) for dodge and parry contests
Saves—general formula, 1d20 + attribute + level:
| Save | Total |
|---|---|
| Fortitude | +10 |
| Reflex | +8 |
| Will | +6 |
Action Board: 3 attacks · 0 spells · 3 general actions · 1 dedicated dodge. His largest reserve is 3, so he has only one slot per tick: he does one thing at a time.
Attacks
- M1 Pistol—2d8, critical ×3, ignores 8 DR, range 100 ft, 1 shot, reload 2 ticks. Neither Strength nor Dexterity adds to its damage.
- M2 Dagger—1d4 + 7 (1d4, +2 quality, +5 Strength), critical ×2.
Tactics
His board tells the entire story. One loaded pistol, one shot per round: he fires on the first tick, then spends the next two reloading and can do nothing else. That is the price of gunpowder for someone with only one slot.
With two loaded pistols, he fires on the first tick, draws the second on the second tick—a general action—and fires again on the third. Two shots during the round, no reload, and weapons to retrieve afterward. This is how a merchant fights when he expects trouble.
With his dagger, he readily parries a melee blow. He cannot parry a bullet: a small weapon cannot intercept a firearm shot.
Traits
Darkvision Like all his people, he sees without light.
Dwarven Endurance He has advantage on Fortitude checks against poison, disease, and exhaustion. Twenty hours of work is no hardship.
Dry Leather Unless his armor is soaked, it halves any remaining electrical damage.
Instinctive Hand When repairing, tinkering, improvising a part, or restoring a mechanism, the GM prescribes a favorable rating despite his ordinary Intelligence. This is knowledge of the hands, not of numbers. He calculates nothing, reads no plans, and manufactures nothing of consequence: his caste forbids it.
Human Tongue He speaks it and is often the only person from his kingdom who does.
Equipment
A coin box secured by a mechanism of his caste; an account ledger kept more from memory than in writing; the seal proving his right to negotiate; six pistol charges in an oiled pouch; a rope; a repair kit; a cigar of Kaz'Nakaram reserved for an important signature; and a healing potion bought at great cost in Cerberus—because his people no longer know how to heal.
Variants
The Cautious Merchant—two loaded pistols instead of one, and a full pouch. This merchant has already been attacked once.
The Heir—his dagger bears a promise rune, inherited from an ancestor of the forge caste. It cannot be stolen from him: it returns. A merchant should not possess a runic weapon, and he boasts of it nowhere.
The Escort—three identical dwarves and a fourth with a musket, posted above them. This is what accompanies a shipment of gold.