NPC Spotlight

Gul, Knotmaker Rumormonger

At 16, Gul is the oldest of his dockside crew, but one of the youngest full members of the Knotmakers (use stats for a cutthroat , with a dagger in place of a shortsword). His lank brown hair, oversized clothes, and a fine layer of dirt make him appear sick and emaciated, but he is healthy and possessed of wiry strength and the reflexes of a striking snake.

While he’s still quick enough to pickpockets or cut a purse, Gul spends most of his time in the pose of a beggar boy down by the docks listening to comings and goings and selling on rumors. He is extremely protective of his crew, and more than one angry merchant has felt the nick of his blade, and a few guards who were too liberal with the lash have been found under the docks with a single knife wound.

Idilia, Baroness of Riva

Like many aristocrats of far-flung provinces, Baroness Idilia (use stats for a noble ) claims descent from a glorious line of royalty, which she has reinforced by becoming a prolific patroness of the arts. Statues, paintings, and more immortalize ancestors of a lineage at least half fabricated. What is not an illusion, however, is her family’s influence on Shalehold. Her household troops have robust numbers, and the ships that patrol Shalehold’s harbor and surrounding waters are paid for from her own substantial coffers, keeping both the Fisherfolk and the Knotmakers, the two other factions in the city, ostensibly in check.

Clamoring around Idilia are her many courtiers, seeking the scraps of her fortune and favors. While she may seem like a vain, empty-headed old gossip, the baroness’s social prowess is razor sharp, and she uses her many parties and salons to gather and pass on information of all kinds. The jockeying for favor and position have only increased in recent years, as the now middle-aged Idilia has had several consorts, but no named heir.

Thandor, Darn, and Karrel Goldbeard, Illicit Traders

Even within a crime-riddled and lawless city, you find merchants who ply their trade in honesty, never cheating or stealing. The Goldbeards are not that kind of merchant. Shaving coins, adding a thumb to the scale, and passing stolen and counterfeit goods are all in a day’s work for these tall, blonde-haired, and charming dwarf brothers..

Thandor (use stats for pugilist variant: hill dwarf wrestler) entered the city over a decade ago, and shortly after his arrival had a questionable windfall. He immediately sent for his two younger brothers, Darn and Karrel (use stats for thug ), who joined his new venture in attempting to fleece every resident and visitor of Shalehold they could. Despite a rocky start and some initial conflict with the Knotmakers, the three now work independently under a special dispensation.

Their store and yard sit on the edge of the knot but they rarely interact with its residents. From that slumped building they sell anything they can get their hands on with little concern for the niceties of legal ownership. There is a saying among the locals, “If you sell to the Goldbeards it probably wasn’t yours; if you buy from them it probably wasn’t theirs; and either way you should check your purse before you leave.”