Welcome to Bad Guys of Iron and Blood installment V.

This time around I

will be featuring Kaurik the Warlord.

Kaurik the Warlord

6th Level Madman (Warrior)

Quote: "Prepare yourself for pain."

AC: 8 (Leather ((skin)) armor)

Movement: 12

HD(hp): 6 (42)

THAC0: 15

#of Attacks: 3/2

Damage/Attack: 1d6+4 +paralyzation (Footman's Flail+1, specialized)

Special Attacks: Wildfighting, Paralyzation

Special Defenses:

MR: Nil

Size: M (5'10")

Morale: Fanatic

XP Value:

Str: 15 Dex: 14 Con: 13 Int: 12 Wis: 11 Cha: 7

BAckground: (As presented in the Iron and Blood gamebook.)

The youngest member of an inbred noble family with a curse upon it, Kaurik

the Warlord was driven mad by his obsessive love for a woman of the court,

who drowned herself in a swamp after being rejected by a knight of the

castle gaurd. Grief-stricken, young Kaurik retrieved her body, preserved

her remains, and claimed vengeance by slaying every fifth main in the duchy.

The people of the land rose up in anger and burned the family's castle
down, killing them all but Kaurik, who escaped into the swamps. In the

wilds of the swamp, his fetish for the dead grew, and he began to kill,

creating for himself a mask of flesh. A true madman, Kaurik attacks with a

berserk and manic rage unseen in most warriors.

Current Sketch: (Added from my own ideas.)

When the Iron and Blood contest concluded, Kaurik made his way north to

Necropolis. He built a small hut for himself in the Boglands, and continued

on as he had before, murdering travellers in the swamps, and skinning them.

That is until he crossed paths with Jenndra Barlowe. Barlowe had fled from

a group of adventurers into the swamps. She had been the living apprentice

of a lich, and though she had given the adventurers the location of her

masters phyclactery, they sought to bring her to justice for her part in his

foul experiments. Kaurik killed the heroes one by one, and then confronted

Barlowe. A skull mask affixed to her face, and her hands those of a corpse,

Kaurik fell in love with the look of death upon her. The duo has since left

Necropolis, and have been inducted into the Society of Masks. Jenndra is

known as the Mask of Death, and Kaurik has become the Mask of Pain. Though

most of the Society views him as nothing more than an attack dog, he is

quite content, especially at the side of his lovely Maiden of Death.

Combat: Kaurik attacks with his enchanted flail Ghoulhand. He is

specialized in the footman's flail and gains +1 to hit and +2 to damage.

Kaurik also possesses the wild-fighting proficiency (From the Complete Book

of Humanoids,) and when wildfighting attacks connect, they cause an

additional +3 damage. However, when wild-fighting Kaurik attacks with a -3

penalty, and his AC is likewise penalized. Wild fighting is very tiring,

and Kaurik must rest for an hour before he can again call upon this

proficiency.
If Kaurik is able to strike with surprise, he gains a backstab bonus of x3

damage for a single attack. Kaurik cannot surprise opponents when he is

using his wild-fighting proficiency.

Ghoulhand is a footman's flail +1 that was fasioned by the lich Jenndra

Barlowe betrayed, and given to Kaurik. When a victim is struck with

Ghoulhand, they must save vs. paralysis or be paralyzed for 3-8 rounds, just

as if a ghoul had touched them (Note: This was not featured in the game, I

just thought it was a nice touch.). Once his victim is helpless, Kaurik

will take out his skinning knives and go to work on the still living victim.

If engaged with multiple opponents, Kaurik must make a wisdom check to

avoid the temptation to abandon combat and take a helpless victim's skin.

Questions, Comments, and Critiques are welcome.

Grigg

There are nights when the wolves are silent, and only the moon howls.

-George Carlin