Martrice Markhone
by Alex BensonMartrice Markhone- 4th level human fighter
Str 15
Dex 13
Int 11
Wis 10
Con 14
Cha 14
Equipment: chainmail, broadsword, shield, and spear. He also keeps a warhorse without any barding. He also has on his person an accumulated wealth in coins and gems equalling 1500 GP. He also has a Dagger +1 but even he is unaware that it is enchanted.
History:
Martrice was born in the village, to his mother and father who are fishermen. His father does most of the actual fishing, while his ageing mother tends a small garden and keeps house. Martrice has two younger siblings. Both aid their father in fishing. He also has an older sister who was married but lost her husband in a freak fishing accident. Martrice was not one for following his family's chosen profession. At attaining his manhood, he ran off and joined the Darokin Army, serving in that service for several years. Disenchanted with an army life, Martrice left the army to pursue an adventurer's life.
About six months ago, he made a surprise appearance at his family's hearth. He has remained there ever since. He offers little in the way of helping his father with the fishing. He spends most of his time in the tavern drinking and swapping tall tales with the locals. From these tales, it is believed that Martrice has been just about everywhere and seen just about everything. From these tales, several of the villages lads and lasses have ran away to pursue an adventuring career. Younger children look up to him. Older folk see him as a fine example of what the village can produce. These elder villagers often call upon him for advise and such. Among the villagers his own age, he is viewed with mixed feelings. Most perform some duty in the village's economy (fishing or farmers) and see him as a braggart and as a slacker. The village's available young women have taken a shine to him, which has caused some hard feelings with the bachelors of the village. No one is sure why he is present but no one really minds. However, most see his presence as reassuring. Having a warrior such as himself on hand bolsters the village's security.
Appearance:
Martrice is a slightly stocky man in his mid 20's. He has dark brown hair and a fair complexion. He usually wears his chain shirt and wears his sword and dagger. He is an average looking fellow, somewhat attractive. His looks and supposed exploits have given him cause to be quite a lady's man. Martrice walks with a swagger that denotes his service in the army. His chainmail is dull and need of cleaning. His sword is ornately engraved and quite flashy. Martrice claims to have taken the blade off a slain opponent. The exact nature of the opponent varies from Orc, bandit, or Hulean Raider. Another tale has him discovering the sword among a treasure hoard plundered from a Glantrian mage's tower. He usually claims the sword has some enchantment. This deviation of weapons source is one of the first signs that all is not right. Martrice really got
DM Notes:
Martrice was a soldier in the Darokin army. And he left on relatively good terms. He in fact, left to his becoming bored with garrison duty. However, he not nearly the dashing hero he presents. His adventuring career was short and ended in his party being wiped out in the Broken Lands. He had been acting as point man for the party and was placed well ahead of the others. The group was ambushed and Martrice essentially cut off from them. Seeing his fellows fall, he decided he would not die in some vain attempt to save them. Such an attempt would have been vain as the orcs really were attacking enmasse. After watching his buddies fall, he fled from the slaughter. He travelled to the one place he felt safe, home. So he journeyed there to pay a visit. For his own ego, he devised the dashing adventurer persona to prove his worth. For his adventurer based knowledge he drew heavily upon tales he himself heard from other soldiers he was stationed with. As such, his actual knowledge is based on hearsay and subject to folly/ However, he is very believable and most of what he "preaches" is taken as "gospel" by the locals. A few of the more learned villagers see his mistakes but say nothing. They will let the lad expose himself as a fraud. This being that Martrice's family is well respected and held in high regard. Resentment of Martrice is steadily growing among some of the populace. Not only is he seen as a braggart and slacker, he also has been the cause of some broken engagements. However, few will offer to intervene. Most of the populace believe him to be a super warrior, beyond their own skill level. The rest fear the aftermath to the family.
Using Martrice:
A DM could have Martrice as a fool
or a would be hero trying to "redeem himself" in his own eyes. As a
fool, he is awaiting for some visiting PCs to expose him. Or his
advise causing greater harm. Ex. A problem erupts and the village
elders call upon the advise of Martrice. Martrice advises them. The
result is an intensification of the problem. Passer-by PCs are asked
to intervene under the guidance of Martrice. In the redeeming role,
he could try hard to achieve success. His aid to PCs is really
limited. He has been away from the village and his knowledge of the
surrounding area has been eroded both by time as well as the
affects of his drinking. Thus his true contribution is with his
sword.