Eyes in the Wine Cellar: The Count’s Spies
Character Type: NPCs
Build Type: Balanced (utility + infiltration + betrayal)
Build Role: Informants, social disruptors, passive threats
Mike’s Take: The Most Dangerous Ones Bring You Tea
Let me make this real clear, lad: in Thorneblight, the ones with weapons aren’t the problem.
It’s the ones with invitations. The ones who pour yer wine, hem yer cloak, or compliment yer spellwork before sendin’ a report to the manor.
These folks? They ain’t guards. They’re witnesses. Soft-eyed recorders who smile, nod, and turn every word ya say into leverage. They don’t kill. They make you kill yourself — socially, politically, emotionally.
Found one once, cryin’ behind the ledger desk. Asked me why I remembered her real name.
I didn’t.
📌 Best make sure yer party knows how deep the Count’s hooks go. Revisit Captain Nail, The Count, and Thorneblight Village before handin’ out the wine list.
Who They Are
Each spy fills a social role in the town — but also a system role in the Count’s surveillance machine.
🍞 Esha, the Baker Who Forgets Nothing
Race: Halfling
Class Base: Bard 3 / Rogue 2
Role: Gossip sponge and emotional profiler
Special Trait: Can recall any overheard sentence, even from years ago
Tactic: Offers “free samples” to those under stress. Each one laced with mood ink — reacts to shame, guilt, or pride.
She’s sweet, humble, and always nearby when you’re saying too much.
✂️ Gerin, the Tailor Who Measures Secrets
Race: Elf
Class Base: Warlock 5 (Great Old One patron: Whisper)
Role: Skin-level empath, data courier
Special Trait: Can hear “emotional echoes” from clothing fibers
Tactic: Offers to fix torn gear. Later, returns it subtly changed — with a tracking sigil sewn behind the lining.
He speaks gently. But every compliment is a data point, filed with timestamp and heartbeat.
📚 Miss Calder, the Academy Clerk
Race: Human
Class Base: Wizard 4 (Divination)
Role: Scheduling analyst, fate shuffler
Special Trait: Once per day, can swap the initiative order of two people she has seen in the last 24 hours.
Tactic: Edits travel logs and guest manifests — nudging meetings, delaying visits, redirecting destiny.
She believes she’s keeping the peace. And she might be right. But she reports every visitor’s aura to The Pale Widow.
Spies With Smiles and Stitches
📌 By Durven’s last tankard, if yer NPCs are all “thieves in alleys,” yer missin’ the real danger: tea and small talk.
👉 Use these spies to build tension where the party feels welcomed, not threatened. For more misdirection-ready NPCs, check the Player Builds & NPCs, or gear ‘em up with tools from the Tavern Armory.
How to Use Them
Red Herrings & False Comfort: Let the party like these NPCs. Then twist the knife.
Slow-Burn Suspicion: One report. One vanishin’ rebel. One smile too many.
Reveal Via Regret: A note in the baker’s apron. A stitched name in a spy’s coat. A whisper: “I didn’t want to tell her. But I had to.”
Equipment Highlights
Gerin carries a magically silenced Whisperfang Dagger for emergencies.
In one of them store-rooms stores “event fragments” in Coin of the Lost Patron-style fate tokens.
FAQ
Q: Can these NPCs be turned?
A: Yes — but only if the party gives them a better reason to live than fear of the Count.
Q: What if players try to expose them publicly?
A: The town already knows. The village smiles because it has to. No one reacts — but Captain Nail might.
📌 By Elgrin’s empty scrollcase, if yer players think the villain’s sword arm is the problem, these three’ll teach ‘em otherwise.
👉 For more narrative pressure, silent blades, and betrayal with biscuits, check the Player Builds & NPCs, or contact Mike before yer wizard hugs the wrong baker.
