Minions of the Count: A Garden of Knives
Character Type: NPCs
Build Type: Balanced (narrative flair + tactical teeth)
Build Role: Specialist operatives (interrogation, terrain, alchemy)
Mike’s Take: By Trickin’s cursed coin purse, if these are the support staff… yer party’s in real trouble.
See, a tyrant like Thorneblight don’t get his hands dirty. He drinks, dictates, and lets others draw the blood.
These three? They're the ones who do it slow.
They ain’t generals. That’s Captain Nail’s job. They ain’t judges. That’s the town’s silence (Thorneblight Village).
No — these are the instruments behind the curtain. Each one sharp in a different way. Each one chosen to handle what the Count won’t say aloud.
And when they operate inside Briarbone Manor? That house stops being a mansion and starts being a mechanism. One with knives for gears.
1. Serrik: The Beast-Herder of the Ravennest
Race: Goblin (modified)
Build Type: Ranger 5 / Druid 4
Role: Stealth recon / trap-layer / siege breacher
HP: 77 | AC: 16
Passive Perception: 15
Gear:
Poisoner’s bandolier
Taming flute made of jawbone
Two “obedient” Ravennest dire-crows
Flavor:
Serrik speaks only to animals. Calls people “talking prey.” Lives beneath the manor in the deepest briar maze. Can’t be surprised if within nature. Spits in maps. Follows The Pale Widow like a loyal tick.
2. Marlae the Bleeding Archivist
Race: Elf (corrupted)
Build Type: Wizard 6 / Warlock 3
Role: Memory erasure / psychic damage dealer / written curse expert
HP: 64 | AC: 15
Passive Perception: 12
Gear:
Quill made from her own hair
Gloves that scribe without ink
Scrolls that whisper the reader’s secrets
Flavor:
Marlae rewrites people. Not literally — though sometimes she tries. Can “pull” memories out of heads like threads. Works in The Study Vault of Briarbone Manor. Wears mourning colors. Once made a bard forget her name. Then her face. Then her own song.
3. Vorrin the Mute Cauldron
Race: Human (alchemically altered)
Build Type: Artificer 8
Role: Bombs, toxins, field control, slow death enthusiast
HP: 85 | AC: 17
Passive Perception: 14
Gear:
Back-mounted mobile forge
Gas vial staff (releases emotional fogs)
Alchemical tattoos that ignite on command
Flavor:
Vorrin hasn’t spoken in years — not by vow, but by design. His vocal cords were replaced with a second lung that filters inhaled gases into usable reagents. He crafts nightmare brews in the Undercrawl and provides “remedies” to Captain Nail for use in the streets.
Not Just Minions — Mechanisms
📌 By Koldron’s flaming apron, if yer NPCs are just “orc #3 with a whip,” yer campaign’s gettin’ stale.
👉 Build operatives with stories, with teeth, with trauma. Or steal these three straight from the Player Builds & NPCs rack. They pair well with poison, paranoia, and the Tavern Armory.
Drop-In Hooks
Serrik is spotted leaving a crime scene — backwards. With blood on his boots, not claws.
Marlae sends a letter. But it’s blank. The party forgets something the next day.
Vorrin offers a health potion. The player must smell their worst memory before drinking it.
Equipment Tags (Optional Add-Ons)
Serrik might carry a cursed Whisperfang Dagger if gifted by the Widow.
Marlae’s scrolls are enchanted via a variant of Coin of the Lost Patron mechanics — random fate reactions when read.
Vorrin uses Verdant Ironmail-style regenerative gels to heal… or mutate.
FAQ
Q: Are these minions meant to be fought or roleplayed with?
A: Both. But don’t run ‘em like bosses — run ‘em like consequences with faces.
Q: Can players kill them without triggering the Count?
A: Not quietly. Every minion is recorded, watched, and replaced… eventually.
📌 By Bahlin’s bent fork, if yer table ain’t sweatin’ by round two, these three’ll do the job. And if they don’t? The Widow will.
👉 Get more character meat, moral messes, and deadly elegance over at the Player Builds & NPCs or send a scroll to Mike before your alchemist becomes an ex-alchemist.
