Karrun Truce-Holder

Karrun earned his adult name at nineteen and has spent the twenty-two years since doing the same work in progressively larger rooms: first between plateau communities, then between the plateau and Frosthaven's regional court, and now in The Crown, where the highland compact keeps a small office and no reputation at all. He is the office. The credentials he carries are genuine and almost worthless, and he has learned that a real letter from a small power opens roughly as many doors as an obvious forgery from a large one.

He does not perform warmth. He asks who actually holds authority in a room and then talks to that person, which unsettles people accustomed to being flattered first. He is also eight feet of blue-green density with Might 3 and sixteen Wound Points, and every table he sits at has quietly noticed.

Species: Goliath    Background: Rural    Career: Diplomat

Patron Deity: None

Goliath special abilities: Mountain-Born (no penalties from altitude, thin air, cold, or highland hazards; mountain terrain is not difficult terrain); Dense Frame (+1 Resistance, stacks with armor; upgrade the difficulty of any check to grapple, push, knock down, or reposition him once); Deed-Name Drive (once per session, on an action that could plausibly be deed-worthy, including a high-stakes negotiation, spend 2 Strain before rolling to treat one net Failure as a Success); Tactical Positioning (a free Easy Perception check on entering a location to find the strongest position, and 1 Boon Die to combat checks from a position held a full round); Large Frame (1 Bane Die in genuinely confined spaces; dwarven and gnomish interiors are effectively closed to him).

Characteristics: Goliath base (MIG 4, AGI 2, INT 2, SAV 3, WIL 2, CHA 2). Free swap: CHA +1 → 3, MIG −1 → 3.

Note: Deed-Name Drive is the reason Karrun has 14 Strain rather than 12. Turning a failed negotiation into a success costs 2 Strain, and he expects to pay it.

Skills

Goliath free skill rank (no XP): Athletics 1.

Talents

• Read the Room [Free Starting Talent, Envoy rank 1 (requires Charm 1+ or Negotiation 1+)] Once per scene, on entering a social situation, ask the GM one of these about one person present: who actually holds authority here, who is afraid, or who wants something from us. You receive an honest answer about that one person.
• Helpful [Tier 1, 5 XP]; When you assist, your help counts as two dice instead of one (+2 Boon, or +1 Boon and +1 Ability if your relevant skill is higher).
• Steadfast [Tier 1, 5 XP]; +2 Strain Points (total Strain Points: 14).

Equipment

Chapter Eight has no diplomat package. This is a GM-approved equivalent kit built from the Scholar package's non-arcane half, and the short sword and padded coat are bought from starting funds at 10 gold flargons.

XP Accounting

Goliath starting XP is 70, the smallest budget in this chapter. The species package is worth the difference.

Suggested Advancement

• Envoy rank 2; Right Words, Right Person (10 XP; requires Envoy rank 1, already held): Spend a Maneuver to address one named NPC, and the next Charm, Negotiation, or Leadership check against them this scene, yours or a named ally's, adds 1 Boon Die. This spends the whole bank and is worth it.
• Convincing (Tier 2 universal, 10 XP; requires 2 XP-purchased Tier 1 talents, Helpful and Steadfast, already met): Add 1 Boon Die to Charm, Deception, or Negotiation when you have a plausible argument, a credible disguise, or a fair offer. Karrun almost always has a fair offer.
• Leadership rank 2 (10 XP, profession, after play): Speaking for a compact is one job. Directing the party when the talking has failed is a different one, and Charisma 3 makes him the best candidate at the table.