Ponto Forlain by Steve Reeves Occupation: Mercenary Skills: Fencing, Tactics, Leadership Motivation: To become a famous hero Weaknesses: Sensitive, gullible Ponto was born a wealthy aristocrat who quickly grew bored with court life (though not with the money). So with his father's blessing he set off to seek fame to go with his fortune. Unfortunately, Ponto spends more time chasing women and socializing in local taverns than actually chasing adventure. He will more than willingly join a adventuring group whose motives seem just. In fact, he will finance such expeditions if he believes they will bring him the fame he expects to find. Ponto is an adequate fighter but his strength lies in his ability to plan. He is unaware of the fact that he is a brilliant tactician. Any adventuring party will quickly find that when faced with an encounter he acts bravely and with a keen mind. Ponto has a magnetic personality and people often find themselves drawn into his whimsical, almost carefree lifestyle. Once he befriends someone he will give his life for them but expects nothing less in return. Darion Gelge by Steve Reeves Occupation: Scribe, Bodygaurd Skills: Literacy, HTH Combat, Weapons Motivation: Protecting Ponto Forlain Weaknesses: Women, Physical Strength Darion Gelge is the perfect friend and companion for Ponto. Originally hired by Ponto's father to "look after him," Darion and Ponto have become fast friends, although Darion never forgets his duty and has saved Ponto's life more than once. Darion is the perfect bodyguard because his elven features and educated manner hide his skills as a fighter. Darion, like Ponto, has become acustomed to late nights in taverns wenching and drinking, with only the occasional adventure to get in the way. Darion has kept a log of all of their adventures with slight artistic embellishments. During one adventure they came across a dying mage and Darion wrote down the man's last words. What he and Ponto don't know is that the man was giving them directions to an undead wizard's lair. The wizard, a powerful Lich, is now searching for the pair and the book. Ponto and Darion will very quickly find that they are no longer searching for adventure: it's coming to them. Klink Barrelchest by Wayne Wallace Occupation: Adventurer Skills: HTH Combat, Dwarf Lore Motivation: Heroic Altruism (& money) Weaknesses: Lack of tact, suspicious Klink is part of a famous adventuring group that slew the goddess of spiders in her own lair, ending a time of darkness. Now, there have been no pressing world-saving missions for a while, so he can be found travelling from town to town, training fellow dwarves in the arts of war and personal combat. Mink's long time in the spider tunnels has made him paranoid of virtually anyone except his friends. He expects to be stabbed by a poisoned dagger anywhere he goes, having been slain by a lucky dagger strike before. While mighty priests make death a temporary inconvenience for the worthy, the memories of an ignoble death keep him wary of any stranger's offers. Klink was never good at the art of etiquette and can be expected to annoy any non-dwarf he speaks to by speaking the plain truth, no matter how inconsiderate a human or elf might think him. If a person of the adventuring persuasion is looking for a powerful warrior to aid a party's struggles, Klink's battle axe can be hired for a price, though the party may not enjoy his brutally truthful comments. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly The Good The Bad The Ugly Back to Shadis #17 Table of Contents Back to Shadis List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master List of Magazines © Copyright 1995 by Alderac Entertainment Group This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com