Sonder Guards

guard by Allon Kremer

1. Saveck One-Arm: keeps a shield strapped to his armless side and prefers a spear. His family lives in the city but he doesn't like them, he's very proud of his vivid red belt, and he likes to learn new songs but only if someone else mentions it first.
2. Marq Lucard de Swain: son of a local baron who has joined the guard because of some private dispute within the family. The youth's fellow guards show little love for him despite his best efforts, perhaps because of his naturally scowling countenance.
3. Xom Girmjow: veteran from the war, she uses a mace and sometimes limps while patrolling, but is disdainful of offers to help. Tattoos peek out from beneath her close-shorn silvery hair, as well as her eyepatch.
4. Uthgar Svenson: a huge man from colder seas, he carries a long axe and grins as he scans the crowds, eager for a fight more than anything. Wary of a rumor that he once killed someone in a tavern brawl, he will adamantly deny it.
5. Sandragora the Kid: newly recruited veshkin with sapphire eyes and a spear she clutches as if it were a totem of safety. She also keeps a bag of letters from her parents at all times, and loves the smell of a freshly cooked meal.
6. Rath Zakaj: foreigner from a strange land, he wields a curved sword and is always leaning on something. Watchful and careful, he mostly grew up locally and is very familiar with the streets culture, but still feels ostracized.
7. Golm Zuster: night guard with a great interest in astrology. Easily distracted by constellations between the clouds, but has a very poor understanding of the stars. Keeps a copper mirror and tries to keep his appearance decent when anyone approaches.
8. Zel Moru: a silent figure who wears a loose, form obscuring blue tunic. Wields a pentagonal shield and a polearm with a crescent shaped blade, and has a scar across their throat. Some say they practice sorcery, but wouldn't dare say such a thing to their face.
9. Ghunt Morrel: grumpy since he was charged with assaulting a citizen, he wears an odd pointed hat but doesn't like to talk about it. Wields a voulge and never sits still, often pacing near the grocery markets.
10. Silmarrot Fil: broad, friendly woman who always seems merry, and likes to offer drinks in conversation. Weapons are her hobby, and while she loves to examine exotic or unusual specimens, an impractical design will only irritate her.
11. Sangul the Blind: an aging man who follows his dog. The beast is clearly the one in charge, having long learned how to manipulate the man. He likes to hear myths, and the dog usually trusts anyone who feeds it before speaking.
12. Sevna Karsit: says she is the only one in her family to have survived a bandit attack while travelling. Horrific scars across her right arm bear testament to the story, and she now favors the left. She has snake fangs tattooed around her mouth, and is extremely vicious but controls her impulses.
13. Barrez the Mountain: a small man from a village high in the mountains, who never parts with his climbing pick or pitons. He is allergic to feathers and uses a pig's bladder filled with water as a pillow.
14. Shinish Vareen: nearly died from a drug overdose a little while back, and her eyes are always open uncomfortably wide. Since recovering, she seems to possess uncanny reflexes and says she can see a moment into the future. She carries three daggers in addition to her halberd, and wears a lot of simple jewelry.
15. Nelixus: only, always goes by Nelixus, denying any attempt at a nickname or title, and rebuking efforts to discover his surname. Known for his pretty face and slight frame, he dislikes masculine affections. Seems to have a different color of trousers for every day of the week, and keeps a spare shield stashed near his post.
16. Traev Summicks: always on their toes because they're nervous of being seen as a country bumpkin. Hard to confound because they'll simply ignore complications, but they get easily confused if the situation becomes hectic, and are likely to seek help from their sister who is also a guard.
17. Sprin Vallen: feeds the crows, but hasn't noticed that they always call out to alert him whenever he's about to be surprised, be it by an ambush or simply a townsperson with a soft step. He would do practically anything for a jar of honey, and wears a strange chainmail with links that look like gears.
18. Oasten the Broad: a wide-shouldered woman with somewhat thin looking arms for her frame. Carries an old bell at all times that one might think is sentimental, but she uses it often as a makeshift tool or cup. Licks her lips whenever she sees a rainbow, fantasizing about the piles of gold she truly believes lie at the end.
19. Dorels Larce: an extremely short woman who carries a white ceramic jar but never opens it, and protects it fiercely. Despite her size she can jump higher than anyone else in the guard, and she uses a crossbow but carries an axe in case an enemy gets too close. Diligently reads philosophy, but feels embarrassed about it, and carries a grudge with parents she hasn't spoken to in a while.
20. Lemmer Sepstav: a long-limbed guard who lives with their parents. Secretly makes a monthly pilgrimage to an abandoned temple out in the wilderness. They own an exotic blade that they take good care of, but only take a simple ranseur out on patrol. Tries to avoid looking at anything colored purple due to a superstition.

Red Guard by Brian Matyas

These are for rolling when the players want to walk up to a guard. Most likely they won't really pay attention to the details, but sometimes they may take an interest and go off on a new adventure which I've tried to give at least a bit of a starting point for, or just make a friend. I'll be working on lists for other kinds of characters such as shopkeepers, smiths, and other merchants later.

Sketch by Anastasia Ovchinnikova

Ortish colony

Garren Styn is a colony town with high walls of stone brick, embellished with gleaming reinforcements of steel and patrolled by numerous guards with firearms and crossbows. The makeshift streets are likewise patrolled, and many of the foreign residents have armed themselves as well. Near the edge of town lies the Bitemark Tower, where Falarth, who is both the town's ruler and captain of the guard, lives.

The Orts are pale, mottled people with long sharp teeth and small round eyes. Their clothing usually leaves the arms bare, especially the upper arms, and fine Ortish dress often comes with elaborate armbands or gloves that go no further than the wrist.

They have come seeking a mythical city of silver, and Falarth currently holds 2d6 Tula captive to interrogate. He secretly harbors a deep fascination with native weapons and battle tactics, but otherwise holds little respect for locals or the land. They will offer a blunderbuss and abundant ammo to anyone who can offer a usable (or convincing enough) map to the mythic city, or a gun can be purchased for around 100 gold.

Besides the soldiers there are a group of merchants led by Sacruul, who do not support Falarth, but hope to profit from the natives being driven away. They plan to build farms in the nearby lands for valuable crops, namely an Ortish drug called blueheart. It is a cactus with heart shaped leaves and a mild numbing toxin which is highly addictive and turns the skin blue. Usually the leaves are cut in half and placed on the upper arm, near the shoulder. Sacruul will usually offer a leaf to newcomers who seem like they could make for reliable customers, but is highly allergic themselves.

Visitors are most welcome at the Red Sails inn, run by a former priest named Millimen. The priests generally have a good grasp of the common languages, unlike the rest of the colonists, but desire to bring converts back to Roaz, the Temple City. Millimen is also a skilled tooth-sharpener.

Encounters

1. A lone Ortish thief tries to knock down the strongest-looking member of the party, then grab something valuable and run off.
2. Guards demand the party's purposes in town. Their grasp of common is sorely lacking, but they are well armed.
3. A foreign priest demands the group 'purify' themselves through either humiliating rituals, hefty donations, or flagellation.
4. Blueheart addicts offer to sell some of the foreign drug for a high price.
5. A richly dressed, noble-looking Ort presents the party with a sealed package and tries to hire them to deliver it somewhere, but is impossible to understand without speaking fluent Ortish.
6. Some soldiers drag a young villager from the local area through the streets. The captive is shouting for help, but none of the Orts respond more than to glance at the noise.

Slime Saviors

Late in the night, a small but finely-specialized slime creature slips into the mouth of a party member. It is a mild parasite, which causes compulsions. It carries the knowledge of the slime queen's eggs that were stolen and are in the town of Vergum, and a request that the party recover them.

The target makes a will save when they awake. If they fail, life feels pointless and dreary unless they are actively working toward saving the eggs, and they will gain no exp until the eggs are back in the queen's care. On a success, the target knows of the eggs and the slime's plight, and will know of the desperation of the queen.

Vergum is a minor town most notable for its beekeepers and honey exports. Lately the town has had a growing problem of monstrous slime, attacking a few beehives and consuming the honey. Luckily for them, very recently a lazy baker named Dentch returned to town with a sack of delicious slime eggs, after setting out in the night. He claimed to have journeyed into the lair of the slime and slayed them all, capturing the eggs for a feast. When the party arrives in town, preparations for the feast are underway.

If Dentch is interrogated, he will admit that he snuck into the slime nest wearing a cloak soaked in vinegar to mask his scent, and stole the eggs while the slime were resting. He will insist that they should be dead, because he threw powdered lye and fled as soon as they begun to stir.

When the party brings the eggs back to the slime queen, she can grant them one of two specialized slime organisms. One can replace a missing limb, acting in that limb's place with the additional ability of being able to stretch up to five meters outside of combat. The other can restore one wound each week, so long as it is fed at least one ration per day or about a rabbit's worth of living flesh.

The eggs are actually tiny slime creatures, too small to even move. If they are fed enough, they can quite quickly grow large enough to make their own way back to the nest, which will cause quite a commotion in the small town.