Magnus the Magnificent
Known throughout the land for his miracle elixir. Worshipped by the poor, envied by the rich, the miracles follow him as he travels, or so he would have everyone believe.
Special Equipment:
Small cart pulled by a donkey and a large wooden box that can be strapped over his shoulder. Both open up into a display case stand.
Appearance:
Dressed in very clean finery, very concerned that he looks his best at all times. Always has the most appropriate clothes for the area he is in. If in a peasant town he dresses just enough to look like a rich peasant. Does it to blend in with his surroundings so he can better make a sale.
Has has a loud carrying voice and talks in a very flamboyant manner using his arms to accent any points he wishes to make. He is very convincing and very pushy and is hard to resist once he has somebody in his grip.
Background:
Magnus has been selling his elixirs for years and has traveled extensively. The actual elixir can be used for cleaning, curing, cursing, blessing, fixing, bug repellent, water purifier, hair tonic, and pretty much anything else you can think a liquid could be used for.
His travels rarely take him through the same town twice and because of some results he sometimes disappears and pops up very far away from his last stop.
Magnus is a brilliant strategist and can force almost anybody to his needs. He, unfortunately, has a unquenchable thirst for cash, but he does nothing with it, just collects it. He has certain places where he hides his money so he rarely carries it with him. On his person or in his cart, expertly hidden in both cases, are dozens and dozens of coded papers that give personalized directions to where all the money is.
Roleplaying Notes:
-Catch him filling up his bottles in a nearby river. Gives a substantial bribe.
-Because of his wide travels and ability to badger anybody he has a wealth of information about different locations/rumors. One of the rumors is actually something he would like to check out. Because he is no longer wanted there, he is forced to hire somebody to go check out his suspicions.
-If the characters succeed and treat him fairly it could open up a floodgate of even better rumors of instant wealth that, now that they are trustworthy, he is willing to share.
-Some villagers finally found him. They bought his healing elixir and their family still died. Have been hunting him and finally found him. Killed him and destroyed all his merchandise. A good search by experienced adventurers can turn up his reams of coded directions to hidden treasures.
-Is a spy for a kingdom. Can be seen having a mysterious hidden meeting with somebody with the markings of an enemy perhaps.
Not Registered Yet? No problem.
Do you want Strolenati super powers? Registering. That's how you get super powers! These are just a couple powers you receive with more to come as you participate.
- Upvote and give XP to encourage useful comments.
- Work on submissions in private or flag them for assistance.
- Earn XP and gain levels that give you more site abilities (super powers).
- You should register. All your friends are doing it!
? Responses (5)
The life and times of a snake oil salesman.
Perhaps he has or once had a Decanter of Many Potions. The Decanter lets a person draw a named potion from it once a week or so, I forget the exact details. It could have benn lost or stolen and now he sells his placebo sham cures to try to raise the money he needs for the expedition to recover it.
With knowledge of rumors and legends he might be interested in seling information. If caught in the act of filling his sham potions, he offers the players information on a treasure, and only wants a small cut for the info, Then, after they prove themselves comeptent, offers a bigger haul, and another after that. But to prevent anyone selling information on him to, say, an angry mob of villigers, he sends them on another hunt for a relitivly easy treasure. He just forgets to mention the lich/dragon/vampire that is present and will utterly destroy the party.
This could be the start of a scavenger hunt, with the prize being the loot that Magnus has hidden across the kingdom in his travels. 1000 gp under a loose floorboard in the Moose and Star tavern in Gilmead, 250 gp, 3 emeralds, silver goblet in a waterproof sack in the abandoned well at ruins of Ranald's Village, 50 bars of silver in the attic of the gristmill in Gristwald...
good idea i like it a lot
I think this would make a great villian, because he isn't really evil. He could swindle the PCs, trick the PCs and constantly hold things over the PCs' heads. For example he could have manipulated a whole county in believing there was plague arising from the disturbance of a haunted temple ruin nearby. The towns people are turning on each other, adventures and clerics are coming to investigate the temple and the town becomes a powder keg. And all this just to sell Elixir, and by the time the PC get to the bottom of it he is already gone. And then don't forget his trail of bastards or the fact that he bares a striking resemeblance to one of the younger PCs (an angle he might exploit).
This is a good character that would work especially well early on in a campaign.