In the process of selling the idea of each and every class BUT Barbarian for a person raised in the wild, I recently touched upon rogues of the wilderness. The foremost subclass that matched almost perfectly was SCOUT. So, since the Elk tribe is the largest Reghed clan and need more food than the other tribes as well as protection, I decided to create an NPC for my Icewind Dale game. This could just as easily be converted for your character for the Frostmaiden adventure.
As much as the warriors and hunters of the Elk Tribe respect strength and hunting and fighting prowess, they know that their amazing kills that feed the massive tribe only happen because of the works of the scouts. They are sent out in small groups to track the elk herds and set up the best places to bag the trophy bucks. Since the other tribes are trying to do the same thing, it behooves them to do this as stealthy and invisible as possible (thus why their rogues). They also find themselves watching out for dangers both animal and human. Some of the tribes have been known to send assassins to kill off hunting parties.
Of all the scouts of the Elk Tribe, none have half the skills as Laddick Arak. They won’t tell him much about his parentage; only that his mother was a master hunter and his father was a tracker from Ten Towns. Being only half Elk Tribe blood, he grew up under suspicion. Bullied and ostracized, Laddick could have easily turned sour and against his mother’s people. But his mother, Arice, taught him different. That it was just a test of his strength and he MUST pass. So, he learned to stand up to the stronger kids and use his quickness and intellect against them.
His ability with a longbow got the attention of the elders and they began to include him in the training of the scouts. But Laddick never felt comfortable with an axe or hammer. The weight was just too much to make it effective. That’s when his mother presented him with his father’s rapier. With etchings of sea serpents and monsters of the deep inscribed in the hilt and a light and manageable blade, Laddick began to best even the greatest of the warrior students. After a great deal of deliberation, they decided it wasn’t the weapon but the warrior that mattered. So, if he could fight better than some of the actual barbarian warriors, the elders had to accept this foreign weapon from a father who was not one of them.
Laddick went from just being ONE of the scouts, to being the best of them quickly. Knowing he had to try harder than the others, he put everything he had into everything he did. And with this attitude, he became head scout. Finding herds that NO ONE detected and being able to sneak closer to the other tribes, he became one of them and the elders called upon him more than not. He, now, lead the expeditions and taught the up and comings.
He had reported to the elders that he had seen the image of a great bird soaring across the tundra with a female figure weaving a spell across the sky. Most thought he was going mad until others began to report it. At this time, the sun stopped shinning and the cold of Auril’s touch began to slowly kill the herds and, with them, his people.
Laddick would make a great ally or even one of the player characters. My version of the Elk Tribe worships a form of the sun god. The mysterious Sons of the Elk, the wizard and druid leaders, talk much about the ‘call of the sun’. Those that rise to greatness are spoken of as having ‘the sun shine upon them’. And Laddick is definitely one of those soaking in the light.
He may figure prominently in helping the heroes reach Auril; leading them through the tundra to ‘Angajuks bell’.
What are your tales of playing a rogue/scout in the wild? We’d like to hear from you. Either drop a comment below or hit us up on facebook (themagictavernlgs).
AoE Table Top 