Law of the Land
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By Russell Brown
By Kyle Hunter
In true wilderness, there is no law except kill or be killed. On the fringe of the wild, however, the laws of civilization can be found in the men who travel there to hunt or gather. Order in the borderlands is upheld by the loners, conscripts, and adventurers that are attracted to the natural world. There are never enough of these lawmen, so they carry out their duty with single-mindedness, often ignoring crime outside their jurisdiction or not their concern. This article presents a handful of frontier enforcers, ready to jump to your PCs’ defense if they’re attacked by brigands or to confront them if they break the law of the land.
FOREST WARDEN
Warden Jeris Therpol (LN male half-elf ranger 8) is a loyal subject of the local ruler. He protects a broad forest, far from the nearest city but a valuable source of rare resources and a popular recreation spot for wealthy nobles. Warden Therpol is very thin and covered in light, layered clothing of natural colors. He avoids contact and conversation with strangers unless such is required to carry out his duty.
The warden patrols his forest, tracking down poachers with his animal companion—a dire weasel named Ventch (see Monster Manual 65). He is mainly concerned with poachers hunting for profit and probably ignores the foraging of a small, traveling band of PCs. He is also on the watch for illegal settlements on his lands, discouraging anyone not granted an official charter by his lord from setting down permanent roots. Common crimes against travelers that do not threaten his forest are not his concern.
Every five days, Warden Therpol returns to a large walnut tree near the edge of his range. There his lord’s men can find him to deliver messages or take custody of prisoners. Local citizens also come to the tree to lodge complaints.
Though he represents the law of civilization, Warden Therpol operates on its fringe. When challenged, he fights to kill. He is sometimes reluctant to trust his captives to prosecution in the towns, so his justice can come swiftly, without process. He is fond of tying captives to ant-infested trees until they become docile.
HUNTSMAN
If wealthy nobles and merchants want to bring home respectable trophies from their hunts in the open hills and forests, they hire Black Lorust (CN male human expert 6, Track [Survival +12]) to lead them. He knows every animal run and refuge and owns the best-trained hounds in the region.
When a fugitive from a town or city escapes to the wilderness, the job of tracking him down also falls to Lorust. His knowledge of the surrounding lands and his hounds give him an advantage over most criminals (up to two dogs can make aid another tracking rolls to help Lorust, see the Player’s Handbook 65).
Lorust is a short, unkempt, stocky man, sometimes mistaken for a dwarf. His few friends like to say that he relates better to dogs because they’re closer in height and have similar grooming habits.
WILDERNESS ROAD TOLLMEN
Awnys Halftooth (LN male human fighter 4) is a tollman that works for the Eastern Banshee trading company. He, his deputy Renn (LG male human warrior 2), and a priest of Fharlanghn named Serratt (LN female dwarf cleric 4) collect tolls at a checkpoint along a wilderness road between a small trading town and the nearest city.
Awnys is a muscular man with curly black hair who would be quite handsome if he wasn’t missing half his teeth. He does his best to present a tough image, but if he gets excited he whistles when he talks.
The toll at the station is 5 cp per traveler, horse, or cart. About half of this money goes back to the local ruler to help maintain and protect the roads. A third goes to the temple of Fharlanghn in the city. The Eastern Banshee trading company keeps whatever is left.
If a well-armed party refuses to pay the toll, Awnys allows them to pass, but makes sure Renn gets a good look at them. Renn keeps a light warhorse in a small stable just off the road, and he uses it to ride ahead of the toll violators to report them to the watchmen at their destination.
BORDER GUARDS
Peale Solago (LG male human aristocrat 6) commands a small border fort on the road between two nations. He is the son of a noblewoman who has been accused of withholding taxes from her lord. Peale volunteered for the border post to separate himself from his mother’s troubles and to begin rebuilding his own reputation. He has been at his post only two months, and his men (five human warrior 1) already despise him for his soft upbringing.
Peale and his men are charged with inspecting travelers and cargo passing along the road. Peale makes sure no one enters with diseased animals or any kind of illegal substance. He also checks the left forearm of any suspicious travelers entering or leaving the country for a special tattoo used to mark convicted criminals.
If the garrison is attacked, the border guards send a warning to the rest of the army. Peale uses homing pigeons, a couple of fast horses, and a signal fire atop the small keep to spread the news.
WATER BAILIFF
Captain Laren Leewader (LG human ranger 6, Profession [sailor] +10) is the water bailiff for the rivers and canals passing through a dangerous wilderness area. His job is to ensure the safety of the boats and barges passing through. He is captain of the Sylph, a two-masted ship with four crewmen (human commoner 2) and two soldiers (human warrior 3). The ship is equipped with a ballista (Dungeon Master’s Guide 100) mounted in the bow, and another in the stern. The ship is also equipped with four oars used in unfavorable winds.
Only Captain Leewader’s dark eyes, crooked nose, and thin, sun-chapped lips show through his bushy hair and beard.
When he’s on deck, his keen eyes watch the banks and the river ahead for trouble, and he has little tolerance for idle chatter. His animal companion, a crocodile (Monster Manual 272) named Jealousy, is never far from the ship.
Captain Leewader’s main concern is keeping the waterways open, but he is willing to put his ship and his men at the disposal of the local sheriff and wardens to fight land-based lawbreakers. His men respect him and trust his leadership.
REMOTE KEEP GARRISON
Marshal Gharen (NG half-orc fighter 6) is the commander of the token garrison of troops (eight human warrior 2) at Sable Keep, a small stone fortress overlooking a pass far up in the hills. He and his soldiers keep the pass clear of bandits. The garrison also provides some protection to the villages on either side of the pass, and the grateful villagers return the favor by supplementing the keep’s meager food supply.
Gharen makes the rules in the pass, and he is fond of letting his men and the travelers know it. He spends his days wandering the roof of the keep, watching the pass below. Two of his men, Reiland and Steelpot, are stationed in the pass and are ready to stop travelers at Gharen’s shouted command. Gharen seems to choose travelers at random for inspection and questioning. If he doesn’t like their answers or attitude, he sends them back the way they came.
NIGHT WATCHMAN
In a small frontier village that gets little attention from the local soldiers, has no fort or castle, and cannot afford to pay a permanent militia, volunteers like Slate Bluehone (LN dwarf expert 4) take turns standing watch at night. He climbs the crude wooden stockade wall to stand on a thin parapet and scan the dark fields for trouble. When friendly visitors approach, he has to climb back down to act as a gatekeeper. Slate has little combat experience, so his only recourse when trouble threatens is to raise the “hue and cry,” waking all of the townspeople for a show of force in numbers. During extended periods of trouble, the village leaders impose a curfew shortly after dark to make the night watchman’s job easier.
Slate is an amiable, talkative dwarf when working at his forge by day. On the nights he draws watch duty, he wraps himself in ragged leather armor and adopts a much less friendly demeanor. He is not shy about voicing his displeasure with anyone begging entry to the village or wandering its streets past curfew.
