Athelwulf

Role: Warrior

Summary: Noble warrior cast into doubt

Background

Athelwulf is a Svamaynad, a type of monastic/ascetic order that sell themselves as mercenary famous for their code of honor and great skill with swords. However, shortly before the PC meets him, he was involved in a mission that went disastrously wrong and resulted in the destruction of an entire peasant village. Wracked with guilt, he left the Svamaynad and traveled to Basfert, where he meets the PC.

Plot

He helps save the PC from being ambushed by muggers, but he leaves the PC as soon as he saves him, refusing to even give his name. He heads to a near by tavern, in which the PC can either run into him by sheer chance or meet him shortly after as the story requires the PC to go to the tavern and encounter him. After goading, he reveals his background to the PC. The PC can choose to either take him along or leave him to his drinking. Either way, he's made a vow not to kill again until he has amended for his misdeeds, and uses a wooden sword until he pays a weregild for his past crimes. He asks the PC to take him to the locations of past missions he went on for the Svamaynad, to gain closure. If the PC does so and talks to the locals along with Athelwulf, they’ll learn that at some of the sites conditions became terrible after their missions, and at others conditions dramatically improved. If the PC takes him to enough sites to get closure while also giving him encouragement, he will eventually comes out of his self-loathing and doubt and becoming stronger than before. If the PC ignores him or discourages him, he’ll collapse into despair and, pending the severity, simply become meek, become an alcoholic, go insane, or commit suicide. He’s heavily tied into the earlier parts of the story and can also have a significant role in the later stages of the game if the PC makes him regain his confidence.

Equipment/Abilities

Athelwulf is one of the best all around warriors in the game, having a good attack rate and good agility, as well as fairly high HP. He can use swords, pole arms, bludgeons, and axes. He can use light and heavy armor: shields, boots, greaves, corselets and cuirasses, gauntlets, pauldrons, gorgets and cloaks. He has access to all endurance abilities. His exclusive skills allow him to cause status effects on critical hits and Wills that allow special moves when using a sword.