The Blackbottle Brothers

The meanest, orneriest, most rootin' tootin' toughest pair of hombres to never reach 4 feet in height.

The Blackbottle Brothers are a pair of halfling bounty hunters, dedicated to bringing in criminals from the "big folk" races. They don't much care about guilt or innocence, bringing in those branded outlaws justly or unjustly alike. The older brother, Aesar, is an embittered veteran of many battles, while his brother Athens is slightly more green. It is often Athens, however, that makes allows their hunts to bear fruit, as he is a master tracker in addition to being a crack shot.

Appearance:

Aesar: This halfling appears to be in his mid-30's and has a deep pink scar running up the right side of his face. His head is shaved bald and he wears a thick red mustache that hides his mouth. Dressed in muted (and dirty) greens and browns clothes and a tarnished breastplate, he wears a 4-foot sword strapped across his back, its grip wrapped in frayed leather. A mangy brown riding dog growls as it bears him.

Athens: A young halfling man with long red hair tied in a ponytail rides an impeccably groomed riding dog. A finely crafted longbow hangs at his side along with a quiver filled with a variety of arrows, each fletched with a different bright color. His clothes are simple but well-made, favoring grey and other subtle colors.

History:

Born in the slums of a large human city, the Blackbottle Brothers were raised in deject poverty. Their mother raised them alone, earning money by stealing from the humans that surrounded them. Bitter at her bad situation but too unfocused to ever do anything about it, she instilled a deep-seated hatred of humans into the young boys. When she the town guard killed her in the midst of her latest burglary, the boys naturally blamed humans for her death. Fearing that humans would come to finish them off, they fled into the countryside.

They found their way to a halfling village eventually, where a dog breeder named Folto took them in. While Folto attempted to teach the boys to judge others by their actions rather than their race, the teenage Aesar and Athens were burning with hatred for humans. At age 19, Aesar murdered a human traveler that was passing through the village looking for trade. Folto threw him out, but Athens decided to join his brother, and the pair stole a pair of riding dogs as they left.

For the next few years, Aesar worked for a bandit gang, helping to waylay merchants and couriers while Athens learned to track. The work was dangerous, and his tendency to turn on any fellow bandit that was human eventually earned him and his brother a hasty retreat. By this time, however, Athens was an adult and convinced his brother that they should hunt only those humans with prices on their head. This would let them continue to hunt and kill people but would keep the authorities (which they still both feared) away from them. Since then, the pair have brought in 14 bounties, all of them human, and all of them deceased.

Personalities:

Aesar is fairly bitter and pragmatic, interested only in opportunities to kill and make money, in that order. He has no sympathies for his targets, and only backs down when his life is in immediate danger. Even if defeated fairly, he will simmer with resentment, waiting for an opportunity to escape or, better yet, wreak revenge on those who defeated him.

Athens, on the other hand, is more idealistic. While he is just as racist about humans as Aesar, he believes the pair is noble for only hunting the "bad ones." He enjoys his work significantly more than does Aesar, for whom bounty hunting is just a way to work out bottled up rage. Athens might almost be described as sunny if it weren't for his complete indifference to the lives of others.

In conversation, Athens usually speaks for the pair, but it is Aesar who makes the final decision. Athens idolizes his older brother, and may surrender if Aesar is seriously wounded and his prospects for victory are slim. Aesar, on the other hand, feels only token affection for Athens, and will gladly fight after Athens has fallen. If he is victorious, he will raise his younger brother from the dead at a later time.

The brothers ride a pair of riding dogs they stole from their adopted guardian. Athen's dog, named Thunder, is a powerfully sleek animal that is fanatically devoted to his master, willing to put himself in danger to save Athen's life. Aesar is not so lucky; his steed, which he has named Stupid Dog, is stubborn beyond belief. Often, Athens needs to soothe his brother's mount and persuade him to cooperate.

 

Athens Blackbottle True neutral male halfling (Small humanoid) Ranger 6/Fighter 1 HD 6d8 (ranger) + 1d10 (fighter) +7, Hp 46 Initiative +5, Speed 20 ft. Armor Class 20 (+1 size, +5 Dex, +4 armor) (Touch 15, Flat 15) Base Attack +7; Grapple +4 Attack: Longsword +10 melee or longbow +14 ranged Full Attack: Longsword +10/+5 melee or longbow +14/+9 ranged (humans +2) or longbow with rapid shot +12/+12/+7 ranged (humans +2) Damage: Longsword 1d6+1/19-20 (humans +4, elves +2); Longbow 1d6+2/x3 (humans +2d6+6, elves +2) Face/Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft. Special Attacks: Favored enemy (humans +4, elves +2), manyshot +10 (damage 2d6+4) Special Qualities: Animal companion (Thunder), wild empathy +8 Saves: F +9, R +11, W +6 (+2 vs. fear) Abilities: Str 12, Dex 20, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 14 Feats: Endurance, Manyshot (virtual), Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot (virtual), Track Skills: Bluff +2*, Climb +3, Handle Animal +12, Hide +15, Jump +3, Listen +14*, Move Silently +12, Ride +15, Sense Motive +3*, Spot +12*, Survival +12*. (* +4 vs. humans, +2 vs. elves) Spells: magic fang, summon nature's ally I Equipment: +1 humanbane composite longbow (+1 Str bonus), mithril shirt, efficient quiver (contains 10 +1 frost arrows, 10 masterwork arrows tipped with large scorpion poison (Injury DC 18, 1d6 Str/1d6 Str), 10 cold iron arrows, 15 silvered arrows, 15 adamantine arrows), masterwork short sword, military saddle. Potions: Cure serious wounds x2, invisibility x2, 4 pass without trace x4. Thunder (animal companion) Riding dog (Medium animal) HD 4d8+8, hp 29; Init +3; Speed 40 ft.; AC 23, touch 13, flat-footed 20; Base Atk: +3; Grp +6; Atk: bite +6 melee (1d6+4); SQ evasion, low-light vision, scent; AL TN; SV Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +4; Str 16, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6; Skills: Jump +9, Listen +8, Spot +5, Swim +4, Survival +3 (+7 when tracking); Feats: Alertness, Iron Will, Track; Equipment: Chain shirt barding. Aesar Blackbottle Neutral evil male halfling (Small humanoid) Barbarian 5/Ranger 1/Fighter 2 HD 5d12 (barbarian) + 1d8 (ranger) + 2d10 (fighter) +16, Hp 79 Initiative +2, Speed 20 ft. (base 30 ft.) Armor Class 21 (+1 size, +2 Dex, +7 armor, +1 deflection) (Touch 14, Flat 21) Base Attack +8; Grapple +8 Attack: Greatsword +14 melee or lance +14 melee Full Attack: Greatsword +14/+9 melee (1d6+1/19-20) or lance +14/+9 melee Damage: Greatsword 1d10+7/19-20 plus 1d6 electric (humans +2); Lance 1d6+6/x3 (humans +2) Face/Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft. (10 ft. with lance) Special Attacks: Favored enemy (humans +2), spirited charge (x2 damage with mounted charge, or x3 with lance) Special Qualities: Improved uncanny dodge, rage (2/day), trap sense +1, uncanny dodge, wild empathy +0 Saves: F +14, R +8, W +4 (+2 vs. fear) Abilities: Str 18, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8 Feats: Combat Reflexes, Mounted Combat, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ride-by Attack, Spirited Charge, Track Skills: Bluff +0*, Climb +3, Hide +5, Intimidate +9, Jump +3, Listen +10*, Move Silently +3, Ride +13, Sense Motive +0*, Spot +2*, Survival +8*. (* +2 vs. humans) Equipment: +1 shocking cold iron greatsword, +2 breastplate, masterwork lance, cloak of resistance +2, ring of protection +2, military saddle. Potions: Cure serious wounds Rage: When raging, Aesar gains +4 Strength and Constitution, and a +2 bonus to Will saves; his AC suffers a -2 penalty. This gives him a +2 bonus to all attacks, a +3 bonus to all damage rolls (since all of his weapons are two-handed) and 16 additional hit points. Stupid Dog: Use standard riding dog statistics. Tactics Round-by-Round The brothers do not use magic much when hunting down prey, preferring mundane tracking and scouting techniques. They usually only take contracts to kill human targets, though occasionally they might take on an elf to pay the bills. If they can avoid it, they don't tangle with wizards; both are smart enough to know they just don't have the power to keep a wizard from just teleporting away. The Blackbottle Brothers always attack in unison, making good advantage of their mounted mobility. They will focus on their intended target first, followed by any other humans in the party. If they successfully eliminate all humans (and possibly elves), the pair are not above negotiating with any remaining dwarves, gnomes, or halflings in the enemy team. Prior to combat: The brothers will attempt to set up an ambush, hiding in underbrush or possibly using Athen's invisibility potions to ensure a surprise round. Athens will cast magic fang on Thunder, and if possible summon a wolf with summon nature's ally I. Surprise Round: Aesar rages and makes a mounted charge against the intended target, attacking with his lance, which he wields in both hands. He subtracts -4 from his attack roll for +8 damage via Power Attack, and damage is tripled due to Spirited Charge. Afterwards, he continues past the target as far as he can due to Ride-By Attack. Athens uses Manyshot to fire two arrows at the same target. The summoned wolf will try to hamper any obvious spellcaster for as long as the summon spell lasts. First Round: If Aesar wins initiative, he charges the same target again (still using Power Attack). If he loses initiative and finds himself in melee combat (don't forget any attacks of opportunity he is entitled to due to his lance's reach), Aesar drops his lance and uses Quick Draw to ready his greatsword. He then makes a full attack against anyone adjacent, preferring to attack humans. Athens instructs Thunder to move if his line of sight has become blocked and uses Rapid Shot to attack three times, favoring either the original target or anyone attacking him. Second Round: Aesar will try to finish off anyone in melee and then charge any remaining humans, attacking with his greatsword. If his brother is in trouble, he might even break away from melee (taking the attacks of opportunity) to charge anyone in melee with Athens. Thunder attacks any enemy who has closed with Athens, who then defends himself by ordering Thunder to back up a full 40 feet while his master makes a full attack with the longbow. If in bad shape, he will use poisoned or frost arrows. Third Round: Hopefully, the brothers have taken down at least two party members by this point, but if not they will focus on any melee combatants left before finishing off spellcasters and archers. If needed, Athens will drink a potion to heal himself. Fourth Round: The brothers will either simply be dominant, or else they'll run. Challenge Rating: Together, Athens and Aesar (along with their mounts) have a Challenge Rating of 9.

 

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