NPC Profile: Samarid

Samarid is a former brother at the Morningstar Abbey, and currently a trainer and advisor to the military of The Freelands. He is a large, muscular human with bright red hair and a thick, bushy beard. He dresses in animal skins, and is an adept fighter with an axe or in bare-handed combat.

At the start of the campaign, Samarid served the abbey as a smith and a farmer. His apprentice was Guy Furyaxe (formerly Fiftynames), and in addition to his trade, Samarid would work with Guy on combat techniques. He was reserved and guarded in what techniques he was willing to teach Guy, but sufficient prodding and pleading would often get him to show Guy a new move or style.

Samarid wore a mysterious choker around his neck, which the party discovered was in place to magically suppress his barbarian rage, and to artificially raise his wisdom and intelligence so as to make him a functioning member of civilized society. Guy discovered Samarid’s impressive axe and a helmet made from the skull of Wyvern one day, which effectively put an end to Samarid’s training of Guy.

The night of Teris’ death, Guy removed Samarid’s choker and sent him after Faust, hoping that Samarid could protect Art from harm. Although Samarid and Art were defeated, they were not killed, and Samarid was held prisoner at the abbey. When the boys had completed their adventurer apprenticeships, they returned to the abbey and freed Samarid, giving him his chokere back and restoring his reason. Samarid accompanied the party to the Warrior’s Rest, where he agreed to serve as a bodygaurd to Eric while he conducted research into the party’s heritages.

Samarid would occasionally see the party from time to time when they would meet with Eric, and Guy and Samarid would normally spar and share combat knowledge with each other. When Eric became Bjorn and retired from his research into the Year of the Ram, Samarid joined the party’s newly-formed government of The Freelands as a trainer and advisor to the Freelandian military, where he remains to this day.