NPC Profile: Drooley

Marshall Drooley was a chief of local law enforcement in Arimathea, initially of the small hamlet Verl’s Crook, but eventually, due to takeing credit for an investigation that he did not solve, he was promoted to Marshall of Compassgate, one of hte nation’s largest cities.

Drooley first encountered the Order of the Abbey on their first adventure, when they happened upon a recently murdered woman on the streets of Verl’s Crook. Drooley, sheriff of the town, stumbled upon the scene and promptly revealed himself to be an incompetent drunkard. After being dismissed by Guy, Drooley handed over the reigns of the investigation to the party, and retreated back to the sheriff’s office to drink.

After passing out, Floyd and Virgil beat Drooley senseless and then placed him at the bottom of the stairs to make it look like a fall. When he came to, the party had solved the mystery – Gruth was behind bars, and Tolgas, the mastermind of the crime, was slain. However, due to the machinations of Maggie, the proprietor of The Gilded Lily (Verl’s Crook’s inn and tavern), Drooley was given credit for the investigation and the party returned to the abbey unheralded. Later, under Drooley’s watch, Gruth escaped.

Years later, Drooley would become the subject of one of Floyd Fiftynames’ first songs, “Marshall Drooley is an Idiot.” The song mixed truth and slander to hilarious effect. Other than the reknown brought by the song, Drooley was not a fixture in the lives of the characters until the day the party went to Compassgate to meet the impending invasion of Doogal, whereupon they learned that Drooley had been promoted to Marshall of Compassgate. In an act of supreme stuipidity, Drooley had given the bulk of his force the day off to celebrate the Yule, leaving Compassgate defenseless. The party attempted to talk some sense into Drooley, and when this didn’t work out, he was killed by Guy.

Today, to be “Drooley” is synonomous with stupidity and incompetence.