The Wedding of the Giantess Morwenna: Mercenaries

Hopfer and Schon

If the players want to fight in the Tournament of the Giantess Morwenna but didn’t bring a retinue of troops, they’ll need to recruit an army. They can do so locally, but options are limited besides hiring people away from the other contestants. If they want more troops, they'll have to hire some outside help.

Black Mask

Black Mask is a combined arms force, led by the superstitious Level 3 Fighter Hintikka. She does good work but constantly harangues for increased hazard pay.

 

The eight Myconids are crooked of body and chalk white in color. They communicate telepathically via spores. Their mycelial mother founded the company with a murderous Halfling entrepreneur because she wanted her children to see the world. Lumbering toward the enemy and spraying them down with spores is a small price to pay for adventure.

 

The eighteen Level 1 Fighters wear eponymous masks of cloth impregnated with activated charcoal. Combined with glass goggles these respirators stop them from inhaling spores, allowing them to storm positions and massacre defenders incapacitated by the Myconids’ spores. They carry swords and pistols for close combat. 

Chelicera

Chelicera is a Level 5 Deep Elf bard, with a wide brimmed hat that protects her eyes from the sun. She’s talented but lazy, interested only in performing and basking in tribute.

 

When Chelicera plays music, allies in earshot get immunity to charm, hypnosis and other forms of mind control (though not to visual illusions). She knows no spells, but if given helpless victims she can sacrifice them to the Decapitator (fanged spider Goddess) and summon Lesser Devils with HD equivalent to half the total of the sacrifices. Such Devils fight at her command for one day unless fed additional living victims.

 

Median the Yellow

Median is a Level 3 Elf Druid from the See of Trees. He’s a friendly Elf who loves to dance and play, crawling on the ground or climbing trees to observe tiny creatures.

 

Median leads a hive of Killer Bees, which he transports in a haycart pulled by a mule. He cast Animal Friendship on the queen and that gave him mastery of the hive. He stops them from attacking random people, unleashing them only in war or for self defense. In cold weather he uses Heat Metal to warm an iron orb inside the hive and stop the bees from dying.

 

When hired, Median stipulates that he’s willing to send no more than 22 bees to their deaths. During the tournament he fights from the backline, never advancing into line of sight of the enemy. The bees act like cruise missiles, seeking out high value targets with purpose and intelligence. They fly low and use terrain to screen their movements until they’re within stinging distance. They mob well-prepared targets to avoid being picked off one by one.

Panzerbjorn

Also known as the Three Bears, this trio of mercenaries wear the integuments of giant Tardigrades as armor. The hollow exoskeletons have been animated and obey the thoughts of their wearers, like a second skin made of stiff, transparent rubber.

• The excitable dork Gwynfwydych leads the group. His water bear is pale pink and warty, with curled yellow claws
• Stella the Half-Elf is the slovenly necromechanic who keeps the suits functioning, though all three mercenaries know basic maintenance. Her bear has whip-like flails for limbs.
• Lamb the Human drives a rust red bear with orange streaks and blisters. He handles the logistics and the financial side of the equation.

The undead water-bears open up from the back. While wearing them the Panzerbjorn have stats as Tardigrade (HD 9, HP 41, AC 10, half damage from physical sources, immune to elemental damage, save to ignore most magic or special effects. Two claws d6 each and bite 1d8). The trio carry Potions of Expeditious Retreat in case they need to bail out and escape in a hurry.

The suits can be commanded while the Panzerbjorn aren’t inside them, but lack dexterity and speed. Uncrewed they’re mostly useful as beasts of burden.

Red Ball
A dozen Level 1 Magic Users from the College of Wands’ Last Autumn campus, equipped with Wands of Magic Missile they crafted in their Arcana course. Their mercenary adventures are one part practicum required for course credit, one part hustling for tuition money.

In battle the Red Ball mages scatter and hide wherever they can. They peek out and fire Magic Missiles at targets designated by their leader Yad, who uses a custom casting of Light to mark targets. Without his guidance they shoot important looking enemies or target whatever’s closest. They run away from hand-to-hand fights and overwhelming ranged magic but stick together in a shootout, afraid of disappointing their classmates.