Margût's page

AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 14, (+4 armor, +3 Dex)
HP 17 (2d8+4)
Fort +5; Ref +6; Will +1

Speed 30 ft.
Melee short sword +4 (1d6+1)
Ranged light crossbow +4 (1d8)
Special Attacks alchemical weapon, bomb 5/day (1d6+4 fire, DC 14)
Alchemist Extracts Prepared (CL 2)
1st (3/day)—ant haul, shield

Str 12, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 7
Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 15
Feats Brew Potion, Throw Anything, Weapon Finesse
Traits Mathematical Prodigy, Outlander (Exile), Perfectionist's Brew
Drawbacks Loner
Skills Craft (alchemy) +10 (+12 to craft alchemical items), Disable Device +6, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (engineering) +8, Knowledge (nature) +8, Perception +6, Profession (soldier) +6, Spellcraft +7 (+9 to craft potions), Stealth +10 (+11 without armor), Survival +6
Languages Common (Taldane), Draconic, Giant, Goblin, Infernal, Orc
SQ alchemy (alchemy crafting +2, identify potions), discoveries (explosive bombs, precise bombs), mutagen (+4/–2, +2 natural, 20 minutes)
Alchemical Gear acid (3), alchemist's fire (6), antitoxin, hobgoblin war draught, smelling salts, smokestick, thunderstones, tindertwigs (6)
Magical Gear formula alembic, potion of cure light wounds (4), potion of monkey fish
Mundane Gear alchemy crafting kit, bandolier, bedroll, belt pouch, blanket, flint and steel, formula book, inkpen, iron pot, light mace, light crossbow with 40 bolts, masterwork backpack, masterwork chain shirt, mess kit, short sword, soldier's uniform, torches (5), trail rations (5), vial of ink, vials of oil (5), waterskin, whetstone

5 sp, 5 cp

combat-trained light horse (unnamed grey mare), military saddle, saddlebags

Current Encumbrance: 87.5 lbs. Light Load: 50 lbs. or less (with Masterwork Backpack)

Height: 5′6″ (168 cm), Weight: 200 lbs. (90 kg)

Margût is wiry, with bandy legs and disproportionately long arms. Like most hobgoblins, he is slightly shorter than the average human, a fact accentuated by his stooped posture. However, his skin is not the sickly grey-green common to most of his kind, but a bright shade of crimson. Two gleaming yellow eyes peer from a sharply featured face, frozen into a permanent sneer of contempt. Scars and burn marks cover the grizzled veteran's hardened hide: while some are brand new, others seem to be decades old. His equipment is similarly scorched at places, though the worst of the damage has been carefully mended. To a discerning eye, the faded red uniform of Molthuni armed forces is still visible under his black-enameled chain shirt, though all overt signs of his former affiliation have been torn off and discarded. A bandolier sporting a wide variety of stoppered vials runs across the hobgoblin's chest, and on his belt he carries a curved short sword with a matching dagger, a small mace, and a well-maintained crossbow with a full quiver of bolts. He wraps himself in a dark, hooded cloak when trying to move about unseen, but otherwise ties it back to keep it from hampering his movements.

By more 'civilised' standards Margût is borderline antisocial, displaying few traits that would endear him to most humans. By goblinoid reckoning, however, he is uncharacteristically reasonable. Drilled from birth to serve as a soldier, he is perfectly suited for working as a part of an organised unit. Though he is as convinced of his superiority as any hobgoblin, his years in the Molthuni armed forces have inured him to working with a diverse variety of people—as long as they are ready to offer him the same courtesy, he is willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. Even if his lack of social graces rarely leaves the best impression on people, none can deny his unflinching professionalism. Once Margût sets out to do something, he will see it to the end. As a part of a team, he tends to settle for an advisory role, stepping to the forefront only when his particular talents are needed.

Though he is as clever as the most erudite human scholars, Margût's savage nature often obfuscates his keen intellect. This is something that uses to his advantage, allowing more 'sophisticated' people to assume that he is merely a dumb brute. He is unused to kindness and treats altruism with suspicion, but if treated with respect, he will respond in kind. He appreciates strength and despises weakness, though he sees that there is more to strength than physical power: capable leadership, cunning, and ruthlessness are all virtues that he a can look up to. Margût thrives on discipline and rigid order, and takes the most pragmatic approach to most problems. While he is always ready for a fight, he is usually conserving his strength for worthy opponents. The weak are beneath his notice, unless they come in the way of his objective. Indeed, while extremely pragmatic, Margût is not particularly cruel or sadistic. When forced to violence, he focuses his efforts on ending the conflict as quickly as possible. He prides himself on using the least amount effort and resources to achieve his goals.

Margût was born in the goblin-infested Chitterwood of southern Isger, to small warband called the Maroon Marauders. They were best known for their unusual colouration, caused by a rare form of albinism resulting from the lack of the green-grey pigmentation common to most hobgoblins. Despite their distinctly bright appearances, they were especially skilled in covert operations, espionage, and sabotage. The Marauders belonged to a complicated hierarchy of other warbands, ultimately answering to the strongest warchief in the region. Margût himself was weak and sickly, a condition that relegated him to the very bottom of said hierarchy. He was bullied relentlessly by other hoblings, and were it not for his keen intellect, he would surely have perished long before reaching maturity. Though he failed to master the martial arts, he excelled in engineering, a skill that was prized amongst the warband's cunning saboteurs. Nominally the servants of the archdevil Moloch, they harnessed fire and smoke to aid in their clandestine operations. After showing aptitude for alchemy, Margût was spared further drills, and was instead inducted into the secrets of arson.

So it was that Margût came to serve in the series of conflicts that is known to human history as the Goblinblood Wars. When the call came from on high, the Maroon Marauders readily accepted their part in the growing horde. Through the dozen years of conflict, the warband proved their worth in a variety of skirmishes by assassinating enemy commanders, collapsing fortifications, burning bridges, and cutting off supply lines. Their passing always heralded the arrival of the bulk of the goblinoid forces, and their enemies came to dread the unseen Marauders. Finally, in the last years of the war, the warband was scattered by a group of Twilight Talons from Andoran, specifically sent to hunt down the illusive saboteurs. The clash was brief and bloody, and Margût was one of the few who managed to survive. The young hobgoblin escaped into the Menador Mountains with the rest of the stragglers. For some years, they offered their services to a variety of masters, from other goblinoids to human outlaws plaguing the Isgeri countryside. They survived, yet they lusted for the opportunity to be a part of something greater.

Finally, they were drawn north to Molthune, having heard of the possibilities the aspiring empire offered to what most human nations considered 'monstrous' races. Known by reputation to be skilled saboteurs, the remaining Marauders were welcomed with open arms. For a while, Margût was content to fight for the sake of fighting. Eventually, however, he became disillusioned with the conflict. As he served with a wide variety of different races, he found himself marching side by side with other veterans of the Goblinblood Wars, driven to the same desperate struggle for survival as he had been. He saw the last of his bandmates fall one by one, fighting for a cause that they had no stake in, and he felt empty. The bloody glories of his past were a distant memory, and he knew that there would not be another Goblinblood Wars in his lifetime. Unable to come to terms with his growing sense of ennui, the veteran was overcome by an uncharacteristic urge to disobey. He deserted, leaving the conflict on the Nirmathi border for the wilderness...

1st:
crafter's fortune, cure light wounds, disguise self, monkey fish, shield, reduce person, targeted bomb admixture, true trike