Showing posts with label hirelings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hirelings. Show all posts

Friday, June 8, 2012

Pointing-Men

"And another thing," said Odd, "while I can scythe my way right up to Alf's banner, still I can't see the man himself."
Then one of the local men who had been with Vidgrip said to Odd, "I don't know what's up with you that you can't see him, because he's marching just behind his banner and never moves away from it. If you want any proof, he's the one shooting an arrow from each of his fingers who kills a man with every one of them."
"I still can't see him," said Odd.
Then the man raised his hand above Odd's head and said, "Now have a look, under my hand."
At once Odd could see Alf and all the other things he had been told about him. Odd said, "Keep your hand like that for a while."
- Arrow-Odd, (Anon., 13th century AD)

Certain people are born with a natural talent for seeing through illusions. If this talent is painstakingly trained over the course of many years, then they may join the illustrious ranks of the Pointing-Men. It is their power not only to see things that are magically concealed and discern the falsity of all sorcerous illusions, but to confer this ability on their allies. All the Pointing-Man must do is point and all deceptions will fall away as long as the finger remains pointing.

Unfortunately, this life of constant mental discipline means that the Pointing-Men have no time for even the most basic of martial training, and thus must always remain 0-level hirelings with 1d4 hitpoints. As a result, most Pointing-Men are cowards and it is often difficult to get them pointing at anything for very long before they flee in terror.