NPC: Berenor the Bloodstalker

"Warrior - 4" by Bob Greyvenstein

Quick Aside

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Medium Humanoid (Human), Lawful Good

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Armor Class 18 (Plate Armor)

Hit Points 97 (13d8 + 32)

Speed 30'

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STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA

18 (+4) 11 (+0) 15 (+2) 14 (+2) 14 (+2) 11 (+0)

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Saving Throws Con +5, Wis +5

Skills Arcana +9, Insight +7, Medicine +7, Perception +7, Religion +6, Sleight of Hand +4

Senses passive Perception 17

Languages Abyssal, Common, Elvish, Infernal

Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

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Special Equipment. In addition to his Sword of Runes, Berenor wears his trademark red armor, Boots of Defiance, and Helm of Hunting.

Undead Slayer. When Berenor hits an undead with a weapon attack, the undead takes an extra 10 (3d6) damage of the weapon's type.

Actions

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Multiattack. Berenor makes two attacks with his Sword of Runes.

Sword of Runes. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10 +2) slashing damage - two handed. With his sword, Berenor can also cast Bless, Protection from Evil, and Searing Light as actions or reactions, once per day for each spell.

History. Berenor is a driven individual. At a young age, his village was the target of a vampire overlord named Lady Caskbowe who reveled in exerting her power and destructive terror over the people. Growing up in his village was hard enough, but then to have his family massacred in a fit of rage at the whim of the vampire was the breaking point. He armed himself and went to Lady Caskbowe's lair alone to mete out justice, but he wasn't trained and wasn't ready and barely survived getting to the keep in the first place. Luckily, a vampire hunter by the name of Ariana de Bolbec was staking out the vampire's keep on her own and happened upon the wounded Berenor. She saved his life by escaping with him and then took him under her wing. She trained him not only in the ways of the vampire but also of the undead and demonic. Berenor became a highly skilled swordsman and fighter under her tutelage, and when the time came for Ariana to retire, she revealed to Berenor that she was none other than the legendary Bloodstalker - a famous warrior who had waged war against the undead across the countryside. She then presented him with three powerful magic items she'd used in her own war against the undead and a suit of red armor custom made for Berenor.

Description. Berenor is fairly tall at 6'2" and weighs a solid 215 lbs, most of it being muscle. He has intense green eyes, and has long, flowing brown hair and a pointed mustache. When he's not wearing his armor, he wears a simple tunic and breeches but even when he's not wearing his armor, he's always carrying his sword.

Roleplaying Berenor. Berenor is gruff and respects warriors or spellcasters who show an aptitude for battle. He especially takes a warming to those who share his hatred of the undead and evil in general, and though he's a lone wolf most of the time he still wishes to learn anything he can possibly learn about his enemies and will offer information, gold, or training in a skill in exchange for any of the same. Berenor is a fountain of knowledge for any undead activity in the region the players encounter him in and if they plan to take down any powerful undead in the area that he hasn't personally gone after yet, he will ask to accompany them. In addition, Berenor has saved some tougher enemies for the right time to go after and having the PCs around may spur him toward going after one or all of them. With Berenor's Helm of Hunting, he can find the location of anyone he or the PCs may be looking for, and in battle Berenor will wait to use his Searing Light spell on the deadliest opponent who would be affected since he only gets to use it once per day with his Sword of Runes. However, his skill in fighting undead with his Undead Slayer feat and the sword's inherent magical properties make him an extremely difficult foe for any undead he encounters. Add to that he wears his magical Boots of Defiance, which keep him from being hindered in his movements, and Berenor really lives up to the legacy left by the original Bloodstalker, Ariana de Bolbec. Ultimately, Berenor only exists anymore to destroy Evil wherever he may find it. He only eats to survive, sleeps to survive, and the rest of the time he trains or fights. He meticulously plans his assaults on vampire nests, ancient ruins, or wherever else he attacks months in advance. The PCs will be astonished to see that his preparations take almost any factor into account.

We hope you enjoy using Berenor as an ally or enemy in your campaign or one shot. Of course, feel free to change anything at all about the character, as only you know how he'll best fit into your game. If you find he's too powerful with the magic items, feel free to take some or all of them away or even add your own. The links to bring you to the pages where we've previously published the stats for Berenor's magic items are embedded above in his "special equipment" section. I purposely left Berenor's past and current life sort of vague so he could be inserted into any game setting with minimal work, so happy hunting! Let us know what you think of Berenor and/or his magic items in the comments! - Joe