Key figures and antagonists

Think of this section as a set of villains that can be used in any circumstance that makes sense. Some operate in the open, some are more subtle. Some are human, some are not. If Hastam was a comic, these would be the villains of the week. Together hopefully they form more of a rogues’ gallery, and if the party gets personal enough with them they can become recurring antagonists. As ever, follow the basic writing rule of not just slotting them in based on who’s the coolest or funniest, do it based on an adversary’s personal connection to the narrative and themes of the particular story being told. Remember: give any new additions to the list a colourful personality, and either allow them to be powerful enough to take centre stage or influential enough to ruin the party’s day even without direct engagement.

Reynauld Takesalot: One of the easiest ‘generalist antagonists’ to slot into a story, Sir Takesalot is a man of many faces with a unique power and an unpredictable personality. Driven by an animalistic drive to simply ‘take’, he can feasibly be behind robberies, murders, or far more petty acts of villainy. He is controlled by his Charm of Nerrith, an object that compels him to steal, shapeshift and impersonate. Due to such a long period of contact, he and the charm have formed a near-symbiotic relationship, allowing Reynauld to live for hundreds more years than normal (after all, fatal injuries or old age can most often be avoided with a form change). However, the corruptive influence of the charm has fractured his mind, making him a creature of habit that operates on strange rules. This effectively allows the storyteller to run Reynauld at whatever power level is needed, since he is not at all times aware of how much power he possesses, or is seriously constrained by the drawbacks of sharing his mind with a piece of jewellery. As a shapeshifter, he can easily attain great physical strength, turn his body into weaponry, or even mutate into an eldritch monstrosity, but under all the vanity, thievery and obsessiveness is a veteran of an ancient war with a good ear for music. It is possible that reminding him of this is an achilles’ heel of sorts. This is also why he can be played seriously or comedically, as either a dramatic lunatic putting on a show or an immortal being whose life has been poorly spent, not quite wanting to let go just yet. Lastly, he works great if he has a personal vendetta against the party, using any opportunity he has to take revenge!

Ambrose ‘Major Inconvenience’ Forester: Although Ambrose could quite easily be the protagonist of his own story in another life, that’s not his role in Hastam as a tabletop RPG. He and Reynauld are both influenced heavily by magic items, Reynauld due to prolonged usage and Ambrose because of the sheer power of what he’s attuned to. At his core, Ambrose is a good man - raised in a small village and having to deal with Sinistra’s fog infestation year after year, his aim in coming to the Partisan Empire was to find out how to end the curse. However, after being refused an audience with the Emperor and witnessing the death of his adventuring party, he became rather disillusioned with the profession and felt worthless, even inconvenient to any cause he served. Along the way, he picked up a crown, one of the many commissioned by the Rift-King, an ancient evil that menaced Hastam. Lacking its jewels all it allows for in its dormant state is control over lesser creatures and power over fire. Should it be powered up though, a great deal of strength is imbued in its user, allowing Ambrose to control others with ease. However, such an artefact, similar to the One Ring, grants great capacity for evil, and encourages it at every turn. One way or another, if Ambrose is to feature as a villain to the party, he needs to come into contact with the jewels required to power up the crown, and that method needs to involve the party in some way. Whether they slight him, ignore him, or happily lead him to the jewels, Ambrose will realise what he is to everyone around him: just a minor inconvenience. His story is rather unique in that it’s intended to make the party feel as though they have some role in his downfall, rather than in Reynauld’s case where his nature was clear from the start. As the campaign goes on, Ambrose will get more consistent and coherent with his schemes, the crown moulding him into a villain worthy of succeeding the Rift-King, and things end with a final confrontation, the outcome largely depending on whether the party have been empathetic and attempted to be amiable to a man whose stated goal is to oppose them, or instead vilified him. His plans are themed around the superficial idea of villainy (tripwires, large imposing nets, and whatnot) but become more organised and militaristic as he adopts the alias ‘Major Inconvenience’. Like in Reynauld’s case, he can be played seriously or comedically, either as an overblown irrational nutjob who addresses his animals as deputies, or simply a man who’s fallen out of love with the world because of circumstances beyond his control. This latter interpretation may involve the party witnessing the destruction of his hometown, be it by Ambrose’s own hands, the fog’s, or some other reason.

Gregg ‘Grugg Gruggson’ Gregson - This is a character that can easily serve as an antagonist for any Golk-related storyline. Ethnically Deltanese (whatever that means) and formerly serving as a journalist for one of Deltan’s most prominent propaganda news columns, he saw a power vacuum arise in Temple Terrace when one of the largest gangs was decimated in a raid by rivals. Organising the remnants of this gang by using a mixture of propaganda and cunning, he’s haphazardly changed his name and appearance in an attempt to look like a local, keeping his arms in papier mache casts designed to look like the signature rocky extremities of the people he’s supposedly part of. Where previously Gregg Gregson was bullied for his stupid name and frail stature, now he is unquestionably the leader of one of the largest gangs in the Mountains - complete with their own ethically dubious mining companies. If you’re on his list, your future plans will be on the rocks in no time.

Gracie Krieg -

Fat Alvis -

Grim ‘The Reaper’ Buckman -

Ivan Bludgin -
Louis Lardlegs - the infamous Stench travel writer. He hasn't left his bath in 30 years - he just pays other people to do the travelling for him. His travel books can often be found in bookcases with excerpts for the player to read. On the basis he has never been to any of the places he writes about, his books contain a lot of inaccuracies but no one seems to mind too much. His books are all embossed on the back with a large orange "Don't Bother" logo. "I've done all the travelling for you" is another of his taglines (even though he hasn't).