Traveller: Character Challenge 2023: 16/31 The Gravedigger

Monday, January 16, 2023

Character Challenge 2023: 16/31 The Gravedigger

Not all characters need to be a playable character. There are always townsfolk and bystanders you need. Sometimes there are just background, other times there is a bit of interaction. And sometimes what was intended as a tiny distraction becomes an entire adventure.

One of the minis from an Archon kickstarter had a bunch of townsfolk. These are on the sprue, and with my fat fingers and inept modeling skills, are not a good way for me to get minis. Regardless, I do have a few of them put together, including this grave digger.

Old Sam has been digging graves since his pappy first gave him a shovel when he was a mere lad of 10. His family have been digging graves outside Port Covenant for generations. A quiet man wearing dirty-encrusted clothes, Sam's broad hat covers his face in the sun, and keeps him warm in the cold winters. Adept with his shovel, he and his 3 sons can get a grave dug in 20 minutes depending on the ground. Having seen so many buried, he has a macabre sense of humor and is not afraid of ghosts and things that go bump in the night. In fact, ghosts tend to ignore him as well.

While not shunned in town, people tend to go of their way to avoid the entire family. Living on the outskirts of town, this suits them just fine, except for the youngest, Lockabe, who does not want to be in the family business. A master craftsman, he wants to do more than make coffins. Sam accepts this as the two older boys seem content with digging graves, and a town, even one as trafficked as Fort Covenant, only needs to many graves dug.

Keeping this basically rules & mechanics free, I'll just free-form a character.

Taller than average but not by much, Sam is a quiet presence in Fort Covenant. Hands and cloths constantly dirty from dirt, he is a quiet man, always polite and with a seemingly infinite amount of patience. He digs the graves, waits until the body is deposited, and any last rites are performed, then fills the grave. He also does a silent benediction that has been passed down through the generations. Few people stick around to hear, but it is a prayer to the Old Gods to ferry the deceased soul to where it needs to go. Sometimes the Old Gods still listen, and Sam's family has been gifted with health for generations. They also have other gifts, and the dead and undead will never bother them.

Strength - average
Endurance - above average from years of digging
Intelligence - average
Wisdom - average

If he were to get into a fight, he is an expert at his shovel, and it will do above average damage. Not sure how I would define the shovel, but somewhere between a club, staff and a sword as he keeps the digging part sharp. And perhaps the Old Ones have blessed the shovel - can you have a +2 shovel?