Skullcrusher (Phlan)

Skullcrusher was a formidable mercenary and adventurer who once served the infamous Cadorna family of New Phlan in the mid-14 century DR.

"I'm a simple man, but eventually I just got tired of it all. It may not seem like it now but.. adventuring's a hard life. It wears you down, sure as the sea on shore. At some point, a man just has to tally his blessings and spend the coin he's scraped together on the years he has left."

- Skullcrusher

Description
In his advanced age, Skullcrusher had sickly pale skin color, long gray hair, and a gray beard. He wore simple clothes, urged with age. Even though the man suffered the ill effects of time, he still had a notably powerful physique of someone who once was a strong warrior. Even in his elderly years, Skullcrusher had piercingly clear eyes.

Personality
Skullcrusher was a gruff and direct man. In his twilight years, he liked to talk about his past and share stories with younger mercenaries.

Possessions
Brainscrambler was an enchanted mace custom-made for Skullcrusher. It remained his most trusted weapon and accompanied him into retirement. He also kept the magic cold iron Cadorna family sword that was entrusted to him by an ex-employer. Even when unarmored, Skullcrusher wore a cloak of protection, a ring of free action, an amulet of natural armor, and a belt of frost giant strength. He owned an enchanted +3 set of studded leather and owned several potions, including potions of speed. Another prized possession of his was an ivory horn of Valhalla that summoned ivory shieldmaidens, deadly constructs shaped like human females.

In his elderly years, Skullcrusher settled down in a remote cottage in the southeastern part of the Neverwinter Wood.

History
Skullcrusher was a mercenary who faithfully worked for the Cadorna family of New Phlan until the. His favorite story to tell was that from the legendary struggle against the tyrant of Old Phlan – Tyranthraxus. He was sent by Councilmember Cadorna to his family's old textile house to retrieve a stash of Cadorna treasure. But he was captured by a band of hobgoblins who served the tyrant. He was in chains when he was rescued by the famed Heroes of Phlan, with whom he briefly joined to escape the monster-infested city. He reached freedom, but not before he crushed the skull of one of his assailants, giving credence to his colorful nickname. He believed that his last employer from that family, the infamous Porphyrys Cadorna, was one of the "good guys." However, that was not true, and Porphyrys' treason against this city became public knowledge. Even though Lord Cadorna was always good to Skullcrusher, his morals dictated that he had to leave the family's employ at the age of 31 in 1340 DR.

For the decades that followed, Skullcrusher made a living by adventuring and doing mercenary jobs in the Dalelands. The man had a long and colorful career. One of the adventurers of note was when he worked for an elf necromancer who routinely cut his enemies' fingers off and kept them within his robes' folds. Skullcrusher and several other mercenaries played pranks on the necromancer, something the man remembered fondly in his twilight years. Another lesson he learned from adventuring was the orges' bodies burn fast, and stacking them up in a pyre made a bad cover. Yet another story involved Marguel at Twilight, a tough and mean man, and confrontation with him cost Skullcrusher his head in the literal sense. His body was lost, and only the head was recovered by his comrades. It took them a month or two before they could find someone to resurrect Skullcrusher. At one point, Skullcrusher also came face to face with the dreaded Mulmaster Beholder Corps. He later would say that all people who claimed to had faced the eye tyrants were liars and that the Beholder Corps was more of a "beholder squad." In the, Skullcrusher faced a dragon of the Ironspur in the Cold Lands. The wyrm was the mate of Frezaail, an old bastard, by Skullcrusher's words. At one point, Skullcrusher was part of a mercenary company that faced a basilisk. Half of the men were petrified, teaching Skullcrusher to get into the habit of closing his eyes when facing these monsters, even though he often bumped into the walls. He also visited the Bell of the Depths at one point, where he tangled with some unfriendly sahuagin. He also complained that wielding weapons that sliced the heads in battle was disadvantageous as it just made everyone trip over all the heads that littered a battlefield.

Many years after Skullcrusher left Phlan, and after Porphyrys Cadorna fled the city, in 1351 DR, the mercenary and his once-employer reconnected oh so briefly. Porphyrys was the owner of the Cadorna family sword but never sired any heirs. The sword was gifted to Skullcrusher.

This tough profession took a toll on the aging mercenary. Eventually, Skullcrusher used the coin he saved to purchase a remote cottage in the Neverwinter Wood and retire, living out the rest of his life in quiet solitude. Skullcrusher's home stood off the beaten paths, so he rarely had visitors, apart from an occasional curious adventuring party. He had no wisdom to impart upon those rare adventuring visitors, but he could talk for hours, relieving past adventures. If Skullcrusher was indulged in reminiscing and stories, he was ready to part with his trusty enchanted mace. He thought that gifting the weapon to a worthy adventurer was a better option than some monster looting it from the cottage after Skullcrusher's eventual death.