The Candyman

Nazaryi is a well-known con-man who has a small bounty on his head. He’s tall, wears a large fedora with feathers and a purple coat. His face usually displays a large, open smile beneath his neat spiral moustache. Nobody knows where he came from, but he always seems to appear at night on the streets. He specializes in selling homemade products with unforeseeable and potentially damaging side-effects for the user. His most notable product is a concentrated sweetener which can be added to a potion to greatly improve its taste. It comes in various fruity flavours with only minimal chance of altering the original potion. He will tell you the mix is safe, because he himself ingested a sample of each ingredient before use.

He also knows a few tricks to enchant weapons with one-use abilities which may blow up in the hands of an unlucky customer. His intentions are quite innocent, but he angers the local authorities who want him arrested.

As a campaign NPC

The players can hear about him through different ways. For instance by stumbling upon a “Wanted” poster. They may ask around and find an unsatisfied customer who wants his money back. Maybe this client has been been intoxicated by the smoke emitted by a one-use flaming sword. Alternatively, the players may find him directly on the streets after sundown. His target market consists of lonely wanderers or small groups of maximum three people, especially the ones who look more naïve such as children.

When asked a question he doesn’t like to answer, Nazaryi tries changing the subject. He will usually offer homemade candy to the person asking.

Although he moves quietly through the night with his merchandise under his coat, he’s not much of a fighter. His main tactic consists in casting a light spell on his weapon to make it seem like an awesome artefact. This is usualy enough to scare off his enemies. He will easily surrender if the situation turns in a disadvantage and no retreat is possible.

After his capture

If the players manage to capture him alive and deliver him to the authorities, he will be arrested and hanged a few days later. However, if players are paying attention during the event, they may realise that it is not him on the stage, but a look-alike who has been visibly drugged. In the meantime, Nazaryi has left town to pursue his business elsewhere, possibly to encounter the group’s path another day?

Whatever happens, the tale of the Great Nazaryi will live on, and potion sweeteners will never be far behind.

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Looking for more character concepts? Check out the custom Marvel Superhero I designed for another campaign.