Nerof Gasgal
Lord Mayor -- City of Greyhawk

 
AC: 5 (leather armor and dexterity bonus)
MV: 12"
Class: T10
HP: 45
#AT: 1
Dmg: By weapon types (proficient with sling, longsword, dagger)
 

S: 10	I: 11	W: 8
D: 17	C: 12	CH: 16
Com: <?>	-	-

AL: LN
SA: quadruple damage from backstab
SD: high dexterity, thief skills

    Nerof Gasgal was born to desperately poor but proud parents
in one of the most squalid districts of the city of
Greyhawk. Despite his parents' best efforts to dissuade him,
Nerof idolized the Guild thieves. He admired their courage,
their skills, and, most of all, their wealth. When parents
tragically starved to death in his tenth year, he decided to
change his fate, and sponsored by a family friend who was a
Guild official, he apprenticed himself to the Thieves Guild.

    Once he as a full-fledged thief, Nerof advanced rapidly,
becoming known for his meticulous planning of every last
detail of operations. He believed in leaving absolutely nothing
to chance, and would pore over plans and models of a targeted
building until he could draw the entire floor plan from memory.
His thoroughness and attention to detail endeared
him to his superiors and peers, although he became the terror
of apprentices and lower level thieves who were assigned to
work under him. He did not tolerate slip-ups or errors.

    Then, a traumatic experience caused Gasgal to change careers --
and the direction of his life. While looting a
mage's long-abandoned castle, he tripped a magical trap
and found himself falling down an airshaft. Luckily, the
trap was an illusion, but his fellow thieves found him in a
catatonic state and returned him to Greyhawk. Clerical help
saved him, but he began to suffer severe bouts of vertigo
and developed a fear of falling. That incident convinced
Gasgal to give up the thieving life and enter politics.

    Nerof was never known publicly as a thief; to the public,
he was the proprietor of a gambling house catering to Greyhawk's
wealthy youngsters. Despite the fact that the
odds on the games blatantly favored the house, Nerof was a
popular figure among the newly wealthy. He had long been
urged to follow a political career, assured of support by his
customers, and when his disability forced him to quit thieving,
he took up their offers of political support and was delighted by the opportunities he discovered.

    As mayor, Nerof is popular and well-respected. His attention
to detail makes it difficult for anyone not in his favor
to cheat or oppress citizens. He is demanding of his staff,
but does not spare himself, routinely working twelve-hour
days. He takes bribes freely, but his theory is to "let both
sides pay bribes, then judge the case on its merits."

    His goals as Mayor of Greyhawk are to make the city run
as smoothly as possible and to be remembered as the best
Mayor in the city's history. His private goals are different:
He wants to be a member of the aristocracy. However, the
old rich don't hold him in the same regard as the new rich,
and he is snubbed as much as the upper classes dare due to
his lower-class accent and the "vulgar" origins of his wealth (the gaming house).

    The nobility secretly sneer at him, but no one forgets
what happened to one wealthy family so unwise as to shun
him publicly: Thieves descended repeatedly upon their
house; several family members died mysteriously; and
their business competitors exhibited uncanny knowledge
of their business plans. This did not stop until the whole
family was reduced to beggary.

    Nerof Gasgal is an attractive, charming man, 5'9" tall,
with graying hair. He dresses in conservatively cut, but
extremely expensive, clothing. He appears to be a trustworthy,
able businessman who is in politics only for the good of his beloved city.

    Nerof's office is equipped with many luxuries: heavy
draperies (which concealt that fact that his office is several
stories above ground), several attractive secretaries, and a
large, elaborate safe in which he keeps all the city files and
a wealth of information useful for blackmailing troublemakers
against who he doesn't wish to use force.

    His leather armor is of the finest quality. It was custom
made for him by the head of the Leatherworkers Guild
after he excused the leatherworkers from paying taxes during
a severe shortage of leather. His weapons are also of the
best possible quality, stolen especially for him by the
Thieves Guild Master as a gift upon his election to office.
He also owns a set of thieves' tools, and still regularly practices
all the thieves' skills that do not involve climbing. He
has access to many magical items, but does not keep many
on hand unless he actually needs them. He feels that
becoming too dependent on a magical tool || weapon would
make him too vulnerable. When Nerof does USE magical items,
he prefers those that facilitate theft without involving
flying || climbing. There is a 20% chance of finding
such items in his office || safe.

    Outside of politics, Nerof's interests are limited to his
gaming house (which he still owns) and the honing of his
thieving skills; he has no other real interests. Although he
is a social climber, he doesn't find social gatherings very
interesting--he attends them for information. He cultivates
good relations with the Guildmasters of the city, as
all mayors must, but the only one he socializes with is the
Thieves Guild Master. They often spend evenings together,
drinking wine and yarning about the "good old days"
before they achieved their present ranks. Nerof is still a
power in the Thieves Guild, and holds the title of Assistant
Guildmaster.

    PCs might encounter Nerof Gasgal is several
ways. They might be ambassadors from a neighboring
kand on biz. with the Lord Mayor of Greyhawk, or
they could be lower level thieves seeking his expert advice.
If any PC has info regarding an outside threat to
Greyhawk, Nerof will pay very well for it. He is also
interested in buying anything magical, esp. items of USE
to thieves, like gauntlets of dexterity or chimes of opening.

    If the PCs are enemies of Greyhawk, they will find Nerof
to be a deadly enemy. He cultivates close relations with the
Assassins Guild Master. There are several assassins on his
private payroll, and he has been known to USE them to quietly
eliminate threats.

ScottyG wrote:
Gary, is Nerof Gasgol an anagram for something? Since you're known for using anagrams, I've seen the possibility discussed a few times. It could be 'gorgon fleas', but I wouldn't bet on it.

Scott
 

It is just a name I made up, one that seemed suitable for the persona it identified.

Actually, it was inspired by the name of a chap that ran a local butcher shop here in Lake Geneva, Frank Gascal.
I suppose that I am attempting to emulate Jack Vance in regards character names.

Cheers,
Gary