Sweeney Todd — Demon Barber of Fleet Street
A clean blade, an empty chair, and a client who was seen entering Fleet Street but never leaving it.
At a Glance
- Identity: Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
- Species: Human
- Alignment: Neutral Evil
- Role: Murderous barber, discreet thief and urban-horror antagonist
- Where: Fleet Street, the London courts and the lanes leading towards Temple Bar
- Campaign status: Literary villain adapted into the 1454 setting; not a documented historical contemporary
- Close associate: Mrs Lovett, who operates a nearby pie shop
- Danger: A lethal razor, a concealed hatch and a cellar of incriminating evidence
The barber’s sign is plain enough to attract passing soldiers, clerks and travellers who cannot afford the fashionable shops. Todd warms his blades over a basin, makes polite conversation and remembers which of his customers carry heavy purses. The street beyond his door is always busy. So, strangely, is the pie shop around the corner.
A respectable razor trade makes him difficult to distinguish from the honest practitioners of London. His victims travel between the courts, the markets and the Tower of London; a witness may recognise the blade from a common shaving kit. If a courier’s sealed warrant bears the authority of Henry VI, even the city watch hesitates before opening it.
A groom reports that his master entered to be shaved and has not returned. The city watch calls it drunkenness. A servant insists that she heard the barber’s chair scrape across the floor followed by a heavy thump. By morning someone has paid to have the blood swept from the gutter.
Game Statistics
These are original campaign NPC statistics. Todd is dangerous through ambush, preparation and control of his premises, not through improbable open-field combat.
Sweeney Todd (5.5e / 2024)
Medium Humanoid (Human), Neutral Evil
AC 15 (studded leather beneath an apron); Initiative +3 (13); HP 65 (10d8 + 20); Speed 30 ft.
Skills Deception +3, Insight +4, Medicine +4, Perception +4, Sleight of Hand +5, Stealth +7; Senses Passive Perception 14; Languages English; CR 3 (700 XP; PB +2)
Traits
Cruel Opportunity (1/Turn). Todd deals an extra 7 (2d6) Slashing damage to a creature he hits with a razor if he has Advantage on that attack or if an ally that is not incapacitated is within 5 feet of the target and Todd does not have Disadvantage.
Familiar Premises. Todd has Advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made inside his shop or its connected cellar.
Actions
Multiattack. Todd makes two Razor attacks.
Razor. Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft.; Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) Slashing damage.
Shove into the Chair (Recharge 5–6). One creature of Todd’s size or smaller within 5 feet must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be pushed 5 feet and knocked Prone. If it is pushed into the prepared barber chair, Todd can activate the Murder-Chair trap as part of the same action.
Environment: Murder-Chair Trap
Trigger: A creature is seated or forced into the barber chair while its catch is armed. Effect: DC 14 Dexterity saving throw; on a failure, the creature falls 20 feet through the hatch, takes 7 (2d6) Bludgeoning damage, and lands Prone in the locked cellar. On a success, it moves to an adjacent unoccupied space and avoids the fall. The hatch can be released from above with an action or forced open with a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check. This trap is environmental, not a portable combat feature.
Sweeney Todd (5e / 2014)
Medium humanoid (human), neutral evil; Armour Class 15 (studded leather); Hit Points 65 (10d8 + 20); Speed 30 ft.; Challenge 3 (700 XP; proficiency bonus +2).
STR 14 (+2), DEX 16 (+3), CON 14 (+2), INT 13 (+1), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 12 (+1).
Skills Deception +3, Insight +4, Medicine +4, Perception +4, Sleight of Hand +5, Stealth +7; Senses passive Perception 14; Languages English.
Traits
Sneak Attack (1/Turn). Todd deals an extra 7 (2d6) damage on a razor hit when he has advantage on the attack or an ally that is not incapacitated is within 5 feet of the target, and Todd does not have disadvantage.
Actions
Multiattack. Todd makes two melee weapon attacks with his razor.
Razor. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
Shove into the Chair (Recharge 5–6). One Medium or smaller creature within 5 feet must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be pushed 5 feet and knocked prone. If forced into the prepared chair, resolve the trap below.
Murder-Chair Trap. DC 14 Dexterity saving throw to escape the concealed hatch. Failure: a 20-foot fall, 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage and knocked prone in the sealed cellar. Success: Todd’s victim moves to an adjacent unoccupied space and avoids the fall. Releasing the hatch from above takes an action. Force the hatch with a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.
Sweeney Todd (Pathfinder 1e)
Human rogue 6; CR 5; XP 1,600; NE Medium humanoid (human); Init +7; Senses Perception +11.
Defense
AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 17 (+2 leather armour, +1 masterwork buckler, +3 Dex, +1 Dodge); hp 39 (6d8 + 12); Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +4; Defensive Abilities evasion, uncanny dodge, trap sense +2 (+2 Reflex saves and +2 dodge AC against traps).
Offense
Speed 30 ft.; Melee razor +7 (1d4+2/19–20); Special Attacks sneak attack +3d6, rogue talents (fast stealth, finesse rogue, trap spotter).
Statistics
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 12; BAB +4; CMB +6; CMD 20; Feats Weapon Finesse (finesse rogue bonus feat), Dodge, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Heal), Skill Focus (Stealth); Skills Bluff +10, Disable Device +12 (+15 against traps), Heal +11, Perception +11 (+14 to locate traps), Sleight of Hand +12, Stealth +15; SQ trapfinding +3; Gear razor (dagger statistics), leather armour, masterwork buckler, thieves’ tools.
Murder-Chair Trap: mechanical trap, CR 2, Perception DC 20, Disable Device DC 20; Reflex DC 16 avoids a 20-ft. drop (2d6 damage) and prone in a closed cellar. A locked hatch can be opened with Disable Device DC 20 or Strength DC 20.
Sweeney Todd — D&D 3.5e
Size/Type Medium Humanoid (Human)
Classes Rogue 6
Hit Dice 6d6+12 (33 hp)
Initiative +7
Speed 30 ft.
Armour Class 16 (+2 leather armour, +1 masterwork buckler, +3 Dex), touch 13, flat-footed 16; Dodge grants +1 against one designated opponent
Base Attack/Grapple +4/+6
Attack Razor +7 melee (1d4+2/19–20; dagger statistics)
Full Attack Razor +7 melee (1d4+2/19–20)
Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks Sneak attack +3d6
Special Qualities Evasion, trapfinding, uncanny dodge, trap sense +2 (+2 Reflex saves and +2 dodge AC against traps)
Saves Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +4
Abilities Str 14, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 12
Skills Bluff +10, Disable Device +12 (masterwork thieves’ tools), Heal +9 (+11 with healer’s kit), Hide +12, Listen +11, Move Silently +12, Search +10, Sleight of Hand +12, Spot +11
Feats Weapon Finesse, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Heal)
Environment Fleet Street, London
Organisation Solitary, or with Mrs Lovett
Challenge Rating 6
Treasure Razor (dagger statistics), leather armour, masterwork buckler, masterwork thieves’ tools, healer’s kit (10 uses)
Alignment Neutral evil
Advancement By character class
Level Adjustment +0
Languages English
Murder-Chair Trap
Murder-Chair Trap: Search DC 20; Disable Device DC 20; Reflex DC 16 negates a 20-ft. fall (2d6 damage); escaping a bolted hatch requires a DC 20 Strength check. The device only works in Todd’s shop.
What Is Todd Doing Now?
A courier from the royal courts has vanished between Fleet Street and Temple Bar. His employer believes the man carried an oath from a noble household; Todd knows he was carrying a purse of silver, a pair of unusual pearls and a page bearing names of people willing to change their loyalties. Todd has sold none of it. He is deciding which buyer will pay most and which must not be allowed to leave the shop.
What the Adventurers Notice
- At the street: A lame stableboy still holds the missing courier’s horse, hoping he will return to pay.
- Inside the shop: Todd’s razors are polished, but the back of the chair has fresh scratches. A cord disappears through a drilled hole in the floor.
- Beneath the boards: A locked cellar contains confiscated clothes, a courier’s satchel and a hidden passage to a second property.
- At the pie shop: Mrs Lovett knows who bought pastry before the courier disappeared. She is far less easy to frighten than Todd thinks.
Running the Encounter
| Approach | Todd’s response | Evidence or danger |
|---|---|---|
| Customer seeking a shave | Questions the visitor about money and companions | An unattended purse draws him to the razor |
| Watch investigator | Offers a different suspect and demands a warrant | A bloodied sleeve in the cellar contradicts his story |
| Servant searching for an employer | Promises to deliver a message after dusk | He will arrange an ambush instead |
| Outlaw or underworld agent | Offers to buy the mystery rather than explain it | His contact with Mrs Lovett becomes visible |
For a fair investigation, allow careful players to discover the chair catch and inspect its hinges before anyone risks it. Perceptive characters can avoid an ambush without combat; Todd flees if trapped in the open or deprived of access to his cellar.
Personality, Allies and Enemies
Todd is fastidious, impatient with wealthier customers and skilled at presenting his anger as a professional offence. He likes to believe that other people are foolish enough to be arranged like objects on his shelves. He fears witnesses, daylight inspections and anyone who can prove that a particular customer never left. Mrs Lovett is his business partner, not his servant; each knows enough to destroy the other.
Adventure Hooks
- The Missing Oath. Recover the sealed list of household conspirators before it reaches a claimant’s enemy, without admitting why it matters.
- The Last Customer. A patron hires the party to reconstruct three disappearances from barber’s receipts. The entries match the days Mrs Lovett closes early.
- The Pearls of Fleet Street. A necklace taken from a traveller draws the attention of a haunt that follows anyone who wears it.
- A Face in the Glass. Todd insists a customer he killed has returned for the same shave. The figure may be a survivor, an illusion or a genuine revenant.
Equipment and Rewards
Todd carries a fine straight razor, a second concealed blade, keys, a barber’s leather satchel, cleansing salts, a coded account book and stolen personal effects. His real treasure is information: noble names, routes and sealed correspondence. A generous offer from Todd is usually a bargain designed to leave someone else holding the evidence.
Connections and Places
British Isles NPCs · London · Tower of London · Shaving kit · Henry VI · Sweeney Todd on screen
Mythical and Historical Context
Sweeney Todd is a fictional killer from The String of Pearls, a serial published in 1846–1847, with Mrs Lovett as an accomplice. Those literary origins are centuries later than this campaign’s date. The 1454 version deliberately transplants the legend into an earlier London of craft shops, guilds, household intrigue and urban haunts; the counterweighted barber’s chair and crimes are part of the campaign, not documented medieval history. Read the original serial, chapter one; the pie-shop chapter; publication and literary context.
Original encounter design and edition conversions for this campaign. Treat source material and period adaptation separately. Game terms are used descriptively; this NPC is not an official published stat block.
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