Barbarian, Thug

Not all barbarians come from wilderness regions, some even hail from cities. The thug might have been overlooked, a miscreant who never learned the intricacies of human interaction, barbaric more in his lack of comprehension than his appearance.

The Quintessential Barbarian
Author Robert Schwalb
Series Quintessential Series
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2003

These bravos hire themselves out on the streets, usually in service to a thieves guild for their muscle. Bodyguards, toughs or even simple muggers are the usual money-making occupations thugs enjoy. Having little in the way of virtue and no interest in changing their ways makes them despicable in most circles.

Adventuring: Whether the character is simply an idiot or just an anti-intellectual, the thug will happily undertake almost any quest provided the money is good, the women are available and the ale free flowing. Thugs make the perfect frontline warrior as they are easy to exploit and appear to be extremely expendable. Out of necessity, these barbarians will do the nasty jobs murder, extortion, enforcement and slaving. These jobs make them difficult companions for those of a higher moral calibre.

Roleplaying: The thug is the paradigmatic example of misplaced vanity. Arrogant to a fault, he never recognises the hurt he inflicts, the needless suffering. He is completely selfish, albeit in a stupid manner. Respecting power and strength, and understanding abuse, he will usually latch onto a powerful member of the party and serve as his lackey. Despite all of his failings, he can even mean well, albeit in a misguided manner, sometimes performing acts of amazing charity, as if somewhere in the dark recesses of his mind there lurks a conscience.

Benefits: The thug relies upon his strength to carry him through life. He may rage one extra time per day for a number of rounds equal to 5 + his newly-modified Constitution score.

Penalties: Ignorance is bliss. The thug may not take ranks in Intelligence-based skills. Furthermore, he suffers a -2 competence penalty to all Intelligence based checks. In addition, he cannot be of a good alignment and, should he become so, he loses the benefits listed above while retaining these penalties.