Guy Fawkes — The Undercroft Sapper
Guy Fawkes is a veteran soldier and siege engineer drawn into a conspiracy that requires someone practical enough to turn political anger into physical action. He understands mines, weak foundations, fire-setting, locks and the ugly difference between an inspiring plan and one that can actually be carried out.
Fawkes is part of a factional plot against a gathering of powerful officials. He joined because he believed the conspirators intended to frighten and expose their opponents; he is now discovering that some of them intend mass killing instead.
At a Glance
- Name: Guy Fawkes
- Species: Human
- Homeland: York, England
- Role: Soldier, sapper, siege engineer and conspirator
- Alignment: Lawful Neutral
- Campaign status: Alive and active
- Campaign use: Conspirator, engineer, morally difficult prisoner, sabotage expert or military ally
Game Statistics
5.5e / 2024
Guy Fawkes
Medium Humanoid (Human), Lawful Neutral
Armor Class 17; Hit Points 82 (11d8 + 33); Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 16 (+3) | 16 (+3) | 15 (+2) | 12 (+1) |
Saving Throws Con +6, Int +6
Skills Athletics +5, Investigation +6, Perception +5, Stealth +6
Challenge 7.
Traits
Siege Engineer. Fawkes has Advantage on checks to identify structural weak points, tunnels, undermined walls, blocked doors and evidence of deliberate sabotage.
Sapper’s Patience. Given 10 minutes to examine a structure, Fawkes can identify the safest route through it and one likely point of collapse or failure. This is an abstract game ability and does not provide real-world demolition instructions.
Prepared Escape. Fawkes has Advantage on checks to locate secondary exits from cellars, fortifications and siege works.
Actions
Multiattack. Fawkes makes two Longsword or Light Crossbow attacks.
Longsword. +6 to hit, 1d8+3 slashing.
Light Crossbow. +6 to hit, range 80/320 ft., 1d8+3 piercing.
Smoke Pot (2/Day). Fawkes throws an alchemical smoke vessel at a point within 30 feet. A 10-foot-radius area becomes heavily obscured until the end of Fawkes’s next turn.
Pathfinder 1e
Guy Fawkes CR 7; human fighter 3/rogue 3/expert 2. AC 20; hp 68; sneak attack +2d6. Craft (siegeworks) +16, Disable Device +14, Knowledge (engineering) +15, Perception +13, Stealth +13. Feats Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Knowledge [engineering]), Stealthy.
D&D 3.5e
Guy Fawkes CR 7; human fighter 3/rogue 3/expert 2. AC 19; hp 58; sneak attack +2d6. Craft (siege engineering), Disable Device, Search and Knowledge (architecture and engineering) are key skills.
What Is Guy Fawkes Doing Right Now?
Fawkes is inspecting an undercroft beneath a London administrative hall where several powerful officials are due to meet. He was told the plan was to frighten them by collapsing an empty storage chamber and exposing their vulnerability.
He has now discovered that another conspirator intends the hall to be occupied.
Fawkes has not yet decided whether loyalty requires finishing the job or stopping it.
Meeting Guy Fawkes
Fawkes speaks like a soldier dealing with a practical problem. He is uncomfortable with grand speeches and becomes suspicious when political men use vague language about “necessary sacrifice” without describing who is expected to die.
Encounters
- The party catches Fawkes measuring a cellar he has no legitimate reason to enter.
- Fawkes secretly asks the adventurers to identify who changed the plan.
- A city official wants Fawkes arrested before hearing what he knows.
- A conspirator offers the party money to ensure Fawkes never reaches Walsingham.
Appearance and Manner
Broad-shouldered and practical, Fawkes dresses like a veteran soldier or skilled engineer rather than a court conspirator. His hands are scarred from military work, and he carries chalk, cord, wedges and small tools more often than decorative weapons.
Personality
Disciplined, serious and loyal to people more than slogans. Fawkes can accept great personal danger but dislikes plans that hide their true cost from the people expected to carry them out.
Relationships
Francis Walsingham: the intelligence officer most likely to understand that capturing Fawkes alive is more valuable than killing him.
Conspirators: trust his practical skill but do not all trust his judgement.
York veterans: may know him as a capable soldier before politics complicated his life.
Equipment and Resources
- Longsword and light crossbow
- Engineer’s tools, chalk, measuring cord and wedges
- Alchemical smoke pots
- Keys and copied plans of several London undercrofts
- A sealed message proving the conspiracy’s objective was changed
Running Fawkes at the Table
Use Fawkes as the person who knows how a conspiracy becomes physically real. He is most interesting when the party can capture, persuade or protect him rather than simply fight him. His knowledge should create choices about whom to expose and which plan is actually underway.
Adventure Hooks
- The Changed Plan: Fawkes discovers the target is no longer meant to be empty.
- The Missing Undercroft Key: a key copied from a city office appears in a conspirator’s possession.
- The False Sapper: someone commits sabotage in Fawkes’s style to make him look responsible.
- Walsingham’s Prisoner: three factions attempt to seize Fawkes before he can be questioned.
- The Hollow Wall: a routine inspection finds a concealed tunnel leading toward a politically sensitive building.
Connected Places and People
Historical Inspiration
Guy Fawkes is adapted from the later historical conspirator and soldier. His practical role as the technically capable man inside a political plot is retained, while his equipment, motives and circumstances are rebuilt for the fifteenth-century setting.
Rules Notes
The statistics, siege-engineering abilities and conspiracy are original fictional adaptations for the stated rules editions.