Bodyguard

*"Back off! Nobody touches Mister Garibaldi!"*

## Basic

(Core) Old Worlders claim Altdorf merchants are so dishonest they can’t even trust themselves with their own lives – thus they pay Bodyguards to look after their assets. The Old World is, of course, a dangerous place and its cities are no exception. It’s all too easy to end up with a knife in the back on the crowded streets of a major metropolis like Nuln or Middenheim. The rich and powerful use Bodyguards to protect themselves from thieves and common riffraff. While many look like the thugs they are, others are gussied up in the livery of the Noble or Merchant House they serve. Some of the groups are so big that they are practically private armies.

### Secondary Profile

**Skills:** Dodge Blow, Heal, Intimidate, Perception

**Talents:** Disarm or Quick Draw, Specialist Weapon Group (Parrying), Specialist Weapon Group (Throwing), Street Fighting, Strike to Stun, Very Strong or Very Resilient

**Trappings:** Buckler, Knuckle-dusters, A Pair of Throwing Axes or Throwing Knives, Light Armour (Leather Jack)

### **Career Entries**

Estalian Diestro, Jailer, Mercenary, Thug

### **Career Exits**

Bailiff, Bounty Hunter, Interrogator, Jailer, Mercenary, Protagonist, Racketeer

## The House of Haessler

Perhaps the most famous bodyguards in the Empire are the black and grey-clad House of Haessler. Colonel Reinhald Haessler of Altdorf started this company after mustering out of the Imperial army. Badly disfigured and sporting a hook in place of his left hand, Herr Haessler decided that regardless of injury, retirement was not for him.

He recruited thugs and mercenaries, dangerous men who knew their way around a fight, and otherwise might have turned to knee-breaking or banditry. He equipped them and taught them military discipline. His contacts within the army attracted his first clients and word of mouth and his ruthless efficiency did the rest.

The House of Haessler has been in existence now for almost two decades and has known nothing but success. Colonel Haessler has built himself a private army and companies of the House are found in almost every major city of the Empire. Key to his success is his ‘no questions’ policy.

If a recruit obeys his rules and perform well in front of clients, the Colonel doesn’t care where they come from. It is this very policy that has created controversy and suspicion. Some claim that some of the Empire’s most wanted criminals are among the ranks of the House of Haessler, who have been given a reprieve from justice with the Colonel’s help.

## Luther Gorgen

Luther is a mountain of a man and among the most famous independent bodyguards in the Empire. His reputation began when he stopped an assassination attempt against a noble and his niece.

An assassin struck at the family, feathering Gorgen and three other bodyguards, with poisoned darts. The other bodyguards died instantly, victims of the assassin’s poison. Luther not only survived, he went on to tackle the assassin and quickly subdued him while the noble’s family escaped to safety.

An imposing figure at almost seven feet tall, some mutter that Luther Gorgen must have ogre blood somewhere in his family line. Entirely mercenary, Luther will work for anyone who can afford his salary, which is extremely costly. But which former clients swear is well justified.

What his employers often don’t know is that the silent and stoic Luther has leveraged his reputation to become a very successful information broker. The quiet Luther hears much whispered by his employers in their rarefied halls of power.