Highwayman

*"This won’t take long. Just hand over your jewellery. If you resist, it will all be over much quicker."*

## Advanced

(Core) Highwaymen prey on the coaches that roam over the roads of the Old World, relieving lockboxes of their goods and passengers of their valuables. They affect the styles of the upper nobility, wearing elaborate masks and showing every point of etiquette to their victims, as they prefer to regard themselves as daring rogues rather than high-class Thieves. Highwaymen, by necessity, are skilled horsemen, adept at convincing their horses to race over uneven and treacherous ground at high speeds. They are also excellent shots, as they have to contend not only with swiftly moving targets, but a large number of dangerous forest denizens as well.

### Secondary Profile

**Skills:** Animal Care, Animal Training, Charm, Common Knowledge (the Empire), Evaluate, Gossip, Ride, Silent Move

**Talents:** Ambidextrous, Etiquette, Master Gunner, Mighty Shot, Sharpshooter, Specialist Weapon Group (Fencing), Specialist Weapon Group (Gunpowder), Swashbuckler, Trick Riding

**Trappings:** Pair of Pistols with Powder and Ammunition for 20 Shots, Noble’s Garb, Hood or Mask, Riding Horse with Saddle and Harness

### **Career Entries**

Coachman, Duellist, Ex-Convict, Estalian Diestro, Ferryman, Minstrel, Outlaw, Outrider, Rapscallion, Roadwarden, Toll Keeper

### **Career Exits**

Agitator, Duellist, Master Thief, Outlaw Chief, Sergeant

## Affiliations

Highwaymen are a perfect example of the old adage that nothing is as simple as it seems. Most of their victims assume highwaymen are loners who work in complete isolation. Nothing could be further from the truth. A skilled highwayman has several accomplices, some more involved – and more aware of his true occupation – than others.

First and most important to any highwayman is his stablehands. A highwayman depends on his horse for his livelihood, so the steed must be kept completely healthy and ready to ride at any time. Most highwaymen maintain a hidden stable somewhere. They pay a stablemaster handsomely to live beside the stables and care for the horse or horses at all hours – the stablemaster’s sons are pressed into service as stableboys.

After the horse, the highwayman has to worry about his ill-gotten gains. Coins can be used as is, but jewelry and other valuables must be disposed of quickly and quietly. For this the highwayman requires a good fence, or several who specialize in different items. The fence is not a friend, but simply a business associate, one whose own best interests are served by handling the highwayman’s loot and keeping his secrets.

Next, amusingly enough, are the highwayman’s outfitters. Highwaymen pride themselves on their fine clothes. Therefor, they require excellent tailors, haberdashers, and cobblers. These men and women must be able to produce outfits of the finest quality and the latest style, but they must also work discreetly.

Finally, most highwaymen employ townfolk as scouts to inform them when a likely victim approaches. Often these men are simply local tavern owners, who report on their recent customers by some prearranged method.

## Little Known Facts

A few notable highwaymen are actually noble-born.They were given the appropriate training and education for their class but have no family wealth to support them, either because their family has lost its money or because they are too far down the line to inherit anything. These penniless nobles make good highwaymen because they have the breeding, the style, and the skills, and because they can recognize good materials and fine gems on sight.

A highwayman’s horse is specially trained to ignore gunshots and to move across rough terrain. Most of these steeds are easily the match of a fast courier horse for speed and an expert warhorse for intelligence, nerves, and combat reflexes.

Not all highwaymen are, in fact, men. The occupation can be wellsuited for daring, resourceful women who can often turn a male victim’s natural tendency to underestimate women against him.