Bondsman

*"The Jarl says you die. Slowly. And I am nothing if not loyal to the Jarl."*

## Basic

(ToC) The Bondsman is a warrior in service to a particular Jarl. He is expected to live in the Jarl’s Hall, share the Jarl’s food, and be steadfastly loyal. In exchange for his pledge of loyalty, the Jarl rewards service with gifts, such as weapons and armour, and to the very best, land and title. The worth of the gift is never measured in actual value, but rather the prestige it bestows on the Bondsman. It’s important to remember such gifts do not make the Bondsman a mercenary; rather, it is a reward for constant and loyal service.

### Secondary Profile

**Skills:** Consume Alcohol, Gamble, Gossip, Intimidate

**Talents:** Coolheaded or Savvy, Menacing, Quick Draw or Specialist Weapon Group (Two-handed), Stout-hearted, Strike Mighty Blow

**Trappings:** Hand Weapon and Shield or Great Weapon, Medium Armour (Full Leather and Mail Shirt), Skin of Ale, three Gifts (each worth 1d10/2 gc)

### **Career Exits**

Berserker, Bodyguard, Freeholder, Marauder, Mercenary, Reaver, Skald, Veteran, Warleader

## Affiliations

Two relationships are of significant importance to bondsmen: their loyalty to their jarl, and their relationship with their jarl’s other bondsmen.

Loyalty is everything to a bondsman, because it is only through his loyalty that he can advance. Jarls value insight, endurance and, especially, martial prowess, but consider loyalty more important than any of them. A bondsman with little talent beyond loyalty can advance to die a freeholder, while a superb warrior whose loyalty is suspect will find only an early death. A bondsman who betrays or fails his jarl risks losing everything, so bondsmen obey their jarl’s orders without question.

Relationships between bondsmen in the same clan are far more complex. On the one hand, they must rely on each other during times of war, and all are loyal to the their jarl, making them natural allies. On the other, they are in competition for the jarl’s favour; a jarl has a limited number of gifts to distribute between his bondsmen.

The Norse are a quarrelsome breed, but a jarl keeps order by punishing infighting between his bondsmen with death. If a bondsman wants to advance at the expense of a rival, he must be subtle. A jarl may reward a bondsman who exposes disloyalty in another. There are always casualties in battle, and sometimes a bondsman might engineer an “accident” to befall a rival. However, anyone caught doing so may face a life of slavery or a swift death.

Bondsmen are interested in their jarl’s success, because it directly increases their prosperity. This self-interest reinforces the oath of loyalty, and has made the system very resilient.

## Little Known Facts

In some remote holds, where there is little wealth, few resources or no tactical defences, there may not even be a true jarl. Instead, the bondsmen swear loyalty to each other, and the fruits of plunder are distributed by the vote of all the warriors. The warriors must be devoted to a single ruinous power or to none, as mixed loyalties would soon tear the group apart.

Bondsmen swear loyalty to their jarl over a weapon, called an oath weapon, and traditionally use that weapon in their jarl’s service. However, tradition holds that anyone who loses their oath weapon will be cursed with ill fortune. When a bondsman is not wielding his oath weapon in anger, he keeps it close, even taking it to bed with him at night.