Hadrian

Officer of the Order of Eternal Princes

Citizen of Hieron

Ice Party

Golden Lance (deputy)

Forest Party

Prelate Lucius (mentor)

*Spring in Hieron*

**Hadrian**, the Guardian, formerly the Paladin, once known as **Alexander Nurmacher**, is a devout soldier of the Order of Eternal Princes from Velas.

 Appearance

Hadrian, a bulky six-foot-tall dark-skinned man in his late thirties, has been described as "like a bodybuilder from an Elvis movie", muscular but not defined in the way that people were before it was easy to isolate muscle groups. Hadrian has kind eyes and an understanding face, and his hair is short but not quite a crew cut.

He wears a worn pre-Erasure ring with the symbol of Samothes; on his right ring finger (which his gauntlet left exposed) during *Autumn in Hieron*, then on a chain around his neck underneath his clothes during *Winter in Hieron*. Hadrian wears heavy scale armor. Beneath the armor or when he has taken it off, Hadrian wears a padded aketon embroidered with a symbol of Samothes, compared by the players to the one worn by Blackwall in *Dragon Age: Inquisition*. Following the end of the Ice Party adventure, he also wore the white wolfskin cloak of a living god, though he later gave this to Maelothes.

Hadrian wielded a halberd in *Autumn in Hieron* prior to being captured by the snow elves of Auniq. He now wields a golden longsword with a dark brown leather hilt, which he found in the Mark of the Erasure.

During the *Autumn in Hieron* holiday special, Hadrian was wearing special white vestments for High Sun Day. These covered his hands and arms.

 Personality

Hadrian is stern, noble, dogmatic, and self-assured. He is a somewhat absent husband and father, usually on the road, and even when he returns home between the two seasons, the stress and questions resulting from Prelate Lucius's death distance him from what is normally a joyful return to his wife Rosana and son Benjamin.

### Alignment

Hadrian's alignment is *Good*. To gain experience, he must "Suffer or endure hardship so that someone else does not have to."

During his time as a Paladin, Hadrian's alignment was *Lawful*, which required that he "Deny mercy to a criminal or unbeliever."

### Bonds

#### Old

* ~~Lem King's misguided behavior endangers their very soul.~~
* ~~Hella has stood by me in battle and can be trusted completely.~~
* ~~Fantasmo is a brave soul. I have much to learn from them.~~
* ~~Fantasmo's foolhardy behavior endangers the world.~~
* ~~Throndir~~ ~~has a good soul, but he needs to be guided upon the proper path.~~
* ~~Fantasmo saved my life and returned my faith to me. I owe him one.~~
* ~~Hella is at a spiritual crossroads and only I can see her through.~~
* ~~Throndir's morality is a broken clock. I must lead him to the correct time.~~

#### Current

* Adaire has a silver tongue, but metals are only sacred if they're blessed.
* Fun is fun, but Fero would let my family die. Never trust him.
* I trust Hella to carry me through troubled times. I don't trust her sense of direction.
* Throndir has been through hard times and come out on the other side. He is a valued friend.

## Abilities

Hadrian has developed unique skills through training, experience, conviction, and righteous anger.

* *Armored* - Hadrian can move deftly in armor that might restrict the movement of another wearer.
* *Bloody Aegis*: When being harmed, Hadrian can grit his teeth and accept the blow, suffering a debility rather than suffering the direct effects of being physically wounded.
* *Hospitaller*: When Hadrian heals an ally, it has increased effect.
* *I'll Be There For You*: Hadrian can promise to protect someone, making them his ward. He is especially skilled at defending his sworn ward.
* *Payback Time*: Hadrian burns with righteous anger when he encounters threats to his loved ones or cowardice, treachery, and selfishness. He can use this anger to act with conviction, attack forcefully, stand fast, or throw off impairments.
* *Make a Stand*: Hadrian can call out someone’s villainous actions and demand they stand down, forcing them to back off, attack him, or argue the point.
* *Shield Bash*: When wielding a shield Hadrian can make use of it to deal additional damage to his enemies, however, this may leave him more open to attacks in the immediate future.

### Former abilities

Hadrian no longer possesses many of the powers and spells he once had as the Paladin. He first lost these abilities upon having his connection with Samothes (Maelgwyn version) severed for disobeying orders; he gained them back upon being reconnected with Samothes (original) in Aubade, but lost them again after leaving Aubade, which Chapter then permanently sealed off from the outside.

* *Quest*: When Hadrian dedicated himself to a quest, he could gain a pair of boons for the duration as long as he maintained certain vows.
	+ *Perfect Knight*: Hadrian gained a third boon while on a quest.
* *Lay on Hands*: Hadrian could heal wounds and cure disease, but there was a chance that the damage will be transferred to him.
* *I Am the Law*: Hadrian could give orders with divine authority, forcing NPCs to do as he said, flee, or attack him. *Make a Stand* now serves a similar purpose for him.
* *Pray for Guidance*: Hadrian could ask "What here is evil?" and would be told honestly (as Samothes defined the concept).
* *Divine Favor*: Hadrian dedicated himself to Samothes and by communing with him (spending an hour or so in quiet contemplation) could be granted the ability to cast spells.

#### Spells

* *Light*: An item he touched glows with Samothes's divine light.
* *Guidance*: The symbol of Samothes (or Samot) appeared before Hadrian and directed him toward a course of action.
* *Speak With Dead*: Hadrian could ask three questions of a corpse, which it would answer based on its knowledge in life and that gained through death.
* *Darkness*: Hadrian could revoke Samothes's light from an area, creating a field of darkness and shadow.

## Possessions

* Sword reforged by Samothes in Aubade - dark brown leather hilt from the golden sword he found in the ruins of Samot's tower, blade made of star stuff, was previously reforged with the Heat and the Dark by Maelothes but that part is no longer there. Close, one-handed, ignores armor entirely. Could kill a dragon.
* Shield made for him by Benjamin. A good shield, with some magic attached.
* Scale armor
* A pre-Erasure ring with the symbol of Samothes
* Left behind in Auniq:
	+ Halberd
	+ Old scale armor
* Left with Maelothes:
	+ Samot's white wolfskin cloak

## Origin

The name "Hadrian" is one of the suggested names for paladins on the *Dungeon World* character sheet; Art chose it for its association with the Roman emperor Hadrian, best known for the construction of Hadrian's Wall, "who toured the provinces and secured the frontiers".

Likewise, Hadrian's birth name, Alexander, is associated with the ancient Macedonian emperor Alexander the Great, and comes from the Greek 'Alexandros', meaning "defender of the people".

## See also

* Hadrian on Wikipedia
* Alexander the Great on Wikipedia

## Notes

1. ↑ This playbook comes from Peter Johansen's *Dungeon World Secrets and Sorcery Pack*.

## References

1. ↑ Winter in Hieron 15: "Settle Your Matters"
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/austin\_walker/status/510985695393873920
3. ↑ LaTorra, Sage & Koebel, Adam. *Dungeon World Playbooks*.
4. ↑ Autumn in Hieron 00: "We’re Not Calling It Duckberg"