Garrick Blackroot

Medium humanoid (half-orc), Lawful Evil

Stats

Armor Class: 18 (plate armor)
Hit Points: 120 (16d8 + 48)
Speed: 30 ft.

STR 18 (+4)
DEX 12 (+1)
CON 16 (+3)
INT 12 (+1)
WIS 14 (+2)
CHA 16 (+3)

Saving Throws: Str +8, Con +7, Wis +6
Skills: Athletics +8, Intimidation +7, Perception +6
Damage Resistances: necrotic, poison
Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages: Common, Abyssal, Orc
Challenge: 8 (3,900 XP)

Equipment

Blackroot Greatsword: +1 greatsword, deals +1d8 necrotic damage on hit.
Plate Armor
Talisman of Shadowbinding: Advantage on saves vs. frightened or charmed.

Traits

Relentless Endurance: (1/rest) When reduced to 0 HP but not killed outright, Garrick drops to 1 HP instead.
Savage Attacks: When Garrick scores a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, he rolls one additional weapon damage die.
Dark Aura: Enemies starting their turn within 10 ft. must succeed on a DC 15 Wis save or have disadvantage on their next attack roll.
Parry: Adds 3 to AC vs. one melee attack he can see while wielding a melee weapon.

Actions

Multiattack: Garrick makes two melee attacks.
Blackroot Greatsword: +9 to hit, 5 ft. reach, one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing + 4 (1d8) necrotic.
Shadow Strike (Recharge 5–6): Each creature of his choice within 10 ft. must make a DC 15 Con save, taking 27 (6d8) necrotic on fail, half on success.

Bonus Actions

Menacing Roar (Recharge 4–6): Creatures of Garrick’s choice within 30 ft. that can hear him must succeed on a DC 15 Wis save or be frightened until end of next turn.

Tactics

Garrick charges headlong into battle, using his Blackroot Greatsword to cut down enemies while relying on Relentless Endurance and Savage Attacks to stay deadly. He uses Menacing Roar to keep foes at bay and Shadow Strike to punish enemies who get too close.

Background

The Iron Fist of the Hollow Crown:
Born from a brutal union between a marauding orc warlord and a noblewoman enslaved during a border raid, Garrick Blackroot’s existence was cursed from the start. Raised in the shadow of hatred and rejection, he was seen as an abomination by both humans and orcs—a half-breed fit only for the fringes of society. His mother, once a proud aristocrat, perished in shame, leaving Garrick to fend for himself in the cold gutters of the world.

Fueled by rage and a need to prove his worth, Garrick sharpened his strength in the bloodsport pits of the underworld, where survival was earned with broken bones and shattered skulls. His merciless rise through the ranks caught the eye of dark forces tied to the Hollow Crown—a clandestine cabal seeking enforcers with brute power and unbreakable will.

Drawn into their web, Garrick was offered purpose in exchange for his soul: to become the Crown’s iron fist. Arcane rituals bound his blade to necrotic energies, transforming him into a terror on the battlefield. With his Blackroot Greatsword—forged in shadow and death—he crushed rebellions, silenced dissent, and became a whispered legend feared by kings and peasants alike.

But beneath the armor and bloodlust lies a man haunted by betrayal. Garrick’s loyalty to the Hollow Crown is laced with quiet resentment; he knows he’s a pawn in a greater game but clings to the belief that raw power will one day buy his freedom—or his vengeance.

Now, Garrick stands as Lady Erelin’s brutal enforcer, a dark mirror to her cunning. Together, they spread fear and ruin across the realm, but deep in his heart, Garrick wonders if there’s still a chance to carve his own destiny… or if he’s fated to be nothing more than a weapon, wielded and discarded like so many before him.