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Kahz Brimkoal - AI-generated fantasy NPC

Kahz Brimkoal

NPCs
Azer · Artificer, Artillerist · Level 10

Kahz Brimkoal

Shopkeeper
“What did it do before it stopped doing that?”
AC18
HP75/75
Init
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
ConditionsNone

At the table

“a loan without a receipt.”
From how they speak

Voice

His voice has a dry, gritty rasp, like a file drawn across warm iron, with a faint hiss on breath-heavy words. Years of speaking over bellows and hammer strikes taught him to project from his chest and put the important word at the end of a sentence. When excited, the ember seams at his temples brighten and his speech speeds into a crisp stream of measurements.

He speaks in compact appraisals, naming weight, risk, and likely failure before he names beauty. He has the clipped cadence of someone who learned to communicate over forge noise, with precise consonants and a dry, matter-of-fact sense of humor.

Speech patterns

Starts a negotiation with a practical question: "What did it do before it stopped doing that?"
Describes enchanted goods through their risks before their benefits.
Uses shop language for personal matters, calling trust "a loan without a receipt."
When caught off guard, repeats the last word someone said while deciding whether to be amused or offended.

How to play them

Treat Kahz as a fair but cautious merchant. He is more forthcoming when someone explains the history or danger of an item rather than simply demanding a price. He offers practical help to sincere customers, but tests boastful or evasive visitors with pointed questions. If the characters show him a heatless relic, he becomes intensely curious and may offer a discount in exchange for time to examine it.

Goal

Trace the heatless relics to their source before anyone reconstructs the regulator device, then make amends to Olyra without pretending a payment can settle the matter.

Motivation

To make useful things that keep ordinary people safe, and to prove that his hesitation years ago did not define the rest of his life.

Secret · GM only

Appearance

Kahz has the compact, kiln-forged presence of a smith's anvil made ambulant. His skin is ridged like dark clinker, with ember light showing through fine seams at his knuckles and temples. His beard is a short, dense plume of copper wire and blackened fibers, tied into three uneven loops. He stands with his weight on the balls of his feet, as if listening for a dropped screw, and moves in abrupt, economical turns that make the tiny bells on his apron click. He wears one unexpected flourish for a hard-nosed pawnbroker: a neatly folded paper flower, refreshed every morning, tucked into his breast pocket.

Clothing

A soot-brown shop coat with sleeves repeatedly patched in mismatched cloth, a heavy leather apron cut too long at the hem, and a single immaculate brass button polished every morning. His collar never sits straight, but every tool on his belt has a snug, custom-made loop.

Body language

Waits balanced on the balls of his feet, shoulders angled toward the nearest exit and one palm resting on the counter. When considering a bargain, he turns an object slowly rather than looking directly at its owner. His hands move with careful, heat-conscious precision, and a sudden silence makes him stop moving altogether.

Height
4 feet 8 inches
Build
Short and densely built, with broad shoulders and forearms made strong by generations of forge work.
Eyes
Bright orange-gold, with pupils that narrow to fine slits in dim light.
Hair
Copper wire and blackened fibers.
Skin
Charcoal-black basalt with deep orange light showing through narrow, glowing seams.
Age
About 117 years, considered mature among his people.
Gender
Male
Size
Small

Distinguishing features

Fine ember seams glow between the dark ridges of his skin, brightening when he is absorbed in a repair.
A compact beard made from copper wire and blackened fibers, tied into three irregular loops.
A folded paper flower always sits in his breast pocket, although he handles dangerous tools all day.
His long apron hem is scorched and frayed, but its brass button is conspicuously polished.

Personality

15 traits and drives

Kahz is brisk and shrewd across the counter, but unexpectedly tender toward broken tools and people who have been written off. He enjoys a clever bargain and distrusts a generous one. In a crisis he becomes decisive and almost cheerful, while in private he can brood over a single past mistake for days. He respects honesty, yet often hides his own feelings behind appraisals and repair estimates.

Alignment
Neutral good, though his idea of fairness includes charging extra for dangerous work.

Quirks

Taps metal twice and listens to the object's vibration before making an offer.
Folds tiny paper flowers from receipts while waiting for a spell or a customer to finish speaking.
Names every broken hinge "temporary" until it has been repaired for at least a year.
Leaves crumbs for pigeons on the back step, then blames the birds for coming back.
Keeps one drawer arranged by how dangerous its contents are, from "probably fine" to "do not sneeze."

Habits

Tests any metal object by tapping it twice with a knuckle, then holding still to feel its vibration.
Offers customers tea only after they have admitted what they are really selling.
When worried, rearranges the front display into a precise spiral, then pretends it was always arranged that way.
Keeps a fresh paper flower in his pocket, folding it from discarded receipts before opening the shop.
Never lets a customer leave with a dangerous item without first explaining one way it can fail.

Traits · 4

Reads a person's patience by how they handle a waiting silence.
Can be ruthlessly exact about a price but quietly generous about a repair.
Likes clever mechanisms and dislikes clever excuses.
Protective of shop regulars, even when he claims he is only protecting his inventory.

Flaws · 4

Treats practical competence as proof that someone should be trusted with responsibility.
Uses bargains and repairs to avoid direct apologies.
Will take on dangerous work alone rather than admit he needs help.
Can become possessive of unusual objects, especially if he believes they contain a clue.

Fears · 3

That his old regulator work could be used to redirect heat into inhabited streets.
Being forced to choose between saving a person and preserving a device that might save many more later.
That Olyra's injury was not a freak accident but the result of a flaw he overlooked.

Wants and needs · 4

Wants to learn who is collecting the heatless relics.
Needs to tell Olyra what he has done with the regulator schematics.
Wants a reliable apprentice who can be trusted with hazardous work.
Needs to stop confusing useful secrecy with responsible judgment.

Combat

AC 18 · HP 75 · 30 ft.

Kahz prefers to fight from behind his counter or a sturdy piece of cover. He opens with Web or a cannon's Force Ballista to control distance, then uses fire or force effects to discourage anyone from closing in. He keeps Shield for an unexpected hit and absorbs a dangerous spell with his infused defense if possible. He does not pursue a retreating opponent unless they are carrying a volatile item or threatening a customer.

Kahz Brimkoal

Small humanoid (azer), neutral good, though his idea of fairness includes charging extra for dangerous work.
Armor Class18
Hit Points75
Speed30 ft.
Level10
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Saving ThrowsConstitutionIntelligence
SkillsArcanaInvestigationSleight of HandPerceptionSmith's tools
SensesDarkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 11.
Languages
Common,
Ignan,
Dwarvish
Azer nature. fire immunity and resistance to cold damage, adapted here as ancestry traits rather than a claim about every published Azer version.
Heated body. a creature that touches Kahz or hits him with an unarmed melee attack takes 5 fire damage.
Artillerist. can create a magical firearm-like arcane focus and a Tiny Eldritch Cannon. His cannon usually takes the form of a squat brass beetle with a puffing ceramic chimney.
Magical tinkering. can imbue tiny objects with recorded sounds, lights, or other minor magical effects.
Infusions. maintains enhanced armor, a repeating hand crossbow, and a spell-reflecting trinket. These are represented in his equipment and combat statistics.
Custom shopkeeper feature, Furnace Sense. Kahz can feel unusual heat, pressure, or active enchantment through a metal object he is touching.

Spells

Prestidigitation (cantrip, transmutation). A cantrip that creates a small sensory effect or harmless illusion, useful for signaling customers or demonstrating an object's function.
Mending (cantrip, transmutation). A cantrip that repairs a single break or tear in an object no larger than 1 foot in any dimension.
Mage Hand (cantrip, conjuration). Creates a visible, spectral hand for manipulating distant objects.
Shield (level 1, abjuration). A flash of protective force raises Kahz's AC by 5 until the start of his next turn, including against the triggering attack.
Web (level 2, conjuration). Creates a web of sticky strands that restrains creatures in a 20-foot cube unless they succeed on a Dexterity saving throw.
Warding Bond (level 2, abjuration). Creates a protective barrier that grants a chosen creature temporary hit points and can help shield them from harm.
Lightning Bolt (level 3, evocation). A bolt of lightning strikes a target and can arc to nearby creatures.
Elemental Weapon (level 3, transmutation). Kahz turns a simple object into a potent magical weapon or tool, temporarily enhancing its attacks or use.
Counter-shutter (level 3, abjuration). A custom spell representing a compact shop-defense device: creates a brief, solid force barrier to block a narrow passage or protect an ally. Treat as a 3rd-level abjuration spell; its exact dimensions and duration are set by the table.

Actions

Arcane Tool. Melee or Ranged Spell Attack: to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 60 ft., one target. Hit: force damage. Kahz shapes the force into a short burst from his brass-tipped tool.
Repeating Hand Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: piercing damage. The infused hand crossbow ignores the loading property.
Eldritch Cannon. Kahz directs his active Eldritch Cannon to make a Force Ballista attack: to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: force damage, and the target is pushed up to 5 feet away from the cannon. Alternatively, the cannon can emit a 15-foot cone of fire, dealing fire damage to creatures in the area, or grant temporary hit points to creatures of Kahz's choice within 10 feet.
Spellcasting. Kahz uses his action to cast a prepared spell. His spell save DC is 16 and his spell attack bonus is +8. Spell slots: four 1st-level, three 2nd-level, and two 3rd-level.

Reactions

Shield. When Kahz is hit by an attack he can see, he adds 5 to his AC against that attack, potentially causing it to miss. He casts Shield using a spell slot or other available casting resource.
Ward Catch. When Kahz or a creature he can see within 30 feet takes damage from a spell, Kahz uses his infused ward to absorb and store some of the spell's energy. This is a custom representation of spell-reflecting equipment; the exact effect should be set by the table.

Services they sell

Buys and sells salvaged tools, curios, and adventuring gear.
Identifies the practical function and likely hazards of mechanical or magical objects.
Repairs weapons, armor, and devices, with a surcharge for work that may explode.
Can provide a discreet place to examine or store dangerous salvage.

Rewards they can give

A fair price or trade-in for unusual salvage.
A custom repair, infusion consultation, or practical item assessment.
Information about the provenance and hazards of a relic.
Access to the shop's back room, where Kahz keeps items too temperamental for the public shelves.

Equipment

  • Furnace-lined coat (armor)A reinforced, soot-brown coat with fitted plates beneath the lining; treated as enhanced armor for these statistics.
  • Infused hand crossbow (weapon)A repeating hand crossbow with a brass crank and a small maker's mark shaped like a curled leaf.
  • Arcane tool set (spellcasting focus)A set of hooked, brass-tipped tools used as his arcane focus and spellcasting implement.
  • Puff, the cannon (artificer construct)A palm-sized brass beetle with ceramic plates, a chimney-shaped tail, and a small glass eye. It functions as Kahz's Eldritch Cannon.
  • Heat-scarred ward ring (infused wondrous item)A protective charm that can absorb or turn aside a spell once before needing to be recharged; represented mechanically by the Spell-Refueling Ring infusion where applicable.
  • Regulator fragment (keepsake)A cracked casing from the pressure regulator Kahz failed to save in his youth. He has rebuilt it as a private keepsake and refuses to sell it.

Possessions

Pawned 'n Found, a crowded shop of salvaged tools, secondhand curios, and carefully labeled hazards.
A cracked pressure-regulator casing that doubles as his private arcane focus.
A box of folded paper flowers made from old receipts.
A pocket notebook of item histories and customer promises.

Background

Kahz was born in a furnace-city beneath a volcanic ridge, where his family maintained the old vent channels that kept whole streets alive. As a young apprentice, he trusted elegant mechanisms more than people. During a sudden vent collapse, his mentor, Olyra, ordered him to abandon a prized pressure regulator and help carry trapped workers through a service tunnel. Kahz hesitated, then went back for the workers; the regulator was lost, and the delay left Olyra badly injured. She survived, but their relationship never recovered its old ease. Kahz left the forge district carrying the regulator's cracked casing, which he eventually rebuilt into his first arcane focus. Years later he opened Pawned 'n Found in a market lane where travelers sell what they cannot carry and buy what they cannot explain. He sends part of his earnings to Olyra, who now repairs civic furnaces, but she returns most of it. His current trouble is a run of strange, heatless relics arriving at the shop. Their markings match the lost regulator, and he suspects someone is quietly collecting the pieces of a device capable of redirecting the city's underground fire.

Role in the story

A recurring merchant, repairer, and source of clues whose shop sits at the intersection of ordinary trade and dangerous salvage. His investigation into the heatless relics can draw the party into a mystery involving his former mentor and the furnace systems beneath a distant city.

“As a young apprentice, he trusted elegant mechanisms more than people.”
From their background
Faction
Independent proprietor of Pawned 'n Found; maintains a reluctant personal tie to the furnace workers of his birthplace.

Known connections

Olyra, his former mentor, maintains the furnace vents in his birth district and still refuses to accept his money.
Ione, a meticulous courier, brings sealed parcels to the shop and quietly warns Kahz when a buyer seems to be asking the wrong questions.
Petros, a retired porter with a bad knee, sleeps in the room above the shop in exchange for keeping the inventory and making sure Kahz takes breaks.
The market lane's persistent pigeons have learned that Kahz leaves crumbs on the back step, despite his insistence that this is not a habit.
Major secret · GM only
Minor secrets · GM only

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