ROBERT E HOWARD CHARACTERS

AGNÈS DE CHASTILLON
a.k.a. Agnès de la Fèrc
a.k.a. Dark Agnès

Val	CHA	Cost	Roll	Notes
15	STR	5	12-	Lift 200 kg; 3d6 HTH Damage [3]
20	DEX	20	13-
15	CON	5	12-
13	INT	3	12-	PER Roll 12-
14	EGO	4	12-
15	PRE	5	12-	PRE Attack:  3d6

6	OCV	15	
8	DCV	25	
3	OMCV	0	
5	DMCV	6	
4	SPD	20		Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12

6	PD	4		Total:  6 PD (0 rPD)
6	ED	4		Total:  6 ED (0 rED)
6	REC	2
30	END	2
10	BODY	0
26	STUN	3		Total Characteristics Cost:  123

Movement:	Running:	12m/24m 
		Leaping:	4m/8m
		Swimming:	4m/8m

Cost	Powers & Skills
	Martial Arts:  French-Style Fencing
	Maneuver	OCV	DCV	Damage
3	Cut		+2	+1	Weapon  +1 DC, Weapon, +1 DC Strike
4	Parry		+2	+2	Block, Abort
4	Riposte		+2	+2	Weapon +3 DC Strike, Must Follow Block
5	Slash		-2	+1	Weapon +5 DC Strike
5	Thrust		+1	+3	Weapon +1 DC Strike
4	Void		--	+5	Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort
4	+1 HTH Damage Class

5	"Feared No Man Who Walked The Earth":  +10 PRE; Only To Protect Against Presence Attacks (-1)

	Perks
8	Contact:  Étienne Villers (Contact has useful Skills or resources, Very Good relationship with Contact) 14-

	Talents
6	"My Shirt Was In Ribbons":  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
3	"What Woke Me Was The Gentle Opening Of The Door":  Lightsleep
3	+1/+1d6 Striking Appearance (vs. all characters)

	Skills
20	+2 with All Attacks
16	"Yet To Meet My Equal In Sword Play":  +2 with HTH Combat

2	AK: France 11-
2	CK: Village of le Fèrc 11-
2	KS: Flora And Fauna (of French forests) 11-
0	Language:  French (idiomatic; literate)
3	Paramedics 12-
5	Rapid Attack ; HTH Multiple Attacks Only (-1)
3	Riding 13-
3	"I Slid Silently Down The Ladder":  Stealth 13-
1	Survival (Temperate/Subtropical Forests) 12-
0	TF:  Equines
10	Two-Weapon Fighting 
4	WF:  Early Firearms, Axes, Maces, Hammers, and Picks, Blades

Total Powers & Skill Cost:  125
Total Cost:  248

175+	Matching Complications (50)
15	Distinctive Features:  something strange and dark about her (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; 
	Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)
15	Hunted:  Renault de Valence Infrequently (Mo Pow; Harshly Punish)
10	Negative Reputation:  "violence and death dog my trail", Frequently
15	Psychological Complication:  Fears And/Or Distrusts The Nobility (Common; Strong)
15	Psychological Complication:  Womanish Curiosity And/Or Reckless (Common; Strong)
15	Social Complication:  Woman In A Man's World (Very Frequently, Minor)
5	Unluck: 1d6
73	Experience Points

Total Complications Points:  50

Background/History: Born in France in the 16th Century, Agnès de Chastillon (also known as Agnès de la Fèrc) is the daughter of an ex-mercenary soldier turned farmer. High-spirited all her life, Agnès decides she isn’t go to marry the man her father has picked out for her (she thinks him to be a fat pig—”a very munching, guzzling, nuzzling swine!”) and knifes the man on what was to be her wedding day. Running off into the forest to hide, she ends up deciding to leave her old life behind and become a soldier of fortune, like Black Margot of Avignon, who marched and fought like a man before a pistol ball ended her life on the field of battle.

In due course she befriends one Étienne Villers, a rogue and swordsman like herself, and is taught the ways of weapons by one Guiscard de Clisson, a captain in the Free Companies. She then sets out to seek her fortune, be it in France of further abroad.

Personality/Motivation: Agnès has had a hard life and it shows in her attitude. She states she’s unable to weep and wishes to “drink, fight, and live like a man,” seeing as her life as a woman was going nowhere (she even states “I am a woman no longer.”) She feels (accurately, to be honest) she’s the equal of any man in a fight and a life of living under the thumb of the nobility has given her a strong dislike (and fear) for them and their power over others. At the same time, she refuses to play the game of royals, once going so far as to state “why should an honest woman kneel to a royal strumpet?”

Quote: "Let a woman know her proper place: let her milk and spin and sew and bake and bear children, not look beyond her threshold or the command of her lord and master! Bah! I spit on you all! There is no man alive who can face me with weapons and live, and before I die, I’ll prove it to the world."

Powers/Tactics: ASaid to be as strong as any man with a qucikness of eye, hand, and foot no man could match, Agnès is a natural-born swordsman. She likened to “all steel springs and whalebone” and is a master of the blade, despite having only a week or so of formal training. Her style is an aggressive one, consisting of straight thrusts and strong slashes, with her strength and skill enough to allow her to cut down even armored foes. She’s also an excellent shot with a pistol, and has fought with a sword in one hand and a firearm in the other. However, seeing as she’s a woman and not one to be simply beaten down in a fight (unlike Howard’s male heroes), Agnès has been known to trip over slain foes and the like when the plot requires she become monetarily distracted.

Appearance: SAgnès is described as a tall, “fine woman” with a supple and strong body. She had red hair cut short at the shoulders, blue eyes, and is apparently “almost beautiful.” She dresses as a man, in hose, doublet, mail, tall boots, and cloak. She carries a sword on a baldric and a brace of pistols in her belt.

Designer's Notes: FAgnès de Chastillon is an oddity among Robert E. Howard’s creations. For starters, she’s a woman (obviously) and a bit of a departure from his long string of powerful, action-orientated male protagonists. Second, her stories are all told in the first person, a style Howard used but a handful of times. She also appeared in only two full stories (Sword Woman and Blades for France) and one fragment (Mistress of Death.) This character sheet was developed from the Del Rey Robert E Howard collection Sword Woman and Other Historcal Adventures. As with my other adaptations of Howard’s characters to HERO System, I used only what was in the book itself, although I’ll admit, Agnès has plenty of room for growth, mostly because she was in only a few stories, and thus the full extent of her skills and abilities will never be known.

Agnès de Chastillon's Hero Designer File

((Agnès de Chastillon created by Robert E Howard, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)

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