Packard

Packard is a broad-shouldered, heavily scarred man in late middle age. His once-sun-browned skin has gone sallow from smoke and poor sleep; dyed raven-black hair hangs in loose, greasy locks to his shoulders, and his beard is kept short to hide a badly knotted scar along his jaw. His dark brown eyes are small, restless, and always counting: exits, weapons, moods, and coin.

He dresses in:

• A dark, sleeveless leather jerkin over a stained tunic.
• Old, well-oiled boots and bracers that wouldn’t look out of place on a mercenary.
• A heavy belt bearing keys, a club, and a long knife he rarely needs to draw.

In his teeth or hand is almost always a dragon-carved pipe, the smoke of which is as much part of the Trough’s scent as spilled ale. He moves slowly but with that unmistakable predatory balance of someone who’s never really stopped being dangerous.

Background

From Dyvers’ Shadows

Packard was born in Dyvers to loving but hard parents—his mother a literate washerwoman who taught him his letters, his father a rough caravan guard who taught him the sword. Those talents caught the attention of one of Dyvers’ deadlier assassin crews, and he rose within their ranks as a professional killer, specializing in caravan work and quiet murders along the Velverdyva.

For years he prospered in blood and coin… until the job that broke him.

A caravan raid turned into a massacre; his captain, Garthek, ordered the slaughter of the merchant’s family—women, children, everyone. Packard balked. When one of his own moved to carry out the orders, Packard turned on them. In the chaos that followed, he took Garthek’s head and fled the crew, burning a bridge that could never be rebuilt.

Emridy & Escape

The aftermath of the The Battle of Emridy Meadows shook Dyvers’ underworld; too many knives had pointed the wrong way, and the city cracked down on certain freelance killers and smuggling rings. Packard saw which way the wind blew, took what gold he could steal, and slipped downriver.

He arrived in Verbobonc soaked, broke, and tired of taking contracts—but not naive. Crime was alive here too, only better organized. The Battirovka Family, the hidden Thieves’ Guild that quietly monopolizes organized crime in the Viscounty, had already woven themselves into the city’s shadows. The Battirovka Family

Rather than try to be another “black sheep” operator doomed to be stamped out, Packard bought a failing tavern in the Business Quarter and turned it into what it is now: The Packard’s Trough—neutral ground, listening post, and unofficial Family watering hole.

Personality & Motivations

Packard is the definition of tired, wary pragmatist:

• Blunt & Sardonic: His humor is dry as the floorboards, usually at someone else’s expense—including his own.
• Observant: He rarely speaks first; he watches, listens, and lets others reveal themselves.
• Nostalgic, Not Romantic: He misses the clarity of his assassin days (“do the job or die”), but not the butchery. He cannot stomach killing children or non-combatants anymore, and that line, once crossed, is why he left Dyvers in pieces.

His main motivations now:

1. Survival & Quiet Retirement: He wants enough coin and leverage to vanish some day—ideally to a nameless farm or obscure inn far from Dyvers, Verbobonc, and the Family.
2. Neutral Ground: He is determined that the Trough remains “everyone’s and no one’s”—a place where deals happen, but open war does not.
3. Avoidance of Old Sins: He still does dark favors, but he prefers information, logistics, and introductions over direct killing now. The knife is a last resort.

He is not kind, but he is not wantonly cruel either. PCs who show spine and restraint may earn something like respect.

Packard’s tone at the table: low, measured, with the sense he’s already imagined five ways this conversation can go wrong.

Relationship with the Battirovka Family

The Battirovka Family is Verbobonc’s hidden thieves’ guild: a tightly structured “Family” of Friends, Cousins, Brothers/Sisters, and shadowy Aunts & Uncles who zealously guard their monopoly on crime. They support stability and prosperity in the Viscounty because chaos is bad for business—and they make it their business to keep freelancing thieves (“black sheep”) from setting up shop. The Battirovka Family

Packard’s place in this web:

• He is treated as a “Friend of the Family” at minimum—possibly a Cousin in practice—trusted to run a house where Family-approved deals can take place, and where outside operators are watched carefully.
• The Trough serves as informal ground for smuggling, hiring blades, exchanging messages, and vetting new talent. Many “tests” the Family uses to gauge outsiders begin or end here.
• Packard understands and accepts the unwritten rule:
• No “black sheep” setting up rival operations.
• The Family’s long-term prosperity, and thus Verbobonc’s stability, must not be endangered by reckless schemes. The Battirovka Family

He is not in charge; he is a valued node—a man with blood on his hands who chose to work with the established order instead of against it.

Other Political Relationships

• Viscount & Civic Order: Packard never speaks politics, but he quietly supports a prosperous, stable Verbobonc, because that keeps his tavern full and the Family strong. This aligns, ironically, with the Viscount’s own interests. The Battirovka Family
• Church of St. Cuthbert & Church of Zilchus: The Family—and thus Packard—draws the ire of both churches, who oppose organized crime. Packard keeps his tavern just shy of overt sacrilege: he tolerates Billets and merchants if they mind their business, but most of his regulars mutter blessings to other gods.
• Vigil Wardens of Verbobonc: Packard treats the Wardens like storms: expected, dangerous, and worth preparing for. Bribes, information trades, and carefully staged “public” brawls help keep official eyes focused on petty violence instead of deeper Family dealings.

Adventure Hooks Centered on Packard

1. Old Crew, Old Ghosts
   Survivors of Packard’s Dyvers crew reach Verbobonc, now working as independent “black sheep.” The Family wants them gone; Packard wants them handled without igniting a war. He may hire the PCs to broker peace, stage deaths, or fake disappearances that satisfy everyone.
2. The Family’s Test
   The Battirovka Family uses Packard as a first filter. PCs seeking to join or work with the Thieves’ Guild find that their “trial job” is assigned here—perhaps protecting the Trough from an outside gang, or escorting a courier from the tavern to the hidden guild entrance.
3. Wardens at the Door
   A new, zealous Vigil Warden captain decides to clean up the Business Quarter and starts with Packard’s Trough. Packard asks the PCs to sabotage this crusade subtly—exposing the captain’s own vices or redirecting attention toward a more expendable “black sheep” outfit.
4. The Dyvers Ledger
   An old ledger from Packard’s assassin days resurfaces, carried by a frightened courier into Verbobonc. It names targets, paymasters, and possibly ties to early Temple operations. Packard wants it destroyed; the Family wants to own that blackmail, and the PCs are stuck in the middle.
5. Retirement Fund
   Packard quietly confides in the party that he has one last job—a big payout that could let him walk away. The Family suspects betrayal; a rival wants to take the Trough instead. Is Packard a client, a mark, or the quest-giver for a doomed last run?