Menthen Jagaro

Defense

Offense

Statistics

Description

Male human expert 6

During Combat: Menthen avoids combat by hiding behind his bodyguards. If threatened directly, he tries to bribe his attacker or spill coins as a distraction so he can escape.

Morale: Menthen wants to die old and in bed and does whatever he can to avoid being murdered.

No one knows Menthen Jagaro’s original homeland, though he has hinted on more than one occasion that he has traveled far since his journey first began as an enthusiastic and ambitious youth. He has seen and done much in his 35 years, though he is now content to call Druma home, as the mercantile nation suits his needs and desires quite nicely.

When he was young, Menthen was determined to become the most successful merchant Golarion had ever known. He came from a long line of merchants, one in which the familial love shown correlated directly with the recipient’s pecuniary achievements. At an early age, he set off with a wagon, two pack mules, and fabulous dreams stacked high. He immediately found a small measure of success, having inherited his family’s shrewd acumen and sharp business sense, but it wasn’t long before his travels landed him in the middle of a perilous adventure.

While on an overland journey delivering a wagonload of furs, Menthen stumbled across a band of adventurers fighting to defeat a powerful demon that had been unwittingly released on the Material Plane. Though they were successful in stopping its evil, the encounter with the terrible fiend left Menthen spiritually scarred, with the realization that his life was but a hollow shell filled with transitory pleasures and illusory achievements. He suddenly feared that his time on this plane of existence had been wasted, and the unwelcome epiphany shattered his former worldview.

Afterward, Menthen wandered in a dim haze, searching for meaning. Eventually he came upon the nation of Druma, where he found himself immediately taken with the philosophical teachings of Kalistrade, teachings which reinforced his past and reassured him that his life had not been wasted in vain pursuits. He threw himself back into worldly deeds with renewed vigor, quickly overcoming his competition and setting himself up as an influential merchant lord.

Since his rise to power, Menthen has grown ever more prominent. He approaches everything in his life with the same merciless calculation, judging all actions by their financial consequences and caring little for the lives he has to destroy. For Menthen, there is no right and wrong— subjective judgments and misguided sentiments have no place in his computations—only wealth obtained. Whether his actions benefit good or evil is unimportant (unless, of course, those actions might come to affect future profits). As such, his enemies view him as even more ruthless than his fellows, and other merchant lords of Druma hold him

Menthen’s mercantile power and holdings are protected in part by Druma’s merciless Mercenary League, of whom he has several dozen as personal retainers and bodyguards.

Menthen realizes that in order to maintain a competitive edge he must always seek out new opportunities. Often these business ventures lead him to acquire the services of local adventurers, whom he always pays well.

Boon: Menthen’s extensive network of contacts allows him to find someone willing to sell nearly any mundane or magical item worth 16,000 gp or less in little more than the time it takes a messenger to travel to the appropriate location and back (or faster, if the PCs pay for magical communication).

Given extra time, he can also find exotic items, including things the owner isn’t quite willing to part with unless the offer is very generous. He allows PCs to travel safely with his caravans to major cities and provides generous wages for guarding valuable goods.

Source: NPC Guide, p. 10