Krastor Morley is the Prefect of Lantear and a member of one of the wealthiest merchant families in Aranthaes. The Morleys possess vast commercial interests and sponsor the Zephyr Battalion of the Merchant Police, although Krastor would be quick to assure anyone who asked that his family connections have absolutely nothing to do with his position.
Lantear sits astride the Great Aranthaen Highway, where merchants, caravans, travellers and goods from across the island converge. Krastor understands better than almost anyone that controlling a crossroads means controlling opportunity. Under his administration, permits, inspections, tolls, contracts and favours have become a finely tuned machine — one from which very little value escapes without leaving something behind for the Prefect.
Krastor Morley
Medium Humanoid (Human, Rogue: Level 8 / Bard: Level 3), Lawful Neutral
Hit Points: 76
Speed: 30ft.
9 (-1)
16 (+3)
14 (+2)
17 (+3)
16 (+3)
20 (+5)
Skills: Deception +13, Insight +11, Investigation +11, Perception +7, Persuasion +13, History +7, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +7
Damage Resistances: —
Condition Immunities: —
Senses: Passive Perception 17
Languages: Common, Elvish, Dwarvish, Thieves’ Cant
Challenge: 8 Prof Bonus: +4
Actions
Rapier. +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) piercing damage, plus 14 (4d6) Sneak Attack damage when applicable.
Dagger. +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) piercing damage.
Vicious Mockery. One creature within 60 ft. must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or take 5 (2d4) psychic damage and have disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.
Features
Mastermind. Krastor is an accomplished manipulator, observer and political operator, adept at directing others while revealing little of his own intentions.
Master of Intrigue. Krastor can convincingly imitate patterns of speech and mannerisms after sufficient observation and is proficient with disguise and forgery kits.
Master of Tactics. Krastor can use the Help action as a bonus action and can aid an ally attacking a creature within 30 ft. of him.
Sneak Attack. Once per turn, Krastor deals an extra 4d6 damage when he hits with a finesse or ranged weapon and has advantage, or when another enemy of the target is within 5 ft. of it.
Cunning Action. Krastor can Dash, Disengage or Hide as a bonus action.
Uncanny Dodge. As a reaction, Krastor halves the damage from an attack made by an attacker he can see.
Evasion. When subjected to an effect allowing a Dexterity saving throw for half damage, Krastor takes no damage on a successful save and only half damage on a failure.
Silver Tongue. When Krastor makes a Persuasion or Deception check, a d20 roll of 9 or lower is treated as a 10.
Jack of All Trades. Krastor adds half his proficiency bonus to ability checks that do not already include his proficiency bonus.
Expertise. Krastor doubles his proficiency bonus for Deception, Persuasion, Insight and Investigation checks.
A Man in Every Room. While in Lantear, Krastor can usually obtain routine information concerning a named resident, visitor, business or public event within 1d4 hours, provided the information could reasonably be known by officials, servants, merchants or informants.
Spellcasting
Krastor is a 3rd-level bard spellcaster (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit with spell attacks). Spell slots: 1st (4), 2nd (2).
Cantrips: Friends, Mage Hand, Vicious Mockery
1st level: Charm Person, Comprehend Languages, Disguise Self, Dissonant Whispers
2nd level: Detect Thoughts, Suggestion
Political Tactics
Never the First Move. Krastor prefers to learn what everyone else wants before revealing his own position, allowing rivals to commit themselves while he remains apparently reasonable.
Weaponised Information. Krastor rarely threatens someone directly when a carefully chosen fact, rumour, appointment or withheld favour can achieve the same result with less risk.
Plausible Innocence. Whenever possible, Krastor acts through intermediaries. Even those convinced that he is responsible for something may struggle to prove that he gave an order at all.
Equipment
Fine reinforced clothing, Rapier, Dagger, Signet of the Prefect of Lantear, Official seals, Correspondence case, Forgery kit, Disguise kit, Notebook in cipher, Fine gloves, Coin purse
He governs with an iron grip, though rarely with obvious brutality. Krastor prefers systems to threats and paperwork to swords. A troublesome merchant might discover a licence delayed, a warehouse unexpectedly inspected or a shipment held over some obscure technicality. An agreeable one may find obstacles disappearing almost before they arise.
Everyone in Lantear eventually learns that life is considerably easier when Krastor is satisfied.
His family’s wealth makes bribery in the conventional sense almost beside the point. Krastor is interested less in individual purses of coin than in participation: percentages, favours, influence, useful information and quiet ownership of the arrangements through which wealth passes. He sees nothing especially improper about this.
In his view, Lantear prospers because he understands how to make it prosper — and expertise deserves compensation.
Krastor is charming when he chooses to be, exceptionally difficult to embarrass and almost impossible to corner in conversation. He rarely states a threat plainly and prefers arrangements in which everyone involved can later insist that nothing improper was ever discussed. Those who underestimate him because he is not a soldier generally discover that there are many ways to ruin a person without drawing a blade.
His relationship with the Morley family is equally slippery. Krastor insists upon his independence and does not take orders from the Zephyr Battalion or his merchant relatives. That does not prevent their interests from aligning with remarkable frequency, nor does it stop information, introductions and opportunities from flowing conveniently in both directions.
Adventurers arriving in Lantear may initially encounter Krastor as a courteous and surprisingly helpful administrator.
How long that impression survives will depend largely on whether they interfere with the comfortable machinery he has spent years building around himself.