GUILLAUME BOISEVERT

Guillaume Boisevert was once a young forester who lived in the Barony of Bourdogne in Brettonia. A keen-eyed, honest lad, he was quickly inducted as a huntsman and gamekeeper for the Baron, who kept large preserves of royal hunting-grounds on the behalf of the King, as well as large preserves set aside for the Baron's own entertainment. His early years were spent merrily enough, sleeping under the stars, honing his woodsman's skills and learning compassion and understanding of all living things. During this time, the Baron dwelt chiefly at the King's court, and the Barony was administered by his aging, kindly steward.

Matters were to change during the summer of Guillaume's 18th year. Baron Godfrey de Bourdogne's years of toadying at the royal knee had brought him none of the advancements and favors he coveted; this was mainly due to the Baron's boorish manners, foul temper and unchivalrous character, which in concert made Godfrey a barely-tolerated figure at court. Frustrated by his lack of success, the Baron returned to his own estates in a huff, and proceeded to vent his spleen by raising taxes, increasing demands for peasant labor and handing out sadistic punishments for even the mildest of offenses. Godfrey's faithful steward was broken on the wheel and cast out to live as a crippled beggar for questioning the wisdom of the Baron's new laws, and by winter the wretched folk of Bourdogne were on the verge of starvation, taxed and overworked into the most desperate straits. Witnessing their suffering, Guillaume's sense of justice and pity warred with his loyalty to his master and eventually conquered: he began, covertly, to shoot game on the Baron's preserves and bring the meat by night to the hovels of the needy. These acts were eventually discovered by a spying rival forester, who reported Guillaume's infidelity to the Baron. Godfrey was enraged by the insult to his authority, and swore that he would mount his traitorous huntsman's head among the trophies of his hall. The baron rode out into the forest with hounds and hunters to bring Guillaume in, but even in the snow of winter, Guillaume's unsurpassed woodsmanship allowed him to easily elude the most skilled pursuit.

Now named outlaw by his former lord, Guillaume swore to make Baron Godfrey regret his acts by taking to the title with a will. Brigands, fugitives and disaffected peasantry from all over Brettonia were drawn by tales of a young archer who feared no man's law and looted the most well-guarded tax-collectors and merchants with impunity. Determined to win ethical as well as material victories, Guillaume accepted into his growing band only those who followed his code: courtesy at all times, deference to ladies, to the pious and to the poor, and the generous distribution of loot among the poor of Brettonia. Among the common people, legends spread of his kindness, his humour and his astounding bowmastery, as well as the many humiliations which he delivered upon the likes of Baron Godfrey over the course of several years of banditry. Meanwhile, tales of a different sort were told at court by wealthy merchants, fat clerics and pouting gentry who arrived at the palace bruised and shivering and stripped to the undergarments of their finery and wealth. Guillaume's name became more feared than that of any Ork Warboss or Necromancer, although the King's upright sheriffs and bailiffs who were dispatched to bring Guillaume to justice were often perplexed by the reluctance of the populace to assist them in the capture of a criminal so black of reputation.

Then came the year 1387 (Brettonian Reckoning), when the combined forces of Heinrich Kemmler and Krell, joined by a chittering horde of Skaven, cut a terrible swath of devastation across the southeast provinces of Brettonia. Reports were unable to estimate the number of invading abominations, except to ascertain that it was an invasion of unprecedented size and scale. Depleted by the Greenskin invasions of the previous decade, the knightly orders of the realm nonetheless rallied to duty's call and rode with the King to meet the foe outside the abbey of La Maisontaal. Yeomen and peasants were conscripted on the march as the royal defenders passed through each town and village, but when the two forces hove into view of each other out was clear that the Brettonians were outmatched.

The invaders halted their advance until past noon, clearly intending to attack as evening drew near. The King addressed his men, knights and yeomen alike, to commend their loyalty and bravery in the face of unwinnable odds. Silence reigned after the King's speech, as each man committed himself to a martyr's fate. Suddenly, the tranquility was ruptured by hunting horns from the nearby trees. The Brettonians were struck by dismay, as a third enemy seemed to menace them from the rear: the dreaded green-clad outlaws of Guillaume Boisevert. Then, from amongst the outlaw host, makeshift banners in the Brettonian colours began to wave, and their young leader stepped forward alone, heedless of the knights' levelled lances, to bend the knee before his monarch. Guillaume declared himself a Brettonian patriot by birth, a royal subject by intention and an outlaw only by unwelcome definition, and offered the service of his longbow and his eightscore fellow-bandits to the Brettonian cause. The King readily excepted.

The tale of the epic struggle that ensued has been told elsewhere. The Skaven, beset by murderous archery, turned and ran from the field after their infiltrators had set the abbey alight and made off with certain items from its vaults, and the shambling Undead legions were demolished thereafter by the Brettonian sword and lance. Odious carrion-riders who descended upon the peasant infantry were shot from the skies by well-aimed volleys, and the notorious Count Vlachazthar of Lahmia, riding through the Brettonian van like a wolf among the fold, was impaled through the heart by a well-sped clothyard shaft from Guillaume's longbow. At great cost, the Kingdom was preserved, and King Louis recognized Guillaume for his part by bestowing upon him a full pardon and the office of "King's Outlaw". Guillaume and his men returned to the forest, where they remain a hazard to those who are slow of foot and heavy of purse, but in times of their country's need they emerge to fight alongside their countrymen.

Guillaume is a Special Character. He may not lead the army.

Equipment:

Guillaume carries a sword and longbow.

May Ride:

He may not ride a mount of any kind.

Save:

None.

Options:

None. Guillaume, although a Hero, may not be equipped with magic items. He is in outlaw who lives in a tree, and if he did somehow get hold of a magic item he'd just pawn it and give the money to starving orphans.

SPECIAL RULES:

Several unique rules apply to Guillaume to represent his unusual abilities with the bow:

Fast Draw:

Guillaume may shoot up to three times in the missile phase. All shots in a single phase suffer a penalty of -1 to hit for each extra shot (i.e. one shot at no penalty, 2 at -1 each or 3 at -2 each).

Bullseye:

Guillaume is adept at hitting the weaknesses of tough targets: shooting at a knight's visor slit or the tiny bare patch on a Dragon's armoured body, for example. To represent this, when Guillaume rolls a natural 6 to hit, the shot automatically wounds, and only magic armour can save.

Trick Shot:

After many years of splitting arrows, shooting apples off of comrade's heads and nicking candlewicks without extinguishing their flames, Guillaume has no trouble shooting over the shoulders, past the heads and between the legs of friends in combat. He may fire at targets engaged in HtH with friendly models without hindrance.

Folk Hero:

A hero he is, but still one of the folk. Guillaume may not join or lead any form of knight or retainer regiment.

By Tox.