The Crude Crusher

Character Description: The Crude Crusher is a rude, boisterous, belching, physical sort of character. He may be very clever, but he prefers force to trickery or persuasion—it feels good to pound people. He doesn't like proper manners, court etiquette, literature and poetry, or haughtiness. He has very coarse and common customs . . . although he could be of high birth (nothing says a high-born warrior must be clean, virtuous, and polite, after all). Put him in a tavern with a crowd of noisy table-banging drinkers, where the drinks pour freely and the occasional brawl grinds furniture into sawdust, and he's happy.

Best Suited For: In terms of alignment, the Crude Crusher can belong to any of them. If he's Lawful, he's still operates by a code of behavior that others can observe and count upon (even if he is a social misfit); and if he's Good, he's not going to take the things he wants (by force) from those who own them. For these reasons, a Lawful/Good Crude Crusher isn't likely to have a lot of fun. In terms of Warrior Kits, the Crude Crusher is well-suited to the Barbarian, Beast-Rider, Berserker, Gladiator, Peasant Hero, Pirate/Outlaw, Savage, and Wilderness Warrior. A Crude Crusher Noble Warrior will always suffer the reaction penalties given to Noble Warriors who don't live according to their social stations (see the description of the Noble Warrior from the last chapter for more on this). Amazons are usually too uptight in male societies to be as comfortably coarse as the Crude Crusher is. The Samurai and Swashbuckler tend to be too cultured for this personality type. The Cavalier can't take the Crude Crusher personality.

In Combat Situations: The Crude Crusher is a brawler. He prefers one-on-one combats and fights dirty, doing whatever it takes to win a fight. He fights exactly as he chooses, and may or may not follow the team plan. In combat, he's single-minded and effective.

In Role-Playing Situations: The Crude Crusher can be a lot of fun to play, because he says whatever he wants whenever he wants. His crude remarks scandalize more refined characters. He's likely to antagonize his ``betters'' in conversation, either accidentally or (more probably) deliberately, and this can spoil party negotiations and muck up the party's plans. However, none of this means that the Crude Crusher can't be loyal, courageous, competent and powerful, so adventuring parties aren't likely to kick him out because of his mouth; but they're usually exasperated by his attitudes.

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