Lord Lockswell's Manor

This property is one of the oldest of the forest homesteads, now grown far be yond its humble beginnings as a woods man's cottage. Its current lord and master is the fifth descendant of that original woodsman. His family has come to be respected by humans throughout the Gnarley Forest, and the Lockswells have long served as captains of the irregular company of bowmen that occasionally must assemble to resist an incursion into the forest.

The title "lord" has not been granted by any recognized monarch, but that does not lessen Lord Lockswell 's rank in the eyes of his loyal followers.

His manor is the largest building in the forest, a huge and shambling structure reminiscent of some great emperor's hunting lodge. It has an attached stable, and a nearby guest house, inn, and smithy, the whole being surrounded by a stout wooden palisade.

A dozen cottages and farmsteads lie within hailing rustance of that wall, and a small sawmill is located just downstream on the placid brook that meanders past the manor.

Lord and Lady Lockswell live in the manor house together with five grown sons, two daughters-in-law, four grand children, and a dozen servants. They share the courtyard inside the palisade with the family of Earl the Innkeeper and a half-dozen gardeners and liverymen.

Also within the courtyard is a small shrine to St. Cuthbert. Lady Lockswell is a priestess of that benign deity, and her generous ministrations to the sick, injured, and hungry of the forest has earned for her even more devotion than that given her husband.

Lord Lockswell of Gnarlwood: AC 0; MV 12: R12; hp 102; THACO 9; #AT 3/2; Dam ld6 +2 (long bow +2), 1d8 +7 (long sword + 4 defender and Str 18/58)

Lord Lockswell is a man of wisdom and vision, well aware of the responsibility he has inherited. It has been a characteristic of the Lockswell line that, since the fealty of the family's "subjects" has been given so freely, the weight of rulership has been felt that much more keenly.

He is a man of great patience and fine sense of humor. He enjoys a feast and a party, and at least four times a year throws open his manor for a grand celebration. Residents of all parts of the wood and beyond attend these functions, which generally last four or five days.

Lord Lockswell has also inherited the mantle of military command over the woodsmen who assemble into a militia when the need arises. True to his forefathers, he is a cautious and successful commander. He keeps the casualties among his own men to an absolute minimum, while exploiting their skill with the long bow to inflict harassment and demoralization upon any foe. This company will always retire in the face of great numbers, fighting on ground of the lord's own choosing.

This tactic, employed by the current lord's grandfather, once resulted in the sacking of the manor house by a large band of marauding ores, driving upward from the Pomarj. The men of Lockswell fell back from the attack, but then slew so many of the orcs on the monsters' return march that they never ventured this far north again. Lockswell's company lost two men killed in the entire campaign.

Lady Lockswell: AC 5 (ring of protection + 1 MV 12; ClO: hp 54; THAC0 14; # AT 1; dmg ld6 + 2 (staff of the serpent, python)

Lady Lockswell is the daughter of a minor Greyhawk city noble. She met Lord Lockswell as he accompanied her father on a hunting trip. The lord pursued her to the city, wooed her, and they were wed just prior to their return to the forest. She has come to love these verdant surroundings as much as her husband, and could no longer bear the thought of a return to the city.

Here, too, she feels that her service to her god is making an important contribution to the welfare of the people. ln the city she felt like one more sidewalk vendor, peddling her goods from the grand temple on the Processional.

Any traveler who appeals to her mercy for food, shelter, or healing is tended to the best of her ability. Even those suspected or proven of thievery, vandalism of the forest, or worse crimes are first cared for by the lady. She then turns such perpetrators over to the fair, but stern, justice of her husband.