Character Challenge 2026 - Catching Up - Pieces of 8

I liked creating Willy Pete and his Merry Gang, so this time I created 8 more characters as a group or party. Six characters are 1st level while the remaining two, Thrain and Elma, are second level. They are currently co-leaders. 

Oddly, the thief, Otto Grimm, pulled the party together. He is a bit perplexing, having low wisdom and modest intelligence with a gift for languages. He was able to fool the other party members into following him until the ideas and cash ran out. At that point, the most experienced characters took over. The Bollin Cay, the fighter decided to call the group "Pieces of 8" since they had 64 coppers, silvers, and gold. 

Let's sketch out this party, starting with the co-leaders, starting with Thrain and moving on to the elf, Elma. 

Thrain Ironfist, Second Level Dwarven Fighter

STR 15
INT 13
WIS 11
DEX 10
CON 14
CHA 10

HP 12

AC 4 (chain, shield)

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: None
Languages: Common, Dwarven

Equipment:

Battle axe

Backpack
7 torches
50’ rope
Iron rations
Pickaxe

Hatchet
Bedroll
Change of clothes 

Maybe Elma has a shield like this.

Elma Strider, Second Level Elf

STR 10
INT 13
WIS 12
DEX 14
CON 11
CHA 10

HP 9
AC 6 Leather, Shield

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: 
Languages: Common, Dwarven, Elven

Equipment:
Longsword
Hatchet
Bow and 24 arrows

Spellbook
Elevn cloak
Wineskin
Hatchet

Iron rations

Bedroll
Change of clothes 

You will note all the characters have a hatchet, rations, a bedroll, and a change of clothes. They are carrying everything they own on their backs. They do not have much. 

Elma and Thrain have hopes of either joining a crew heading to the Isle of Dread or becoming a guard troop for a caravan heading north. If they join a crew, they will have no need of a leader. If they join a caravan, they have decided Elma will lead. Thrain is currently the leader in the port town. 

Bollin Cay, First Level Human Fighter

STR 14
INT 13
WIS 10
DEX 12
CON 13
CHA 11

HP 7
AC 5 Chainmail

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: 
Languages: Common, Elven

Equipment: 
Spear +1
Long Bow and 24 arrows
Short Sword

Hammer
Lantern

Flask of oil
Tinderbox 
Lyre
Hatchet

Iron rations

Bedroll
Change of clothes

Nissa the Quick, First Level Halfling

STR 15
INT 10
WIS 11
DEX 16
CON 12
CHA 13

HP 5
AC 6 Leather and shield

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: None
Languages: Common, Halfling

Short sword

Silver dagger
Sling

Backpack

Lockpicks 
Greatcloak
Flask of oil

2 sacks
Tinderbox 
Hatchet

Iron rations

Bedroll
Change of clothes 

Alvin, First Level Cleric

STR 12
INT 10
WIS 15
DEX 11
CON 13
CHA 11

HP 6
AC 5 Chainmail

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: Clerical
Languages: Common

Equipment:

Holy Water Sprinkler (1d8) 
Sling +1 30 bullets

Backpack
Holy symbol
Holy water
Prayer book
Music book
Drum
Tinderbox 
Hatchet

Iron rations

Bedroll
Change of clothes 

Alvin, Cay, and Nissa make up the heart of the party. They all have an interest in music. They are also the only ones with magic weapons. They are the first to gather firewood and set camp, and the last to leave the camp after cleaning up the dishes. 

They perform whenever the rest of the party lets them. In town, they have busked the party a free drink or ten. They really aren't that bad... at singing. 

They can handle dishes and starting fires, but the three of them are abysmal cooks and worse at hunting. Even picking berries and fruit doesn't go well for them unless under the guidance of someone else. They are the happy little band. 

Morcant the Pale, First Level Magic-User

STR 12
INT 16
WIS 12
DEX 11
CON 10
CHA 9

HP 4
AC 9 Robes

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: Light, Locate Object
Languages: Common

Equipment:

Staff
Knife

Backpack
Bronze torc
Spellbook
7 books, ink & quill
Tinderbox 
Hatchet

Iron rations
Small tent
Hammer and tent spikes

Bedroll
Change of clothes 

Lovers under a tree

Dawn'wen Star, First Level Elf

STR 10
INT 15
WIS 10
DEX 14
CON 11
CHA 12

HP 5
AC 7 Leather

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: Detect Magic, Light
Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven

Equipment:

Rapier
Bow and 24 arrows
Dagger
Sling

Backpack
Silver torc
Tinderbox 
Hatchet

Iron rations

Bedroll
Change of clothes 

Dawn'wen and Morcant the Pale are the team's unlikely couple. Both are soft-spoken, often quiet but friendly when they get speaking. The two barely speak to each other, but are great friends. They are the only ones who sleep in a tent. Dawn'wen hunts with her bow, and Morcant cleans and cooks what she provides. 

Both wear expensive torcs of matching designs. The rest of the party suspects these are bands of ownership and believe they are escaped slaves. The rest of the party would never dream of asking. The torcs and the couple occasionally attract ill-attention. Such attention is usually handled by Otto Grimm. 

Otto Grimm First Level Thief

STR 13
INT 12
WIS 6
DEX 17
CON 11
CHA 13

HP 6
AC 7 (leather)

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: None
Languages: Common, Elven, Halfling, Orc, Goblin, and several others.

Equipment:

A pair of stiletto's
Mithril long sword
Sling
Wire garrot

Lockpicks
Lock grease
Chalk
Vial of acid 
Holy Water
Tinderbox 
Hatchet

Iron rations

Bedroll
Change of clothes 

Otto is a gregarious man of little wisdom. He talks a great game, but when the rubber hits the road, he comes up short all of the time. No one is exactly sure how this moron knows so many languages, but he is great at them. 

In combat, he is extremely wily and dangerous, packing more weapons than anyone else. He has a fine Mithril sword that, by all accounts, should be magical. The party has tested it several times, and it has a distinct lack of magic. 

Dawn'wen Star has a theory about Otto. He is an assassin, one who has been cursed to be good and lawful. Thrain believes her more than anyone else, because he has seen the results of Otto's hand when anybody bothers the young couple.  

Well, let me know what you think of this crazy crew of characters. 

I'll end today with the overt commercial: 

I use Necrotic Gnome's Old-School Essentials, but picked up the boxed sets from a Kickstarter. You can approximate this with two titles: The Referee's Tome and The Player's Tome. Or you could taste test it with the Basic Rules. These are free.

Since I mentioned in two posts, here is a link to Isle of Dread on DriveThruRPG.