Belly, the Iron-Skin Bandit

Abandoned at a young age, Belly (formerly Kewan Benson) lived rough on the streets of a densely populated city, staying in gangs to survive. Quickly gaining a reputation for both toughness and ruthlessness, he took over his gang and led them to prosperity. Seeking greater wealth, he left his once familiar home city to develop a new operation outside its walls; one of freedom and banditry. Now he leads the region’s largest bandit organisation – the Iron Bandits – and waylays caravans traveling between towns and cities, even striking at some smaller settlements directly.

Tougher than nails

A life of hardship brought Belly near to the breaking point more than once, but he always persevered and became stronger for it. Dozens of fist-fights and tousles with other gangs awakened his true potential – potential that might have taken him to the highest echelons of a monk order in another life – allowing him to develop skin as strong as ring mail and fists that strike like iron to an anvil. During combat, he weathers blows like a stone wall while battering his opponents into submission with relentless attacks and speed that belies his build.

Mostly hard inside, too

Belly and his Iron Bandits kill without qualm and steal without conscience. He is truly loyal to his gang, as they are with him, and he will do whatever it takes to keep them safe and fed in the world that has treated them all so poorly. His only compassion lies towards the downtrodden; while a village’s nobles and families might be slaughtered on the streets for plunder, the village’s beggars and waifs remain conspicuously unharmed…

Quotes

• To a waylaid caravan; “Unhitch yer ‘orses and leave the wagon to us, or we’ll leave you a bloody smear on the road!”
• When recruiting a new gang member; “You do right by us and we’ll do right by you. If you don’t, I’ll break yer teeth.”
• When threatened by a band of adventurers on the road; “Do you really think y’er the most dangerous person on this road? Back off now, ‘afore someone gets hurt – and drop your packs while y’er at it.”

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BELLY, THE IRON-SKIN BANDIT Medium humanoid (human), neutral evil

Armor Class 14 (natural armor) Hit Points 86 (12d10 + 20) Speed 30 ft.

Str 16 (+3) Dex 11 (+0) Con 16 (+3) Int 10 (+0) Wis 14 (+2) Cha 12 (+1)

Saving Throws Str +6, Con +6, Wis +5 Skills Athletics +6, Insight +5, Intimidation +4, Perception +5 Damage Resistances slashing, piercing and bludgeoning Senses Passive Perception 15 Languages Common Challenge 6

Thick of Head. Belly is immune to the stunned and incapacitated conditions, if they are not applied by a magical effect. Monk-ish. Belly’s fists count as magical weapons, for the purpose of overcoming resistances.

ACTIONS Multiattack. Belly makes one Fists or Beat Down attack, and then one of any attack (except beat down again, if it was the first attack). Belly is capable of moving between these attacks. Fists. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) bludgeoning damage, and the target must make a DC 13 strength or dexterity saving throw or else become grappled. If the target is already grappled, then failing this save renders them restrained instead. Beat Down. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) bludgeoning damage, and target must make a DC 13 strength saving throw or else be thrown 5 feet backwards and become prone. Throw. Belly may move up to 5 feet in any direction, then throw any target he is currently grappling. The target is thrown up to 15 feet, reduced by 5 feet per size class above small (huge or larger creatures cannot be thrown). If thrown at a creature, that creature must make a DC 13 dexterity saving through or else they both collide and each take 7 (2d4 + 3) damage if the thrown creature is small or medium, or 9 (3d4 + 3) damage if the thrown creature is large. Both targets also become prone. If thrown at the ground or an obstacle, the thrown creature must make a DC 13 dexterity saving throw or take 5 (1d4 + 3) damage and become prone.

REACTIONS Bounceback. If belly is knocked prone, he can expend his reaction to instantly return to standing position and move 10 feet in any direction without provoking attacks of opportunity. Immovable. If a creature uses any melee effect which would normally forcibly move Belly a certain distance in some direction, Belly can use his reaction to negate the effect and instead perform his Throw attack on them, regardless of their grappled state, if he chooses.

 

DM Tips

• Belly is never far from his most loyal and trusted friends. You should make sure the players fight him with a band of bandits at his side.
• Belly is an aggressive, but wise fighter. If outnumbered, he will target the most dangerous party members first, especially rogues. If he and his bandits outnumber the party, he will instead try to fight the biggest and meanest party members – ideally as many at once as possible – while ordering his comrades to engage the most vulnerable party members.
• Belly likes to grapple, particularly when fighting rogues or other slippery targets. Make sure to take advantage of his exceptional grappling skills.
• Belly’s voice is gravelly and hard. He doesn’t bandy words much, and usually opts for simple threats of violence in the event that he doesn’t get his way.
• Reward your players for doing their homework; if a rogue tries to sneak attack him before finding out that his skin is tough as iron, have the sneak attack damage be nullified, due to the player’s surprise that his skin can’t be penetrated so easily. If they did find this out beforehand, then let them know that their sneak attack succeeds because they knew to expect this.
• Belly’s fighting style is almost entirely fist and grapple based. You’ll rarely see him employ kicks of any kind; instead, describe the various uppercuts, shoulder and elbow strikes, and throws that he performs as he lumbers about the battlefield.
• Belly’s weakness is his lack of mobility or ranged presence, while his strength is martial combat and crowd control in close quarters. Keep this in mind, and be prepared to adjust an encounter with him accordingly if the party does not have means to bypass his physical resistances or keep range.