NPC: Thom, the One Armed Bandit

Thom is another member of the original Hopeful Seven. Before he lost his arm he was a brigand who waylaid travellers on the highways outside of Epping, in the kingdom of Ool. Early in their career, the band that would become the Hopeful Seven were set upon by Thom and his bandit boys. In the fight, Galen severed Thom's sword arm. The rest of the unlucky bandit's compatriots fled and left him for dead. Pleading for mercy, Too Bad Jim healed him, but could not reattach the arm. Thom now asked them to kill him outright, for he had few prospects as a one armed man in a very dangerous world.

Moved to pity, Galen spared him his life and determined to show him that he could be useful, in spite of his lost arm. He was accepted into the company and proved himself invaluable on a number of occaisions due to his wealth of accumulated experience and the lockpicking skills of his remaining fingers. He remained with the company until they retired in Bugtussle, where he opened a shop and became a merchant. He named the store after his infirmity, and the nickname he'd had since that meeting on the road so many years before.

Thom mis the proprietor of The One Armed Bandit, an outfitters where many items for the road are bought and sold. Thom still has some less than savory connections, in spite of a gradual alignment shift over the years.

The shop has just about anything (non-weapon) you need for long journeys and if it hasn't got it, Thom can get it for you in less than 7 days. Every item on the Miscellaneous Equipment Table on page 67 of the PHB can be bought here, at twice the price listed.

This is another of the minis from that Heritage Paint 'n Play set. His arm was broken when I opened the box, and I could never get it to glue back on and stay, so I just left it that way and started calling him "the one armed bandit" which I still think is pretty funny.

Because of Thom’s handicap, he only earns 15 skill points per level, as it is harder to learn to do the skill with only one hand. He also suffered a penalty to his base wall climbing ability, so 30 points were taken from his starting 60 and placed in other skill areas.