'Try your luck folks, can you guess what my meat is? Sometimes I don't even know!'
A small crowd lingers around a stall with strange smells coming from it. Moving closer, you see a well dressed bugbear handing a man a tiny cube of meat on a toothpick. Chewing the meat carefully, the crowd leans forward as he says 'Hydra'. The bugbear replies 'Oh I'm sorry...' and turns over a card 'It's Cockatrice'. The crowd laughs and some groan. The bugbear cheerily yells 'Next!'
Mystery Meat is a game that is almost explained by it's name. A customer pays 3cp and gets a small cube of lightly seasoned meat. They then try to guess the origin of the meat by taste alone. A successful guess nets the customer 200 lbs. of meat of their choice, to be given all at once or over a few months.
Gazpatcho also sells exotic and mundane meats at his stall. Sometimes a customer will find they like the mystery meat they just tried, and will want to purchase a larger quantity. His Mystery Meat game is actually designed to fuel this exotic trade, as getting people to try owlbear meat normally proved futile.
Gazpatcho has recently opened a restaurant called "Gazpatcho's Wilderness" in a local metropolis. The restaurant is a struggle, but is doing well. Gazpatcho still runs his stall at festivals. It's his way of relaxing and relieving stress from running his business.
Gazpatcho the Bugbear (sketch)
"Nope, good guess though..." - Gazpatcho
Gazpatcho is a hunter with a passion for cooking turned businessman. When he met a humanoid chef on the road one day with a fresh kill, the chef asked him what kind of meat he was carrying. Gazpatcho actually didn't know and said so. The chef said he was a connoisseur of exotic meats, and bet Gazpatcho that he could identify the beast by taste. Gazpatcho won a gold piece off of the bet and made his first humanoid friend, that night they shared a bit of the meat and cooking techniques.
Gazpatcho then had an idea, he set up a stall near a trade route and began challenging caravan members to guess what kind of meat he had based on taste alone. The prize was 200lb of free high quality meat of the customer's choice. After a poor farmer successfully guessed one year and won food for his family, news of Gazpatcho's stall spread like wildfire through the rumor mill. He began attending festivals and carnivals with his business. The game was immensely popular with the poor. For 3cp one could have a unique experience and have a chance of winning a guaranteed food supply for one's family.
Of course, Gazpatcho did meet some resistance. Criminal accusations plagued him in his early years, the most common being that some of his mystery meats were in fact humanoid meat, or that he was simply racketeering. However, these accusations failed to find any real foothold. Gazpatcho was a strong warrior and intelligent businessman who was known for his calm and logical demeanor. Something he's known for is telling a particularly vocal accuser of him being a man-eater, "Why would any intelligent person do that? I have a good business here and I don't want to ruin it by upsetting my customers.”
Gazpatcho still hunts on occasion, primarily when he wants to bring something new to the table. During these times he leaves his shop in the care of his apprentice (cohort) and lover, Gwenneth (N Female Human Expert 7).
Gazpatcho
Male bugbear ranger 4/rogue 4: CR 10; Medium humanoid (goblinoid); Hit Dice 7d8+4d6+22 (67 hp); Init +6; Spd 30 ft. (6 squares); AC 20 (+2 Dex, +5 armor, +3 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 20; BAB/Grapple +9/+11; Atk +12 melee (1d6+3/18-20, +1 scimitar) or +12 melee (1d4+2/18-20, masterwork kukri); Full atk +12/+7 melee (1d6+3/18-20, +1 scimitar) or +10/+5 melee (1d6+3/18-20, +1 scimitar) and +10 melee (1d4+1/18-20, masterwork kukri); SA sneak attack +2d6; SQ darkvision 60ft, evasion, uncanny dodge, scent, trapfinding, trap sense +1; AL N; SV Fort +8, Reflex +13, Will +6; Str 14, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 12.
Skills and Feats: Bluff +6, Diplomacy +10, Hide +14, Listen +15, Move Silently +18, Profession (barrister) +9, Profession (chef) +20, Spot +15, Sense Motive +10, Survival +9, Tumble +7; Endurance, Improved Initiative, Leadership, Quick Draw, Skill Focus (Profession (chef)), Track, Two-Weapon Fighting
Combat Style (Ex): Gazpatcho has selected two-weapon combat. He gains the Two-Weapon Fighting feat.
Favored Enemy (Ex): Gazpatcho gains a +2 bonus on his Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against magical beasts. He gets the same bonus on weapon damage rolls against magical beasts.
Skills: Gazpatcho gains a +4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks. This is reflected in the stat block above.
Wild Empathy (Ex): Gazpatcho can improve the attitude of an animal in the same way a Diplomacy check can improve the attitude of a sentient being. He rolls 1d20+5, or 1d20+1 if attempting to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2.
Typical Ranger Spells Prepared (Save DC 14+spell level): 1st—entangle
Languages: Common, Draconic, Elven, Goblin
Possessions: Amulet of health +2, cloak of elvenkind, kukri (masterwork), +1 mithral chain shirt, +1 scimitar, 1000gp
Note:
Gazpatcho has wealth for a 9th level NPC. He's actually wealthier, but it's all tied up in business and not available for adventuring funds.
