Zhentarim Fixer

You served as a trusted operative, negotiator, and problem-solver for the notorious Zhentarim. In the shadows of bustling cities and along dangerous trade routes, you learned how to secure deals, gather information, manipulate rivals, and ensure that your associates profited no matter the situation. Some fixers work as smugglers, black market brokers, debt collectors, spies, or political intermediaries, while others quietly arrange disappearances, payoffs, and alliances behind closed doors.

Life among the Black Network was dangerous, and survival required more than charm alone. You developed a talent for reading people, talking your way through tense situations, and concealing your true motives, but countless betrayals, street fights, and close calls also hardened your body and spirit. Whether negotiating with nobles, intimidating criminals, or slipping through locked doors in the dead of night, you know how to get things done efficiently and discreetly.

Even if you no longer actively serve the Zhentarim, your old habits, and perhaps your old contacts, remain valuable. Allies may recognize you as a capable intermediary with connections in low places, while enemies know that crossing a fixer often leads to consequences delivered quietly and professionally.

 

Ability Scores: Charisma, Constitution, Dexterity

Feat: Tough

Skill Proficiencies: Persuasion and Deception

Tool Proficiencies: Thieves’ Tools, Calligrapher's Supplies

Equipment: Choose A or B: (A) 2 Daggers, Thieves' Tools, Calligrapher's Supplies, Bedroll, 2 Pouches, Traveler’s Clothes, 16 GP; or (B) 50 GP

Suggested Characteristics

d8	Personality Trait
1	I rarely raise my voice; calm words are often more dangerous.
2	I instinctively evaluate what everyone in the room wants most.
3	I always keep a backup plan, escape route, or hidden weapon nearby.
4	I treat favors like currency and never forget a debt.
5	I prefer negotiation first, but I never bluff without a way to back it up.
6	I enjoy learning secrets almost as much as spending coin.
7	I present myself as polished and respectable, even amongst criminals.
8	I remain unnervingly composed in situations that would make others panic.

d8	Ideal
1	Power. Influence is the only true security in this world.
2	Profit. Every risk is balanced against the possible reward.
3	Loyalty. The Network protects its own when it matters.
4	Freedom. No lord, ruler, or guild should control my fate.
5	Survival. History is written by the living, not the honorable dead.
6	Order. Strong organizations bring stability to chaotic lands.
7	Reputation. A respected fixer can open doors that armies cannot.
8	Redemption. I secretly want to use my talents for something better than greed, but can't admit this even to myself.

d8	Bond
1	I owe my life to a Zhentarim agent who saw value in me.
2	I maintain a hidden network of informants and contacts across the region.
3	Someone I failed still haunts my thoughts and drives my actions.
4	A coded ledger contains secrets powerful people would kill to possess.
5	I protect the few people I truely trust with absolute dedication.
6	I was betrayed by a former associate and intend to settle the score.
7	I still receive occasional assignments from the Black Network.
8	I want to accumulate enough wealth and influence to never be powerless again.

d8	Flaw
1	I trust leverage more than friendship.
2	I have a hard time turning down profitable opportunities, even excessively dangerous ones.
3	I instinctively manipulate conversations, even with allies.
4	I keep too many secrets and share too little.
5	I assume betrayal is always on the table and act accordingly.
6	I underestimate idealistic people until they become problematic.
7	I rarely let go of grudges, even when I would benefit from doing so.
8	I secretly enjoy the fear that my reputation creates.