The third entry in our series on NPC knights for your tournaments.

Appearance

Mid-forties, broad through the chest, with a quiet confidence that comes from not needing to prove anything. His armor is plain and well-kept. The harpy on his shield — gold on blue, crowned and clawed — is the first thing most people notice.

It’s a stigmata.

Backstory

Gawain’s the younger brother of the late Lord Harrowmoor, uncle to Lady Theatrice and Commander Hilda. He spent two decades in the Harrowmoor household, serving quietly, steadily, and without much fanfare.

The morning after Ashfen, everything changed.

The Great Deed: Crookhorns at Ashfen

A handful of crookhorns had been slipping out of the Nagwood, burning what they couldn’t carry from the northern steadings, and vanishing back into the dark forest. Folks down south didn’t think much of crookhorns in those days, but Harrowmoor knew better. Lady Theatrice’s father sent Gawain north. He went, caught them near Derodand Manor on a boggy sward called Ashfen, broke their line, and drove them off. Several farmsteaders owed him their lives.

Upon returning to the keep, Lord Harrowmoor gifted Gawain a sword in honor of the victory. The hall was warm. Someone brought out the good wine.

Then Sir Jospher Waldmeur — a fellow household knight — started telling anyone who’d listen that Gawain had held back at the worst of the fighting. Let another man take the danger while he hung back.

The accusation was false. Everyone present knew it was false.

Gawain hit him. Waldmeur went down. When he tried to rise, Gawain hit him again. Hard.

Sir Jospher didn’t rise a second time. The back of his head had struck the flags hard enough that Lord Harrowmoor’s healers, for all their arts, could not bring him back.

The matter went to the Duke’s Bench because a knight had killed a knight, and Sir Jospher’s kin demanded justice. The ruling was manslaughter — hot blood, no premeditation. Gawain didn’t dispute a word of it. The harpy arms were imposed. He accepted without appeal.

Encountering Sir Gawain

You’ll spot Sir Gawain at the Duke’s Tourney, amongst the host’s retinue. The harpy shield’s a dead giveaway. Ask about it, and you’ll get a short answer—he’s heard every question before.

Gawain’s squire, Wynne Offcester (Level 1 Knight), took the job when nobody else wanted it. She’s figured out Gawain’s tough but fair—he’ll tell you what you did right, not just what you messed up. Now? She wouldn’t trade the job for anything.

When encountered on the road, his train includes a warhorse, two riding horses, two pack horses, and the standard knightly kit (see p. 47 of Knights of the Wood: The Duke’s Tourney for the full list). Resale value around 340–350 gp; not counting the horses.

Gawain still carries the sword his brother put in his hands the night Waldmeur died. He’s never named it. He likely never will.

(The blade should at least be a Masterwork sword, or enchanted, depending on your campaign. According to The Dolmenwood Monster Book, Level 5 knights should carry both arcane armor and sword.)

Running Sir Gawain

Harrowmoor is not tucked away in some quiet corner of the ‘Wood. He’s right there in the Duke’s own retinue at the biggest event of the year.

Gawain doesn’t waste time brooding over the past. The reckoning’s long done, the arms are on his shield, and he’s moved on. He watches everything, steady as ever, but don’t expect him to be warm. If your plan’s got a hole in it—and you can get him to care—he’ll tell you straight, no sugarcoating.

Outside the tourney, he goes where the Duke sends him. Players might encounter him on patrol or perhaps escorting the Duke or other VIPs on Camp Road, Horse-eye Road, or the King’s Highway. He’s equally likely to be found on guard duty at the Ducal Keep at Castle Brackenwold, the Headless Gate, or the city gates. He’s bound to the Duke’s service and doesn’t have the latitude to go chasing after trouble on someone else’s behalf. Mostly, he keeps to himself and does the work.

But he knows things. His nieces haven’t cut him off, and they keep him current: the Nagwood pressing south, Prigwort’s garrison thin, Violet gone missing. He spotted crookhorn trouble long before anyone in the south was paying attention, and he’s been watching the same signs ever since. Players who can get him talking will find he’s worth the effort. He won’t volunteer much. But when the party needs a well-connected knight who’ll give them a straight answer, Gawain’s their man.

Sir Gawain is a new NPC knights expanding on the 40 tournament opponents found in Knights of the Wood: The Duke’s Tourney, our medieval tournament supplement written specifically for Dolmenwood but easily adapted to any OSR game. Pick up the full book for complete jousting, mêlée, hunting, and feast mechanics — plus a stable of fully realized knights ready to challenge your players across every event of the Duke’s Tourney.

Want to create your own tournament opponents? Our free Dolmenwood Knight Opponent Generator lets you build a full roster of NPC knights in seconds.