Only in Dungeon Fantasy games. 
HmmmâŚtrying to work out exactly what Disadvantages youâd use for a classic D&D murder hobo. Callous, Bloodthirsty, Greed, Reputation (serial killer)âŚ
Ranarâs death toll isnât too excessive so far. One centaur, one armour golem, one elf, one eldritch abomination and a dozen zombies. All of those were fairly justifiable as self-defence.
I try to make those players regret that choice in characterization. Mind you I always GM like weâre doing Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Well in this scene he may be acting a bit like a murder hobo. His combat reflexes and impulsiveness mixed with stress and a bit of fear could lead to that. In an unfamiliar land, having lost both his job and almost everyone he knows after multiple attacks by what he thinks of as the locals, heâs just been trekking through the open (which always makes dwarves uneasy), on edge, when finally he came across some concealment, met possibly a new friend, and thought he had a chance to relax - when suddenly they were charged - again. When this is over he could really use a nap.
Amazing that itâs been almost a year! Looking back, my initial character background write-up was pretty slim so I decided to flesh it out a bit - put whatâs been in my brain into words (this is only up until the beginning though):
Ranarâs backstory
Ranarâs life began like that of most dwarves, underground in Zarak. Third son of a successful stone carver, he was expected to finish basic schooling, spend a bit of time in the guard, and then follow on in the family tradition. As a child, he was picked on for his stuttering and curiosity. Although the mild bullying didnât last long, as he got tough quick, he became shy and remained a bit of an outcast, tolerated but never popular. He began to prefer the company of animals - they didnât care about his stutter, wouldnât make fun of the questions he pondered or the stories he told. They didnât have plans and wouldnât get upset if he just decided to do something.
Although mostly a loner, Ranar did make a few friends, most notably Callyra Orilin. While he was quiet, she was the âclass clownâ, silly and lighthearted (for a dwarf). They were as close as brother and sister for many years. Eventually, as they grew up, they would spend less time together and have less in common, but the friendship remained solid.
Joining the guard was a rite of passage for him, and in training he applied himself much more than he ever had in basic schooling, both to the combat training and his specialty, which was caring for the draught animals. Although he was deployed in a mission to deal with an incursion by a large band of bandits, the only real action he saw was tending to some ponies who had become injured on the rough terrain.
After the guard, he tried his hand at stonecarving, but much to the disappointment of his family, he just wasnât good at it. The disappointment of his family and failure at his lifeâs purpose drove him farther into solitude and depression. One day, while seeking out a quiet spot outside in the wilderness to be alone, he found someone else who was obviously upset and was doing the same. A former classmate, now a smithy and armorer apprentice, the other dwarf was failing as well, but was actually fairly good at stonecarving. Ranar had a knack for the armory work and, despite their familiesâ objections, they traded apprenticeships.
The days wore on and although he was good enough at his job, it was tedious, repetitive, and boring. When not working, he would slip outside and roam the nearby wilderness, watching the wildlife. The birds, rabbits, and squirrels were his companions.
In the meantime, Callyra had become a merchant, and was mostly away with the caravan. Whenever the caravan would return home they would catch up as old friends, but things felt a little different, since she had traveled and seen the world, and he had not. The travellerâs stories were surely exaggerated, but they made it clear that there was a lot out there that he had never seen. He began to feel that there should be more to life than just tending the dogs and working in the smithy. But he didnât quite know what.
After the last time that Callyraâs caravan left, he went outside and spent a long time just sitting, talking to a frog, a bumblebee, a chipmunk, then a fox. But of course, they didnât have much to say. Ranar found himself following the fox over first one hillside then another. He lost sight of the fox, but heâd never seen this area before and in his curiosity just kept going. Somewhere out there was⌠something. Something that needed him or something that he needed, maybe both.
In time, having gone south/southeast, he found himself in distant lands and low on funds. Although he didnât need much, ferries cost money as did supplies and sometimes secure places to sleep. With a vague idea that whatever he was looking for might be somewhere to the east, and that heâd need to pay for passage on a ship to get there, he sought out a job in Tredroy. He wasnât having much luck as a veterinarian, but heard that there was a call for mercenaries. After his time in the guard, he felt qualified enough, so he registered with the guild and requested the first available assignment. From there, he was directed to the Valley Inn.
He still didnât know what his purpose in life was, only that he had never found it back home. In any case, he wanted to go as far as possible and see as much as possible so that when he does get back home, maybe he can wow Callyra with his stories instead of the other way around. And maybe theyâll have more in common again.
(Ranar has already traveled way farther away from home than Callyra has ever been. Most of the stories that the merchants tell are either second-hand, third-hand, or made up. Thatâs how they pass the time while traveling - making up stories to tell the people back home. But he doesnât know that.)
Are these guys marked as al-Wazif military or anything like that? Iâm assuming theyâre Wazifi given our location.
Their appearance is not inconsistent with that of Wazifi guardsmen, but standardised uniforms arenât much of a thing around here.
Theyâre wearing mail shirts, carrying tulwars and shields, and have bows strapped to their horses.
BTW: the reason why Thwipâs Fast-Talk worked but Ranarâs Intimidation didnâtâŚ
Thwip rolled well, Ranar rolled poorly;
Despite his combat effectiveness, Ranar is a very unintimidating dwarf. Stuttering and Shyness donât help with social skills. Heâs a cuddly sweetie, really. 
How far is Hayu from the fire?
The hexes on the map are one yard across. The fire is on the southern edge of the forest, off the bottom of the map, about ten yards from Hayu. Two seconds to run there, two seconds to run back.
Combat rounds are one second; thereâd be half a dozen exchanges of blows before you returned. OTOH, theyâve both got armour and shields, so they might ineffectually bash at each other for a while.
https://bbs.elsewhere.cafe/t/gurps-banestorm-redux-narrative-thread/609/46?u=wanderfound
It does appear to be a battle-trained horse, BTW. And you have an axe in your right hand, a shield on your left arm. You could probably slap the horse with the axe, but it would likely interpret it as an attack to be responded to.
Ranar is at a bit of a disadvantage vs cavalry; the basic infantrymanâs tactic is to down the horse (and Ranar could probably easily slaughter this one), but itâd be wildly out of character to do so.
Hm⌠New plan, then. Gimme 'till tomorrow.
What about rocks? Any baseball sized rocks around?
Not a lot of rock, but plenty of sticks. And you are carrying throwing knivesâŚ
Yeah, but how armoured are these guys? No sense throwing a knife thatâll just bounce. For one thing, youâll wreck the knife.
The men are carrying shields and wearing mail shirts. Their legs and heads are unarmoured.
The horses are completely unarmoured, and large targets.
Bouncing off a mail shirt or shield should not destroy a knife.
Well thatâll make it a bit more difficult. Being good with horses doesnât mean itâs easy to control an opponentâs trained horse. But Iâll stick to his first instinct first. If that fails, there are other ways to deal with a mounted man.
Heâll try to block the horsemanâs attacks with the shield and try a (gentle) slap with the flat of the axe on the horseâs flank.
(If this is one where youâll do a few rounds and fill us in afterward, I can give you Ranarâs next two objectives.)
Basically, sheâs trying to set it up so that if the guard turns his focus to defend against (or come after) her, he opens himself up to Ranar, and if he stays focused on Ranar, heâs vulnerable to her flank attack.
