Sir Alec retains 4 gallowglass—along with their harness-keepers and servants—as a personal retinue.
Scottish mercenaries typically employed by Irish chieftains for their petty wars, galloglass enjoy a status comparable to that of a knight; this is in large part due to their expensive armor and equipment, and they are paid £5 a year, which includes gifts of horses or mail, as well as food and drink. This pay also supports a young man in training and a boy servant. All three can go into battle together as a “spar,” a word which is also used to refer to the gallowglass’s distinctive long-handled axe.
The game statistics below represent a gallowglass of moderate experience. Like others of his kind, he was chosen for his strength, size, and stamina, perhaps as young as 16. He spent years as an apprentice warrior to a gallowglass before he earned the status himself. He wears a mail hauberk over a padded shirt and tunic, but his legs are bare and he wears only sandals on his feet, a characteristic that sometimes earns him the name “redshanks.” He wears a steel helm and bears a sword and dagger for secondary weapons. His spear and throwing javelins are carried by his attendants.
A gallowglass kills quickly or is killed, using exertion on attack rolls. More experienced gallowglass go on to become lord’s gallowglass or consables.
A gallowglass fights with the help of his harness-bearer and, sometimes, his young male servant. He acts as both vanguard and leader. Standard tactics begin with the harness-bearer hurling javelins at the enemy as they close; the gallowglass then exerts himself for a charge, conserving additional levels of fatigue when he sees a weakness or another opportunity to charge. Once battle is joined, the harness-bearer and servant—if present—are responsible for guardian the gallowglass’s flanks, sniping with a bow or defending themselves with spears.
Because the harness-bearer and servant have Damage scores significantly less than the gallowglass (who is wielding a poleaxe), they do not normally qualify for group combat according to the ArM5 rules; nevertheless, treat them as a group, giving a +3 bonus to Attack or Defense which the gallowglass almost always uses to Attack. If the gallowglass inflicts a Medium Wound or better, the harness-bearer inflicts a Wound one degree less serious than that of the gallowglass. If the gallowglass inflicts a Heavy Wound or better, the servant inflicts a wound two degrees less serious.
If the gallowglass is Incapacited, the group becomes untrained, tries to recover the body of their leader, and flee.
Age 30
Size +1
Virtues & Flaws Gallowglass; Large, Warrior; Avaricious: Minor, Proud: Minor, Rolling Stone
Characteristics Int 0, Per 0 (-1), Pre +1, Com -1, Str +2, Sta +2, Dex +1, Qik 0
Personality Traits Brave +3
Reputations Respected Warrior 2 (nobility), Resented 2 (peasants)
Abilities Area Lore: Ireland 2, Area Lore: Scotland 2, Athletics (marching) 3, Awareness (guard duty) 3, Bow (short) 3, Brawl (dagger) 3, Carouse (drinking) 2, Chirurgery (battle wounds) 1, Gaelic (Scot) 5, Great Weapon (longaxe) 5, Hunt (men) 1, Leadership (galloglass) 2, Old Norse 3, Profession: Mercenary 4, Ride (long distance) 1, Single Weapon (longsword) 4, Survival (hills) 2, Swim (ocean) 1, Thrown Weapon 4 (javelin)
Combat
Soak +9 (Sta 2 + Protection 7)
Fatigue OK, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious
Wound Levels Unhurt, OK, Lightly Wounded, Moderately Wounded, Heavily Wounded, Incapacitated, Dead
Gear poleaxe, longsword, open helm, mail hauberk, gambeson, dagger
Load 9, Burden 3, Encumbrance 1
This represents a young man who aspires to the life of a gallowglass. Big, strong, and tough, he has been accepted as a harness-bearer for an experienced warrior, and his job is to carry the gallowglass’s bow, javelins, and spear. In battle, he begins by hurling his javelins at the foe before the charge; then he harries enemies with his bow and tries to protect the gallowglass from flanking maneuvers. He has only been with his master for a few years, but has benefited from intensive training in that time.
Age 18
Size +1
Virtues & Flaws Wanderer; Large, Warrior; Avaricious: Minor, Dutybound
Characteristics Int 0, Per 0, Pre +1, Com -1, Str +2, Sta +2, Dex +1, Qik 0
Abilities Area Lore: Ireland 1, Area Lore: Scotland 2, Athletics (marching) 3, Awareness (guard duty) 3, Bow (bow) 3, Brawl (evasion) 2, Carouse (drinking) 1, Chirurgery (battle wounds) 1, Gaelic (Scot) 5, Great Weapon (longaxe) 3 (5), Old Norse 3, Profession: Mercenary 2, Ride (long distance) 1, Single Weapon (spear) 3, Survival (hills) 2, Swim (ocean) 1, Thrown Weapon (javelin) 4
Combat
Soak +3 (Sta 2 + Protection 1)
Fatigue Levels OK, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious
Wound Levels Unhurt, OK, Lightly Wounded, Moderately Wounded, Heavily Wounded, Incapacitated, Dead
Gear bow, spear, 3 javelins, iron cap, gambeson, dagger
Load 6.5 (3.5 after throwing javelins), Burden 3 (2 after throwing javelins), Encumbrance 1 (0 after throwing javelins)
A gallowglass is accompanied by a male servant under the age of 16, often in training to be a warrior or at least aspiring to be one. These individuals are not expected to fight in battle, but nevertheless sometimes do, and are counted as part of a gallowglass’s “spar.”
Age 14
Size 0
Virtues & Flaws Wanderer; Warrior; Dutybound
Characteristics Int 0, Per 0, Pre +1, Com -1, Str +2, Sta +2, Dex +1, Qik 0
Abilities Area Lore: Scotland 2, Athletics (marching) 3, Awareness (guard duty) 3, Bow (bow) 2, Brawl (fist) 1, Gaelic (Scot) 5, Great Weapon (longaxe) 2, Old Norse 3, Profession: Mercenary 1, Ride (long distance) 1, Single Weapon (spear) 3, Survival (hills) 2, Swim (ocean) 1, Thrown Weapon (javelin) 3
Combat
Soak +3 (Sta 2 + Protection 1)
Gear gambeson, dagger, spear
Load 2.5, Burden 2, Encumbrance 0