First NPC for my Swords & Wizardry Project

I am working on a project for Swords & Wizardry.  It's my own little mini-campaign setting entitled the Hamlet of Hagreth.  I have been knocking out some NPCs pretty quickly.  Here is a sample:

Nick Hacken is a woodcutter that lives on the very edge of the hamlet. He appears to be in his forties. A life of hard labor has left him balding and weathered, but still strong and lean. His wife died in childbirth and now his only companion is his young daughter. Nick is handy with an axe and he knows every nook and cranny of the forest for miles around.
Nick Hacken: HD 1; hp 5; AC 9[10]; Atk 1 hand axe (1d6); Save 18; Special: +1 hit/dam.

It has actually been a joy to create NPCs for S&W.  Maybe it's just my old age, but creating ones for more 'modern' RPGs just makes my head hurt...

I Blame Dan Abnett

I place the blame squarely on Dan Abnett’s head. I really do. As a grown-up geek, with a life filled with work, family and God knows what else, I had made up my mind to quit running roleplaying games cold turkey. I told myself that I could still dabble in the odd miniatures or board game, but roleplaying games were out. Why? In my experience, running roleplaying games requires just too much of a continuing time commitment.

While other games require a similar amount of ‘front loaded’ time getting prepared to play (I am looking at you Flames of War) nothing else besides running a roleplaying campaign requires such a continuing commitment of time and energy. In my experience, preparing for and running an exciting and interesting campaign on a regular basis too often turns into a grind. On top of that, you have to actually find a group, travel to wherever you are going to play, deal with no-shows, etc. It’s just generally a pain in the butt. I love RPGs, but my mind was made up. I was going to put away the dice bag for good.

And then I picked up Dan Abnett’s Eisenhorn omnibus on a whim. It was innocent enough. I was cruising Borders looking for something to read on my commute. The cover painting of inquisitor Eisenhorn caught my eye and I bought the book. Half way into Xenos, the first book of the trilogy, and I was hooked. Now I am not very familiar with the Warhammer 40,000 universe but Abnett’s vivid prose and pulpy action really sucked me in. Not even a week later, I was in possession of Dark Heresy and Rogue Traderebook

Back down the rabbit hole I go…