The man known only as 71-Hour Ahmed appears to be a skinny, wiry, heavily-scarred Klatchian warrior with a really big curved sword (his strength is uncanny for his size), a ready grin, and a quick, alert manner – a plausible bodyguard and, most people will instantly guess, enforcer for the Klatchian royal family. He’s certainly filled that role in the past – but the image is, to a certain extent, an act, and cover for something a lot more dangerous.
Ahmed was born in Klatch, and is at least half D’reg (see p. 236). However, his family seem to have been well-off and determined to get on in the world, or perhaps they had patronage from someone rich and powerful, because Ahmed was sent to the Assassins’ Guild school in Ankh-Morpork. He didn’t enjoy the experience, hating the food and the weather, but applied himself diligently and graduated as a fully-qualified Assassin. Then he returned to Klatch and entered government service. Somewhere along the line, he evidently learned some lessons the hard way, acquiring an astonishing collection of scars. However, that which failed to kill him made him even more dangerous.
Ahmed eventually came to serve Prince Cadram of Klatch as a wali, a kind of roving policeman. In fact, he was the only law over two million square miles of desert and mountains, and the only reliable law in a lot of small towns and oases. This meant getting the job done by any means necessary, and not worrying too much about procedural detail. His authority allowed him to act as judge, jury, and executioner. Fortunately, not only were his skills up to the task, he also developed an unrelenting commitment to justice. On one occasion, he was a guest in a man’s tent when he established that the man had poisoned an entire village – and so he executed his host, despite the fact that there was still an hour to go of the traditional three days of sacrosanct Klatchian hospitality. This would have made most men hunted outcasts in Klatch; Ahmed was seen as too frightening to hate, and so he just acquired his nickname.
His superiors apparently noticed Ahmed’s keen sense of ethics, because when he was sent back to Ankh-Morpork as part of a diplomatic mission, they didn’t tell him about their plot to start a war with that city, which involved the assassination of the Klatchian Prince Khufurah. Ahmed found out anyway, though, and was outraged enough to sabotage the plot. With the war aborted, he decided that it might be best to disappear from his usual haunts for a while, and he was last seen riding off into the desert in the direction of Klatchistan. He intended to continue working as a policeman; with his skills, he could probably find a ruler who would employ him.
ST 13 [30]; DX 14 [80]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 12 [20].
Damage 1d/2d-1; BL 34 lb; HP 13 [0]; Will 12 [0]; Per 12 [0]; FP 12 [0].
Basic Speed 6.50 [0]; Basic Move 6 [0]; Dodge 10; Parry 12 (Two-Handed Sword).
5’5”; 95 lbs.
Social Background
TL: 4 [0].
CF: Klatchian (Native) [0]; Sto Plains/Uberwald [1].
Languages: Klatchian (Native) [0]; Latatian (None/Accented) [2]; Morporkian (Native) [6].
Advantages
Combat Reflexes [15]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Legal Enforcement Powers 3 [15]; Reputation +2 (Too scary to cross, among Klatchians) [5]; Status 2 [10]; Temperature Tolerance 1 [1]; Wealth (Comfortable) [10].
Perks: Assassin in Good Standing. [1]
Disadvantages
Appearance (Ugly) [-8]; Duty (Wali to the Prince; 12 or less) [-10]; Reputation -3 (The Man, among Klatchian criminals; 10 or less) [-3]; Skinny [-5]; Vow (Uphold Justice) [-10].
Quirks: Regards Ankh-Morpork with persistent mild distaste. [-1]
Skills
Acrobatics (H) DX-2 [1]-12; Acting (A) IQ+1 [4]-13; Animal Handling (Camels) (A) IQ [2]-12; Area Knowledge (Ankh-Morpork) (E) IQ [1]-12; Area Knowledge (Klatch) (E) IQ+2 [4]-14; Brawling (E) DX [1]-14; Climbing (A) DX [2]-14; Crossbow (E) DX [1]-14; Fast-Draw (Knife) (E) DX+1 [1]-15*; Fast-Draw (Two-Handed Sword) (E) DX+1 [1]-15*; Forced Entry (E) DX [1]-14; Interrogation (A) IQ [2]-12; Knife (E) DX [1]-14; Knot-Tying (E) DX [1]-14; Law (Klatchian Police) (H) IQ-2 [1]-10; Navigation/TL4 (Land) (A) IQ-1 [1]-11; Rapier (A) DX-1 [1]-13; Riding (Camels) (A) DX [2]-14; Riding (Equines) (A) DX-1 [1]-13; Savoir-Faire (High Society) (E) IQ [1]-12; Stealth (A) DX [2]-14; Streetwise (A) IQ [2]-12; Survival (Desert) (A) Per [2]-12; Thrown Weapon (Knife) (E) DX [1]-14; Traps/TL4 (A) IQ-1 [1]-11; Two-Handed Sword (A) DX+2 [8]-16.
* Includes +1 from Combat Reflexes.
Notes
This is Ahmed as wali to the Prince of Klatch or some other leader; as a freelance adventurer, he would lose the Legal Enforcement Powers, and his Wealth and effective Status might be uncertain. Given his job, he might also have various Contacts, mostly granting Area Knowledge of specific towns or Current Affairs for various regions.
Ahmed’s preferred method of operations when working undercover is always to appear a little bit foreign, and to make people underestimate him by triggering their prejudices; in Ankh-Morpork, he chews cloves and talks with an atrocious Klatchian accent, whereas in Klatch, he talks like a noble and smokes expensive foreign cigarettes. This is the main use of his Acting skill; he generally finds people quite willing to be fooled this way. He may occasionally be treated as having Odious Personal Habits as a result.