Silas, Keeper of the Dry Toll

Human ferryman · Level 18

A grim NPC for Pathfinder 2e.

The river may be gone, but the debt remains.

Abilities

  • Strength: +6
  • Dexterity: +4
  • Constitution: +5
  • Intelligence: +3
  • Wisdom: +7
  • Charisma: +2

Stats

  • Role: Stoic Guardian of the Dried River
  • Bond: Bound to the memory of the river's song
  • Flaw: Obsessed with collecting tolls that no one pays
  • Perception: +22
  • AC: 38
  • HP: 250

Appearance

Silas is a gaunt figure whose skin looks like parched clay, hair white as river‑stone, and eyes hollow yet flickering with a faint blue. He wears a long coat stained with ancient river‑mud, a bronze bell hangs from his neck, and his gnarled hands still grip the oar that no longer touches water.

Secret

He is the last vestiges of the river’s spirit bound to mortal flesh by an age‑old pact. The toll he collects is a ritual that siphons the lingering essence of the water into the world, holding back the desert’s encroachment. Should he ever cease, the river’s absence will summon a blight that withers flesh and soul.

Hook

Travelers speak of a phantom ferryman who still demands a silver coin for crossing a river that hasn’t flowed in a century. The unnatural silence where water should be grows thicker each day, and a strange wilting spreads from the riverbed. The PCs must decide whether to pay the toll, confront Silas, or uncover the truth before the land itself dies of thirst.

Tags: ferryman, toll, river, spirit

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