Mythological Figures is tackling a man of many, many names today—titles well earned and somehow less numerous than the seemingly countless battles he won on land and sea on behalf of the Ottoman Empire. Prepare yourself for Hayreddin Barbarossa!
First of all let’s make this clear: from here on out I’m mostly going to be referring to this fellow by his birth name Khizr. You might ask, “Mike that seems silly why would you do that?”
As a youth Khizr helped the family pottery business by working clay but eventually he and his 3 brothers (Ilyas, Ishak, and Oruç) become seafarers, and then privateers not long after (to counteract the Knights of St. John privateering in the Meditteranean). Oruç was the first on the waves and pretty good at it, although eventually he and their father’s ship are captured, Ilyas dying in the attack by the Knights Hospitaller. Khizr figures out where his older brother is being kept (Bodrum) and helps effect an escape. Oruç goes on to Antalya where an Ottoman prince gives him a fleet of 18 galleys that more than doubles over the years of assaulting the coasts of Italy, eventually establishing a new base on the island of Djerba where Khizr joins him in 1503. They ally themselves with the Sultan of Tunisia (Abu Abdullah Mohammed Hamis) and over the course of the next decade they’re joined by their remaining brother Ishak (and also other famous Muslim corsairs) and raid: many ships on the Meditteranean Sea, the coasts of Calabria, Liguria, Sicily, Italy, Spain, Valencia, Algiers, Sardinia, and the Balearic Islands. In the meanwhile they also help transport Mudejars from Christian Pain to North Africa, Oruç loses an arm which he replaced with a silver prosthetic, they capture a ton of ships, and they build a gunpowder production facility at La Goulette (the island of the Sultan of Tunisia they call their own).
At the end of it in 1516 Oruç declares himself the Sultan of Algiers for a year before relinquishing the title to join the Ottoman Empire (the best protection against Spain), handing over the territory to Ottoman Sultan Selim I who in turn names him Governor of Algiers and Chief Sea Governor of the West Mediterranean. He outmaneuvers Spanish rival Abu Zayan, capturing the city of Tlemcen, but the Spaniards return in force with Emperor Charles V and 10,000 men that over the course of a 20 day battle (assisted by thousands of local Bedouins) take it back, killing Oruç and Ishak leaving Khizr without any living brothers. Sultan Selim I names Khizr the Beylerbey and he inherits his older brother’s support from the Ottoman Empire, his directives, and his name: Barbarossa.
Freshly reinforced by plenty of Turkish soldiers, at the end of 1518 Khizr retakes Tlemcen and resumes an aggressive stance with the capture of a Spanish-Italian army that attempted to take Algiers, took Spaniard ships, raided France, the Balearic Islands, Rhodes, Sardinia, and Calabria. For a decade and a half Khizr leads offensives all over the region, kicking ass and taking names the entire time. During that time he’s called back to Istanbul where at Topkapı Palace Sultan Suleiman names him Kapudan-i Derya ("Grand Admiral") of the Ottoman Navy, Beylerbey ("Chief Governor") of North Africa, and gives him the governments of the Sanjaks ("provinces") of Rhodes, Euboea, and Chios in the Aegean Sea.
In 1533 after some communiques are sent between them, King Francis the I of France hires out Khizr and his fleet to subjugate the Corsicans and Genoans (striking up an alliance that will become more important a decade later). At this point we’re getting long-winded in the post, so if anyone is interested in reading more about this guy basically winning all the time or knowing when to cut and run, check out the Wikipedia page linked below. In 1545 Khizr retires and dictates his memoirs, dying only a year later in his seaside palace in Istanbul. His mausoleum still stands today, a memorial for him (built in 1944) beside it—and rightly so, as few naval commanders anywhere in the world have a legacy like his.
Design Notes: We’re going to go ahead and give Khizr here a little bit of bard, some fighter, and a little bit of ranger—he was obviously inspiring to his troops, a solid commander in battle, and must have had a feel for being on the water to win so many fights. That leaves him with a statblock as long as his naval career, but for a multiclassing 20th level character that’s what you’re going to get. Speaking of numbers, let’s do them! The DMG gives Hayreddin a 10.8, the Blog of Holding lands on 11.166667, and while that averages to juuuust under 11 (at 10.9833333) I’m inclined to round up, particularly because he’s meant to be commanding other NPCs.
Hayreddin Barbarossa
Medium humanoid (human), lawful good fighter (warmaster) 11/bard (valorous) 5/ranger (hunter) 4
Armor Class 19 (half plate, fighting styles [defense, sealegs])
Hit Points 145 (15d10+5d8+40)
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
Saving Throws Str +8, Con +8
Skills Athletics +8, History +11, Insight +8, Nature +11, Persuasion +9, Survival +8
Senses passive Investigation 20, passive Perception 17
Languages Arabic, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Turkish
Challenge 11 (7,200 XP)
Background: Noble - Lordship. Due to his position, Hayreddin is treated with a measure of respect wherever he goes. He is treated as royalty (or as closely as possible) by most peasants and traders, and as an equal when meeting other authority figures (who make time in their schedule to see him if requested to do so).
Action Surge (1/Short Rest). Once on his turn, Hayreddin can take an additional action on top of his regular action and a possible bonus action.
Bardic Inspiration 1d8 (3/Short Rest). As a bonus action on his turn, Hayreddin can choose one other creature within 60 feet who can hear him. That creature gains one Bardic Inspiration die, a d8. Once within the next 10 minutes, the creature can roll the die and add the number rolled to one ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or weapon damage roll it makes. The creature can wait until after it rolls before deciding to use the Bardic Inspiration die, but must decide before the GM says whether a roll succeeds or fails. In addition, a creature can use its reaction when attacked to use the Bardic Inspiration die, adding the result to its AC and possibly causing the attack to miss.
Favored Enemy: Beasts. Hayreddin has advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track beasts, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.
Feat: Brilliant. Hayreddin always knows how long it will be before the next sunset or sunrise, the northerly direction, and can perfectly remember anything he’s experienced within the last 31 days.
Feat: Perceptive. Hayreddin is able to read lips.
Fighting Style: Sealegs. As long as he is not wearing heavy armor or using a shield, Hayreddin gains a +1 bonus to AC, and he gains both climbing and swimming speeds equal to his speed.
Indomitable (1/Long Rest). Hayreddin can reroll a saving throw that he fails but must use the new roll.
Jack of All Trades. Hayreddin adds +3 to any ability check he makes that doesn’t already include his proficiency bonus.
Natural Explorer: Forests. When Hayreddin makes an Intelligence or Wisdom check related to coasts, his proficiency bonus (+6) is doubled if he is using History, Insight, Nature, or Survival. While traveling for an hour or more on the coast, he gains the following benefits: difficult terrain doesn’t slow his group’s travel, his group can’t become lost except by magical means, even when he engages in another activity while traveling he remains alert to danger, if he is traveling alone he can move stealthily at a normal pace, he finds twice as much food as he normally would when he forages, and while tracking other creatures he also learns their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
Primeval Awareness. Hayreddin can use his action and expend one spell slot to focus his awareness on the region around him. For 1 minute per level of the spell slot he expends, Hayreddin can sense whether the following types of creatures are present within 1 mile of him (or within up to 6 miles if he is near a coast): aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This feature doesn’t reveal the creatures’ location or number.
Second Wind (1/Short Rest). On his turn, Hayreddin can use a bonus action to regain 1d10+11 hit points.
Spellcasting. Hayreddin is a 7th level spellcaster that uses Charisma as his spellcasting ability for bard spells (spell save DC 17; +9 to hit with spell attacks) and Wisdom as his spellcasting ability for ranger spells (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). He has the following spells prepared from the bard and ranger spell lists:
Song of Rest. After a short rest, if Hayreddin or any friendly creatures who can hear his performance regain hit points by spending one or more Hit Dice, each of those creatures regains an extra 1d6 hit points.
Tactical Focal Point. Hayreddin selects a 10-foot square to be his tactical focal point as a bonus action or as part of the attack action, choosing one of the following benefits to apply to it. This lasts until he cannot take actions or uses this feature again. Each time Hayreddin completes a long rest, he can swap one of these benefits for a different one.
ACTIONS
Extra Attack. Hayreddin attacks three times.
Hordebreaker (1/Turn). When Hayreddin makes a weapon attack, he can make another attack with the same weapon against a different creature that is within 5 feet of the original target and within range of his weapon.
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) piercing damage.
Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) slashing damage.
Pistol (2). Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 30/90 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10+2) piercing damage.
Musket. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 40/120 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d12+2) piercing damage.
Tactical Maneuver (4/Long Rest). Each time Hayreddin completes a long rest, he can swap one of these benefits for a different one.
REACTIONS
Leading Example. When Hayreddin hits a creature with a weapon attack, until the end of his next turn the target of his attack has disadvantage on saving throws against his Tactical Maneuvers.
First of all let’s make this clear: from here on out I’m mostly going to be referring to this fellow by his birth name Khizr. You might ask, “Mike that seems silly why would you do that?”
I think that this is the most involved etymology in the series thus far. He’s damn interesting though so let’s get to it!Wikipedia with my formatting for emphasis said:
As a youth Khizr helped the family pottery business by working clay but eventually he and his 3 brothers (Ilyas, Ishak, and Oruç) become seafarers, and then privateers not long after (to counteract the Knights of St. John privateering in the Meditteranean). Oruç was the first on the waves and pretty good at it, although eventually he and their father’s ship are captured, Ilyas dying in the attack by the Knights Hospitaller. Khizr figures out where his older brother is being kept (Bodrum) and helps effect an escape. Oruç goes on to Antalya where an Ottoman prince gives him a fleet of 18 galleys that more than doubles over the years of assaulting the coasts of Italy, eventually establishing a new base on the island of Djerba where Khizr joins him in 1503. They ally themselves with the Sultan of Tunisia (Abu Abdullah Mohammed Hamis) and over the course of the next decade they’re joined by their remaining brother Ishak (and also other famous Muslim corsairs) and raid: many ships on the Meditteranean Sea, the coasts of Calabria, Liguria, Sicily, Italy, Spain, Valencia, Algiers, Sardinia, and the Balearic Islands. In the meanwhile they also help transport Mudejars from Christian Pain to North Africa, Oruç loses an arm which he replaced with a silver prosthetic, they capture a ton of ships, and they build a gunpowder production facility at La Goulette (the island of the Sultan of Tunisia they call their own).
At the end of it in 1516 Oruç declares himself the Sultan of Algiers for a year before relinquishing the title to join the Ottoman Empire (the best protection against Spain), handing over the territory to Ottoman Sultan Selim I who in turn names him Governor of Algiers and Chief Sea Governor of the West Mediterranean. He outmaneuvers Spanish rival Abu Zayan, capturing the city of Tlemcen, but the Spaniards return in force with Emperor Charles V and 10,000 men that over the course of a 20 day battle (assisted by thousands of local Bedouins) take it back, killing Oruç and Ishak leaving Khizr without any living brothers. Sultan Selim I names Khizr the Beylerbey and he inherits his older brother’s support from the Ottoman Empire, his directives, and his name: Barbarossa.
Freshly reinforced by plenty of Turkish soldiers, at the end of 1518 Khizr retakes Tlemcen and resumes an aggressive stance with the capture of a Spanish-Italian army that attempted to take Algiers, took Spaniard ships, raided France, the Balearic Islands, Rhodes, Sardinia, and Calabria. For a decade and a half Khizr leads offensives all over the region, kicking ass and taking names the entire time. During that time he’s called back to Istanbul where at Topkapı Palace Sultan Suleiman names him Kapudan-i Derya ("Grand Admiral") of the Ottoman Navy, Beylerbey ("Chief Governor") of North Africa, and gives him the governments of the Sanjaks ("provinces") of Rhodes, Euboea, and Chios in the Aegean Sea.
In 1533 after some communiques are sent between them, King Francis the I of France hires out Khizr and his fleet to subjugate the Corsicans and Genoans (striking up an alliance that will become more important a decade later). At this point we’re getting long-winded in the post, so if anyone is interested in reading more about this guy basically winning all the time or knowing when to cut and run, check out the Wikipedia page linked below. In 1545 Khizr retires and dictates his memoirs, dying only a year later in his seaside palace in Istanbul. His mausoleum still stands today, a memorial for him (built in 1944) beside it—and rightly so, as few naval commanders anywhere in the world have a legacy like his.
Design Notes: We’re going to go ahead and give Khizr here a little bit of bard, some fighter, and a little bit of ranger—he was obviously inspiring to his troops, a solid commander in battle, and must have had a feel for being on the water to win so many fights. That leaves him with a statblock as long as his naval career, but for a multiclassing 20th level character that’s what you’re going to get. Speaking of numbers, let’s do them! The DMG gives Hayreddin a 10.8, the Blog of Holding lands on 11.166667, and while that averages to juuuust under 11 (at 10.9833333) I’m inclined to round up, particularly because he’s meant to be commanding other NPCs.
Hayreddin Barbarossa
Medium humanoid (human), lawful good fighter (warmaster) 11/bard (valorous) 5/ranger (hunter) 4
Armor Class 19 (half plate, fighting styles [defense, sealegs])
Hit Points 145 (15d10+5d8+40)
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
12 (+1) | 14 (+2) | 14 (+2) | 20 (+5) | 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) |
Skills Athletics +8, History +11, Insight +8, Nature +11, Persuasion +9, Survival +8
Senses passive Investigation 20, passive Perception 17
Languages Arabic, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Turkish
Challenge 11 (7,200 XP)
Background: Noble - Lordship. Due to his position, Hayreddin is treated with a measure of respect wherever he goes. He is treated as royalty (or as closely as possible) by most peasants and traders, and as an equal when meeting other authority figures (who make time in their schedule to see him if requested to do so).
Action Surge (1/Short Rest). Once on his turn, Hayreddin can take an additional action on top of his regular action and a possible bonus action.
Bardic Inspiration 1d8 (3/Short Rest). As a bonus action on his turn, Hayreddin can choose one other creature within 60 feet who can hear him. That creature gains one Bardic Inspiration die, a d8. Once within the next 10 minutes, the creature can roll the die and add the number rolled to one ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or weapon damage roll it makes. The creature can wait until after it rolls before deciding to use the Bardic Inspiration die, but must decide before the GM says whether a roll succeeds or fails. In addition, a creature can use its reaction when attacked to use the Bardic Inspiration die, adding the result to its AC and possibly causing the attack to miss.
Favored Enemy: Beasts. Hayreddin has advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track beasts, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.
Feat: Brilliant. Hayreddin always knows how long it will be before the next sunset or sunrise, the northerly direction, and can perfectly remember anything he’s experienced within the last 31 days.
Feat: Perceptive. Hayreddin is able to read lips.
Fighting Style: Sealegs. As long as he is not wearing heavy armor or using a shield, Hayreddin gains a +1 bonus to AC, and he gains both climbing and swimming speeds equal to his speed.
Indomitable (1/Long Rest). Hayreddin can reroll a saving throw that he fails but must use the new roll.
Jack of All Trades. Hayreddin adds +3 to any ability check he makes that doesn’t already include his proficiency bonus.
Natural Explorer: Forests. When Hayreddin makes an Intelligence or Wisdom check related to coasts, his proficiency bonus (+6) is doubled if he is using History, Insight, Nature, or Survival. While traveling for an hour or more on the coast, he gains the following benefits: difficult terrain doesn’t slow his group’s travel, his group can’t become lost except by magical means, even when he engages in another activity while traveling he remains alert to danger, if he is traveling alone he can move stealthily at a normal pace, he finds twice as much food as he normally would when he forages, and while tracking other creatures he also learns their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
Primeval Awareness. Hayreddin can use his action and expend one spell slot to focus his awareness on the region around him. For 1 minute per level of the spell slot he expends, Hayreddin can sense whether the following types of creatures are present within 1 mile of him (or within up to 6 miles if he is near a coast): aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This feature doesn’t reveal the creatures’ location or number.
Second Wind (1/Short Rest). On his turn, Hayreddin can use a bonus action to regain 1d10+11 hit points.
Spellcasting. Hayreddin is a 7th level spellcaster that uses Charisma as his spellcasting ability for bard spells (spell save DC 17; +9 to hit with spell attacks) and Wisdom as his spellcasting ability for ranger spells (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). He has the following spells prepared from the bard and ranger spell lists:
Cantrips: mending, true strike, vicious mockery
1st level (4 slots): longstrider, thunderwave; alarm, fog cloud, hunter’s mark
2nd level (3 slots): enhance ability, hold person, zone of truth
3rd level (3 slots): clairvoyance, fear, sending
4th level (1 slot): none
Song of Rest. After a short rest, if Hayreddin or any friendly creatures who can hear his performance regain hit points by spending one or more Hit Dice, each of those creatures regains an extra 1d6 hit points.
Tactical Focal Point. Hayreddin selects a 10-foot square to be his tactical focal point as a bonus action or as part of the attack action, choosing one of the following benefits to apply to it. This lasts until he cannot take actions or uses this feature again. Each time Hayreddin completes a long rest, he can swap one of these benefits for a different one.
- Area Clear. When an ally inside Hayreddin’s focal point hits a creature with an attack, the ally can move that creature 5 feet.
- Cover the Flank. As many as three target creatures of Hayreddin’s choice can use a reaction to move up to their speed when an enemy that he can see enters his focal point, so long as that movement does not end in the focal point. If a target creature is ending their movement adjacent to the enemy that triggered this feature, they do not have to use their reaction.
- Phalanx Sidestep. An ally inside of Hayreddin’s tactical focal point doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks as long as they move from a square adjacent to an ally and into another square adjacent to an ally. In addition, Hayreddin and his allies can end their movement in space occupied by an ally. The ally immediately moves 5 feet away from the direction they came in and must end movement inside of his tactical focal point.
- Run Away! When an ally inside of Hayreddin’s tactical focal point is forced to make a Dexterity saving throw, they move up to their speed by using their reaction and are no longer subjected to the triggering effect if their movement takes them outside of the area or range.
ACTIONS
Extra Attack. Hayreddin attacks three times.
Hordebreaker (1/Turn). When Hayreddin makes a weapon attack, he can make another attack with the same weapon against a different creature that is within 5 feet of the original target and within range of his weapon.
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) piercing damage.
Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) slashing damage.
Pistol (2). Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 30/90 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10+2) piercing damage.
Musket. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 40/120 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d12+2) piercing damage.
Tactical Maneuver (4/Long Rest). Each time Hayreddin completes a long rest, he can swap one of these benefits for a different one.
- Confounding Maneuvering. Enemy creatures that are inside of Hayreddin’s Focal Point make a DC 19 Intelligence saving throw or can’t leave that area until the end of his next turn. In addition, Hayreddin can take the Attack action.
- Coordinated Blows. Hayreddin takes the Attack action and uses deft commands to coordinate his companions to attack enemies and set them off-guard, knocking them down. Until the end of Hayreddin’s turn, enemies inside of his tactical focal point make a DC 19 Strength saving throw whenever they are hit by an attack or are they are knocked prone.
- Move to Flank. Hayreddin takes the Attack action and calls out to as many as 2 allies that can see or hear him. They can use their reactions to move up to their speed. A creature makes a DC 19 Strength saving throw if it is adjacent to these allies or Hayreddin and one of these allies at the end of their movement. On a failure, it is restrained until the end of Hayreddin’s next turn.
REACTIONS
Leading Example. When Hayreddin hits a creature with a weapon attack, until the end of his next turn the target of his attack has disadvantage on saving throws against his Tactical Maneuvers.
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("Lay in a broadside and board them in the smoke!" ?)
