WS |
BS |
S |
T |
Ag |
Int |
WP |
Fel |
46 |
39 |
42 |
46 |
48 |
45 |
47 |
34 |
A |
W |
SB |
TB |
M |
Mag |
IP |
FP |
1 |
15 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Skills: Animal care, Common Knowledge (Dwarfs), Concealment, Evaluate, Haggle, Navigation, Outdoor Survival, Perception, Read/Write, Scale Sheer Surface, Secret Language (Guild Tongue), Speak Language (Khazalid, Reikspeil), Trade (Prospector, Jeweller)
Talents: Artistic, Dealmaker, Dwarf-craft, Grude-born Fury, Night Vision, Orientation, Resistance to Magic, Specialist Weapon Group (Two-handed), Stout-hearted, Sturdy, Very Resilient
Armour: None
Armour Points: Head 0, Arms 0, Body 0, Legs 0
Weapons: Dagger
Trappings: Jeweller’s Tools. Good Clothes, Intricate Wrist Amulet, Bergsburg DEG Ring, 20 Crowns
Appearance: Ragnars' medium build is not given to either activity or indulgences. His beard is long and black, its' twin tails held with silver beard clips and tucked into his belt. His face is tanned and wrinkles around his soft, brown eyes show signs of his advanced age, (158). The Dwarf dresses modestly in a padded jerkin and shirt, while an ornate bronze eyepiece always hangs on a cord from his breast pocket. Ragnar rarely wears the jewelry that is his specialty with one exception: a golden arm brace, mystically carved, with a triangle of gems set into its centre.
The Legend of Bryn Rynn
It was in the golden age of Dwarven History that Prince Denegar was born into an aristocratic clan in Karak Vorn. The dying king was heirless and unable to chose among the honourable clans had offered his throne to the wealthiest. Denegars’ was not but he coverted the throne and sought to claim it. Such was Denegar’s desire that he visited a hermit seer who lived far from the hold to seek advice. The wise one told him of a gem once part of the hoard of Kalak the worm who had long been slain. However he warned that the gem brought both wealth and sorrow. Denegar ignored this warning and set off in search of Kalaks’ lair. Years later he returned to Karak Vorn with a gem of immense beauty. His clan quickly became rich, discovering deep new seams of mithril and precious ores. The King offered him the throne on his death-bed.
Denegars’ reign was prosperous and while he had riches he desired only two things; the gemstone and the hand of princess Rynn, said to be the beautiful beyond imagining. However at the height of his reign tragedy struck.
The Dwarves had tunneled too deep into the earth and when one tunnel collapsed it opened the flood-gates for a tide of dark creatures that dwelled below. The Dwarves put up a stout defence but the forces were unstoppable and soon the hold was being over-run. Under siege, Denegar was advised by his kinsmen to evacuate. But upon hearing that the treasure vaults were under threat he led his warriors there, desperate to avoid letting the gem fall into enemy hands. That night elite Orc warriors stormed the royal quarters. Denegar returned to find the Princess Rynn crucified on a pillar, her head shaven of its’ golden plaids. Denegar was grief stricken and he wandered the tunnels aimlessly before committing suicide.
Clerics of Grugni laid him beside the gem and sealed his un-named tomb with runes warning of the gems’ curse. His tomb un-marked and unmapped was not re-discovered after the first incursions and he became known as Denegar the lost. Ever afterwards the gem would become legendary among the Clans of Karak Vorn and became known as Bryn Rynn after the princess for who it was lost.
Ragnar was born into the Stonehammer clan in the World’s Edge. One of the few remaining of his kin following countless Goblinoid incursions he joined a band of mercenary engineers, helping to restore old holds. It was while working in the tunnels of Karak Vorn that he and his companions first heard the tale of ‘Bryn Rynn’ Dwarvish for ‘the princess of the mountains’. Relayed to them by an ancient tunnel fighter who had heard it from his grandfather it told the tale of a gem and King Denegar the lost, (see above).
None of the Dwarves forgot the tale and many years later, while repairing an ancient passage they stumbled on a long forgotten tomb. The Dwarves knew better than to disgrace sacred ground and left to sleep in old quarters nearby. That night they were slowly awakened by the rhythmic smash of pickaxe on stone. They noticed that one of their number, Kadri, was missing and as they entered the tomb chamber they saw him like a Dwarf possessed standing on the tomb and smiting the seal stone. With panicked cries they tried to pull him back, but too late. With his last mighty blow the seal smashed. Inside the tomb lay skeletal remains and rusted arms and armour. But central was a jewel like no other they had seen before. It was fist-sized, awe-inspiring and glittered despite the lack of light. From that initial moment each Dwarf knew he had to own the gem but it was Kadri who seized it first and fled.
It was later that Kadri was killed during the first wave of new goblin attacks that would drive the Dwarves again from the hold. This time Gallin was to recover the gem after an almost suicidal trek into goblin territory, (but one that every Dwarf in the group had seriously considered) to retrieve it from the body.
The Dwarves left the World’s Edge for the safety of the Empire. They stayed together, none of them parting for fear of losing a chance at owing the Bryn Rynn. Gallin settled in Bergsburg for what was to be a short time in search of wealth. The other Dwarves all followed him, keen not to lose contact with the gem. Only a year later that gold was again discovered in the middle mountains. Ragnar and his closest friend in the group, Brogath, seized on the spreading gold rush to prospect in the mountains. It was only years later that Gallin was seen heading into the mountains not to return. Though very wealthy from discovering gold countless times he had become a recluse and was said to have become mad with depression. Ragnar and Brogarth, by now having discovered gold several times themselves, set out in search of Gallin. After a week and by a stroke of luck they came across and old trail and this they followed deep into the mountains. Eventually they discovered a cave at its’ end. Inside the cave were the
trappings of an ogre or troll, long deserted, and here also they found the remains of Gallin. Sewn into his jacket pocket the discovered the Bryn Rynn. That night the two Dwarves debated who would own the jewel. It became clear that neither would back down and the argument became heated finishing with Brogarth storming off into the night with the jewel. For the next few days Ragnar tracked his old friend intent somehow taking back what he believed was his. It was on one cold, dark night that he came across the lone Dwarf camped on a mountainside. This time there was no formality of argument the two Dwarves flew at each other in a greedy rage, throwing punches and wrestling to the ground. In the ensuing struggle Ragnar knocked Brogarth off balance and he fell into a ravine. Ragnar searched through the night but when dawn broke a blizzard started up and made his fevered attempts futile. He resumed his search several times but could never retrace the path to the same place. It was only weeks later that he
returned to Bergsburg.
Ragnar told the other Dwarves nothing of what had happened and explained Brogarth’s death as climbing accident. In time Ragnar became a goldsmith and started his own business. He has continued in his trade for the last eighty years. The remaining Dwarves settled in Bergsburg. Some were killed while searching in the mountains while others moved away. Ragnar, the youngest, has not seen his former companions for many years. He retains an undiminished desire for the gem although now, in the wisdom gained from his age, knows that it is an unhealthy one. The gem would always show up in coincidental circumstances and Ragnar can still recall the cursed runes that inscribed the tomb seal stone when it was broken a century ago.
Ragnar has become a respected Artisan and many customers return in awe of his work and his intricate Dwarven design that echoes the style of the World’s Edge. He has built a reputation for giving a good price for gold and over the years fortunate prospectors have added to his wealth, trading nugget for coin. Unsurprisingly Ragnar is rumoured to be wealthy, he has been in Bergsburg for over a hundred years and had made handsome profits from several popular gold rushes. However this wealth is immaterial to Ragnar. He has tried to forget but cannot. In his Dwarvish eyes all his gold could be lead for a chance to recover that legendary jewel.
Bryn Rynn
The Gemstone has no rule-based properties, its power being more indirect. Its power lies in the desire of greedy characters that it inspires to own it. This desire can grow to exert great influence on those who have seen it. A character that possesses the gem will quickly come to acquire what he or she desires. However in time the consequences of this desire and wealth will be tragic.
- Ragnar might reveal his intentions to a group of adventurers. He might commission them to find the gem. However it the PC who retrieves it will no doubt want to keep it for themselves. And if Ragnar discovers that this is happening then he will do all he can to retrieve the gem.
- Alternatively one of Ragnars’ old companions reappears, (once thought dead or otherwise) with new information and commissions the adventurers to recover the gem for him or else accompany him on a dangerous trek into the mountains. Ragnar, whose wisdom has overcome his desire may discover this and try to warn the PCs, urging them to destroy the gem. This in turn could become long running in a ‘throw it into a volcano’ kind of way.
- This could tie into the tale of Ulgarth Oneye who might turn out to be Brogarth, and who seeks to haunt Ragnar. Only the return of the jewel and Brogarth’s remains to proper burial will end the haunting.
- Whatever the scenario, the gem could well cause splits in a party of adventurers as they argue over who is to possess it. The greedier ones could well become the next unfortunate souls under its’ influence.
The Legend of Ulgarth Oneye
The tale of Ulgarth Oneye is one told to Bergsburg children, sometimes as a bedtime ghost story, sometimes as a warning of the consequences of their mischief, ("Hey you behave, or do you want me to tell Old Ulgarth that you're the one who took his gold?").
Ulgarth was supposedly a prospector in the last gold rush and intent on securing himself some gold he set out with several friends into the mountains. Legend has it that Ulgarth was the first to find gold but upon telling his fellows, (his companions are normally human when Dwarves tell it and Dwarves when humans tell it) they betrayed him and shot him in the eye with a crossbow. In the agonizing death that followed, one frequently exaggerated to gruesome proportions by storytellers, he vowed to return to claim his share and avenge his murder.
It was only many years later on Gehieminsnacht that the first sightings began. A ghost wanders through trade town, never entering the city but spotted by Dwarves and prospectors alike, moaning and declaring his return to claim 'his share'. He is said to be a horrifying figure but his exact features vary, sometimes with an eye patch sometimes with his eye handing out on a stalk. He is always said to be clutching a rotten miners' pick in one hand and a bulging sack in the other. The sack is claimed to contain the bones of other dead prospectors whom Ulgarth keeps as his spiritual slaves and refuses to release. They are doomed to follow him until someone can return their remains to burial.
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Though classed as nonsense by Bergsburg city dwellers those in trade town and rural areas surrounding Bergsburg think or know differently. Superstitious prospectors fear the spectral figure and keep the legend alive with their stories of personal encounters or sightings.
Ragnar Stonehammer believes Ulgarth to be his lost comrade Brogarth, (he is sure that the name may have simply been distorted) whom he betrayed and is very scared of the legend. Although he rarely leaves the city, he will not venture to trade town at any time if he can help it and certainly not at night.
Due to Ragnar's long term membership of the Dwarven Engineer's Guild he was understandably disappointed when the younger Banekta Ironhammer was appointed as current Guildmaster. Some of Bergsburg's dwarves still advocate Ragnar but many favoured Banetka as the goldsmith had always appeared slightly 'distracted' from Guild affairs. Even Ragnar now secretly admits that Banetka has proven herself to be a more than capable head of Guild; However he enjoys a better relationship with Master Engineer Vomtrek and fears most the reaction of the Guildmaster should she discover his part in the saga of the jewel.
- The other members of the original group of Mercenary Engineers that came to Bergsburg with Ragnar and Gallin. If any survive that is.
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