Tag: dndcharacter

This month’s character feature is the paladin Brother Zok. A brave and steadfast holy warrior whose quest for achievement often puts him at odds with his oath.

Zok was born in the coastal city of Sunspire. He grew up the son of a fisherman and lived a humble and happy life. It was not until he was older that his father told him the truth of his parentage. During the Fire Raids that plagued the region, his father remained in the capital city of Eleste’si and had an affair with the elven queen, Mirandril Galanodel.

Zok’s birth was kept a secret, as a half-elven offspring would only be seen as a threat to the throne. Zok’s father took his son back to Sunspire and was given a house and money by the queen to raise the boy.

In his early twenties, Zok set off on a quest not only to meet his mother, but also to achieve his dream of becoming a paladin to the Holy Dragon. The Holy Dragon is the god of honor, loyalty, and truth. Zok’s quest took him across the eastern half of Corventos all the way to Eleste’si, where he was able to get an audience with the queen herself. He hoped for a kind welcome to the city, but instead, he was rejected and turned away. The queen’s advisor, Therond, told Zok he never should have come.

While Zok did not get to bond with his mother, she did set up his entry to the Holy Dragon’s temple in Eleste’si. Despite the ideals of goodness and honor, Zok found only racism from the high elves within the temple. He did not stay long, and quickly left the city.

Hurt by his terrible experience in Eleste’si, Zok traveled south to the riverside village of Vesper. He defended a man that was being harassed by thugs and ended up being beaten himself. Wounded and unconscious, he was rescued by a wild elf druid by the name of Jade.

Zok thought that was the last he would see of his druidic rescuer until his journey took him to the western coast of Corventos and the village of Somberdale. He joined the Holy Dragon temple there under the title of Brother Zok and served as a paladin. To his surprise, he found Jade living there, as well. He made a home for himself in this beautiful place and made a friend in the boisterous dragonborn captain, Sen.

We first meet Brother Zok in Phantom Five attending one of Sen’s fighting matches. Zok is happy with his life in Somberdale, and is just starting to leave the pain of his past behind him. All that is shattered, however, when his beloved mentor, High Priest Amon, is murdered. Zok takes his friends on a quest to find the killer. Zok must learn to make peace within himself and accept who he is, or he will never become the paladin he always strived to be.

This month’s character feature is Ruuda Drybarrel, the unblessed dual-wielding dark dwarf that is as pragmatic as she is passionate.

Ruuda was born as the last of twelve children to Clan Drybarrel. Growing up in the industrious city of Balum Guar, Ruuda was surrounded by a culture where worth is determined by productivity in a caste system. Young dark dwarves are taken to the temple of the Forge King to receive a blessing from their god. A priest or priestess will read the runes to determine what that blessing is. It may be woodworking, singing, serving as a soldier, or, as in the case of Clan Drybarrel, brewing beer.

Ruuda, however, found no such blessing. Despite being told she was blessed to do a certain task, she could never do it properly. As a century passed, Ruuda’s parents took her again and again to a priest to find out what her true blessing was. But with each one, she failed.

To escape the shame, Ruuda often took to wandering the outskirts of the city. There she found the deep stalkers, mercenaries and rangers of the Deep Hollows, in their daily practice. Ruuda observed them and learned their skills, until the day she was spotted by lead deep stalker Neir Shadowsnare. Impressed by what she had learned from merely observing, Neir took to training Ruuda on his own. But he had to do so in secret, for she was not blessed to be a deep stalker.

While teaching her how to survive in the Deep Hollows, Ruuda and Neir came across two quag pups, wild animals of the underground. They were sick and had been lost from their pack, so the two decided to keep them. Neir’s quag grew up strong, but Ruuda’s did not survive. The loss of her companion broke her heart.

As Ruuda’s blessings continued to fail, her family accrued debt from her projects left unfinished or with poor quality. Debtors came to collect often, and there was worry that Ruuda would get taken away to be made compliant like other dark dwarves that failed at their blessing. So while on a trade trip to the dark elf city of Berenzia, Ruuda’s family gave her a barrel full of supplies and told her to leave and not return until she figured out what her true blessing was.

Left alone in the Deep Hollows, Ruuda wandered in depression and hopelessness. We meet her in Phantom Five trying to make friends with a pack of quags. Things do not go her way, and she is heavily wounded before being aided by a healer named Taliesin Ostoroth. Both runaways from their homes, the two find common ground to venture out onto the Surface to try and restore what was lost in their lives.

For Ruuda, however, there is one other task she wants to complete. She vows to find the god known as the Forge King, and take vengeance for her unblessing.