Arlaan

Arlaan, Dwarf Defender

Arlaan Abarakolor
When speaking to dwarves, Arlaan only knows the Thedron clan dialect of the common dwarven tongue, and Old Dwarven. He would have a hard time understanding the dialects of other clans.

Background

On Mithral

An ancient saying claims that mithral belongs to the Kandruns alone. When the fey arrived in the mountains, they were changed to suit the needs of the Kaldruns. Only when the dwarves were made worthy through hardship and hard work were they entrusted with its secrets. Because of this, every item made of mithral is seen as holy - set aside and reserved for the purposes of the Kaldruns and it's children, the dwarves.

Mithral has ever been the dwarves' most closely-guarded secret, passed on from father to son for centuries. It is said that even if it is lost, the mountain will give the secret to a new generation, in order to manifest the greatest blessing it can give.

Recently, the secret of mithral has been stolen by enemies of the dwarves and the Kaldruns.

Arlaan

Arlaan was born very small and given a name that means "worthless wet rubble." (Ossyllargh) He was a member of the Thedron clan, from the village of Mahan near Calador. Five years ago (Note: just a guess - GM should review) some travelers came through Mahan, claiming to be in search of the "King of the Dwarves." Arlaan was one of many in a town who helped the mithralthief. Once the secret was stolen by outsiders, the Kaldruns themselves cursed many who helped the thief. In a dream, deep in a cavern depth, Arlaan saw a dream of himself being thrown from the mountains into the Northlands. He took on a hideous shape, like a deformed giant-man, naked all over, hands the size of ore carts. In his shame, he lashed out against armies of rodent-like swarming orcs. He thrashed against their ropes and barbs, ever growing, his fists becoming like siege rams on arms, until he travelled to a completely alien place, like nothing he'd ever imagined. There, he found a silver child of pure dwarven beauty, glowing. He picked up the child, which he gave the name "Mithral". Though it burned him to touch the child, Arlaan scooped it up in his oversized mitt and carried him to safety in the mountains again.

Many others in his village had dreams and were cursed in various ways. They called this curse Thutel Dorsargh (curse of the mountain's disdain). Arlaan chose to escape when other dwarves arrived and began imprisoning the cursed ones. Many were marked as criminals, but because Arlaan left and his curse had not yet become apparent, he escaped without being officially cast out. He doesn't know if anyone implicated him or not. He stopped in few settlements, until word got out about escaped traitors, cursed by the Kaldruns. Into the wilderness he went.

He left his people, and while in the winderness, he saved a bear cub from a mountain puma. The cub's mother was a talking bear (dire bear, or "Awakened" bear). She taught him how to fight, and taught him of his own value to others. She have him his new name, which means, "boulder of the wild's strength" (Arlaan Abarakolor)

10 questions

• Describe what your hero's glorious death might be.
  • Standing guard in a narrow pass, his bulk filling the gap from side to side, facing a legion of orcs who suddenly feel small staring up at the face of a dwarf the size of a house. The mounting piles of orcs at his feet after having fought for many hours, he eventually falls to exhaustion as his allies sieze the advantage they now enjoy, having lost but one against a decimated army of orc and legate.

• Describe what your hero's worst fated death at the hands of [the ENEMY] might be.
  • Enslaved by minions of the Shadow, he serves alongside trolls and ogres as a living machine, forever pushing a grinding stone. His beard stubble never getting long enough to notice before it is burned off, and the sores under his heavy manacles perpetually bleeding, he eventually gives in the the despair that grips all who fall under the thumb of the Shadow and ends his own life under the weight of the grinding stone.

• What is the worst thing [the Shadow] could do to your hero? (this could include things done to loved ones)
  • Crush his spirit through enslavement. Convince him somehow of the worthlessness that his own family instilled within him as a child.

• Describe a victory that your hero would like to have against [the Shadow].
  • To return one of the greatest mirrors to nature, or to know that the dwarven people's defenses will always hold against the Shadow.

• What action would your hero never do? (meaning type of action "like burn a village down", NOT a general idea like "give in to the shadow")
  • Have sex with a man.
  • Crush the spirit of a child.

• What would cause your hero to break down to sadness or fear?
  • Enslavement and powerlessness.

• What do you hope your hero's honorific would be?
  • "Irreplacable" or "the Grizzly-Father"

• What would it take for your hero to turn traitor? (these can result from bribe or blackmail)
  • Most likely, trickery. Or, if he was convinced that all those he trusted had betrayed him.

• PLAYER: What's your favorite monster or NPCs to fight?!!
  • Anything intelligent enough to use tactics and have great swag. Except vampires - they suck. Goblins are always fun, since they're almost people, and not so monstrous that there are no laughs to be had.

• PLAYER: What do you most enjoy about RPGs & D&D? (meaning battling monsters, solving puzzles, political roleplaying, etc..?)
  • Kevin :) Okay, with less sucking up... I love working toward having a great story to tell. Building interesting twists in the history of the characters that comes together in the end to be really intriguing. Many times, this comes through killing bad guys, which I love. Especially if I get to keep their stuff and get rich. Not so big on the puzzles.

3x3

Contacts

• Tiede Ciuchtu - Tiede (pronunciation: Teed, Kee-OOCH-too) is a snow elf tracker who's lived in the northlands at large for several decades. Tiede is exceptionally skilled at keeping her tracks hidden and avoiding drawing attention to herself. She trailed Arlaan for nearly an arc as he wandered aimlessly in the wilderness. During a particularly rough time for him, Tiede left some food with him while he slept. Curious about it, Arlaan spent the next few days trying to track down the source of the gift. Tiede eventually introduced herself to him, and they formed a basic friendship. They spent about two weeks together, her showing him some basics about how to survive in the Northlands. Tiede remained guarded during their time together, and rarely got close enough for the unusually large dwarf to touch her. She is generally untrusting toward everyone, elves included, and wastes no time in killing those she determines to be an enemy, or even a threat. Tiede knew that Arlaan was incapable of hurting her as long as she kept her distance, and so enjoyed spending some time with someone that didn't pose a direct threat. Tiede continues to think of Arlaan as being a nice enough man, and fascinating for his unusual size and situation in life. Arlaan never quite warmed up to her as much, but respected and appreciated her help and company. Because of how interesting he is to her, Tiede may have motivation enough in the future to spend time with him again, and to help him out if he needs it. Other Thoughts: I envision her as being highly intelligent, but course and clumsy in how she deals with people. Not unattractive, but her Charisma is low because she simply doesn't understand how to interact. She is capable of travelling on foot for days without rest, and without leaving enough of a trail for her to be tracked by non-magical means. Perhaps she's an Elven Raider? She has absolutely no compunction about killing (especially orcs and those who serve the Shadow) but does so only when she is sure that it is necessary. She will calculate and examine a situation, her prey, or a person for long periods of time if necessary, in order to determine the best way to kill them (should the need arise) and whether the risk is acceptable if she involves herself. Because of this, she has an extreme level of confidence in her deductions, which have been anylized to the Nth degree - this and her cold detachment makes it difficult for others to tolerate her friendly involvement for long.
• Kunkel Stonebraker - Kunkel is a highly skilled dwarf carpenter who lived close to Arlaan when he was a boy. Kunkel was in a caravan carrying three families, one of which was his own. They were ferrying the supplies necessary to build three houses for them when they arrived in a new location, their intention being to start a new settlement in the hills to the east. An orc raiding party slaughtered everyone in the caravan and carried off the supplies. Only Kunkel survived, and just barely. He eventually made his way back to his original home and regained his health. His family killed and his home taken over by another family, he had nothing to live for and no where to do it. He left, heading east, claiming that he would build a ship and sail the coastline of Aryth, seeing the world. He has the skills necessary to build the ship, and may have succeeded eventually. If so, he could be anywhere now. He is a friendly enough dwarf, though now has a dark sadness about him whenever he thinks of his past. He is the type who would remarry and start over, if given the chance. Arlaan was still young when last they saw each other, but Kunkel's for dwarves, especially old friends, would be enough to give him reason to help Arlaan, if asked. Kunkel is tremendously brave and has an adventurer's spirit. He lead the group that set off to start a new settlement, and he thought little of heading off alone with no more of a plan than "I'll build a boat," though he'd never had a boat or built one (this may have involed a lot of trial and error, but he probably had some plans with him). It's just as likely that he became a pirate as it is that he found a woman, then settled on an island that no one's ever seen before, braving the wilds like a conquistador.

• Rez Lotckum - Rez is a hobgoblin who serves the Shadow reluctantly. He resents the orcs over him, resents the structure of military life, and resents the mindless cruelty that he sees being doled out to any who fail to properly cowtow to the prideful legates. Rez encountered Arlaan just outside of a village in the Northern Marches and didn't ascertain that Arlaan was a dwarf until Arlaan failed to be very convincing as a Dornish wildman. A fight ensued, in which neither seemed to get the upper hand. Eventually they just talked to each other, both hoping to stall long enough to get a second wind. Rez was intrigued by the dwarf's story and pretended to want to strike up a friendship. Rez used Arlaan to kill a rival orc that had been holding him back from advancement, and once the evidence of the murder was discovered, volunteered to find the killer. He planned to simply bring his "friend" into town under false pretenses and hand him over without another fight. What he found, however, was that during their time together as false friends, Rez had grown to genuinely like the dwarf and didn't want to see him die. The two went into the hills where Rez told him that he wasn't safe there anymore, and sent him on his way with some supplies. Rez returned with the head of a peasant, who he used as a scapegoat for Arlaan.

Allies

• Ummaros - Ummaros is the dire bear that found Arlaan not long after he left the settled areas of the Kaldruns. She is a large and old bear who was once taught some magic and fighting techniques from a dwarf friend of her youth. She took in Arlaan and taught him how to fend for himself in the wild. She toughened him up and showed him that he has worth in the world. She was able to recognize the potential he has, both because he is a Pathwalker and because he is something special among dwarves due to his unusual stature. She gave him the name Arlaan. In many ways, he sees her as his own mother, and his life after meeting her as a new start. Ummaros is located in the wilderness of the northern Kaldruns.

• Atwan Ranaduos - Atwan is Arlaan's step-uncle. A brutal warrior, Atwan is in charge of training most of the men in the family. He was the only person who ever hated calling him by the name Ossylargh, so instead gave him the nickname Urpilt which means "furry ears" - a term generally given to someone who has keen hearing. Atwan attempted to train Urpilt, but they both received so much derision for attempting to train such a little guy that Arlaan gave it up (hoping to go into thievery with his cousin). Atwan alone, among the entire family, has respect for Arlaan as a person and remains a loyal and loving uncle to this day.

• Mardo Fintwicz - Mardo is a gnome trader who operates throughout most of the northern Pellurian Sea region, trading with any group he can, loyal to the Shadow or not. Mardo once visited Mahan and befriended Arlaan there (at the time called Ossylargh) in part because he was closer to the gnome's size than any of the other dwarves. They got into some mischief together in the short time Mardo was in town, and once or twice over the next couple decades they joined up again when Mardo pulled his cart into town.
  Later, when he was on the run through the Northlands, Arlaan met the gnome again on the Ishensa River. Arlaan had to work hard at convincing Mardo that he was the old friend Ossylargh. Mardo helped Arlaan get across the river without being captured, and offered to take him further south for the winter, suggesting he hide in the mountains to the south where they might not be after him. Instead, Arlaan worked with him on a trading mission inland, where both were captured by orcs (Arlaan for being a dwarf, and Mardo for having pulled a hand crossbow on the orc). Normally they would simply have been killed, but Mardo convinced the orc that they were both very important servants of the Shadow. While the orc held them captive, Mardo escaped and promised Arlaan that he'd be right back. Arlaan was found by a young farmgirl, still bound, a week later. He told her he was just a mountain man and someone played a trick on him, so she let him go without much fuss. He discovered that the orc had been killed just after Mardo escaped, but there was no trace of the gnome anywhere.

Enemies

• Name Unknown - The official/police person who was in charge of capturing all of those who helped the Mithralthief. Whether or not he/she knows of Arlaan is unknown to Arlaan. It is likely that this person would overlook Arlaan's existance unless someone else tipped him/her off. If this person has reason to investigate Arlaan, for sure this person would know the following: 1) Arlaan lived in a town that was cursed after the Mithralthief passed through 2) Arlaan knew many of the people who were likewise cursed, and therefore helped the Mithralthief 3) Arlaan dissappeared shortly after the imprisonments started. This constable is looking for any information about the Mithralthief, and for those with the curse who helped him. The fact that this person exists is known to Arlaan. Who this person is, and whether he knows that Arlaan has the curse or not is a mystery.

• Qellow Traight - Qellow knows Arlaan's secrets. She knows that he was born a runt, that he he helped the Mithralthief, that he is cursed and can only blame himself, that he is on the run, that he befriended a bear, and that he is currently in the western region of the Northlands. Qellow is a dangerous lass to piss off.
  Qellow was a wise woman in a stronghold to the north of Mahan when Arlaan passed through, starting his life as a fugitive. He asked for her advice, and it was she who told Arlaan that he was cursed, that the Kaldruns would not let him live, and that he should turn himself into the authorities so he could at least die with honor. Qellow told Arlaan that he would continue to grow into a grotesque monster, and that he was no longer fit to call himself a dwarf at all. Her hatred for Arlaan is unexplained, and unknown to Arlaan, but she clearly has something against him, and the divination magic to help her know how to hurt him.

• Bousse - Bousse is Arlaan's cousin. They were working together before Arlaan left, on the run. If things had turned out differently, Arlaan would likely have been a rogue, smuggling to feed the appetites of the mercenaries hired to fight against the orc sieges, and raiding the orcs himself. Together Arlaan and Bousse were going to be a team, working on all their capers as a pair. They were tight. Bousse had arranged for him and Arlaan to bring the local underlord some stolen shipments of booze and armor. Arlaan's dissappearance meant Bousse had to find someone else, and that someone turned on Bousse. Bousse, now blamed for the theft to the public, and not given any credit for it to the underlord, was shamed and ruined. He blames his entire misfortune on Arlaan, who the underlord wants dead for costing him so much. If Bousse manages to kill Arlaan, the underlord will finally take him under his wing and he'll be somebody.

Locations

• Mahan - Mahan is the village where Arlaan (born Ossylargh) grew up. It is near enough to Calador that the people of the village are constantly involved with defending the stronghold, but far enough that Calador diverts all of the enemies' attention away from Mahan. Most of the dwarves of Mahan are of the Thedron clan, just as are most of the dwarves of the region around Calador.

Covenant Items

Arlaan's old covenant items Note from Bill: I'm going to try to replace what I'd done before with brief idea generators, rather than something with depth in flavor or structure.

Dark Blade of Dakuel

This is a large scimitar made of a strange metal, impossible for anyone to identify (it's adamantine from Pelluria, a metal that isn't found in Eredane). It has a particularly thin, dark blade, and though it looks to be almost the size and design of a falchion, it can be used as a scimitar. At the base of the crossbar is the clear inscription "Dakuel Fine Steels" in Courtier. There are rumors that it has a slightly smaller twin, both of which were used by a fabled Sarcosan ruler. He used them to slay a king and conquor that region, then used in his older years as a marauding invader of Eredane. By the time the Dornish and Sarcosan kingdoms were at peace, both swords were lost.

The Paw Club

This looks like an old, rusty iron belaying pin, the top of which is shaped like an ape's paw. It has a wrapped handle and can easily serve as a club, if used as a weapon. It was once a simple belaying pin used on the ship The North Scanapo, which was a common sight off the shores (and in the ports) of southern Erenland about 230 years ago. The crew was beset by a mysterious creature no one had ever seen before, and could not be identified, while attempting to investigate rumors of a small island chain far from the east coast of Eredane. The creature was not large, but it was vicious and slaughtered most of the crew. One of the humble crewmen felled the beast with this pin, but how he was able to do so remained a mystery, as most weapons did nothing against it. With a skeleton crew (in one case this was literal) The North Scanapo made it to Asmadar, where it sank. The crewman who used the Paw Club made it to shore as the sole survivor of the crew, and felt strangely compelled to deliver the pin to a mysterious man (somewhere). Once this was accomplished, a minor mishap resulted in his death and the belaying pin was never seen again.

Lion-Faced Mask

This is a mask with the face and mane of a lion. It has a long fur mane that is made to drape over the back of the wearer's head, regardless of (and not interfering with) what is normally worn on the head. Some orcs found it once in the base of a large mountain, and once it was donned, turned the wearer into a gargantuan beast. Others attempted to wear it after the death of the crushed giant (there wasn't enough space) and found that it had a different result for every wearer (generally very beneficial), but each had a burning desire to seek out a particular sword. While wearing the mask, the secrets of this sword are known, but cannot be communicated to others - after the mask is removed only the knowledge of the desire for the sword is remembered. None of these orcs were pathwalkers, however, and the mask may react differently in the hands of one.

Equipment

Carried wealth

30 vp worth of hides, tools, crude art, and food (6 days).

Arms

• farmer's ropes
• a large bone club (1d8, range 10 ft., 6 lbs.)
• 2 light hammers (used mainly for throwing)
• a sling and 20 bullets
• mostly dressed in crude leathers - he is used to living in the wilderness

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Midnight RPG - THE NORTHERS
Midnight: North & South Portal
Midnight: the Shadow Killers player Bill