Some dwarves love the mountains, the sky, and the world outside.
Some think it was a mistake to ever leave the caves.
Darthal Blackaxe loves the darkness beneath the earth, the silence of deep caverns, the stillness of stone, the places where light has never been. His earliest memories are dreams of the shadowed caves far below, and the things that lurk therein. Sometimes he dreams himself as one of them, and he would stay in those dark caves if he could.
His clan has other needs, and has always had them. Son of of the clan, he obeys their demands. Another clan is selling stone in the city of Cauldron, black glassy stone that belongs to Clan Blackaxe, whose sacred axes were long ago made of obsidian in the days before Torag taught them metalworking. The Clan negotiates with the city, to reclaim their refound vein, nd someone must go to Cauldron to investigate the caves beneath the city, find out details, see who allies with Clan Arduun, where the stone is going and where the money comes from. Someone is needed who knows stone very well.
Someone like Darthal, who practices the old rites of the Dwarves, and knows the earth beneath as few dwarves do. It does not matter that he has never been to Cauldron and knows little of its people; few can be spared from the preparations for war and revenge.
The night after he was told, and the night before he departed, Darthal dreamed new dreams, of himself deep beneath the earth, lost in lightless caverns, one with the shambling deformed horrors that dwell far below.
It was strangely comforting, until he woke. Since then he has shunned sleep when he can, and dreamed horrors when he cannot. But, obedient to the will of his clan, he went, arriving in Cauldron two months ago. So far, he has discovered little, being unfamiliar with how the city operates, but he has no doubt the trail will eventually lead underground, and there the earth will tell him things. Life is crowded; the clan's agent-house in Cauldron is crowded and overcrowded, with the ambasador displacing the consul, the consul displacing the servants, the servants displacing the flunkies... and Darthal, the most recent arrival, sleeping on the kitchen floor. A Cauldron citizen's ring (and how odd, that citizenship is a matter of owning a house and not an inheritance of ancient blood) is small compensation.
Humans are surprising and amusing, he finds, and gnomes and halflings a source of endless entertainment. Unrooted, flighty, and yet they give rise to so many things. Painting, dance, stained glass, and a dozen other art forms, all reliant on light, unlike the weight of stones in darkness, or the sound of music echoing back from the foundations of the earth, but keen and appealing while they last. The city respects and trusts dwarves, which gives him some peace of mind. Nothing compared to the ancient glories of dwarven culture, of course, but... amusing, nonetheless. And coffee is a marvelous invention, better than ale any day of the week.
If only the dreams would go away...
Statistics:
Str 10, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 19, Ch 8
speed 20 ft
initiative +0, Per +8, darkvision 60'
AC 16 (4 armor, 2 shield), touch 10, flat-footed 16
Saves Fort +6, Ref +0, Will +7 (+3 vs spells, poisons, spell-like abilities)
hp 21
attacks heavy pick +1 (d6/x4), sling +1 ranged (d4/x2)
CMB 1 (+2 to grapple aberrations), CMD 11(+4 vs. trip/bullrush)
Traits:
Dream Haunted (campaign) - unaffected by fatigue, exhausted as fatigued
Deep Guardian (magic) - summoned creatures with earth subtype or burrow speed get +1 morale bonus on attack rolls, +1 enhancement to AC
Glory of Old (religion) - +1 saves vs. spells, spell-like abilities, poison
Alternate racial traits (APG):
Deep Warrior (+2 dodge AC vs. aberrations, +2 CMB to grapple abberations, replaces defensive training)
Lorekeeper - +2 knowledge (history) on dwarves & enemies, replaces greed
Stonesinger - 1 level higher when casting earth spells, replaces stonecunning
Nature's bond: Darkness domain (special ability of cave druid from APG)
Touch of darkness (Sp, 7/day): give creature partial blindness (all other creatures get concealment from it) for 1/2-level rounds (min 1)
Spells:
Current preparation
1 (3+D): cure light wounds (cast), faerie fire, obscuring mist (D)
0 (3): detect magic, guidance, stabilize
Equipment:
clothes
scholar's outfit (6 gp, 2#) around town
explorer's outfit (free, 10#) on trips
stone holy symbol (1 gp, 1#)
spell component pouch (5 gp, 2#)
signet ring (5 gp, -) - Cauldron citizen's ring
scarf (1 sp, 0.5#) - first souvenir of Cauldron
mistletoe (-,-)
clothes total 18 gp, 13.5#
armament
hide armor (15 gp, 25#)
heavy wood shield (7 gp, 10#)
heavy pick (8 gp, 6#)
dagger (2 gp, 1#) in springloaded wrist sheath (1 gp, 1#)
sling (-, -) with 10 bullets (1 sp, 5#)
armament total 33 gp, 1 sp, 48#
personal gear
belt pouch (1 gp, 1#)
sealing wax (1 gp, 1#)
3 candles (3 cp, -)
3 pieces chalk (3 cp, -) red, white, green
ink (8 gp, -)
inkpen (1 sp, -)
5 sheets paper (2 gp, -)
signal whistle (8 sp, -)
flint and steel (1 gp, -)
total 13 gp, 9 sp, 6 cp, 2#)
travelling gear
backpack (2 gp, 2#)
bedroll (1 sp, 5#)
caltrops (1 gp, 2#)
waterskin (1 gp, 4#) - ale
waterskin (1 gp, 4#) - water
crowbar (2 gp, 5#)
3 day's trail ratios (15 sp, 5#)
50' silk rope (10 gp, 5#)
sack (1 sp, 0.5#) - empty, to carry extra stuff in
total 19 gp, 7 sp, 32.5#
guard dog (25 gp) "Mite" (short for "Stalagmite")
collar and leash (1 gp, 1#)
total 110 gp, 7 sp, 6 cp, 96#
It's a very good thing dwarves don't slow down because of encumbrance
leaving 9 gp, 2 sp, 4 cp of 180 gp starting gold
uses 15 sp to replace rations and buys 1 cup of coffee
leaving 7 gp, 7 sp, 3 cp
A Day in Cauldron:
Darthal sleeps in Clan Blackaxe's trading house, a small building on Obsidian Avenue next door to Westkey's Map Emporium. Generally he spends his mornings running errands or carrying out assignments for the Clan Blackaxe ambassador. His afternoons are usually spent wandering the walls, examining stonework, picking up rumors, and generally mingling with citizens of Cauldron, unless duty overtakes him. He's only been in Cauldron for a couple of months so many streets and stones are still strange to him. In the evenings he spends time sampling coffee and listening to conversations in several taverns. Wonderful discovery, coffee. Now if he could just carry it along on trips underground...
He actually stays up fairly late, and it might be noticed that he doesn't seem to get much sleep. Perhaps the coffee has something to do with it.
