About Boruk CraghammerBackground:
Boruk originally hails from Highhelm, the current dwarven capital of the Five Kings Mountains. He grew up listening to his father’s, Kharuk, tales of the Craghammers, specifically his great-great-grandfather Borgrin, aiding the dwarven hero Khadon the Mighty in defeating the orcish horde threatening the Five Kings Mountains at that time. He was told the stories of how his great-great grandfather was one of the few who fought with Khadon the Mighty against the leader of the orcish horde, Tarkdok Manyspears, and helped him slay the evil tyrant. He learned how his great-great grandfather also helped to found the Dwarven Empire of Tar Khadurrm and later Jernashall, the legendary city which once eclipsed Highhelm in glory and importance. These heroic deeds earned the Craghammers a place of importance in the halls of nobility in Jernashall.
Boruk also learned how this all began to change with the Rending, when Droskar’s Crag erupted, destroying Jernashall and killing nearly all of its residents, including most of the Craghammers, whose ancestral home was located in the center of the city. The small pocket of now-impoverished Craghammers left in Highhelm tried to recover but never truly had a chance as misfortune struck again. Ordrik, high cleric of Droskar, the dark God of toil, murdered King Garbold and took control of the kingdom. The Craghammers, still loyal to Khadon the Mighty’s lineage in King Garbold, were nearly wiped out in the coup. Many were executed, tortured for information or worked to death as sacrifices to the dark God of Toil as a means of keeping his favor. Only Boruk’s father, a baby at the time, managed to fully escape, smuggled out by a faithful retainer still loyal to both Khadon’s lineage and the Craghammers. His father, now penniless, grew up in the guise of a member of the retainer’s family, in the process learning the art of blacksmithing, which the retainer’s family were well known for. As he grew up, Boruk’s father became obsessed with returning the Craghammer clan to their former glory, a side-effect of the retainer’s history lessons about his clan. Eventually, Ordrik’s theocracy collapsed, unable to sustain itself due to the stagnation brought about by the Rending and the years of toil and tyranny under Ordrik’s reign. The priests of Droskar never fully lost their influence, however, and still maintain a strong grip in some of the noble houses of Highhelm today. With the collapse of Ordrik’s reign, Boruk’s father was finally able to reclaim his clan’s name, but little was left of their former glory. Their new home in Highhelm had been destroyed during the coup and their remaining wealth was stolen to fund Ordrik’s reign. Boruk’s father tirelessly worked his trade, obsessed with changing the Craghammers fortunes, saving enough to build a modest home on the ruins of their Highhelm manse. During the course of his compulsion to restore his clan, he met and eventually married Boruk’s mother. Boruk was born a short 30 years later. He was named after his great-great-grandfather and father. Most of Boruk’s childhood was spent listening to his father’s stories, learning the blacksmithing trade from his father and their adoptive family and the rest he spent learning how to fight from the city’s guardsmen. Both the pounding of hammer on metal and the pounding of axe, hammer and shield helped him channel his rage at what befell his ancestors. As he got older, Boruk began fighting in the city’s fighting arena, both as a means to gain extra coin but also to help calm the rage always bubbling just under the surface of his skin. One fateful arena fight changed the course of his life. He was to fight a noble, known to be a devout worshipper of Droskar, and whose family was rumored to be associated with Ordrik’s coup and the near-annihilation of the Craghammers in the past. During the course of the fight the noble continuously taunted Boruk. Boruk, who struggled to maintain his temper at the best of times, finally snapped when the noble exclaimed it was no wonder his father had killed most of the Craghammers when they fought like this. Boruk’s rage roared through him and the last of the fight he remembered was his vision turning red. He was later told that he had hit the noble so hard that his dulled dueling axe sheared half the noble’s shield away and continued through to embed itself in the noble’s skull, killing him instantly. At the time, deaths in the arena were very rare but not unheard of, happening once every hundred years or so. Boruk was declared innocent of any wrongdoing. However, the noble’s family were not satisfied with the verdict and decided to take their own revenge. The night after the verdict, Boruk was dragged from his bed, tied up and was forced to watch as his parents were murdered before his eyes. Rage overtook him again as he saw his father stabbed and he snapped the ropes binding him and beat his assailants to death with his bare hands. When the rage cleared, he heard his father’s rasping whisper for Boruk to come closer. His father made him swear an oath on his family’s honor that he would flee the city immediately and head to Falcon’s Hollow, knowing the clan of the slain nobles would never let him survive in Highhelm. He handed Boruk an envelope, stained with his own blood, and made one final plea to Boruk to read the contents of the envelope and flee to Falcon’s Hollow before his last breath rattled from his chest. Numb from his spent rage and the emotional stress of losing his parents only moments ago, Boruk read the contents of the envelope through tear filled eyes. They were notes from a Pathfinder of an intact section of Jernashall located in caverns somewhere in the vicinity of Falcon’s Hollow. Prominent in the notes was a sketch of the Craghammer clan sigil. Unfortunately, the Pathfinder was unable to pinpoint the exact location as he was forced to flee from creatures roaming the caverns and to this day, regular tectonic movements, an after effect caused by the eruption of Droskar’s Crag, change the layout of the caverns in the area, making it difficult to find the ruins again. Staying only long enough to arrange for his parent’s burial, Boruk left for Falcon’s Hollow, swearing to find his ancestor’s home and use the treasures contained within to gain revenge for the killing of his parents and the other Craghammers killed in the coup. To this day he remains in Falcon’s Hollow, working as a local blacksmith to fund his search. He will let nothing get in the way of the search for his ancestral home and thereafter his revenge.
Full Stats:
Boruk Craghammer Male dwarf barbarian 2 N Medium humanoid (dwarf) Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +5 (+7 to notice unusual stonework) -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +2 shield) hp 31 (2d12+7) (currently 30) Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +0; +2 vs. poison, spells, and spell-like abilities, +1 trait bonus vs. spells, spell-like abilities, and poison Defensive Abilities defensive training, uncanny dodge -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. Melee dagger +4 (1d4+5/19-20) or dwarven waraxe +4 (1d10+5/×3) Ranged longbow +4 (1d8/×3) Special Attacks hatred, rage (9 rounds/day), rage power (powerful blow +1) -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 16, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 8 Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 17 (21 vs. bull rush, 21 vs. trip) Feats Power Attack Traits glory of old, warsmith Skills Acrobatics +0, Appraise +1 (+3 to assess nonmagical metals or gemstones), Climb +1, Craft (blacksmith) +5, Handle Animal +4, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (engineering) +5, Knowledge (nature) +6, Lore (Jernashall) +5, Perception +5 (+7 to notice unusual stonework), Ride +0, Survival +4, Swim +1; Racial Modifiers +2 Appraise to assess nonmagical metals or gemstones, +2 Perception to notice unusual stonework Languages Common, Dwarven, Orc SQ fast movement Other Gear scale mail, heavy wooden shield, arrows (15), dagger (2), dwarven waraxe, longbow, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, blacksmithing tools, chalk (10), hemp rope (50 ft.), trail rations (5), waterskin, 1 gp, 3 sp -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only). Defensive Training +4 Gain a dodge bonus to AC vs. monsters of the Giant subtype. Fast Movement +10 (Ex) +10 feet to speed, unless heavily loaded. Greed +2 to Appraise to determine price of nonmagic goods with precious metals or gemstones. Hatred +1 Gain a racial bonus to attacks vs. Goblinoids/Orcs. Power Attack -1/+2 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage. Powerful Blow +1 (1/rage) (Ex) One attack per rage deals extra damage. Rage (9 rounds/day) (Ex) +4 Str, +4 Con, +2 to Will saves, -2 to AC when enraged. Stonecunning +2 +2 bonus to Perception vs. unusual stonework. Free check within 10 feet. Uncanny Dodge (Ex) Retain DEX bonus to AC when flat-footed. Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
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