 About Ryarg GravemakerCONSUMABLES:
Ammunition sling bullets (10) X X X X X X X X X X Spell-Like or Racial Abilities
Scrolls
Class Abilities
Magic Items Druid Spells (CL 2; Concentration +6; Penetration +2)
Common Summons
Dolphin
RYARG GRAVEMAKER Male dwarf Bear Shaman (Druid) 2
DEFENSE
OFFENSE
STATISTICS
Skills
Background Skilks
Feats
Traits
SQ
FAVOURED CLASS
SPECIAL ABILITIES
The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly. To use wild empathy, the druid and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time. A druid can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but she takes a –4 penalty on the check. A bear shaman can use wild empathy with bears and wolverines as a full-round action with a +4 bonus.
COINAGE
Carrying Capacity
EQUIPMENT
Bern:
BERN Male bear Animal Companion 2
DEFENSE
OFFENSE
STATISTICS
Feats
Tricks
Skills
SQ link, share spells
Personality and Appearance:
Ryarg bears many of the emotional scars burned into his psyche during his repeated flights growing up. He is slow to trust, and insular among people he does not know. This can come across as gruff and unfriendly. He bears deep scars across his face from the claws of a large bear he was unable to pacify in the early days of his learning. Unlike many of his kin, Ryarg takes care of his appearance, keeping his coarse hair combed (it usually rests on his shoulders in loose waves) and his beard trimmed unusually short for a dwarf. He owns very little, other than his weapons and armour, everything he possesses can easily fit into his backpack, save the waterskin on his hip. He does not give into the racial stereotype of the drinking and carousing dwarf, preferring time in solitary meditation to wild partying. If he does drink, it is usually to partake of one of the vintages of wild fruit wines he produces under the label of Bear Valley Fruit Wines. History:
For centuries, the Gravemaker clan has been among the lowest of the low among the conservative residents of the Sarokian dwarven town of Marbleheim, half a day's ride northeast of Iz – not outcasts by any means, just not respected. The clan’s history is filled with mediocre blacksmiths, unexceptional stonemasons, unlucky prospectors, and soldiers who never made it past their second year of service before meeting a grisly end. The one vocation the family found any success in was gravedigging, leaving them the butt of many dwarven jokes and snide remarks. Polite society shunned them, and they were never prosperous. Despite all that, they were decent, honest, hard-working dwarves, content with their station in society, yet ever fearful of that station falling even further than it already had. The status quo could have continued for many centuries to come, if not for the death of Aroden and the birth of Ryarg.
That the two happened on the same day was not lost upon the superstitious stonecutters and miners of the fifty clans of Marbleheim. Ryarg was two days old when the elders realized that Iz would soon be lost and their settlement soon after, and so the fifty clans sped off into the night, making their way east away from the gaping portal to the Abyss. They never could believe that they would have to flee farther from their home than they could bring themselves to go, and so over the first few years of Ryarg's life, the fifty clans became 48, then 45, and so on. It was among the trees of the Forest of Stones where Ryarg learned to walk, moving from hut to hut. The practitioners of the Green Faith were quite abhorrent to the orthodox Torag followers, though they were willing to accept their charity. As Ryarg learned his first words, he found their ways fascinating, especially their connection to animals and plants. When they eventually had to flee again following the chaos of the First Crusade, many druids fled with them. The remaining druids and the 29 clans of Marbleheim settled just across the West Sellen River, where the dwarves found copper and the druids a wooded valley they named Lee Vale. Now 28 years of age, Ryarg was too young to mine, and though he took part in the combat lessons all dwarves were expected to learn, he could never wrap his head around why he was supposed to hate orcs and goblins so much--he had never ever seen an orc and demons seemed much more important day to day. Besides, when he sat quietly beside a babbling stream and felt the sunlight on his face, he felt at peace. Still, the Sylvan forces that surrounded them were willing to come halfway. During one such meditation, a large bear wandered into his clearing. The two looked at each other and neither felt fear. When the bear turned to leave, Ryarg followed, right into the bear's cave. Underground like his kin, but in company with the natural life, the fey were able to connect with him, and he heard his first whispers of the Green Faith. Ryarg was never right in the head, a fact which renewed any and all of the derisive chatter about the Gravemaker clan. As a boy, he was unnaturally strong, nimble, and tough, had a keen intellect and unnatural wisdom. His clan thought that maybe he had been born with a purpose, to become a mighty champion of Torag and redeem their homeland from the demons of the Worldwound, but the emphasis on warfare and other traditional dwarven ideals was too much for the young rebel. It was quite a shock to the elder priests when their new young charge began to ask about nature worship instead. Agreed, some rare few priests had embraced the realm of natural caverns over dwarf-made, but that could be understood. No, Ryarg was looking for worship of the trees and animals of the surface world, like an elf. Ryarg quickly went from the first real hope of the Gravemaker clan for a contributing member of society, to the worst laughing-stock ever. Throughout the refugee camp, word quickly spread of the dwarf who wished he was an elf, and the ale huts rang with laughter at the expense of the Gravemaker clan like it never had before. The Clan elders felt they had little choice but to kick Ryarg out on his can and banish him from ever returning to their community. His own parents ceremonially turned their backs on him and didn't even watch him walk away. Ryarg went to live with Brother Kranken, the elderly Kellid who taught him, in the druid part of the camp, and there he learned. His connections with bears deepened, and the creatures could often be found gathering around him as he meditated, sometimes jumping into the creek to swim with him. Though no dwarf would speak to him, Ryarg was happy, right up until the Third Mendevian Crusade came along. The local, orthodox followers of Iomedae, Saranrae, and other good deities took exception to the naturalistic beliefs of the barbarian Sarkorian druids, and his own people were also quick to give him up as another unnatural deviant. It was not lost on Ryarg that the only time his parents were now willing to look at him was tied to a stake and set on fire. As Ryarg meditated and waited to die, three grizzly bears burst from the forest, shattering the stakes with one swipe of a paw and scattering burning timber with another. One bear carried him off in its mouth, while another took Brother Kranken, and Ryarg found himself several miles away, in a bear den, surrounded by several cubs. Ryarg spent many happy months with the bears, recovering, and bonding with the largest of the cub, whom he had named Bern. When it was time for him to leave, Bern followed. Ryarg made his way east again, but with the fervour of the Third Crusade a thing of the past, he couldn't bear to leave Mendev. Instead, he found himself a tract of empty land filled with berries, a snug cave to live in, and began to brew fruit wines to sell. At first, he visited market fairs to sell a few bottles, but demand grew, and soon Bear Valley Fruit Wines became a trendy sensation. A young Queen Galfrey herself was known to favour his blackberry currant vintage and had him presented at court to the shock and amusement of her courtiers. Over the decades, Bern died and was mourned, though Ryarg was sure to rear and bond with the strongest of his cubs, who he also named Bern. Now, with Bern III at his side, he has arrived in Kerendas with an entire wagon train of casks and crates of Bear Valley Fruit Wines, ready for the festivities to begin.
Fatal Flaws:
Though Ryarg is cool and level-headed almost all of the time, there are two things that risk propelling him into a rage: demons, and bigotry against his druidic fellows and other followers of the Green Faith. While the former is not a problem he considers worth dealing with, the second has gotten him into trouble before, such as growling at a courtier in Queen Galfrey's audience chamber. In addition, his meditations are tied to his dual nature and he finds his magic less effective if he is not able to spend some of his preparation time underground and some in a natural, outdoors area.
Bern, on the other hand, has a flaw all of his own: he enjoys sampling his master's wares much too freely, or any alcohol of any kind. He also fails to understand the concept of personal property and that he can't just wander into a tavern and help himself to wine or brandy (his favourite). He's also a hopeless sook and beggar, resting his chin on a table and watching mugs of ale move back and forth all evening long while occasionally blowing out his cheeks in despair. Appearance What does your character look like? What kind of gear do they wear or carry? Do they have any remarkable features?:
Neatly groomed, hair to shoulders in waves. Clothes are simple but well made and tended. Hide armour and battle axe. In variably has a few freshly-picked flowers strung into his beard or carefully stowed in a pocket Personality & Motivation who is your character and what makes them tick? Do they have any interests or quirks?:
Calm and stoic, but warm, except when provoked. Bern loves children and booze, so Ryarg is constantly directing his bear towards the first and away from the second. He often has a collection of nice flowers or interesting smooth stones to gift to little girls and boys.
Ryarg will take the Green Faith Acolyte prestige class, after getting 6 levels of druid. That prestige class requires that he become a high-ranking member of the local druid order, right up to the Grand Druid. That's not currently an ambition of his, but will become one over time, especially if he finds that the existing druidic power structure is more concerned with status quo and not taking back Sarkoris (or if that is their driving ambition, he will want to be a big part of making that happen). Allies & Associations who is your character connected to (friends, mentors, loved ones)? Are they a part of an organization or order?:
He's a loner. The business owners he supplies know and respect him, but none would really call him a friend. His only friend is Bern, though his cave is always open for any travelling druids or other members of the Green Faith, as well as devotees of Erastil and Gozreh. |
