Dvallar Dvallinsdóttir's page

About Dvallar Dvallinsdóttir

Name
Female Dwarf Cleric (Forgemaster) 1
N Medium Humanoid (Dwarf)
Init +1; Senses Darkvision 60ft; Perception +3 (+1 sight)
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DEFENSE
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AC 19, touch 11, flat-footed 18 (+6 armor, +1 dex, +2 shield)
hp 11
Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +5
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OFFENSE
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Speed 20 ft.
Melee Warhammer +2 1d8+2/x3 B
Ranged
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STATISTICS
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Str 14, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 6
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 13

Traits Hirdman (see below) , Armor Expert, Charming this last picked mostly because although dwarves are regarded as ugly in the sagas, female dwarves actually show up a fair bit as seducers or seducees.
Drawbacks Oblivious This is because in the stories the dwarves are usually being tricked or schemed on by the protagonist. Figure this is therefore an Archetypal drawback. In this case representing that Dvallar is a bit obsessed with her work.
Feats Breadth of Experience
Skills All professions: +5, All knowledges: +4, Profession: Miner +9 (+2 metal or stone), Craft: Armor +6 (+2 metal or stone), Craft: Weaponry +6 (+2 metal or stone), Craft: Blacksmithing +6 (+2 metal or stone), Craft: Ships +6 (+1 if attracted), Linguistics +6
ACP -4 (-3 armour, -1 shield)
Languages Dwarven, Norsk, Runic, Westerling
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
Dwarf: Slow and Steady
Dwarf: Darkvision
Dwarf: Defensive Training
Dwarf: Hardy
Dwarf: Stability
Dwarf: Stonecunning
Dwarf: Weapon Familiarity: battleaxe, heavy pick, warhammer
Dwarf: Craftsman (replaces Greed): +2 racial on craft and profession related to metal or stone.
Dwarf: Industrious Urbanite (replaces Hatred): craft nonmagical at twice speed, +4 on profession checks to earn money.
Domain: Artifice: Artificer's Touch (Sp): You can cast mending at will, using your clericlevel as the caster level to repair damaged objects. In addition, you can cause damage to objects and construct creatures by striking them with a melee touch attack. Objects and constructs take 1d6 points of damage +1 for every two cleric levels you possess. This attack bypasses an amount of damage reduction and hardness equal to your cleric level. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + yourWisdom modifier.
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Spells
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0th (3 at will) guidance, create water, enhanced diplomacy
1st (2+1/day) animate Rope (d), crafter’s fortune(C), endure elements
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GEAR/POSSESSIONS
Owned
Riding horse (0 lbs)
Breastplate (30 lbs)
heavy steel shield (15 lbs)
Warhammer (5 lbs)
Riding Saddle 10gp (25 lbs)
Smithing tools. 5gp (5 lbs)
Masterwork Armourer Tools 55gp (5 lbs)
Weaponsmith Tools 5gp (5 lbs)
Shipbuilding Tools 5gp (5 lbs)
Cleric’s Kit w/ iron symbol 20gp (33 lbs)

This includes

backpack (2lbs),
bedroll (5 lbs),
a belt pouch (1/2lb),
candles (10) (1 lb?)
a cheap holy text (4 lbs),
a flint and steel (0 lbs),
an iron pot (4 lbs),
a mess kit (1 lb)
rope (10lbs),
Soap (½ lb),
spell component pouch (2 lbs),
torches (10) (10 lbs)
trail rations (5 days) (5 lbs),
a waterskin(4 lbs)
An iron holy symbol (1lb)

Hemp Rope 50ft 1gp (10lbs)
Snowshoes 5gp (4 lbs)
Cold Weather Outfit (7lbs)
Daytime Flower Picking
Breastplate (30 lbs)
heavy steel shield (15 lbs)
Warhammer (5 lbs)
Masterwork Armourer Tools 55gp (5 lbs)
Cold Weather Outfit (7lbs)
backpack (2lbs),
a belt pouch (1/2lb),
a cheap holy text (4 lbs),
a flint and steel (0 lbs),
an iron pot (4 lbs),
a mess kit (1 lb)
rope (10lbs),
spell component pouch (2 lbs),
torches (1) (1 lbs)
trail rations (5 days) (5 lbs),
a waterskin(4 lbs)
An iron holy symbol (1lb)
104.5 lbs

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Carrying Capacity
Light 0-58 lb. Medium 59-116 lb. Heavy 117-175 lb.
Current Load Carried 104.5 lb.
Money 17 GP 4 SP 10 CP

WORKINGS
Str 14
Dex 12
Con 16
Int 14
Wis 16
Cha 6
Combat and saves
BAB: +0
hp: 11 = 1d8 (8) +3 con
Fort +5 = +2 base +3 con
Ref +1 = +0 base +1 dex
Will +5 = +2 base +3 wis
Skills:
2 base + 2 int + 2 background +1 favored = 6 skill points
All professions: +5 = +2 feat +3 wis
All knowledges: +4 = +2 feat +2 int
Profession: Miner +9 = +2 feat +3 wis +3 trained +1 rank (+2 metal or stone)
Craft: Armor +6 = +2 int +3 trained +1 rank (+2 metal or stone)
Craft: Weaponry +6 = +2 int +3 trained +1 rank (+2 metal or stone)
Craft: Blacksmithing +6 = +2 int +3 trained +1 rank (+2 metal or stone)
Craft: Ships +6 = +2 int +3 trained +1 rank
Diplomacy +2 =-2 cha +3 trained +1 rank (+1 if attracted)
Linguistics +6 = +2 int +3 trained +1 rank
Languages: Dwarven, Norsk, Runic, Westerling
Abilities:
Slow and Steady
Darkvision
Defensive Training
Hardy
Stability
Stonecunning
Weapon Familiarity: battleaxe, heavy pick, warhammer
Craftsman (replaces Greed): +2 racial on craft and profession related to metal or stone.
Industrious Urbanite (replaces Hatred): craft nonmagical at twice speed, +4 on profession checks to earn money.
these last 2 substitutions is because all the stories about dwarves seem to emphasise they are all master craftsman. These two changes turn Dvallar into that.
Feats: Breadth of Experience Only way I can see to represent the sort of general knowledge she should have
Traits: Hirdman (see below) Armor Expert, Charming this last picked mostly because although dwarves are regarded as ugly in the sagas, female dwarves actually show up a fair bit as seducers or seducees.

Hirdman: You are an independent landowner of some wealth and status, above the bondi yet below the Jarls. You possess a fair bit of land and have a bonus of +5 votes when speaking at the local Thing due to your position. Your land yields enough to feed you and your family, plus produce 100 gp a year in profit, though this assumes you or someone else spends a good deal of time at work planting, reaping, etc. Also, you begin play with an extra 150 gp, a riding horse, a suit of light armor, heavy wooden shield, and a simple or martial melee weapon.

Drawback: Oblivious This is because in the stories the dwarves are usually being tricked or schemed on by the protagonist. Figure this is therefore an Archetypal drawback. In this case representing that Dvallar is a bit obsessed with her work.

Description
Height: 4’3” [ooc]one of the tallest dwarven women in existence. Rumours about non-dwarven ancestors. Archetypically the Svartalfar weren’t actually short, so I picked the max height. made her a little shorter than the human average of
Weight: 176 lbs (80kg)
Age: 100 suffering from first-century-itis: is this what I want to do with my life? Equivalent of a human turning about 25.

Equipment
290 gp
a riding horse
a suit of light armor
heavy wooden shield
Warhammer
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Riding Saddle 10
Smithing tools. 5
Masterwork Armourer Tools 55
Weaponsmith Tools 5
Shipbuilding Tools 5
Cleric’s Kit 16
Holy Symbol wood to iron 4
Sell Chainmail -50
Sell shield -3.5
Heavy Steel Shield 20
Breastplate 200
Rope 1
Snowshoes 5

=272.5 spent
Riding horse
breastplate
heavy steel shield
warhammer
Riding Saddle 10
Smithing tools. 5
Masterwork Armourer Tools 55
Weaponsmith Tools 5
Shipbuilding Tools 5
Cleric’s Kit w/ iron symbol 20

BLOODROCK FARM
Dvallar picked her area because there was a geologically anomalous cliff with a vein of lighter quartz with iron-red stains in it. The hill had the look of a headless stone giant lying on his front, with a streak of red running through the ‘neck’.
Originally the area was simply a mine. She mined into the cliff (and found some good deposits) then purchased some thralls to assist. Once she had some space she set up rooms and a smithy inside. She makes quite a good living from the mining and smithing.
After the first hard harvest left a shortage and the price of food became almost impossible she realised she’d need to set up a farm to supply the area. She had a large grant of poor land, and decided to farm primarily carrots, potatoes and sheep. More thralls were brought in, and over time she enlarged the caves enough that sheep could shelter there over winter.
Dvallar is not so much a farmer as a person who owns a farm. Most of her income is from the occasional sale of a masterwork item.

BACKGROUND
Dvallar was the daughter of an important dwarf. Like most such daughters she was forced into a loveless political marriage. She stalled as long as she could, with the result that she had to be taken by sea to her fiance. On the way her ship was raided by a young Olaf Henrikson.
Henrikson offered to let her live in exhcange for becoming a Thrall. Dvallar countered by offering not to sink the ship, her dowry, and all in it. Eventually a compromise was reached - Dvallar agreed to forge Henrikson a sword "fit for a dwarf lord", and in exchange would be a 'guest' of Henrikson. In large part this was because Henriskson admired her bravery, and Dvallar really didn't want to die. Dvallar's ineptitude with norsk actually helped her cause in this situation.
Dvallar was intrigued by the Shield Maidens. The concept was alien to a dwarven woman, but she took to it immediately, using her guest status to train and eventually join the shield maidens.
Henrikson had no idea what he demanded when he asked for a sword fit for a dwarf lord, as such weapons are the pinnacle creations of a race that all but worships smithing. Dvallar was prepared to put in the necessary decades of work to learn to forge one, not remembering how long humans lived. When she learned how much better life was as a Shield Maiden she saw no reason to hurry.
When Olaf conquered Halfstead Dvallar was one of his shieldmaidens (he had realised the sword might never come, but figured the addition of a competent fighter and gifted smith to his retinue made up for that). In reward for her service she was granted Land. She did a survey and then took a scrubby, barren little hardhold in the upland hills a day away from the port. The humans thought her mad for picking such land, but it was the bounty under the ground that had called to her. Veins of iron, silver and even a hint of adamantium sung to her when she slept on the cold ground.
Helja, One of the Shield Maidens that had been her friend since the start, had fallen unexpectedly pregnant, and used her grant to found a farm near Dvallar. Helja, now fifty, is a grandmother. Her son runs her farm now. Dvallar and Helja's friendship suffered over the years - as Helja grew older and frail, Dvallar with her dwarven lifespan remained the same.
Dvallar's 'household' was a mine and a smithy, and she traded metal and goods for food. In the end it just became easier to buy some Thralls to work the land. Those thralls became Freemen in time, and Dvallar is a "Hirdman". A woman in such a position is unconventional to the humans, but unprecedented to dwarves.
Her father sent men to take her home, but her Oath is her protection. If her father orders her to leave, she must, but then her entire clan would be Oathbroken, and have to pay a human for forgiveness - typically three times the price she owes. Thus, while her father ground his teeth he was forced to let Dvallar stay.
Like many shield maidens, Dvallar has learned to become 'one of the guys'. She doesn't truly understand the Northmen mindset, and emphasises her Dwarven nature while also desperately over-embracing northmen behaviour (for example, she will try to drink much larger northmen under the table).
She abstains from romantic relationships, as becoming pregnant would ruin the situation she has been so fortunate in finding.

CULTURE
Revising this a little - hope is okay. Partly this is to fit the stories better, partly to emphasis the cultural issues.
Religion: rather than invent a whole new set of gods… Dwarves are ancestor worshippers. Many of these ancestors - especially the most ancient - have become powers and dominions. The use of an Ancestor’s name draws on their power.
Status: Dwarves prize those who can create over those who can destroy. Age is respected. Wealth is respected. Self-employed over workers. Those who can defend themselves are respected.
Praise: Praising someone (or something they have made) makes the ancestors envious. The better something is, the more careful one should be about praising it. This changes as soon as it is about a dead person (or something they had a hand in) as then one is praising the ancestors and they love that.
Long term: Dwarves have a long term view. What’s the point of building a house out of wood when you’re just going to have to rebuild it in thirty years anyway? If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.
Names: Names have power. Names, especially true names and even more so full true names, are something that should be used carefully and with respect. Nicknames, diminutives and relationships are all fine.
Charity: the stories have dwarves as miserly, yet all seem to be happy to trade good for something else Dwarves don’t believe in charity. They believe in loans. Charity suggests someone else is so useless that they’d never be able to repay you. Dwarves desperately save money to (A) buy independence from their family (B) make investments and start a family (also an investment). Once they have sufficient non-labour income, dwarves tend to retire. Dwarven communities often pay significant taxes, and dwarven workers are typically paid income every year. Dwarves do help each other out with time, but this is also treated as a sort of currency. Dwarves definitely do help each other in emergencies (and there is an assumption everyone will pull together in such situations). Dvallar had serious issues understanding Ring-giving, and still only vaguely understands it. She has a tendency not to give to her inferiors for some time, but then every now and then hand over a masterwork item. She’s always grumpy when she hands something over.

PEOPLE

Aðalbjörn
Who is he: Huscarl. Amazing warrior. Very tall.
Relationship: He’s ‘one of the guys’, as am I. He comes by the forge surprsingly often while I’m working. Not sure if he’s checking out my work, my technique or me.

Aella
Who is she: Shield maiden. Has a child. The daughter of Thollvar the Unslain and XXX
Relationship: Little Aella is the daughter of my friend Thollvar, and one of my students. She grew up fast.
She’s got a child now, but is not giving up Shieldmaiden. I worry that she’s thrown her chance for independence away, and that the humans’ll force her to become a housewife.

Haldorr
Who is he: Erika’s brother. He killed Erika in training, got made a Thrall, then did something heroic to get out of it.
Relationship: Don’t really know him that well. Ghosts of Erika.

Helle
Who is she: Apprentice Cunning Woman to Odi. Young.
Relationship: Polite. Stops by for tea regularly. Queried me on the properties of minerals and gems - and actually listened. I could probably make a good miner of this girl
O∂ørn
Who is he: Some sort of resurrected Godi. Obsessed with the sea and ships.
Relationship: not sure how I ended up in the shipbuilding trade - well it started with simple repairs and went up from there. Oðørn actually understands craftsmanship in this - and he has a context I lack. Not much dwarven lore on ships, and ship naming ceremonies. I keep my divine service quiet - not much point in telling humans about a dwarven afterlife - but not secret. Somehow that shared service gives us a common ground.
I’m not sure he has friends, but if he does, we’re friends.