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ADVANTAGES [14]
------------------------------------------ Diehard: stabilize when dying
Extraordinary Effort: gain 2 benefits when using extra effort
Favored Foe 2 (giants, goblins): +2 to attacks vs favored foes
Feature (longevity): natural lifespan of almost 400 years
Guard Weapon: with two weapons, can take defend action (>10 +8) and attack action (-2) in same round
Hardy: half immunity to disease/poison
*Improved Initiative: +4 initiative
Languages: +1 language
Last Stand: extra effort to ignore damage penalties for 1 round
*Light Sleeper: no perception penalty for sleeping, and no daze upon waking
Ritual Casting: create temporary magical effects
*Second Chance (mind control): roll saves twice & take better
Steadfast: +4 vs push, pull, trip, or throw, and +1 vs knockback
Power Loss: cannot use any *fire powers while spirit is summoned, or if spirit is nullified, destroyed, or otherwise unable to be summoned.
Fire Runes: tattoos glow hot constantly, causing a penalty on visual stealth in darkness, making Grith easy to recognize, and making it impossible to wear a shirt.
Temper: the fire spirit within him can sometimes make Grith a little bit temperamental.
-----About-----
Grith is a dwarf, young for his race but old by human standards. He is of average height and build for a dwarf, perhaps a bit more handsome, but otherwise unremarkable but for his tattoos. His body is etched with glowing hot tattoos bearing ancient runic symbols. The tattoos are primarily on his torso but also extend down his upper arms and can be found on his head and hands.
To look into his eyes, you can tell Grith is burning up inside. He has boundless anger and energy just beneath the surface, but does what he can to control it. Beyond his own will there is always the will of the fire spirit, eager to be set free. While years of sharing a body with the spirit have afforded him with a modicum of control, it has also imprinted some of that fiery temperament upon Grith himself.
-----Background-----
There's an old dwarven story, a cautionary tale, that tells of a time when the dwarves of the mighty hold Beketh turned away from the great god Numacar, god of smiths, to strike a bargain with Paresh, god of fire. Seeking to imbue their forges with eternal flame, they promised a great price to Paresh that he might bind for them fire spirits to give heat without coals or smoke. The deed was done, but the price they ultimately found too high. The dwarves betrayed Paresh, and for it he unleashed a plague of fire to purge the hold of every last soul. And so the story is told, to warn against heresy, to reinforce the value of promises, and to caution against lust for magic.
Most dwarves understand the tale as a simple children's story, but Grith was so captivated by it as a child that he could not help but see truth in it. The dwarves are meticulous historians and record keepers, and as Grith grew older he began to research anything he could find that might pertain to the lost keep in the old tale. And one day, after decades of searching, he found a map.
Setting out on his own, Grith traveled across plains and mountains, fighting every kind of creature and beast along the way, until he finally came upon a broken door of a long-forgotten hold; Beketh finally stood before him. It took him another year to gain entrance, and he spent another five exploring the expansive depths.
Beketh was a mass grave, a great boneyard full of scorched dwarven skeletons. Great vaults promised deep riches within, and dangerous traps guarded places of importance. But at every level the forges were dark, the tools tossed aside centuries ago and hardly touched by age. The greatest treasure, that of the eternal flame, kept eluding him.
Finally, on one cold winter day, on the deepest level of Beketh, beyond traps and monsters alike, he saw a glow. He followed the tunnels until he emerged in a great chamber, stone and bronze structures adorned in silver and gold, with the finest tools neatly lining scorched stone tables and burned-out racks. And there, amidst its darkened siblings, stood the final burning forge. Its flame lept and danced as he entered, its runes glowing brightly.
Another few years of study and Grith was able to copy the forge runes as tattoos on his own body. The darkened forges all had damaged runes, broken or gouged in some way, while only the final lit forge had all the symbols he would need. Creating a final runic tributary, Grith funneled the fire spirit into himself and his life was changed forever.
