Torden Ironcask's page

Before combat: Though perceptive, Torden is usually on the lookout for things other than combat. He is constantly taking in the world around him, stopping too often to smell the roses. As combat begins, Torden most likely will ready some form of debilitating spell—such as Sleep or Daze.

During Combat: Torden is not a skilled combatant, and is actually hesitant to openly engage anyone or anything. If he happens (by some act of the gods) to be the first to react to a situation, he will hold his action until he can better assess the situation. He is fiercely loyal to his friends, family, and colleagues, and will defend any injured ally to the death. Preferably, Torden remains just out of melee range of his opponents, but close enough to aid his friends with his morale boosting abilities or to harry opponents with incapacitating magic. Unfortunately, should an enemy choose, he is often close enough to prove a tempting target.

Tactics: Once the battle is joined, depending on the foe faced, Torden will use a spell, always careful to keep one or two in his hip pocket for whatever may come later. He then bolsters his allies with tales of great valor and the glory that follows. Should a caster be apparent to him, he will be prepared to distract or disrupt any spell with his thundering drum. Thirdly he will engage in melee combat, using his warhammer to strike any foe that seems to have the upper hand on one of his allies. As a last resort he will throw daggers at those out of his melee range. Torden’s loyalty prevents him from ever fleeing in the face of enemies except when the group as a whole does so.

Background:
It wouldn’t be entirely true to say that Torden Ironcask was from Highhelm. To be sure, he was born there, but his family—father, mother, two brothers, sister, and two uncles—traveled the Inner Sea as both diplomatic envoys and commodities traders. Torden grew up learning the history of the nations of the Inner Sea, picking up snippets of language, witnessing the ins and outs of politics and trade, but most prominently hearing grand tales of heroism. He had an unslakable thirst for these great tales and soon learned to retell them—sometimes accompanied by a thundering drum—with such emotion that those about him were moved to tears, laughter, and even at times action.

By the time Torden reached the age of thirty, he had seen and heard much of what he thought he could from the route his family traveled time and again. If he was to find new tales and learn more history, he would have to break from his family, and so he did. Torden had no interest in using his performance skills to earn money, he wanted knowledge—and the adventure of gathering such knowledge. Having visited a number of Pathfinder Society lodges in his previous journeys, he decided to travel to the Grand Lodge in Absalom to learn more of the great institution. He was sure that he could provide the Society with the service of his knowledge (as well as a bit of fighting and magic he’d learned whilst on the road with his two uncles) and they could provide him with contacts and support that a traveling tale gatherer might not otherwise receive.

Torden Ironcask stands five feet tall, and although he still has the broad build of a dwarf, he doesn’t have the great muscles of many of his race. His clothing is a muted blue and he carries with him a deep drum made from the hide of a great aurochs. Having seen the dangers of traveling and knowing the history of the Pathfinder Society, Torden has equipped himself with studded leather armor and a buckler, and armed himself with a warhammer and three daggers. He carries himself with pride, is well groomed, and lacks the effrontery of many other dwarves. Torden speaks little in casual conversation other than to make inquiries, but when asked or when necessity requires, Torden’s thunderous baritone voice demands the attention and captures the hearts of all who hear.