 About Yurgan DurduumBackground: Yurgan Durduum was born in Janderhoff, a member of one of the more influential clans of mage smiths in the community; the craftsmen of clan Durduum had always incorporated a set of symbols in their work that no other group of craftsmen have been able to decipher, despite repeated attempts to discern their meaning. Whereas the work of most of the town’s magical artisans had always revolved around the application of magical energies to a crafted item, the symbols of clan Durduum seem to instead draw arcane power from within an item itself.
Unknown to any outside clan Durduum, the secret of the runes remains hidden even to the artisans that employ them in their craft. The symbols originate from a magical round shield the clan’s had in its possession for generations, the Seal of Duror. None of the clan’s smiths have been able to decipher the ornate script that covers the shield’s surface, though through trial and error they’ve been able to capitalize on the symbols in the creation of new items. The Seal is a treasure never spoken of to any not born into the clan, and only made available to such individuals once their arcane training has formally begun. When Yurgan first witnessed the shield, he recognized a pattern in the glyphs; a set of three ancient dwarf runes, hidden within the rest of the script, and traditionally used to notate the key to a map or cipher. The young dwarf's discovery was dismissed by the rest of the clan as coincidence, but the dwarf became convinced that the shield did not bear a message or actual words, but in was in truth the key to understanding something else entirely. This conclusion stayed with Yurgan as he began his training as a wizard, and he soon decided he would prove his discovery to be true. In addition to his normal studies, the young dwarf would go out of his way in his efforts to study arcane languages and scripts. After learning all he could within the walls of Janderhoff, Yurgan set off to pursue his goals elsewhere in Golarion. His travels led the dwarf across much of Varisia and the Storval Plateau, even taking him as far as the City of Ciphers itself. But after decades of search and few results he resigned himself to abandon his quest, sure to be seen as his folly, and return to the land of his kin. Ironically, it was only after Yurgan returned to Janderhoff that a promising lead made itself known. His studies and travels having placed him in a unique position to identify and decipher obscure script, it was only sensible that an adventurer bearing a ancient book of clan Durduum’s unique runes would be directed to the wizard. The tome, nearly as old as the clan’s treasured Seal, was exactly what Yurgan had been seeking for much of his life. Using the shield as a key, he was able to decipher enough of the text to determine it to be a spellbook and training manual detailing a method of applying mathematical logic and order to the field of arcane stidies. Yurgan was able to convince the adventurer to sell the spellbook, and when asked the adventurer reported the tome had been discovered in a ruin somewhere in the central Mindspin Mountains. Unfortunately, due to getting himself thoroughly lost following the book's recovery he knew of no way to locate the site again. Unwilling to abandon the trail a second time, Yurgan began the painstaking task of deciphering the runes and studying the methods contained within. The initial chapters of the book proved easy enough to decode, but those that followed involved diagrams and a logic structure beyond the dwarf’s capability to grasp. Still, these first chapters were enough to set Yurgan on the path to learning the methods needed to understand the rest of the tome. He took to his studies, employing the methods described within to strengthen both his body and mind, and in a short time left the town of his birth once again in order to search for the ruin lost somewhere in the peaks that compose the Mindspin. Personality: Yurgan looks upon others with a attitude of superiority; his bloodline, his intellect, his ability to see what others don't has convinced the mage smith that he stands apart from the rest of Golarion's people. He never backs down from an opportunity to share his thoughts, and though he freely joins in conversations he does so more to hear his own voic than to contribute to the discussion at hand.
However, if one is willing, and able, to look past this arrogance Yurgan proves to be a trustworthy ally and staunch friend. He honestly believes his mere presence is a gift to those he travels with, but this hubris also demands that he uses his greater abilities to assist those lesser few who place their trust in him. Appearance:
Yurgan carries himself with an air of superiority, always standing to his full 4'-3" and walking with his chin raised high; he manages to create the impression of looking down upon others, even though he lacks the height required to look a member of one of the taller races in the eye.
The dwarf keeps his waist-length auburn hair pulled back into a topknot, and his beard is trimmed short. Both, along with his clothing and equipment, are meticulously maintained and clean. Particularly thick eyebrows shade Yurgan's deep green eyes, which usually look upon the world with a noticeable lack of interest. Only when pursuing a scholarly work do these orbs betray the dwarf's exterior appearance, reflecting the eagerness more recognizable in his kin. Yurgan Durduum
DEFENSE
OFFENSE
STATISTICS
Equipment: Carrying Capacity 50/100/150; Weight 49 lbs., without backpack 26 lbs.
Armor Check Penalty -0 Coin 2876 gp Dwarf Racial Traits: Dwarves possesses the following racial traits.
Skills Modifiers:
Acrobatics +8
3 Rank(s), +2 Dex, +3 Class Skill Appraise +10 3 Rank(s), +4 Int, +3 Class Skill Bluff +9 6 Rank(s), +0 Cha, +3 Class Skill Climb +9 3 Rank(s), +1 Str, +3 Class Skill, +2 Climber's Kit Disable Device +11 4 Rank(s), +2 Dex, +3 Class Skill, +2 Masterwork Thieves Tools Escape Artist +9 4 Rank(s), +2 Dex, +3 Class Skill Knowledge (arcana) +11 4 Rank(s), +4 Int, +3 Class Skill Knowledge (dungeoneering) +8 1 Rank(s), +4 Int, +3 Class Skill Knowledge (history) +9 2 Rank(s), +4 Int, +3 Class Skill Knowledge (nobility) +8 1 Rank(s), +4 Int, +3 Class Skill Knowledge (planes) +8 1 Rank(s), +4 Int, +3 Class Skill Linguistics +11 4 Rank(s), +4 Int, +3 Class Skill Perception +11 6 Rank(s), +2 Wis, +3 Class Skill Sense Motive +8 3 Rank(s), +2 Wis, +3 Class Skill Spellcraft +13 6 Rank(s), +4 Int, +3 Class Skill Stealth +11 6 Rank(s), +2 Dex, +3 Class Skill |
