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gaeleth:people:bjarne_bearstrider

Bjarne Bearstrider

Character concept by Paul Watson, all rights reserved.

Knight of Rakore

“How quickly can you die?”

Date of Birth: Unknown (probably around 1310 Avard).

Current Status: Summer, 1331 Avard. Bjarne is a sub-commander for Chief Marine Angus Stonehelm aboard Commodore Seamus of the Rattler II. Wherever the Rattler goes, Bjarne is likely nearby.

Appearance

Bjarne's skin is a pale gray in color, such that it looks like that of a corpse at first glance. He is a giant of a man, at six-foot-five, and 350 pounds, with icy blue eyes and raven-black hair. He wears beautiful, masterwork chainmail of ebonite that absorbs the light, with heavy black clothes and a black cloak that covers his face such that his icy eyes are all that is seen of his face.

Bjarne's most prized possession is a suit of ebonite chain mail that he hand-crafted in the city of Kashin, Rakore. After completing the suit of ebonite mail, he constructed a great axe with a serrated blade, also made of the last bit of ebonite to be found in the city at the time. He also has a short sword on his belt, 'just in case'. His backpack has a bed roll, winter cloak, torches, and the like. His belt and belt pouch contain caltrops, flint & steel, and a whetstone.

Background

He knows not where the Bearstriders Tribe is, for he was kidnapped form them at an early age, and forced into slavery by the in the Alekdan Principalities. One of the princes, Alvared Kilmath, used Bjarne as an amusing toy – probably because Alvared was only five-foot-one. Seeking to gain fame and glory in the arenas, Alvared used a rare and dangerous procedure on his prized gladiator, attempting to bond him with the earth itself for strength and power. The procedure failed on the prized gladiator, and on all three of Alvared's remaining (and expensive) gladiators. With no other choice than to discontinue the procedure, Alvared instead chose to try using his toy slave, Bjarne.

The procedure worked, finally, as Alvared knew it would (eventually). Bjarne was permanently bonded to the earth, gaining its strength, and a measure of its power. The pirate prince then sent Bjarne to trainers, hoping to use him in the gladiatorial arenas. Before Bjarne could be blooded in combat, however, a new pirate prince by the name of 'Sam' set a bounty on Alvared Kilmath's head. The pirate prince fled with all his possessions, bound for distant Sandar.

Alvared never made it to Sandar, for his fleet of brigandines was set upon by a lone ship from the nation of Rakore, known as the Skate. The powerful Skate freed the slaves, captured Alvared and his crews, and brought them all back to Rakore by the 18th of Dalan, 1329 Avard. There, Alvared was tried for his crimes, and sentenced to death. Bjarne and most of the freed slaves were sent to the largest city in Rakore, Kashin, so that they could begin their reintegration into society.

In Kashin, Bjarne found work as an apprentice weapons smith and armor smith, and earned the right to work with Vaden Stonegrudge's treasure-trove of ebonite. After two long months of work, he completed both his suit of chainmail, and his axe – only to find that he could not afford the ebonite that had gone into the construction of his axe. In debt to Vaden 20,875 silver, Bjarne had to find work. Vaden, for his part, recognized in Bjarne a potential master of the trade, and was willing to keep the axe only for the big barbarian, until the debt could be repaid.

Vaden sent Bjarne to sea, where he earned a trade as a marine, and found his calling in life. During the War of the Four Winds, Bjarne was knighted for his hard work and dedication to Commodore Seamus, and more than repaid Vaden Stonegrudge.

Character

Among his own people, he was known as a Deathstalker – one who was destined to be death, incarnate. Bjarne is a silent, grim kind of man that knows he will probably never see his tribe again. In the meantime, he has found a wonderful career as a marine, and enjoys it considerably with the grim kind of evil only one of his kind can.

He speaks the Common tongue, Ogran, and Pit Cant.

4E Stats

Male Slate Half - Earth Elemental, 1st-level Barbarian
STR 19, DEX 11, CON 18, INT 12, WIS 14, CHA 8
HP 16, Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +3
Alignment CG
AC 20, Init +1
Skills: Climb +5, Craft (armor) +6, Craft (weapon) +6, Handle Animal +2, Intimidate +5, Listen +3, Sense Motive +7, Survival +4, Swim +6.
Feats: [Track], Deathwalker, Power Attack, Extra Rage.
Special Abilities: Fast Movement, immunity to disease, immunity to earth-based attacks, +4 bonus to Fortitude saves versus poisons, +4 against all fear effects, spell-like abilities (all once per day – magic stone, soften earth and stone).

gaeleth/people/bjarne_bearstrider.txt · Last modified: 2021/09/28 15:49 (external edit)