Character concept by Dana McCoy, all rights reserved.

Thane of Rakore

Date of Birth: Unknown.

Current Status: Summer, 1331 Avard. Rottgutt maintained a strong presence in Loreguard after the War of the Undead, helping to make the fortress nearly impregnable with his own monies from his share of Gideon Enterprises. During the War of the Four Winds, he proved himself a fierce warrior with an almost supernatural sense of where to be with his loyal warriors, to the best effect for the defenders. After the war, with the title of Thane, Rottgutt returned to Loregard – where he overtly seeks to undermine the ograns the king has accepted into Rakore, much to the embarrassment of the humans working to maintain the peace.

Rottgutt looks… wild. His dark hair is streaked with white, and his beard and hair is unkempt and frazzled. He has three golden rings in his nose, and his clothes are of ripped and torn leathers, stained with bloods from various races. When he dressed for battle, he wears full plate of Rakanus make that is scarred and rent, with lines of padding visible beneath. His one good eye, blue with the white around, glows with the same inner light as his battle-axe, a massive two-handed affair; his other eye is covered by a leather eye patch stained with blood. Always, he smells of stale dwarven drink, cheap ale, and leadgutt.

His most prized possession is his mother's helm. Instead of horns, it has the mandibles of an umber hulk mounted to it. He always, however, has some form of alcohol on him, be it dainty elven wine, or hard leadgut.

Lightning Axe of Krinathor: Obtained somewhere in his travels with Malkir and Dwarfendale, this massive two-handed battle-axe is made of the highest grade of dwarven steel, and edged in gold both on the head and along the stained-black haft. The axe glows with an electric blue light, and deals shocking damage whenever it strikes a victim. Rottgutt has been known to draw down lightning bolts onto the axe's victims, when he is particularly wroth with an opponent.

Caloom's Ring: Caloom was a thief that traveled with Rottgutt, Malkir, and Dwarfendale for a short while. The thief had an enchanted ring that allowed him to heal grievous wounds, and it was this ring that Caloom used to pretend he was a healer for the god Whalin. Caloom was killed before the story of his ring could be wrung from him, but Rottgutt keeps the ring and uses it wisely.

He was born the bastard son of a Warkore warrioress, and named for the dwarven drink that got his mother drunk enough to spawn him. She never suspected that his father was one of Galgiran's archons. Rottgutt grew up in battle, warring with the orcs and their masters, the ogremai. When the time came for the Warkore clan to make peace with the Rakanus clan, as the War of the Undead began to heat up, Rottgutt was tapped as the Warkore ambassador, to aid Nodrom 'Dwarfendale' Fistforger in his quest to end the threat of the undead. Rottgutt served the Warkore clan, and then the nation of Rakore, with valor and dedication. Truthfully, he was the greatest warrior they could have sent – and he was also completely uncaring as to what side he served, so long as there was battle to do.

It was during this time that Rottgutt ponied up what money he had, along with the desert elven archer Malkir, to help fund the burgeoning Gideon Enterprises. To this day, Rottgutt remains one-third owner of the business, reaping enormous profits from it.

Later during his adventures with Malkir and Dwarfendale, Rottgutt had an opportunity to eat from the Salmon of Wisdom at a hidden location along the Golin Sea. Eating of the Salmon of Wisdom gave Rottgutt great insights into the ways of the world, enhancing his intuition and his experiences.

It was also during this time that Rottgutt found the Ring of the Dead – and put it on. The ring makes Rottgutt one of the undead at night – a ghast with all of Rottgutt's memories, but intent on destroying the living. Rottgutt, thanks to his ingestion of the Salmon of Wisdom, is able to control the curse such that he pushes his ghastley form to attack only ograns. Though the curse of the ring was transferred to Rottgutt, and the ring itself is no longer enchanted, the dwarf keeps the ring as a reminder not to mess with potentially cursed items. It should be noted that Rottgutt is immune to conventional weapons while a ghast, and the dwarf uses his night-time raids against the ograns to great effect.

Addicted to his namesake, and later, the man-made drink leadgutt, he woke up one morning to find himself married to a priestess of Galgiran. To escape her (and the child she was expecting), Rottgutt left Rakore for the wilderness of the Avris Mountains, engaging in fringe warfare against the orcs. Rottgutt Stoneballs personally slew over five-hundred orcs, before returning to Rakore.

Rottgutt believes in killing, however he can. Marginally well intentioned, he maintains alliances with his friends and colleagues, and can plan strategies and battle plans well in advance. A skilled and cunning warrior, at times he is as patient as the stones his mother once hewed – and at other times is as mercurial as the waters most dwarves hate to sail. Including Rottgutt – he hates the water with a passion, and so loves the mountains, and the deserts. When it comes to orcs, however, he will kill. He will use whatever means are necessary to kill as many as possible.

7th-Level Dwarven Fighter
HP 75
AC -2

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Languages: Common, Dwarven
Weapon Proficiencies: Mastery of the two-handed battle-axe, two-handed weapon style, Halenal style expert with two-handed battle-axes.
Nonweapon Proficienies: Brewing (secondary skill), mountaineering, tracking, land-based riding.
Str 18/56 Con 16(+3) Dex 15(+2) Int 9(-1) Wis 18(+4) Cha 11(+0)
Equipment: Rakanus Plate, the Lightning Axe of Krinathor, Caloom's ring.