Runebearer

*"The message is my life."*

## Basic/Special

(Core) The Undgrin Ankor, a network of elaborate tunnels that once ran the length of the World’s Edge Mountains, connects the Dwarfholds east of the Empire. Communication between holds is carried out by means of Runebearers – specially trained young Dwarfs who risk life and limb to carry messages (written in the runic script of the Dwarfs) from one hold to another. Over recent centuries, as more Dwarfholds have fallen to the Goblinoids and more tunnels have become ruined, the Runebearers’ lot has become increasingly difficult. They are forced to take more circuitous routes, and even these are fraught with danger as the enemies discover the routes. Often, Runebearers must leave the tunnels altogether and cross mountains and valleys on the surface. Runebearers who specialize in long distances are sometimes used to carry messages between the Dwarf communities of the Empire and those of mountains.

**Note:** Only Dwarfs can enter this career.

### Secondary Profile

**Skills:** Dodge Blow, Navigation, Outdoor Survival, Secret Signs (Scout), Perception, Swim

**Talents:** Flee!, Fleet Footed or Sixth Sense, Orientation, Rapid Reload, Very Resilient or Very Strong

**Trappings:** Crossbow and 10 Bolts, Light Armour (Leather Jerkin), Healing Draught, Lucky Charm

### **Career Exits**

Rat Catcher, Scout, Shieldbreaker, Tomb Robber, Veteran

## Little Known Facts

While much is made of the mission of the lone runebearer running franticly to carry his message, many dwarf leaders do not place all their faith in a single messenger. Often, multiple runebearers are dispatched, along different routes, so that there is a much greater chance of at least one delivering his message. This is almost never discussed with outsiders, as the dwarves prefer their enemies to believe that if they have stopped one messenger, they have stopped them all.

There is great competition among runebearers to move quickly. Often, it can be very risky to move too fast, lest you stumble into an ambush or attract too much attention. Dwarven legends extol the fastest runebearers, and beardlings all dream of someday being among them. The greatest distance recorded by a single runebearer is from the mountains near Kislev to those of Estalia; every runebearer’s dream is to set a new record in the Kislev Run.

To fail to deliver a message in time – and to still live – is a runebearer’s greatest shame. Those who have arrived too late may take up the mantle of a slayer to exonerate themselves.

## A Day in the Life

During relatively peaceful times runebearers work in their local communities, carrying messages through mining tunnels and across well-known roads. Their work is generally light, and the risks they must take at other times means they are afforded some relaxation. Inevitably, though, the call will come.

The runebearer must race to receive his message and his instructions. Sometimes, he does not know what the message actually is – it is coded and he doesn’t know the how to interpret it, so he cannot reveal it under torture if captured. All he needs to know is where it must go and who must receive it.

On a “run,” the runebearer cannot waste time. Food and sleep are taken only sparingly. Young runebearers are trained to know the signs of starvation and exhaustion and taught that there is no glory, or purpose, in travelling three-fourths of the way there and then dying of thirst, the message undelivered. All other distractions, though, are set aside.

A runebearer knows not just his chosen route, but a dozen alternate paths, and will veer off at the first sign of trouble. Glory, for him, does not come in combat, but in performance – stopping to battle goblinoids, even if victory seems certain, is just a delay he cannot afford.