Beradin Spiritforged

## History

Beradin was raised by an outcast band of Mountain Dwarves who were expelled after the patriarch of their family, Khergout Ironbrewer, experienced a bout of madness and religious fervour and was removed from the throne. In his madness, Khergout saw visions of the destruction of the Mountains in which the Dwarves resided, and took this as a sign from the Gods. In an attempt to expedite this destruction and please the Gods, he ordered the tunnels to be collapsed and the Mountains to be turned to rubble. Those who could trace their ancestry back directly to him supported this endeavour, but the rest of the clans, with support from neighbouring dwarves, denounced him as a madman and religious fanatic, and banished him.

After Khergout and his clan were outcast, two hundred years before Beradin was born, they lived an isolated life on the surface. They repulsed other Mountain Dwarves and refused to associate with roaming bands of Hill Dwarves that they would often see. They yearned and prayed for the day when they would take back the throne. Khergout Ironbrewer, foretold of the day a baby with piercing blue eyes would be born under a full moon, to bring justice to the world in Muamman Duathal’s name. This child would restore the clan to its former glory and enforce the will of the Gods by destroying the mountains. It was said that this would happen on the year of the child's 100th birthday - and that they must be sent away from the clan to forge their destiny and bring justice to the world.

Beradin was the only dwarf of the clan to be born with blue eyes, and was named SpiritForged because he was deemed to be sent by Muamman Duathal’s himself. From birth he was raised in isolation by the Dwarven religious order of his clan, who groomed him for the sole purpose of fulfilling the prophecy.

After 99 years Beradin received the letter that started his journey to defeat the Crow King, and sets forth on his journey with the weight of his peoples expectations on his shoulders.

## Appearance

4 feet 5 inches tall, with a bald crown but long hair around the sides of his head that extends down below his shoulders, Beradin does not strike the most imposing figure. He has two plaits, one on either side, which frame the side of his face.

He is stocky, like all Dwarves, but is light on his feet. His eyes are a piercing blue and his hair is a deep brown. He has a full beard that wraps around his chin and a large walrus moustache that covers his lips.

Beradin has grown into a philosophical thinker, and has a Lawful Good alignment – though his religious upbringing has moulded his views, his critical thinking skills, in conjunction with his religious and scholarly nature mean that he is often internally wrestling with his oath to the Gods and his clan, and what he sees as a flawed belief system by a clan of outcasts

## Public Profile

This is Beradin's first time out in the world, and he is isolated not only from humans, elves, and other non-Dwarven races, but also the Dwarves he encounters throughout his travels. Hundreds of years of isolation has ensured that his clans behaviour and mannerisms are immediately identifiable by the rest of the Dwarven population, and he is treated as an outsider even by his own kind.

He struggles with inter-personal relationships, and understanding social hierarchies that are present in the world at large. This leads to some trouble when talking to authority figures, or individuals who are seen as 'above' him in the social hierarchy (the rich, the aristocracy, etc)

He is naive and is easily swept up by group think and the behaviour of characters he is attached to.

## Relationships

Beradin has a mother and father and writes to them regularly.

As Beradin was raised in isolation by the religious order of his clan, he doesn't have many personal relationships (friends, etc), and even his relationship with his parents is limited and strained.

He feels a particular affinity to Walmorn Fletcher, as his skeptical views on religion and magic make for interesting discussions.

### Notable Achievements

* Won the annual pub crawl (with help from his friends)
* Enjoyed a successful run in the illegal fighting pits of the Maroni crime family, embracing his predicament and putting in some splendid performances.

## Character Sheet

+2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison.Not reflected in the saving throw numbers given here.

+2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects.Not reflected in the saving throw numbers given here.

+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids.

+4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type. Any time a creature loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class, such as when it’s caught flat-footed, it loses its dodge bonus, too.

**Stonecunning**: This ability grants a hill dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A hill dwarf who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a hill dwarf can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A hill dwarf can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.

**Weapon Familiarity**: Hill dwarves may treat dwarven waraxes and dwarven urgroshes as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons.

**Stability**: A hill dwarf gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).

**Aura of Good** - This spell functions like detect evil, except that it detects the auras of good creatures, clerics or paladins of good deities, good spells, and good magic items, and you are vulnerable to an overwhelming good aura if you are evil. Healing potions, antidotes, and similar beneficial items are not good.

**Detect Evil** - You can sense the presence of evil. The amount of information revealed depends on how long you study a particular area or subject.

**Smite Evil** - Once per day, a paladin may attempt to smite evil with one normal melee attack. He 00adds her Charisma bonus (if any) to her attack roll and deals 1 extra point of damage per paladin level. If the paladin accidentally smites a creature that is not evil, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that day.

**Meagre Fortitude** - Cannot withstand food unless properly cleaned/cooked, prone to diseases and infections. -3 to Fortitude saves.

**Steel Soul** - Benefit: You receive a +4 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities. This replaces the normal bonus from the dwarf’s hardy racial trait.