Hans of Gruber

**Hans of Gruber**, formerly called **Dun**, is a renowned mercenary and one of the few wardens remaining on Pydwell. Trained at Caer Blygoch under the manticore discipline, making him one of the last of the wardens, he grew up with other famous wardens including Shae and MacDuff. His reputation is second only to MacDuff, and he is known for his stealth, agility and deadly precision.

## Biography

### Early Life & Background

#### Childhood & Trials

When the young Hans was given to the Order is unknown; like many others, he was likely a newborn or toddler. For several weeks he underwent mutagen exposure at the Glow; his resistance to manticore mutagens made the ghouls of the Glow assign him to Caer Blygoch, home to the Manticore Discipline.

For the next twenty summers, Hans underwent extensive physical and mental trials, including an extensive education on the history of Draconis and its native life, as well as being forced to survive for long periods of time in the wilderness surrounding Caer Blygoch. Although he had no name, he was nicknamed "Dun" by Esken St. Raivan, master of Caer Blygoch and the closest thing that the young boy had to a father figure.

With no family to speak of aside from the other inhabitants of Caer Blygoch, the boy came to see his fellow trainees as brothers and sisters, particularly the future MacDuff and Shae.

#### Painted World

When Dun and Tuny were just 17 years of age, a magical explosion erupted in a forest a day's ride from Caer Blygoch. Tuny and Dun were chosen to head out and investigate; they discovered the remains of an ancient castle, within which was a mysterious painting. Upon touching the painting, they were dragged into an otherwordly place called the Painted World.

The pair discovered that the painting was inhabited by twisted, tainted creatures that worshipped the Painter, the mysterious creator of the Painted World. Despite evading the creatures, the pair were unable to escape or make contact with their world. Having learned that the inhabitants needed pure blood to renew their world, Tuny offered himself to them; when his cursed blood made contact with paint that made the world it quickened its rot, and any surface his blood touched began to decay. Tuny then dipped his cut hand in the Painter's pot; in his rage, the Painter spilled the pot, causing another rift to open. Tuny and Dun dashed through, finally returning to Caer Blygoch with the painting - or at least a copy of it - now permanently mounted on the keep's walls. Esken revealed that the Painter was nothing less than Aromir, the first warden, who had been missing for centuries.

#### Final Tests

By his twenty-first year, he was one of only five boys and girls of Caer Blygoch that survived, at which point he underwent a final test: the Joining Ceremony. In this final test, he forged his saturnite short swords and wrist blades before swearing the Oaths of the Order. He was then forced to fight his masters. At the conclusion of the Joining, his right palm was branded with the Mark of Ymiir by the entity inside the Marching Shack. Now able to use primitive magic, Dun woke up the next morning to find Caer Blygoch abandoned and a single horse waiting for him. He was to walk the Path alone until he found friends and allies, and was assured that he would die in the wilds and not in a bed.

Dun would eventually abandon his childhood name and take on the title "Hans of Gruber", taken from the first man he killed; Dun himself had never been to Gruber. Nonetheless, Hans now had his title and set out to make a name for himself.

## Powers, Equipment and Abilities

### Powers

* **Enchanced Physiology:** As he was grown in a cloning device, treated with magic, and subjected to intensive training for years, Hans has been artificially enhanced to the peak of human physical condition.
	+ **Enhanced strength:** Hans is significantly stronger than the average human, able even to put up a fight with the likes of MacDuff with relative ease.
	+ **Enhanced endurance:** Hans is able to sustain and recover from wounds that would easily disable or even kill an ordinary man. He can drink a variety of toxic potions with little effort.
	+ **Enhanced athleticism:** Hans is able to fight and give chase far longer than the average human, allowing him to keep pace with the most agile of people and creatures.
	+ **Enhanced coordination & dexterity:** Years of training on Caer Blygoch's treacherous obstacle course, as well as years spent as a mercenary, have given Hans exceptional hand-eye and body coordination and thus balance. During combat, he fights with a mix of elegance and dirt and is capable of feats of great agility.
	+ **Enhanced senses:** Hans's senses of hearing, smell and sight are all dramatically enhanced. His sight is so exceptional that he can catch or slice incoming arrows mid-flight, and he can easily see in the dark; he can smell blood, poisons and strong scents from a considerable distance; and his hearing is so sensitive that he can hear heartbeats. His senses are so sensitive they can sometimes overwhelm him.
	+ **Slowed aging:** While the magical enhancements to his body do not make him immortal, Hans, like all wardens and other magic-treated individuals, ages at a much slower rate than regular humans. In his fifties, his appearance is similar to that of a healthy male in his early thirties, albeit worn and rugged from a life on the road.
	+ **Accelerated healing:** Though by no means invulnerable nor in possession of a natural or unnatural healing factor, Hans's enhanced body is able to heal from cuts and wounds relatively quickly.
* **Mark of Ymiir:** Like all members of the Old Order, Hans bears the Mark of Ymiir on his right hand. Burned onto his palm by the entity within the Marching Shack, the Mark allows Hans to cast simple spells that give him an edge in combat.
	+ **Fire casting:** Hans can cast either balls or streams of fire-like plasma that weaken enemy armour or burn them to a crisp entirely.
	+ **Shockwave:** When surrounded by opponents, Hans can generate a large kinetic force that knocks back any objects or people caught in its path.
	+ **Barrier:** Hans is able to generate a small barrier that repels both physical and magical attacks. Hans is unable to cast a large barrier to protect others, and it only stays active as long as he concentrates on the spell.
	+ **Manipulate:** Hans can induce a mental "cloud" in weak-minded opponents to force them to do as he says, usually for the purpose of calming them or infiltrating hideouts.
	+ **Dark magic sensitivity:** The Mark of Ymiir is very sensitive to dark magic and burns Hans whenever he is in the presence of such magic.
* **Beach Perception:** As a result of extensive experiments and magical treatment, Hans, like all wardens, is able to perceive the Beach when he enters it in his sleep.

### Equipment

#### Weapons

* **Saturnite wrist blades:** Forged from saturnite during his Trial of Joining, Hans' main weapons are a pair of wrist-mounted hidden blades that he can eject with a simple muscular twitch. Worn inside a pair of gauntlets on his arms, the blades' unique properties allow them to withstand incredible amounts of energy, both physical and magical, making them effectively unbreakable. The blades are almost pure saturnite, but include a diamond tip to more effectively penetrate armour and flesh, as well as rare alchemical metals to create small pores along the length of the blades, allowing applied oils and charms to remain for an extended duration. In addition to his saturnite pair, Hans has also created numerous spares out of steel and silver, one of which he gifted to MacDuff.

### Abilities

* **Master combatant:** Even among mercenaries, Hans is an exceptional fighter with decades of experience in several forms of combat. His reaction speeds and muscle movements are lighting fast, giving him exceptional assault and defence skill. He is a master of six different combat styles and among the finest swordsmen on Pydwell.
* **Encyclopedic** **knowledge:** Being a mercenary means that Hans needs to always be one step ahead of his enemies when it comes to monsters. Fortunately, thanks to years of reading about various monsters and their weaknesses, Hans has amassed knowledge which allows him to craft the proper bombs, create the proper oils, and cast the proper spells in order to always have the upper hand in a fight.