Ront

**Ront** was an orc raider from the Iceshield tribe of the Dessarin Valley. During a battle against the dwarves of clan Feldrun, he fled rather than standing his ground. During his escape, he fell down a passage to the Underdark along with one of his dwarven pursuers. He was later captured by drow slavers and taken to Velkynvelve, where he died in captivity.

Ront was an NPC present in the ongoing *Out of the Abyss* adventure.

## Description

Ront was a male mountain orc, sporting the common orcish traits of a large build, boarlike tusks, gray skin, and pointed ears. He had long black hair, unkempt sideburns, emerald green eyes, and scarred ears. He stood tall at 6 feet and two inches (1.8 meters) and weighed about 225 pounds (102 kilograms). During his time as an orc raider he wore an armor of hide and leather, with his only notable sign of wealth being a single gold earing. After his capture by the drow, he lost the golden earing and his armor, being given "clothing" made of burlap to wear instead.

## Personality

Ront was a mean, stupid, and hateful orc, both before and after his capture of the drow. He was never the bravest of his tribe, and when his fellow tribesmen were dying before him at the hands of Feldrun dwarves, he showed his cowardice and sense of self-preservation by fleeing. After his attempt to flee led to both him and one of his dwarven pursuers falling into the Underdark, Ront again dishonored the ways of his people, working with Eldeth Feldrun only to make sure he wouldn't die by her hand or by the claws of Underdark monstrosities. When he was found, healed, and brought to Velkynvelve to be a slave, Ront once again turned to being openly hostile to his enemy Eldeth- though he acted somewhat subserviently to his captors.

Before he died Ront came to believe that all his misfortune came from his dishonoring of the god Gruumsh by attempting to flee, leading him to be overly cruel and aggressive to his fellow slaves in an attempt to gain Gruumsh's favor. This desire to regain his 'honor' also led to attempts to intimidate his captors, though he would always back down to a significant challenge.

## History

Ront was born and raised in the Iceshield tribe of Orcs, taught first to be a hunter and taught later to be a warrior. Despite a fervent devotion of the orc god Gruumsh, he never managed to distinguish himself as a great warrior, blending in with all of the other men of his tribe. In 1486 DR, the Feldrun dwarves of Gauntlgrym sent a war party to the Dessarin Valley to the east as a favor to local ruler, leading to a war between them and the Iceshield tribe. Ront was among the warriors sent to fight the dwarves, and was the only survivor of the confrontation. When he saw warriors with more prestige and experience than him dying to seasoned dwarven veterans, he attempted to flee. During this attempt he was pursued into a cavern by a small group of dwarves, until he and his pursuers fell down a shaft into the Underdark. Only one of his pursuers, Eldeth Feldrun, survived the fall after breaking her fall on another dwarf. Ront survived the fall as well, though he was injured. In their desperation to survive, Ront and Eldeth were forced to work together, though begrudgingly.

They were eventually found by drow raiders led by the priestess Asha Vandree, and after Ront was healed of his wounds, he and Eldeth were taken as captives to the outpost of Velkynvelve. The temporary alliance of Ront and Eldeth almost immediately broke down after his capture, as he began to associate more and more of the terrible experiences he'd been having to his dishonoring of tradition. He felt as though he'd angered Gruumsh, and he couldn't regain the god's favor or his own honor if he continued to tolerate the dwarven scout or anyone else 'weaker' than him.

During his stay at Velkynvelve, he perished when one of his fellow prisoners, the goliath Olenea, attempted to prank him by placing a spider on his back. Ront crushed the arachnid, not recognizing that doing so would be sacrilege in his captor's eyes. When this was seen by the drow, he was shot with poisoned crossbow bolts until he fell unconscious and then dragged away. When his fellow captives next saw him, it was after he'd been sacrificed at an altar of Lolth. His body was then disposed of by being fed to the giant spiders under Velkynvelve.