Sven Lindholm, Orc Render

“Orc Render”

By Robert Barton

Description

Weapons Proficiencies: short sword; dagger; warhammer (specialized); hand axe; javelin.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: brewing; fishing; etiquette; languages, modern (common and dwarven); riding, land-based (horse); skating; skiing.

Equipment

chain mail +2 (dwarven made); daggers (2); great helm; hand axe; light war horse; short sword; warhammer +2, Lizard Bane (see below). The short sword and hand axe are carried on Sven’s horse. Sven is not wealthy, although he has a wealthy family. He never carries a lot of coin with him, approximately 70-100 sp and 10-25 gp. He does have a golden earring in his right ear worth 15 gp.

Combat/Tactics

In battle, Sven has come to rely on his warhammer. His skills with the short sword, dagger, and javelin were acquired during his time in the town militia, but he rarely uses these in combat. He once convinced a squad of dwarves to throw javelins at their enemy before closing for combat, but this met with only moderate success.

Special Abilities

Sven Lindholm, because of his reputation, hairstyle, armor, and weapons, receives a +1 to his Charisma for reactions while dealing with Dwarves.

Appearance

Sven is a tall, burly, blond man with long hair and beard. Both hair and beard are braided in the dwarven style. His facial features are plain, but his eyes are bright and blue. His walk and demeanor are that of a man of power and confidence. He is 25 years old.

Personality

Sven is a happy, friendly, and helpful person. He is slow to anger and is a good listener and storyteller. He is not a leader and does not want to be one, although he will sometimes step forward to present good ideas. When he is dealing with dwarves, he essentially becomes a dwarf, although his easygoing nature never truly disappears. When telling stories or talking about his past, he never talks about the bad times. He will sometimes slip into a depression of sorts, but these bouts are always short-lived. He is always the first to buy a round for whomever he is with.

History

Sven was born to a wealthy brewing family in the small town of Frozen Harbor. His parents owned, not necessarily ran, a fifth of the town. He grew up learning what he needed to know to run the family business, and what he needed to know to live life to its fullest. His father died when he was 12, and he attached himself to Harsom Ironshoe, the town’s dwarven blacksmith. Harsom, having never had children of his own, took the boy under his wing, although he would never admit this above his breath. Sven volunteered for two years of duty in the town militia and also worked as a blacksmith and brewery head for a short time.

The first real test of Sven’s mettle came at the age of 20, during the worst winter the town had seen since its founding. After the worst of the winter had passed, an army of orcs and goblins decided to cross the frozen harbor and attack the town. A small fishing party spotted the humanoid camp only days before they started to move across the ice. The fishing party was able to get a warning back to the town, and the town was able to prepare. They requested and received troops from the dwarven city of Salt Wall, five leagues distant, and readied the town’s defenses. Trying an idea presented by Sven, a hedge wizard and all of the town’s people were enlisted to clear snow and debris from several hundred yards of ice, and the town’s militia met the orcs and goblins on skates. Although this gave the townspeople the element of surprise, their losses were heavy. The 330 dwarves and humans met the 500 orcs and goblins and were able to defeat them. Sven received his nickname, Orc Render, after he killed several fallen orcs with his skates. During the battle, Sven lost his boyhood girlfriend, a loss from which he has never recovered.

After the battle and the following cleanup, the town was not the same for Sven. That spring, he and Harsom Ironshoe left on what would be their “Great Adventure.” During their adventure, they traveled south, to the dwarven town of Iron Door, where they knew a war was waging between dwarf and drow. During the war, both Harsom and Sven distinguished themselves as “Great Dwarf Heroes.” This earned them the animosity of the Drow Prince, Dravit Darkmoore. He swore he would make them pay.

Harsom and Sven were gone for over two years. When they returned in late spring to Frozen Harbor, Sven was carrying Harsom on a litter. Harsom had a severe wound that would not heal because of poison. He had been wounded in a battle against assassins sent by Darkmoore. His few relatives and Sven never left his side in the final days. On his last morning, only five days after returning to Frozen Harbor, Harsom talked to Sven privately and gave him the warhammer he now carries. After their talk, Sven gathered his things and left. Harsom died with a content smile on his face, moments after Sven left town.

Sven has not returned to Frozen Harbor in two years. He is currently traveling slowly south. He has joined several adventuring parties that were headed south. He has never said what his true purpose is, but he is preparing for a large battle.

Roleplaying Notes

Sven and Harsom angered a Drow Prince, Dravit Darkmoore, which eventually lead to Harsom’s death. Harsom asked Sven to avenge his death and return to Frozen Harbor with the helm of the Drow Prince. Sven swore to do this and will not let anything stop him from destroying this prince.

Unique Items

The warhammer Sven carries is a dwarven magical hammer. Its true name is roughly translated as “Lizard Bane.” It was created long ago by a dwarven blacksmith during the early days of a war against some lizard men. When used in combat against Lizard Men, it is +3 to hit and on damage. It is a +2 magical warhammer at all other times. The warhammer is intelligent and warns Sven of evil in a 20’ radius, like the 1st-level priest spell detect evil. This effect is always active. The hammer is quick to Sven’s hand and always seems to be “humming” while wielded in battle. Sven does not know the full extent of the hammer’s powers. Often, Sven just seems to “know” when evil is near, but he does not always attribute this ability to the hammer, since he is unaware of its detection power.

The hammer might possess other, latent abilities which Sven has yet to discover. DMs are encouraged to explore any options they wish. The hammer does like Sven, even though he is not a dwarf, and might fight others who try to use it.

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