Dram Hammersmith
NAME: Dram Hammersmith
RACE: Human
CLASS: Fighting Man
LEVEL: 1
STR: 16
INT: 9
WIS: 10
CON: 10
DEX: 15
CHA: 12
HP: 3
AC: 6 [leather armor]
5 [leather & shield]
ARMOR
Leather (hardened hides/fur cloak and trim)
Wooden Shield (taken from dead goblin)
WEAPONS
Long Bow
Sword
War Hammer
COINS
LP: 0
CP: 8
SP: 0
EP: 0
GP: 1
PP: 0
ANIMALS
Pack Mule [Barni]
DESCRIPTION
Dram is a tall, rangy youth of about 19 years (6’4”, 200 lbs.). He’s not a bad looking guy but isn’t particularly striking apart from his height and piercing bright green eyes. He has long blonde hair which is usually plaited in a single braid on the left side of his head. He sports a wispy goatee on his chin, but doesn’t shave and can’t grow a full beard or mustache yet. Dram is well-built and quite strong, especially for his age. He hasn’t yet realized the full extent of his strength however and doesn’t boast or make a show of it. Over his coarse linen undergarments he wears a pair of thick leather leggings made of bear hide, with his upper-body covered by hardened, yet flexible, pieces of various animal hide (whale, seal, mastodon, etc..), all skillfully stitched together with caribou sinew. His hooded fur cloak is fashioned out of fox, rabbit and beaver pieces patched together into a single garment. He wears homespun woolen stockings, badly in need of darning, beneath his knee-high polar bear boots (yes, white boots, now somewhat grayish and dingy, but he’s damn proud of ‘em!). His outfit is trimmed here and there with bits of fur and he wears a necklace made of bears’ claws (a gift from his dearly departed mother). Dram tends to carry his bow in-hand. His sword is sheathed across his back, next to his quiver, and his war hammer rests in a belt-loop at his side.
BACKGROUND
Both of Dram’s grandfathers came to the County of Margrave as young men (they were cousins). His father’s father, Fenn, and his mother’s father, Wonn, were among the first settlers in the Borderlands. They came from the north armed with a burning desire to forge a new and more prosperous life for their families. Together they established a solid reputation as trustworthy, hardworking and reputable blacksmiths. Their smithy soon became well-known throughout the County. Fenn’s eldest son, Gil, and Wonn’s eldest daughter, Helga, were promised in marriage in order to weld together the dynasty they had sparked. Gil and Helga begot two sons. The elder was named Tankurd and the younger, Dram. As fate would have it, Helga died at the same moment Dram sucked life from this world. Gil was never the same. He became obsessed with his work, often working til dawn. As Tankurd and Dram were toughened over the fires of their father’s madness they grew in strength. The endless pumping of bellows and hammering of iron and steel were only tempered by their father’s enduring devotion to their mother, his tireless pursuit of perfection, and the inner strength they gleaned from the family worship of Thor, the Leveler. As Tankurd and Dram grew into manhood the Borderlands began to change. Most of the young men in the County were being called to duty on the frontiers, and most were not coming home…..at least not whole. There was an increased demand for weapons, armor and all the trappings that a larger militia required. The situation was ripe for business-minded men to make a killing. Gil Hammersmith was not among them. A rival smithy, the Skun Brothers Armoury, took advantage of the situation. They imported cheap goblin labor to work at their forges. Gil refused to do the same. All the lucrative commissions passed him by. He was reduced to shoeing horses, mending hoes and repairing hinges, mostly in return for eggs, milk, meat or whatever else was needed for survival. As a result, Gil could no longer pay his taxes, which were ever-increasing to fund the Count’s seemingly futile war efforts. Dram’s older brother, Tankurd, was conscripted and his whereabouts are still unknown. After Tankurd left for the frontier, Gil sank further into despair. One particularly dismal night, when tax collectors approached him in the smithy, he went crazy and beat them senseless with his hammer. Dram tried to fight off the reinforcements but was soon subdued and unceremoniously conscripted into the militia. His last vision of home was his father being dragged, kicking and screaming, off to the county jail where he will stay until Dram can pay off his debt. Dram is torn in two directions: home, towards his father, and forward, towards his brother. Only Urth, Verthandi and Skuld know what awaits in the Borderlands!