Character Backgrounds and the Three Tales

Character Backgrounds

1. Balgar

Balgar grew up with the name Vyuskan as the son of the chief of his tribe and eventually succeeded his father as chief. His tribesmen were servants of a desert dragon. Upon learning that the dragon was corrupt, Vyuskan sense of justice demanded that he slay the dragon. For his crime, he was cast out of his clan and took upon his new name, Balgar. But knowing his people's intentions, he managed to take a dragon egg with him.

During the years of wandering that followed, the egg was eventually stolen by an orc one day while he was drinking at an inn. Since then, he has served as a soldier for hire, a bodyguard, and even an assassin – but only for those causes he believes are just. He has slain many orcs, but has never found the egg.

2. Dirg Goatsnapper

Always popular even though he was a half-orc, Dirg was funny, violent, and wild – the perfect orc son. His mother was unknown to him, as she disappeared early. But Dirg lost everything when the dark god Gruumsh reviled him in a vision during his manhood rites. Cast out, with only his father's axe and the scar of manhood, he sought his destiny out in the world as a mercenary.

One time, out in the northern wilds, he defended an old woman from bandits. In the ensuing battle, his axe was broken, and he lay near death. But the old woman healed him, and gave him a new axe that was strung like a lute and sounded like terror and drunken lightening. "You are the axe's now," she said, "and you go where it wills."

3. Ellyjobell Nackle Sparklegem

Elly was a normal gnome growing up in her family's burrow. The youngest of many siblings, she ran free in the forest among the woodland creatures she called friends. She loved beauty in all forms: sparkling gems, bright berries, fluffy fur patterns, toadstools. She roamed far and wide to find her treasures, but always came back to a loving home.

When out one day, she came across a Giant Eagle caught in a snare. She spoke calmly to it and freed it from capture. The eagle bestowed upon her the powers of a druid in the form of a feather. She was gone an extra long time and upon her return she found her burrow and community under attack and her family dead. In anger she called a flood to destroy the invading force, saving the rest of the community. But she was devastated at the loss of all her family.

4. Riskin

Apprenticed at a young age to a wandering wizard named Argnog the Omnipresent, their relationship ended during a suspicious cooking accident involving a mutton chop and a fire spell that went tragically wrong. Argnog vanished in a sheet of flame and was never heard from again, proving that magic and cooking were never meant to be combined. 

The Three Tales:

A. The Tale of the Bridge

While traveling in the wilderness, Riskin was attacked by a group of bandits, who cornered him on a bridge that spanned a large river. He tried to reason with them, but was forced to cast a sleep spell to escape. Unhappily for the bandits, they fell off into the river below to their presumed death.

Nearby, Dirg was washing blood from his leathers along a river with a large bridge. Suddenly it started raining bandits, who plunged from the bridge as a result of a spell from the wizard kid he had spotted earlier at a nearby pub. I thank you, wizard, he thought. This sings like goatsnap! But the wizard seemed quite confused by his words. Nonetheless, Dirg recognized the wizard's potential and decided to make a ballad based on that experience

Later Balgar came across one of the bandits, who had washed ashore on a river. Balgar revived him, and the bandit told the story of how a young wizard had cast a spell on him and pleaded with Balgar to help him get revenge. But Balgar refused. It was just wrong – and also the bandit had no money.

B. The Battle of the Orcs

One day, Balgar pursued and attacked a group of orcs. A gnome named Elly discovered him searching the packs of the fallen. While initially fearful, she learned from the nearby woodland animals that the dragonborn's intentions were honorable, so she relayed to him where this band of orcs had come from, pointing him in the right direction and allowing him to continue his quest to find the missing egg.

Nearby, the rest of the orcs stumbled across Riskin while fleeing from Balgar. Though surprised by him, the orcs wasted no time in attacking the young mage. Riskin casts sleep, but only half of the orcs succumbed to the spell, forcing him to flee. As he did so, he ran right past a sleeping orc clutching a dragon egg. Only later did Riskin recall what she had seen.

C. The Barbarian Stronghold

While serving the Barbarian King Karga, Dirg discovered that the king was going to kill the prisoners he had taken. The Song of the Ax soured; this did not sing well. Dirg sang out an epic song of revolt, and soon many others joined him in fighting Karga. This band was soon known as Goatmann's Ballad. Karga was eventually slain, and Dirg was sent to locate the remaining forces of the Barbarian King and bring them back to their stronghold.

Meanwhile, Ellyjo tracked the human army that was responsible for the attack on her community back to their stronghold. She observed that they were hiring more people to fill out their ranks before sending out a force to the west. She followed but fell behind. When she caught up, they had surrounded a small town and were felling trees nearby to build siege weapons. Faced with a group who is both endangering helpless people and the forest, she called lightning down upon them and destroyed them all.

Late thanks to a massive hangover from celebrating his victory over the Barbarian King, Dirg reached the top of a nearby rise and spotted Ellyjo spying on the army he had been sent to find and lead back to the stronghold. Then the gnome cast some sort of lightning spell on the army! Forget the contract, he thought, this song is epic! So Dirg played hard, adding his metal warsong to the fray.

Among the army was Riskin, who had been forcefully recruited by the human army. He managed to escape by casting Expeditious Retreat, and lived to fight another day. Riskin still wonders who called the lightning down on that day.

With the army's forces defeated and scattered, Ellyjo continued to the stronghold of the Barbarian King, only to learn that the person responsible for the death of her family had already been killed by a now famous half-orc who was already renown as Dirg Kingslayer, Skald of War.

Outraged by Dirg's actions, a rival by the name of Harmin (who also served in the Goatmann's Ballad) hired mercenaries to assassinate Dirg, including Balgar, but thus far Dirg has eluded their attempts.