Beyond Sanctuary: Valdora Balinsdottir

The sixth and final character in my Beyond Sanctuary Mythic GME Old School Sandbox game. This one turned out to be quite a bit less "old school" then the rest.

Valdora Balinsdottir
Attractive Dwarven woman with a curvaceous figure, piles of braided reddish-brown hair, and intense brown eyes. Prefers to wear finely crafted armor that strikes a balance between mobility and protection. Wears an assortment of jewelry from a variety of cultures (often souvenirs of previous dungeon delves).

Cliches: Dwarven "Tomb Raider" and Scholar of Magical Artifacts (4); Shieldmaiden of a Disgraced Clan (4); Pulp Artificer (2).

Languages: Dwarven, the Common Tongue of the North Lands, various Goblin dialects, Gnomish (related to Dwarven), and the ancient tongue of Dragons (with a Kobold accent). Her Tomb Raider cliche affords her the possibility of understanding ancient languages with a TN roll.

Lore: Given time and resources, her Pulp Artificer cliche allows her to construct magical weapons, armor, potions, rings, miscellaneous items. She has no fixed repertoire of effects, but the rules for "Target Numbers and the Single Showoff" (see The Risus Companion) can be used as a guide to setting difficulty. In some cases, she will actually trade dice from her Artificer cliche to power the items.

Tools: Form-fitting scale armor, light shield, fine throwing axe, warhammer, wicked dagger, hand crossbow, bolts, silk rope, grappling hook, pen, ink, parchement, dungeoneer tools, artficer's lamp, semi-portable artificer's tool kit.

Other Possessions: 48 gp, 7 sp. Backpack, bedroll, winter blanket, flint & steel, small mirror, personal affects. Ivory scroll case (7gp). Fine clothing, leather boots. Fine hip-flask (filled with Dwarven brandy) (10gp), week of trail rations, waterskin. Pony with saddle, saddle-bags.

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Dwarven "Tomb Raider" and Scholar of Magical Artifacts: Being a Dwarf (being hairy, being very tough, being strong for her size, resisting poison, resisting magical effects, wielding axes/hammers/picks, assessing the value of craftsmanship/gems/ore, seeing in the infrared, detecting traps, detecting hidden stonework, determining direction below ground, consuming vast quantities of beer & sausages); being well-educated in diverse subjects, speaking forgotten languages, being trained in the martial arts, avoiding traps, disarming traps, picking locks, climbing, swimming, tumbling, shooting a pistol crossbow, fighting with bladed weapons, having sex appeal, talking with an Australian accent, identifying magical/legendary items, participating in chase scenes.

Shieldmaiden of a Disgraced Clan: Fighting with axe/hammer/pick in heavy armor and a shield; protecting others from harm; bearing a grudge; having a nasty reputation among Dwarves.

Pulp Artificer: Forging weapons and armor; enchanting weapons and armor; brewing potions and elixirs; forging magical rings; creating wondrous items; identifying magic items; modifying magic items; using magic items; picking locks, finding/removing/setting traps; understanding/repairing/building gadgets.

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CHARACTER GENERATION & WORLD-BUILDING NOTES

Image
This final image comes (once again) from the D&D 4e preview artwork posted on the WotC site. The primary reason that I added this picture to the pool of possible characters is that it was one of the few attractive female dwarves that I have seen in fantasy art. One can forgive a little cheesecake in this case because she really does suggest an interesting character. But unlike the other five characters in this series, I had to deviate slightly from what is shown in the picture. The real Valdora has proper armor and a shield.

Name
Went for a vaguely Norse-sounding name.

Backstory
Valdora was the only child of the last remaining scion of the powerful Duerias Clan. While incredibly wealthy, the family had an evil (and well-deserved) reputation for trafficking in dangerous artifacts. Her father, Balin, went out of his way to make up for the sins of his forefathers. But it wasn't enough to prevent his execution when he was blamed for a horrible curse that afflicted the King's firstborn son.

Having the best military and academic edication that ill-gotten money can buy, Valdora easily escaped as her father was taken. After secretly watching his execution, she vowed never to return to her people until she could restore her father's good name. With little hope of actually doing that, she has fallen into the old family profession of seeking out powerful artifacts in forgotten dungeons.

Tomb Raider?
That's the best way I can think of to describe her archetype. She's a child of priviledge who now uses her exquisite training to raid tombs (dungeons) in search of powerful artifacts. Using Tomb Raider with capital T and capital R also implies martial arts and acrobatic skill (and perhaps a little charm as well).