Appearance

Physical Description

Doc Stoneleg is a Mountain Dwarf so roped in heavy muscle that he appears more like a boulder with legs than a person. Years spent swinging a hammer at an anvil have forged him into a formidable mass of muscle and sinew capable of swinging the heavy maul he prefers. A thick bushy beard and a wide stubby nose give his face a flat appearance as if it too was hammered flat by his tools. Tall for a Dwarf, his wide stature makes him seem shorter than he really is.
 
Sharp blue eyes peer out above a bushy dirt brown beard. His hair is kept reasonably short, but the mass of hair on top of his head is all roughly the same length, which gives him a shaggy appearance when he is not wearing a helmet or cap. His hands and feet are thick, stubby, calloused, and immensely strong, just like the rest of him. With skin more fair than most Hill Dwarves, Doc's light skin, blue eyes, and brown beard seem out of place for someone used to living so deep.
 
Heavily armored with chain mail and a thick metal helmet, Doc always carries his well-stocked pack on his journey. At his side is his trusty forge hammer that he wields with the expertise of a war hammer. Far too light for most forge work, the hammer has been his constant companion these last few years, and the extra strikes required at the forge built his strength as well as skill. The most notable piece of his equipment is surely his expertly crafted and intricately inlaid maul. Even though it appears too heavy for someone so short, he wields its finely balanced mass with skill and precision. Those knowledgeable in the symbols will notice hammer and anvil symbology in the engravings common to followers of Moradin. Some will notice a small hammer tucked into the top of his right boot. Frequently, Doc chomps down on a smoldering stub of a cigar.
 
Despite all of his thick armor, heavy weaponry, and solid appearance, he wears a fancy ring on each hand and a delicate gold chain around his neck under his tunic.

Mentality

Personal history

501: Dokgruth Stoneleg was born to Thaggulir and Nurafaegith Stoneleg. A proud clan of Mountain Dwarves hailing from deep in the Lortmil Mountains, they lived in Nerroth Mugdor, and passed on the time honored tradition of metalworking from generation to generation. Father taught son, and son taught grandson through the centuries on the same anvils and forges far below the surface.
 
Nerroth Mugdor, or "Deep Mine" in common, was a fortified citadel at the heart of a great mountain, and the Dwarves that live there churn out sturdy armor and fine weapons to equip the great Dwarven armies of the mountains. Despite the unrest that regularly rocks the surrounding areas, the expertly carved walls of the citadel have not been breached.
 
542: Doc learned his trade with gusto from his father and passed his Rites of the Forgefire at the massive anvil altar at the center of the temple to Moradin. At the tender age of 40, he was able to impress the other master smiths and the clerics at the temple with not just his skill, but his fervor in crafting the perfect blade.
 
One of the priests in particular, a dour dwarf with incredibly prominent eyebrows, made it his mission to recruit the young Dokgruth and show him the ways of the priests of Moradin. Krofem Axetoe was able to recruit Doc by teaching him the expert ways of the forge as well as the glories of Moradin.
 
Doc found solace in the working of metal into works of worship. He found a deep satisfaction in doing his part to equip the armies protecting the Dwarven strongholds deep in the mountains. He found his calling.
 
551: After years of study and training, Doc was finally accepted as an acolyte into the church of Moradin. Whatever he thought he knew of the religion and the holy craft of metal working, he soon discovered how little he truly knew. He threw himself into immersing himself in the craft, and he worked until he breathed in time with the great bellows that forced life into the blast furnaces from which the best raw materials were produced.
 
558: As an expert in the craft, Doc frequently studied new materials and new crafts that passed through Nerroth Mugdor as part of the regular trade route. A new chisel might grant insight into a better sharpening technique, and even a horseshoe would tell a story of the smith and how he or she swung the hammer.
 
At one point, the strangest thing captivated Doc in a way that surprised even him. He came across a door hinge, such a simple item, was carved with the most intricate scrollwork on the inside. Why would such a plain item have so much attention, time, and skill spent on a surface that would only be seen rarely? This was no accident, nor was this work the work of a trainee, but rather it was the attentive culmination of years of expert skill. The attention to detail awakened in him a new appreciation for metalworking flourish as a way to express skill and whisper praises to Moradin as other smiths shouted.
 
561: Doc had been exploring new areas of the metalworking craft, including spending some time learning the trade of jewelry making. His interest caused a few raised eyebrows and twitching beards in the temple as most of the priests there preferred traditional blacksmithing to silver or gold work. Although something of an oddity there, his skill was easily recognized, so Doc gained a reputation as an experienced, but eccentric smith.
 
One day, the other clerics at the temple replaced all of Doc's hammers with the lightest hammers they had as a good natured prank. Never one to turn down a challenge, Doc picked up the first of the hammers and got to work. He spent all day working at the anvil to create a single war hammer. Without the mass of his heavier hammers, he spent far more time working the metal, but he was able to add fine details to the hammer that had never been produced by the smiths at the temple. A fine work of art that was dangerously functional on the battlefield, but so finely worked that any jeweler would have been proud.
 
Knowing they were beaten, the pranksters returned exactly one hammer to his rack the following morning: a massive two-handed maul. At the end of the handle, they created a simple counterweight with a small inscription reading "Doc's small hammer."
 
562: Rumors came to Nerroth Mugdor that a great traveling caravan would be moving through the nearby Celene Pass. The word was that this caravan was in need of experienced and capable fighting men, and that it was traveling toward the Free City of Greyhawk. He had not been planning on leaving the citadel, but the opportunity presenting itself seemed like a sign. For too long, Doc had been daydreaming about learning more of his craft from other learned masters, and what better place to learn that the greatest city?
 
From the depths of Nerroth Mugdor, Doc began his journey to learn more about the world and to spread the glories of Moradin and his good works.
 
564: The caravan finally arrives in the great Free City of Greyhawk after years of traveling. As the group disbands and each finds their own calling in the city, Doc gravitates towards the smiths and craftsmen in the great city. As dwarf with symbols of Moradin and tools of the trade, Doc was easily able to find employment at the first fine smithy that caught his attention. Finally among others that know the craft, but know it from a different lineage, he begins learning anew and throws himself into the techniques of the smiths above the ground.
 
576: For the last dozen years, Doc has been working his way around the city learning from any that would be willing to teach him. He finds employment among a few different shops, always moving on when he understood enough of the technique to adopt it to his own. For a while, he even moonlit as a jeweler's apprentice. The old man was so nearsighted from fine detail work his whole life that he mistook Doc for a fat child on their first meeting at night.
 
So it went for the last decade or so, but even Grayhawk could not hold Doc for long. After all, if there was so much to learn in this one city, think how much there would be to learn exploring!

Personality

Motivation

Doc is somewhat reserved and gruff at first, but once he gets to know someone, he'll occasionally crack a dry joke...which makes him one of the most gregarious Dwarves around. There's an intensity to his stare that's not anger, but more like someone taking in something new that he doesn't want to miss. Indeed, Doc has only been out of the mountains for more than a few days just a few years ago. In Dwarven terms, it is still new to him.
 
Direct in his approach, Doc is not purposely unkind, but his abrupt and gruff demeanor may seem like a cold shoulder to those that do not yet know him. Doc is fiercely loyal; however this loyalty has to be earned. Like other Dwarves, he has a long memory, so neither slights nor favors will be soon forgotten.
 
An expert trained blacksmith, he enjoys working with his hands. Doc does have an education, but he operates more by instinct, gut, and feel than by puzzling out the best course of action. Decades working the anvil have given him a natural instinct for the best ways to work metal. Unlike most of the others in his clan, Doc has taken an interest in finer metalwork, including jewelry. Other Dwarven smiths may prefer brutally thick reinforcements, solidly angular corners, and a heft that lends occasion to any mundane task, but Doc has an eye for a different type of flair on his prized creations. This style difference tempted him to expand his knowledge and see how other smiths approach the craft. If he could prefer a new style, surely others could unlock new worlds for him...

Social