Dal Hammersong

The Bard Of Guldhuset

"Some say that if you get close enough to the Great Doors, and that if you are really quiet and have the gift, that you can still hear the faint drumming of Dal Hammersong in the depths below the mountain rubble."

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Dal is on the shorter side of average height for a dwarf, yet remains stocky and muscular.  He keeps his long sandy-blonde hair tied back while his moustache is long and braided and frames his impressive beard that flows long and free. His reddish-tan skin makes his aquamarine eyes pop with an intense blue gaze.

Apparel & Accessories

Dal typically wears his favorite gold and maroon color coordinated clothing and in colder climates he will wear his black bear cape as well.  These are often highlighted with sky blue accents or trimmed in black bear fur.

Specialized Equipment

Besides being accompanied by various drums, Dal is known to carry 2 throwing axes and his fathers Dwarven Urgrosh into battle.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Dal Hammersong was born in the dwarven nation of Proel in the year 1862 B.S. He spent his childhood between helping his father craft helmets for the Proelium Army and learning and assisting his mother with cataloging the histories and stories of his people. During this time Dal learned to read and write and was educated by his mother and the other historians in a variety of topics, but history and the legends of the ancient dwarves always fascinated him. Despite doing well at his studies, he could never quite develop his skill at forging and was often found listening to the different sounds his tools would create when knocking on various helmets.
When his father was killed by the giants in the Overtall War a few years later, he and his mother were taken in by his uncle. It was because of his fathers death that Dal developed a deep hatred of Giants. Not old enough or skilled enough to join the army, he volunteered to help his uncle in the iron refinery, so that he could help produce weapons and armor to fight them. During this time of war and hardship, Dal found solace in the dirges and songs that were sung for the brave fallen heroes of the war and inspirational heroes of lore. As the years went on, Dal began to create new songs and learned to tap out rhythms of his own.
Dal continued to pursue his new found musical talents until his uncle was killed by giant led orcs in the Brokenrock Incursions. He then joined the Proelium Army as a Battle Drummer as soon as he came of age. Here he was able to contribute to fighting the orcs that killed his uncle and assailed his homeland, as well as supporting his mother. Although his main job was to communicate battle commands across the field and collect war reports and organize intelligence, he would often regale his fellow troops with chants and dirges of their heroic deeds and inspire them with tales of legendary heroes whenever there were pauses in the fighting. As the years went on Dal's popularity grew among the troops and during times when he was not deployed to battle, many establishments would recruit him to entertain their crowds with his music.
Many wars and battles progressed through the years and Dal was promoted several times, eventually to Lead War Drummer for the entire army. His popularity and musical skills grew as well and soon many heads of state and leaders not just in Proel, but also the dwarven royalty in ancient Aukso Talo requested him to perform at their events.
His new found elevated status brought him in to close contact with many influential leaders and soon Dal became a secret liaison between the leaders of Proel and the nobles of Aukso Talo as he continued to perform in each. As a reward for his service he was granted permission to relocate his mother and himself to the gold mining boom town of Guldhuset. Here he performed for many years and gained a following of aspiring musicians and found a second calling and love of teaching.
Dal's happiness was short lived as tales of the great wealth of the now citadel, Guldhuset reached the covetous ears of the red dragon, Zinnoberood. The evil creature attacked the town inside of the mountain, killing the soldiers and trapping the citizens inside. Dal came up with a plan to destroy the foul dragon and free the citizens, but it would cost him his life as well.

Education

Dal gained basic forging knowledge by working with his uncle during the day as a youth and then studied with his mother and the historians during the evening.  Despite a lack of formal schooling, Dal quickly excelled at his studies, eventually leaving his uncles forge to pursue the books and histories of his dwarven people. Soon thereafter he taught himself to read and play music and built his first drum.  He joined the signal drummers unit of the Proelium Army and perfected his new craft.

Mental Trauma

The death of his father at the hands of the giants has led to a blinding rage and that bubbles just below his calm exterior.  The mere mention of giants sets his blood to boil and he flies into an uncontrollable frenzy when within sight of them.

Intellectual Characteristics

Having studied under the strict tutelage of his mother and the other Proelium Historians, Dal is both well read and very intelligent. His strong memory and quick wit allows him to quickly compare and contrast the ancient dwarven stories to the issues of his modern day, enabling him to resolve most problems with words or historic precedent.

Morality & Philosophy

Dal believes in solving problems by talking them out and relating them to past historic events.  By finding historically important events that both parties respect and envy, compromises and understandings are quickly reached and everyone can go their separate way peacefully. However, when when the opposition is is deliberately unreasonable and searching for a fight, Dal is always ready to back up his words with action and axe.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

The deaths of Dals father and uncle has fueled both his hatred of Giants and his pursuit of music and tales of tribute.  After these tragedies during his youth, Dal sought comfort and reassurance in the songs of heroes and the history books.  Here he found solace in the songs meanings and the value of sacrifice.  These have spurred him on to creating his own songs of battle and glory and developed his talent for drumming.  As his talent and fame grew he was able to perform in many venues, spreading his songs and encouraging his brethren by recounting the glorious histories and stories of the past, present, and future.

Savvies & Ineptitudes

Even from a young age, Dal showed that he was a gifted drummer, singer, musician, entertainer, and historian. His strengths in these fields seems to be opposed by his lack of skill in forging, despite being taught by his uncle from a young age. The only true crafting talent that Dal has shown has been in creating various drums for his performances.

Likes & Dislikes

Dal has a great love of music, song, poetry, history, stories, and folktales.  He also enjoys building drums and performing his music for all manner of audiences. 
There are few things that Dal truly dislikes, but one of them is crossing over any body of water.  He would prefer to walk around a lake rather than to sail across it.  These longer routes often cause complications for his companions, but Dal feels that they are safer and well worth the extra time, as well as giving him more opportunities to entertain them with his craft. 
There is only one thing that Dal hates more than water and that is Giants.  He has an immense blinding rage towards all giants ever since his father and later uncle were killed by them.  So strong is his hatred for them, that despite being a novice fighter, he repeatedly volunteers in the Proelium Army whenever rumors of their presence is suspected.

Virtues & Personality perks

Despite being slow to trust others, once Dal does trust them, he is fiercely loyal and always willing to do whatever it takes to protect them or cheer them up. His strong loyalty to his friends also extends to his homeland and fellow dwarves and he is ready to do anything that they might require.
Over the years, Dal has has learned to harness his feelings of isolation and loneliness and channel them, becoming a much more outgoing and social version of himself through entertainment, music, song, and performance.

Vices & Personality flaws

Due to his somewhat sheltered childhood, Dal is very slow to trust or confide in others.  This does tend to emotionally isolate him from others, but he has learned to use this as a way to improve his music. 
Perhaps Dals biggest flaw is his unending hatred towards giants.  This hatred often blinds him and causes him to ignore other tasks and obsess over every detail related to their defeat.

Social

Contacts & Relations

As Dal Hammersong's career progressed he became a favored court bard in the dwarven nation of Proel and then later in the dwarven citadel of Guldhuset.  High ranking contacts from these locations as well as the Proelium Army, gave him both the means and permission to permanently move both his mother and himself to the quickly expanding and gold rich, Guldhuset.

Family Ties

Dal lost his father when he was very young and had no brothers or sisters.  His mother and himself were supported by his uncle until he was killed several years later.  At this time Dal was old enough to start his fledgling career and supported both of them for the remainder of his life.  At the time of Dal's passing, his only known living relative was his mother.

Religious Views

Like most dwarves, Dal is a dedicated follower of the "The Clan Of Five", consisting of Piatra, Mother Of Stone, Vakman, God Of Crafters And Craftsmanship, Aurum, God Of Trade And Commerce, Munitio Arx, God Of Fortifications, Strongholds, And Castles, and Brygget, Goddess Of Brewing.  However, unlike most dwarves, Dal is most devoted to the elven deity Daina, Goddess Of Music And Songs.  He credits her with his successful musical career and love of performing.

Social Aptitude

Dal is very confident, social, outgoing, and extremely charismatic.  His bravery on the battlefield and quick wit in social settings have allowed to him to overcome or avoid unnecessary conflicts.

Mannerisms

Although Dal can be very gruff and stubborn, he does show extreme kindness and patience with young children and the elderly.  He is always ready for an impromptu performance and enjoys exchanging stories and tales with others.

Hobbies & Pets

Hammerstrong's main hobbies include drumming, singing, historic research, collecting old tales, and drum making.

Speech

Dal has a very melodious, yet low pitched and deep voice.  His voice and songs have been known to be heard clearly across crowded taverns and chaotic battlefields alike.  His voice combined with his complex rhythmic drumming is said to be able to captivate any audience, dwarven or otherwise.

Wealth & Financial state

Dal had very little in the way of wealth at the time of his death.  Most of his earnings were used to support himself and his mother from the time his father was killed.

by by me from HeroForge

Alignment

Lawful Good

Current Status

Deceased

Current Location

Unknown

Species

Dwarf

Ethnicity

Aurum Dwarf

Previously Held Ranks & Titles

• Drakdodare

Life

1862 B.S. 1695 B.S. 167 years old

Circumstances of Death

Sacrificed himself to seal the halls of Guldhuset and destroy the red dragon, Zinnoberood.

Birthplace

Dwarven nation of Proel.

Place of Death

Dwarven citadel of Guldhuset.

Current Residence

Buried in the lost ruins of the dwarven citadel, Guldhuset.

Gender

Male

Eyes

Bright, aquamarine, blue colored eyes.

Hair

Long, sandy-blonde colored hair.

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Tough, reddish-tan colored skin.

Height

4 foot 1 inch

Belief/Deity

Follows the dwarven deities known as “The Clan of Five”, as well as Daina, Goddess Of Music And Songs.

Known Languages

Dal is fluent in several different dwarven dialects as well as common. He has also studied ancient dwarvish, along with elven, and gnome.

Special Abilities:

As a dwarf, Dal has several unique abilities that aid him on permanent basis. He has a great range of Darkvision, the ability to intuit his depth beneath the surface, notice unusual stone workings, and has high resistances to poisons, spells, and spell-like abilities.
He is especially skilled at battling orcs, goblins, and giants. His ambidexterity allows him to fight with two weapons at the same time and has spent many years perfecting his skill fighting with two throwing axes and his father’s dwarven Urgrosh.
Over the years he has learned many skills and has become very proficient at crafting and appraising stone and metal items. He is an expert drum maker and has developed a talent for diplomacy and information gathering.
His hobby and later passion for history and music has led him to becoming a masterful musician that can seamlessly weave historic events and folklore into mesmerizing poems, chants, dirges, and songs. So great is his talent that he can quite often captivate and inspire his audience to great heights or even instill fear and foreboding in his enemies.

"And Dal Hammerstrong sat alone in the center of the great hall, with drums arranged before him he began to play. As the sounds reverberated against the polished stone, their echoes climbed to the Great Door where Zinnoberood, the savage red dragon blocked the escape. The walls cracked as Dals voice rang out like a thousand soldiers and his drumming pounded the walls like ten thousand footfalls, beckoning and goading. The bloodthirsty red menace snickered and tore through the mountain searching for the new enemies to slaughter. Stoically Dal sat and played louder and louder as the red beast closed in and became angrier and angrier. Flame and ciders shot through the great hall. Dal didn’t flinch but only sung louder and prouder as drums thundered and bellowed, hiding the fissures spreading through the ceiling. Deceived, the great brute let loose a blood chilling shriek, bearing down on the lone drummer who vexed him and continued to play. With barely a peak, Dal thundered on the drums, lifting his voice and recounting the heroism of the dwarves who slew the ancient dragons. Enraged with madness, the fuming dragon rushed at Dal with an open mouth to swallow him whole. At the last moment Dal’s voice and drums harmonized in perfect balance, shattering the last fortifications that had been holding up the ceiling and mountain above it. Down it crashed, sealing the great cavern and covering both dragon and dwarf. Thus ended the terror of Zinnoberood and began the legend of Dal Hammersong, The Bard Of Guldhuset."

— Excerpt from The Fall Of Guldhuset

by by me from HeroForge