[b]Name:[/b] Bork Valding [b]Age:[/b] 45 or so [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Species[/b]: Dwarf [b]Class:[/b] Primary: Engineer/gadgeteer type mid-level. Specializes in heavy, large machines and devices. Secondaries: Low level fighter (Preferred weapon: spear with or without shield, also some grappling and dagger) Low level alchemist: Assayance, mineralogy, some basic herbalism for making those chelating teas you give people with metal poisoning. [b]Appearance:[/b] Well, he looks like a dwarf. His beard and hair are prematurely grey, making him look older than he is. Unlike many of his kin, he keeps them cropped short. He is missing the tip of his right ring finger, and his right middle finger is smashed-looking and has no nail. He refuses to talk about how that happened. He is usually dressed in his work clothes, including a miner’s helmet, work gloves, a leather apron, and a tool belt. Do they dress for other rolls? Bork has some nice dress clothes for meetings with “management”, but he only wears them when necessary. [b]Personality:[/b] Point – blunt and honest to a fault Point – conscientious and hard-working Point – private about personal affairs Point – visionary but practical. Put foundations under those sky castles and such. Point – Almost as smart as he thinks he is. Point - Ambitious [b]Motivation:[/b] Loves problem solving. Wants to make big and new things happen and make a decent living doing it. He believes (incorrectly) that his estranged wife will reconcile with him if he becomes successful enough. [b]History:[/b] Bork has made a name for himself as a mining engineer in his home town. He has also made a name for himself as a first-class jerk. He has come to Pigeon Spit because he got tired of working with idiots, and also because his home life had become unbearable (see Relationships). He has convinced himself that Pigeon Spit has much untapped economic potential, and has decided that the community simply needs a non-idiot to take charge and show ‘em how it’s done. Bork, naturally, has himself in mind as said non-idiot. Nosy people won’t find out much more about him because a) He’s pretty much unapproachable when it comes to his private life, and b) he doesn’t really have much of a private life. [b]Equipment: [/b] Heavy work clothes including a leather apron, work gloves and boots, a mining helmet, and goggles. Rock hammer, pick axe, and other mining stuff. Lantern and oil. Some carpentry tools as well. His work gives him access to rope and other things he might need. A gambeson. A boar spear. A battered round shield. A dagger. (not usually carried) Dress clothes for business meetings with idiots. Small library of books on work-related subjects. [b]Weakness: [/b] [b]Married to work[/b] - this is a problem because he has an (estranged) wife. Bork just isn’t relationship material [b]Asocial and tactless[/b] - Need a smooth-talker to get you out of a sticky situation? Or to soften hard feelings? Well, you’re screwed. Read a room? Nope. [b]Incorrigible, stubborn know-it-all[/b]. Not only is this off-putting (see above) but also a hindrance to rethinking anything once Bork decides he’s got stuff figured out. [b]Partial hearing loss in one ear[/b]. One of many things he’s in furious denial about. Roll over, Beethoven. [b]Prone to seasickness[/b]. A problem considering the setting’s coastal. [b]Can’t swim[/b]. Ditto. [b]Uncultured[/b]. Bork is literate and knows his practical disciplines left and right. However, he doesn't do poetry or romances or stuff. Or music. If a book has lots of dry text about mechanics or mineralogy and confusing illustrations of assaying ovens or lifting cranes, Bork has probably read it. If it doesn’t, he probably hasn’t. [b]Mean drunk.[/b] Doesn't get drunk very often. But when he does: hooo, boy! [b]Relationships: [/b] [color=15F978]Roswith[/color], estranged wife, left back at home. She resents the amount of time and attention Bork puts into his work and feels emotionally neglected. Bork has misread her discontent and thinks she’ll reconcile with him once he’s successful. His pursuit of success has, of course, only made things worse between them. [color=15F978]Rorik Fellforest[/color] (LN Dwarven Fighter/Cleric)- Mining captain, go-to source for any stone that needs to be quarried in Pigeon Spit. So far he and Bork get along simply because they have interests and goals in common. Whether their personalities remain compatible is yet to be seen. [color=15F978]Nelthurin Sebheon (aka "Nelf the Elf")[/color] (N Rogue) - Harbormaster. Interested in what's good for Pigeon Spit, but has some unconventional ideas of where legal authority fits into that. Is happy to work with pirates and smugglers if it means bringing wealth and goods into town. He and Bork are ambivalent about one another, but are currently willing to set aside differences to develop the harbor. Character goal: Become successful and wealthy in his business. Reconcile with his wife. Goals you would like for Pigeon Spit: Bigger and better-run mines (by himself, of course). Bigger and better run-port facilities (ditto).