Motherly Love

Folgrit's Dedicated Worshipers

Folgrit, wife to Torag and mother of the dwarven pantheon of gods. Goddess of children, hearths, and mothers,  Folgrit is a caring and matronly goddess. She holds tight the traditions of her people. Aside from her known areas of focus, she tends to find widows and orphans in her purview as well. Besides her genealogical place in the dwarven pantheon very little is known about her. When little is known about a deity even less is known about their followers—although I have already written one up for my last character exploration.

As always let us imagine we are sitting at our theoretical gaming table. Our imaginary GM sets out the rules for the game we will play. In this game we are to make a follower of Folgrit. The character does not need to be a divine caster, just a devotee of the dwarven goddess. What character do you make?

For more information on Folgrit

Folgrit's Pathfinder Wiki Page

Folgrit's Archives of Nethys Page

The Hearthstone Maidens

Folgrit’s followers feel that the home is central to all of dwarven life. To that end, a special sect of warrior women formed a group called The Hearthstone Maidens to be the last line of defense in case of invasion. Although the hierarchy of this group is mostly made up of paladins, warpriests, and clerics of the dwarven mother goddess, any female warrior can join their ranks.

The Hearthstone Warriors mainly operate in the Five Kings Mountains, although a few have set out on their own to protect other dwarven homelands. The warrior women have taken up home in the Sky Citadel of Janderhoff in Varisia and at least one has traveled to the frozen north to find her kin under the Land of the Linnorm Kings. Although there are known dwarves in parts of Osirian and southern Garund no known Hearthstone Maiden has ever made their way there.

The Maidens are trained to use Folgrit’s holy weapon, the quarterstaff. Entrance into the order is gained by lasting at least two minutes in the circle of the hearth with the highest ranking member of the order in the settlement. Many young dwarf lasses with an eye for becoming a Hearthstone Maiden will adventure to test their skill and show their endurance.

Order of Lost Children

Every member of the Order of Lost Children was at one point an orphan. Whether their parents were lost to battle, old age, or accident they were taken in and raised by a member of the order. When each orphan comes of age they are offered a position as a member of the order, which they can take at any point in their life. Some choose to accept the offer straight away, many others return to join the order after setting out on their own for a while.

The order itself has one goal, to ensure no dwarven child is left to die alone. Sadly, the order is small and spread out across Avistan and even Garund, and they cannot save every child. Older members of the order will stay in a dwarven settlement and raise as many as half a dozen orphans if they must. Some scour other lands for those dwarven children that may have become lost in the shuffle. All around though, the Order of Lost Children has saved many a young dwarf.

Rune Wardens

Dwarven mothers raise their children to be mindful of dwarven tradition. They teach their young the ways of their people through tales and songs. So too do the Rune Wardens do this for all of their people. These followers of Folgrit see that dwarven society goes down the wrong tunnel when traditions are not taken to heart. They seek to inspire all dwarves to keep to the traditional ways so as to allow their people to survive and thrive.

Bards are the most common members of this group, but anyone who can remember the long histories of the dwarven people are allowed to join. Bardic magic certainly adds more oomph to the tale-telling, but it is more important that one can recite the sacred verses than there being true magic behind them. Joining the Rune Wardens requires that one memorize at least one of the epics of the dwarven gods. Once the first recitation of these hours-long stories is complete, a dwarf can call themselves a Rune Warden.

You’ve seen my sects and maybe they’ve inspired you in your creation of a worshiper of Folgrit. Who is your matron? Why have they chosen to dedicate themselves to the dwarven goddess? Where does their devotion come from? Let me know in the comments.

Folgrit cares for her children both divine and mortal. The CRB seeks to show its followers care as they make their way through the wonderful world of gaming. Consider showing support for these endeavors by becoming one of my supporters on Patreon. Check out the Patreon page for a video message from me to you. Looking for more out of the CRB? Then you’re in luck! Google+, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook all now have a CRB presence. And if you’re as impatient as I am, have the CRB pushed directly to your Kindle with every new post by signing up for KindleSubscriptions.

Character Exploration 40 - Bruness Coldforge

This week we saw our charismatic female dwarf make her way into our random rolls. From the frozen north, residing in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, we need to determine if her people are like all the other dwarves of Avistan. Living underground with a mother and an older brother, she died at one point during her childhood; A follower of the matron of the dwarven pantheon Folgrit she values strict adherents to tradition–being Lawful Neutral–above all things. So what did we do with all of this information? What kind of character did I make?

First, let's talk about matching the creative process with the mechanics. Researching the Land of the Linnorm Kings it seems that not much lives up there other than the Ulfen, dwarves, gnomes and a lot of fey. To me, that means the dwarves there probably don’t fight a lot of goblins as is common with the standard dwarves. In looking at the alternate racial traits I saw that there is not only a trait to replace this defense against goblins, but also a trait to link her to the fey that permeate the land. I decided to swap them out.

The normal dwarf greed and stonecunning traits became fey magic. I did this because there is an invisible rift into the first world up there. Fey magic means the character gains the use of Cure Light Wounds, Enhanced Diplomacy, Purify Food and Water, and Stabilize once a day each as spell-like abilities. I also exchanged the Hatred ability for the Giant Hunter ability to make the frost giants of the frozen wastes her people’s natural foes.

As for class, I chose Bard. You’ll see why in the story, but this means I also rolled on the background chart for Bards on the random background generator.

Bard Training: [Gift] Someone gave you a special instrument or a collection of songs and stories at a time in your life when you needed them most. You have treasured this object above all other possessions, and it started you on a path to new songs and stories.

Bruness Coldforge

In the frozen wastes of the Land of the Linnorm Kings, only the hardiest of dwarves can eke out a meager living. Although their dwellings below the surface protect them from the worst of the cold weather, the land is notoriously short on veins of ore. The dwarves near the crown of the world mostly live there out of habit and stick to stonework instead of metalwork to fill their desire to toil.

The Coldforge family were once one of the few mining and forging dwarf clans in the north. When the vein of iron went dry and the forges went cold they had to stoop to becoming farmers in the fungus fields for one of the bigger clans. Bruness and her brother, Irngel were born into the Coldforge clan at this, their lowest point.

In her early years, Burness was always fascinated with the stories of her family’s life, back when they made weapons and armor for the other dwarf clans. Her brother thought of these dreams of old as fanciful, telling her that one day she would work like all the other members of the family. He counseled her to give up on the stories of the past and live in the future.

Although even the stone underground seemed frozen, there were many pathways around the small subterranean town in which Bruness lived. Some of these led to vast caverns that the dwarves used for storage. Others led deeper into the bowels of the Darklands. On occasion creatures from the deep would push their way closer to the surface and raid the dwarven village.

When the young dwarf was barely out of her thirties a raiding party of duergar attacked the town. They specifically hit the mushroom fields in an attempt to take off the workers as slaves. Bruness and Irngel were in the fields with their father that day and he stood forward to defend them. Bruness was frozen in terror as her father mounted his defense. The child turned to find her brother but Irngel was nowhere to be found. Bruness’ father died that day, and for a few moments so did Bruness.

Bruness’ death was short lived. Something in her began to warm, not just her body, but her soul from the inside. The warmth spread and she was healed, although still gravely injured. The young dwarf was carried out of the fields and brought to her mother. The town was so small that they had no healers of their own, as such Bruness was confined to her bed as she healed.

After her convalescence, Bruness lived as normal a life as could be had in the cold tunnels beneath the Land of the Linnorm Kings. She took up the faith of Folgrit, learning from the songs and stories in the book her mother gave her. Irngel eventually took up the life of his father, toiling in the mushroom fields. Burness fell in love with another young dwarf who toiled in the fields as well. If life had remained this way maybe, just maybe, the Coldforge family would have remained whole.

Eventually the duergar again attacked the fungal fields. They took Bruness’ one true love and a few others. Burness was there again, this time with more ability. She hid for sure, but she watched and she saw her own brother receive payment from the dark dwarves. Not only that, but she heard him admit his allegiance to the evil dwarven god Droskar.

Turning on your own is one thing but submitting to the worship of Droskar is quite another. Bruness was torn because it was her own brother, but turn him in she did. She went to the elders with what little proof she had. The questions raised were difficult for her brother to deny, but he did—just long enough to make his escape into the tunnels, presumably back to his Duergar masters.

With her family torn apart, her one love lost to the halls of the duergar, and the still lingering painful reminders of the initial attack that left her injured, Bruness Coldforge had only one place she could turn to. The book of tales that her mother gave her.  In her time of need, the words and songs in the book got her through. Not only that, they gave her power.

For many years the dwarves of her town hadn’t had a cleric, but the power of the songs made Bruness a healer. She discovered within herself the ability to heal the injured, and in some cases cure the sick. She became not only a healer for her people, but a historian. Caring for her people as Folgrit would for her own children, she counseled them to keep to tradition. To keep the tendrils of Droskar from finding their way into others, the old ways are the best ways. She believed the songs would not only heal, but keep the hearth of her people still burning.

All of that information has congealed into the story that is Bruness Coldwater. During the week I’ve seen some interesting backgrounds from other readers, but not from all of you. So what would you have built? Who is your dwarven follower of Folgrit? How did you make your decisions when fashioning a background like this?

Stories and songs are the heart and soul of human existence. If the stories I tell spur your own imagination, then consider contributing to my Patreon. Check out the Patreon page for a video message from yours truly. The CRB is also spreading across social media. You can join the community of gamers on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Google+. Come share your stories with everyone else.

Random Roll 40 - The Randomness

A dwarf lass from under the snowy wastes of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. Raised with one brother by just her mom the family was little more than peasants. Like most dwarves she is quiet hardy, but among her people she is also incredibly charismatic. Having died at some point in her childhood and betraying a family member over religious ideals later on in life. Drawn to the worship of the dwarven goddess Folgrit, mother of the dwarven Pantheon. Who is this dwarf? What is her story?

Gender: Female

Race: Dwarf
Nationality: Lands of the Linnorm Kings

Age: 49
Height: 4'0"
Weight: 155 lbs.

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Str: 8

Dex: 12

Con: 14

Int: 13

Wis: 12

Cha: 16

Homeland: Underground
Parents: Only your mother is alive.
Siblings: You have 1 biological sibling.
- biological older brother
Circumstance of Birth: [Lower-Class Birth] You were born among peasants or slum denizens. You grew up working the land around a village or manor, practicing a rudimentary trade, or begging in a settlement.
Parent's Profession: Serfs/Peasants
Major Childhood Event: [Died] You died, or came so close to death that you walked the boundary between the realms of the living and the dead. Having passed from life's domain once, you have a unique perspective on life, perhaps even a greater appreciation for it—or maybe your experience caused you to reject all trivial things, focusing only on matters of true import.

Influential Associate: [The Champion] You were close to someone who excelled at athletic endeavors and tests of strength or skill. Through your friendship or rivalry, you developed the competitive spirit that continues to drive you in everything you do.

Conflict: [Betrayal] You betrayed someone who trusted you.
Conflict Subject: Family member.
Conflict Motivation: Religion.
Conflict Resolution: [Secret Regret] You regret the conflict, but go to great lengths to keep it secret and try desperately to forget it ever happened. Only you and maybe a select few people know of your involvement in the conflict.
Deity/Religious Philosophy: Folgrit

Romantic Relationship(s): [One Significant Relationship] You had a true love once, but that time has passed.
Drawback: [Youth] You reflect upon your youth as a golden time, one ever present in your mind and that refuses to fade into the background. Every day, you feel yourself growing older and closer to your inevitable end. You seek ways to make yourself look and feel young in attempt to rekindle that fire of your adolescence, but despite your attempts, you realize that your time still draws ever nearer.

Available Traits/Feats/Drawbacks

(Trait) Ambitious

(Trait) Fearless Defiance

(Trait) Poverty-Stricken

(Trait) Surface Stranger

(Trait) Tunnel Fighter

(Trait) Wisdom in the Flesh

(Story Feat) Arisen

(Drawback) Vain

In the comments please tell us what character you would make with these disparate pieces information? What class would she naturally gravitate towards? Who is this dwarf and the family member she betrayed? And don’t forget to stay tuned Friday when my background hits the CRB.

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