STUFFER SHACK

“If that freight doesn’t get loaded on time, I am going to turn you into a cow catcher!”

[Looking at his stop-watch] “They are very, very late.  Someone is getting tied to the train tracks.”

Drig’Drall’s Story

Drig’Drall was once a Barbaric Monk of a wild tribe of Goliaths from a deserted wasteland of a country.  His clan practiced a strange form of primal magic combined with rigorous mental training which turned them all into powerful fighters.  However, after a raid into the low country (populated mostly by elves, humans, and half-lings), Drig’Drall was injured.  He lost his right eye at the hands of a group of elf rangers, and one of his legs was horribly damaged.  Drig’Drall was unable to flee and was left behind by the other members of his tribe.

Drig’Drall was held by the elves for many years as a makeshift prisoner of war.  Despite having slain several elves as a member of his tribe’s raid, he was treated fairly as a prisoner, and one day, the elves decided to let him go free.  They did have a caveat: he was forbidden from returning to the land of his kinsmen – he must remain in the lowland and make his own way amongst the people which he formerly wronged.

At first, Drig’Drall found life very hard.  He was hated by most people for belonging to a race which was historically at war with the lowlands.  But, over the years, he began to adjust to his new life.

But the world wasn’t waiting for Drig’Drall to adapt, the world was changing.  New technologies began to spread across the plane and from that, new metal behemoths called “Trains” began to spread.  The first time Drig’Drall saw one of these giant steel wyrms, he was horrified and scared.  However, a kindly gnome tinkerer, who was making some repairs on the train’s engine, explained to him how the machine ran.

Drig’Drall took a liking to the Gnome and he offered to lend him a hand in his repairs, making good use of his brutish strength.  This would be Drig’Drall’s entry point into a long career working on and around the trains.  In this career, Drig’Drall’s stature and appearance would serve him well and he earned his way up through the ranks to finally take the spot of the coveted station master.

Drig’Drall Now

Drig’Drall is currently a station master.  He has earned a reputation as being an incredibly rough Goliath to deal with, which has also earned him the reputation of having the most timely station on the rail.  Nobody wants to be late when they pull into Drig’Drall’s stop.  He makes sure that all the freight is always loaded on time, and that every train that comes into his station is in its peak working condition, even if this means that he has to get out there and repair it himself.

Drig’Drall’s Appearance

Drig’Drall stands out like the proverbial sore thumb.  He is about 7’6” tall and weighs over 300 pounds.  His pale gray face is marked with traditional Goliath markings; however, his fashion, is a bit different.  He usually wears a navy blue pinstripe suit, a perfectly clean pearl colored shirt, and a large red neck-tie.  He also usually has on a round black hat, that has a striped red and blue ribbon wrapped around it.  Apart from his fairly unusual clothes, he also always wears a single iron gauntlet on his right hand, and carries a long black and gold cane (which his peons have not so lovingly started referring to as his beatin’ stick).  He carries no jewelry save a golden pocket watch, which he keeps in his jacket pocket on an extremely long, Goliath-sized, golden chain.

Drig’Drall’s Personality

Drig’Drall is a fairly difficult character to deal with.  He is very wary of dealing with strangers and usually talks in a very grouchy manner.  Although he is usually pretty grumpy, he deals fairly with patrons of the rail and provides information to travelers who are curious about the area around his station.  However, when dealing with the other station workers, he is fierce – punishing those who do not work to his standard.  He is highly disciplined, and expects everyone who works with him to share that same work ethic.

Using Drig’Drall in your Game

Drig’Drall is designed to be used for games that have some type of technological element.  I currently am using him in a homebrew Steampunk world for 4e, but you could easily use him in an Eberron game, or virtually any other game that uses trains for that matter.  I have presented him here without stats, but for the purposes of game rules, he is a mid heroic tier Goliath Monk/Barbarian Hybrid.

Drig’Drall may simply make a single appearance as the players either arrive or depart from Drig’Drall’s station.  He can be used to get information about geography or even about local commerce, politics, or current events.  If he is attacked, he fights back fiercely.  He doesn’t have any magic items or money, but his extreme barbaric monk training has honed his fighting skills into an extremely dangerous weapon.

Kerocene, paladin, and the mayor of Old York, is a Half Mercury Dragon that is the grand daughter of Bahamut. She lovingly refers to our group of adventures as her idiots. Even going out of her way when they are off doing other things to call on new idiots.

When she first appeared, she was held captive by the old ruler of Old York. She was freed, fell in love with a paladin, and together they had three children – all of whom died tragically, sending her into a rage. For 500 years she plagued the material plane, spreading death and destruction as deep as the pain in her own heart. After cured of her madness, she became a paladin herself (to better pay tribute to her late husband), and went on to become the ruler of Old York.

Being a quasi-deity, she doesn’t age like normal folk, making her a rather staple ruler for the time being. It is guessed that she will continue to rule over Old York until she is next in line for deity-ism. Seeing as Tiamat and other deities haven’t found a way to destroy Bahamut, it doesn’t look like Kerocene will be going anywhere for a long time.

Braxis owns and operates the Midewins and Friggols Magical Auction House and Artifact Emporium.  He’s a thinker, and likes to go against the normal day-to-day operations of other stores.  He decided instead of letting heroes come to him, he would bring the store to them.  Braxis created a magical device called the Auction Assistant 1000 (500 GP to buy, or DM’s price).  It is a small mechanical device that can be attached to any metal object, and for a small monthly fee (10 GP or DM’s price) it will allow the hero to magically connect to Braxis’s emporium and see what wonderful items he has for sale.  It will also allow the hero to join in on the silent auctios that he runs from time-to-time.

Braxis’s shop is located in the merchant district of Fallcrest.  The shop has been open for a few months now and is widely popular.  Braxis is looking to expand his store to other major cities as well.

Braxis was born in Hammerfast to Gravix Midewin, the greatest Dwarf Artificer ever known.  His father taught him everything he knew up until the day he died in the battle of Briar Fjord.  Unable to deal with his father’s passing, he left Hammerfast to get away from the memories of his father.  He decided to head to Fallcrest to look for work.  Knowing that he left his father’s Artificer Guild in good hands, he set off for his new life.  On the way, he had many great adventures, and one in particular would change his life forever.

While searching an old ruin, he ran across a band of orcs chasing a small goblin into the forest.  Being somewhat curious, he followed the group.  Braxis discovered the orcs had captured the goblin and had him tied up in a cage hanging from a tall tree.  He could overhear the orcs yelling at the goblin, “You make Redcaps weapons better you tinker them or we fee you so the Sand Slurper.” The poor goblins said, “Never will I use my powers tohelp you.” Braxis knew right away what the goblin meant.  The goblin was an artificer, like himself, but was still a goblin.  His dwarf gut told him to just turn and leave, but all he could think about was something his father had told him a long time ago, “Your life is not judged by the outcome of your life, but by the actions you take to get there.” Without hesitation, Braxis attacked the orcs and drove them off.  He let the poor goblin down from his cage, and without saying anything, turned to walk away.  That’s when a shy, timid voice said, “Thank you, sir.” Braxis stopped in disbelief.  Did this goblin just thank him?  He turned and stared at the goblin, and at that moment not a word was spoken, but an everlasting bond was made between the two.  Braxis grunted and motioned for the goblin to come with him.

Igglo Frixit (Goblin Artificer), or Friggol – as Braxis calls him,  and Braxis have been together ever since that fateful day in the forest.  Friggol is a master artificer trained in the Goblin ways.  They both, over the years, taught each other their respective clan’s craft, and together created many wondrous items, and had many grand adventures together.

During a typical excavation of an old ruin outside of Fallcrest, a small item was found.  The item was not like any the two had ever seen before.  It was round, made of metal, the length of a small dagger, and had several ancient runes written on it.  After several months and numerous spells later, they realized the item was of Modron creation.  The item no longer worked, but they were able to take the ancient Modron tech and reverse engineer it into what they now call the Auction Assistant 1000.

Captain Spirodos “Spivey” Swiftknife is currently the captain of the HMS Nightingale, a merchant marine vessel.

Many rumors surround this man. And the truth may top them all! He was once a captain in the Imperial Navy and took part in the battles against the Sea Kingdoms. He was also tried for, convicted, and exonerated of piracy and other crimes on the high seas (including firing upon the Imperial flagship and allegedly burning it to the waterline).

Officially, he is a war hero … in the minds of some, he is a seafaring opportunist.

His name of Swiftknife is fitting, as he is a quick bladesman, preferring a cutlass or dagger.

He is known for his uncanny luck in getting his ship through many of the worst battles and storms -usually while completely sodden full of rum as he bellows orders to his crew!

Whatever the truth is, he is an able seaman and skilled at getting out of almost any situation on the ocean, no matter how desperate it is. Storms and ships and commanders at sea have been bested by the cunning, resourceful and nefarious Cap’n Spivey!