Heidel Stonebreaker

Heidel Frostgrip (a.k.a. Heidel Stonebreaker)

Heidel Stonebreaker Born the son of a brewer, Heidel apprenticed to a Stone Master and discovered his love of Stone.

Tenets of Faith

Edicts be honorable and forthright, keep your word, respect the forge, serve your people

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Broad of build and muscular, even by dwarf strandards. Callused hands usaully covered with stone dust

Identifying Characteristics

Heidel is recognized in battle by his rams horn helm and stone warhammer

Special abilities

Steadying Stone allows Heidel to open the earth and slam it shut

Apparel & Accessories

Heidel dresses for his trade. A course tunic woven from ewes wool, sturdy leather pants, high steel-toed boots and an apron of ram's hide about his waist. The mountain settlement of Bridgend Brae is in wild country and every able-bodied resident is ready to defend the wall or take the fight to the surrounding slopes. Heidel Ready Pack contains a thick leather vest that can be thrown over his tunic, a sturdy pair of leather gloves, his ram curl helm, and his war hammer Tor 'ord.

Specialized Equipment

His war hammer Tor 'ord. Created by Master Boulderbeard. It is a beautiful block of marbled stone encased in metal for extra strength and durability.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Heidel Stonebreaker was born the third of five children to Nisfel Runesunder and Hurnus Frostgrip. Heidel’s early years were typical for children of the town. As soon as he was old enough he was put to work tending the sheep. His family had three ewes for milk and cheese and two rams. In his free time he engaged in mock battles with his siblings and friends, and explored the abandoned mines and mountain slopes near the town. As a youth of 20 he completed his combat and military training. Most dwarvish communities only maintained a small number of fulltime warriors. They kept watch at the gates and city walls, rode patrols in the neighboring passes, and kept the peace in town. But every dwarf was expected to be trained in military tactics and fight if the town came under attack or a raid was necessary to drive off a band of orcs or goblins that wandered into the Bridgend Hills. Heidel enjoyed the comradery, the discipline, the satisfaction of being part of a greater purpose, and of course breaking something other than stone with his hammer. But even at a young age it was clear Heidel’s passion was stone. He was fascinated by the different types and colors of rock. Each type had a different texture, grain, hardness and unique characteristics and even then no two rocks of the same type were ever alike. They broke away from the mountain in different shapes and sizes and with their individual imperfections and flaws that might make them unsuitable for one purpose and perfect for another. Each stone had its own voice.
After doing various jobs in his youth, at the age of 30 Heidel apprenticed to a Stone Master named Alviss Boulderbeard. The first 10 years of his apprenticeship were spent in the quarry cutting and hauling stone. It was a wonderful education and every day he learned how to identify types of rocks, how to determine it’s potential from where it lay in the rock layer, and how best to birth it from the quarry. The next ten years were spent in Boulderbeard’s shop sharpening chisels, rough-cutting stone for the master’s hand and eventually assisting him on job sites. After years under his master’s guidance Heidel became a journeyman stonemason. He was skilled in stone construction- able to stack stone blocks structurally and seamlessly and was becoming a talented sculpture- some sculptors chiseled away at the stone to create the design, but Heidel had an ability to see the design in the stone and…release it. After his apprenticeship ended Heidel stayed on with Boulderbeard, who had become quite fond of the lad and admired his dedication to stonework.
They were part of a crew carving new houses into the mountainside to help the growing town expand. Heidel was working on a relief above a doorway- focused on his chisel, the feel of the stone, urging the knot motif from the stone when he heard a voice behind him. “You hear the stone talking to ya, don’t ya lad?” It was Fyrna Torbringer the community’s druidess. Druids were not common among Dunan’s folk but occasionally a dwarf would have the gift of communicating with animals or, as in Fyrna’s case, a sort of bond with the elements of weather. There were priests and temples to the various dwarvish gods in town, but when the crops needed rain or winter storms became relentless, the town turned to Fyrna. She always said the wind spoke to her and it was that voice she recognized in how Heidel listened to the stone. They met and spoke a few times in the following weeks and Fyrna helped Heidel realize he had a gift, his devotion to stone was his connection to the natural world. Rock wasn’t just in the mountains and mines- earth, rock, stone- they were the spine of the earth and connected all things. Heidel had always thought everyone understood that stone was alive if they only listened. Fyrna let him see that very few people could hear the whisperings of the wind, understand the thoughts of a boar in the wood, feel what it was like for an oak to stretch in the sun. It was a gift. Heidel asked Fyrna to help him unlock his gift. As she was a revered member of the community and an old friend of Boulderbeard’s, he agreed to give him most afternoons off so Heidel could study with the druidess and explore his potential.
Over the years she taught him how to open himself to the earth. He explored the strengths and weaknesses of stone, how to manipulate it in ways he couldn’t do with a chisel, and to appreciate and understand the other qualities of stone like the medicinal uses. They became quite close and when Fyrna died one winter Heidel took it hard and became restless. He passed many an evening that long winter with Boulderbeard, the two of them sitting around the hearth sharing a pot of ale and a pouch of tobacco. Sometimes sharing stories or talking quietly, sometimes sharing silence. And so it was that Heidel decided to set off that spring, leaving the community he had grown up in to see new lands and fulfill his potential. Boulderbeard crafted him a warhammer to help keep him safe on his journey. It was a beautiful block of marbled stone encased in metal for extra strength and durability. Heidel named it “Tor’ord”

Education

As a youth of 20 he completed his combat and military training. Every dwarf was expected to be trained in military tactics and fight if the town came under attack or a raid was necessary to drive off a band of orcs or goblins that wandered into the Bridgend Hills. After doing various jobs in his youth, at the age of 30 Heidel apprenticed to Stone Master Alviss Boulderbeard. While working for Master Boulderbeard, the community’s druidess Fyrna Torbringer recognized his gifts and taught Heidel how to increase his potential by openign himself to the power of nature.

Intellectual Characteristics

Heidel's training in stonemasonry provided him an unique and specific knowledge of stone and structure. He can identify flaws in rocks, cut stone and determine how to lay it to provide the strongest structures. All his education came from his mentors and he learned by doing, practicing and perfecting. He is slow and methodical in his work. Stone moves in it's own frame of time. He loves stories but hasnt read many books. Has a robust humor, but lacks a quick wit.

Morality & Philosophy

Heidel's code of morality isn't written as a motto to adorn a family banner or shield.  It is known by his actions.  Bring Honor to the Clan and fear to it's enemies; be loyal to your friends; work hard and be trustworthy and dependable.

Taboos

Polluting the land or needless carving the earth to plunder it's resouces

Personality Characteristics

Likes & Dislikes

Heidel enjoys a mug full of ale, a pipe full of Ol' Philo, and sharing tales with friends around a crackling fire. He loves the feel of stone and the beauty of a vein of ore running through rock.

Alignment

Lawful Neutral

Current Status

Left his home to explore the world

Species

Dwarf-kind

Age

56

Birthplace

The dwarvish frontier stronghold of Bridgend Brae

Family

Sternhelm Clan

Sex

Male

Eyes

Icey Blue

Hair

Blonde with a respectable braided beard

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Ruddy complexion

Height

4' 6"

Weight

210 lb

Belief/Deity

Devotee of Torag

Known Languages

Common, Dwarvish, Druidic

Sternhelm Clan

Heidel is a member of the Sternhelm clan was founded by Dunan Ironfist when the settlement of BridgendBrae was attacked by a horde of orcs. As the dwarves prepared for battle Dunan took an orc head laying on the field from an earlier skirmish and mashed the head unto his helm. The grisly headgear assured the Dunan would attract the enemies attention and keep him in the center of the battle. The dwarves won the day and built the settlement into a thriving stone quarry. Dunan had established his reputation that day and became the clan chief. The clan became known for their ferocity in battle and extraordinary helms. The clan gem is the golden sapphire in honor of Torag and their clan animal is the ram- a beast common to the Bridgend hills and utilized by the clan for mounts, quarry beasts, clothing and food. The ram horn motif is commonly incorporated into their helm designs.