Knut Odinson

Knut Odinson (a.k.a. Ironside)

Knut, as the right hand of the god Tyr, is a powerful warrior and a dedicated deliverer of justice. He is highly respected within The Maelstrom guild as he has been with the Maelstrom now for 5, almost 6, years and has worked with all of its members at one time or other. Knut, whilst willing to mete out justice wherever it is needed, is driven by a powerful need to rid the world of monsters, in particular the undead. Knut never backs down from this, and rarely from any fight, and although he keeps much of his past to himself, he seems to be on a quest of redemption.

As a human of 34 years of age that was born the son of a Soothsayer and nephew of a Barbarian tribal leader, Knut is an imposing figure of a man. Knut towers over most people at 6’5”, is pure muscle and has a stare that can make the mountains tremble in fear. He has long blonde hair that he wears in tight braids and sports a well-groomed goatee beard. Knut’s armour comprises of gleaming Plate that is supplemented with gleaming white and gold pauldrons. He also wears a matching plate of metal on his chest that has the Holy Symbol of Tyr embossed upon it in Gold. His armour is lined with fine furs and has a huge fur colour that impressively denotes his heritage. Possibly the most striking, and intimidating, thing about Knut however, if his eyes. Knut’s eyes are ice blue and if stared into, they reveal that Knut has faced unimaginable horror and that he is no stranger to darkness.

Despite his powerful and brooding bearing, Knut is actually a very friendly and gregarious man. He often tells tales of heroes and powerful warriors and sings hearty songs whilst drinking vast amounts of mead. Knut, trained by his father as a tribal soothsayer, is full of charm and when he is not meting out justice, he is often the one that the Maelstrom turns to when it is in need of a diplomat. Knut, although not one to trouble others with his past, opens up somewhat about his past once he has got to know them and developed a respect for them, something that can take quite a long time, especially in the case of women. This is the case with Xevrox and Aloy who he has been traveling with for some time. To them, he has revealed that the reason he quests to destroy undead is that Vampires killed his entire tribe and his family, comprising of his wife Anna and his 4 children; Ivar who was 10, Lagatha who was 9, Sasha who was 4 and his new born son that was yet to be named.

Now, a year on from when the above was written, Knut continues his quest to find his wife, after dealing with his children during his time in Barovia, where he defeated and killed the Master Vampire Strahd Von Zarovich. He recently met The Chosen Dawn in the Underdark and accompanied them briefly before continuing the hunt.

Physical Description

Apparel & Accessories

Knut Wields the Sunblade, a powerful blade made of pure Holy Light that he found in Barovia and used to destroy Strahd Von Zarovich

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Knut’s Story

Knut was born the nephew of the tribal leader, Bjorn Odinson, and third son of Brinjwolf Odinson, a Soothsayer in a powerful barbarian tribe that lived a nomadic lifestyle around the Spine of the World and Ice Wind Dale. Knut was raised, like all of his tribe, to take on the role of his father and of course, to be a fierce warrior. He excelled at this and even from an early age his people could tell that he would make a great warrior. By the age of 5 he was the strongest child and was the undefeated champion in the brutal training and wrestling matches that children in barbarian tribes must take part in. He was also very quick to learn the stories, folk songs and legends of his people as well as the rituals his father taught him. Knut very quickly became very well liked for his charismatic nature and well respected as a powerful warrior. At the age of 12 his father decided that he was man enough to fight with the tribe. He went out on his first raid and with the first swing of his axe he cleaved a man’s skull in two. That day the battle was fierce and the enemy numerous; many great warriors fell that day. When the fight was over Knut was covered in blood from head to toe, but not a drop of it was his own. He had made it through the battle without so much as a scratch; a truly miraculous feat as all tribe had seen how ferociously he had fought. From that day on, the tribal leader professed, he was to be known as Knut “Ironside”.

It was during a battle with a rival tribe that Knut’s father suffered a horrific wound to his chest. Brinjwolf carried on fighting despite this but died later that winter and so it was that at the age of 15, Knut became the tribal Soothsayer and story teller. The winter of Knut’s 18th year was a very dark one, as so many winters are at The Spine of The World, but this one was a particularly bad one; the sun was hardly seen at all for 6 months. It was during this winter that Knut was out with a small group of hunters when they stumbled across a strange site. There was a coach wagon, complete with 4 horses, out in the snow drift. Even from a distance they could clearly tell that the wagon was stuck in a snow drift and the horses were dead from the cold. When they approached they found that the coach had 3 passengers and a driver, all of whom appeared dead. Knut and the tribesman went through the coach and searched the bodies for anything of value or use but found very little of use and nothing of value. There was one thing that Knut found though that peaked his interest; it was a signet ring that he found in the pocket of one of the male travellers. It was whilst he was looking at this that a hand grabbed his wrist suddenly which caused him to start. There was a forth passenger, buried in the snow and She was alive! Knut quickly took off his fur cloak, wrapped her in it and threw her over his shoulder. He ran for miles to get her to a place of shelter where he started a fire to warm her up. It was only when the fire was lit that he was able to see the woman proper, and she was beautiful. She had long red hair, tanned skin, fine features and beautiful chocolate brown eyes. Knut found himself instantly attracted to this woman, he had laid with many women before, not all of them willing, but this one………….she was something else, this was a woman that he wanted to respect and could imagine himself having as his woman, his wife. They would make strong and handsome children. Yes, he would not force her, he would not discard her after he had had his fun; he would marry this one. At least, he would, as long as she didn’t turn out to be pathetic and weak.

It was due to the darkness of the winter, the severity of the blizzard that had started when he had been running with the woman and now his infatuation with the beautiful woman that had led Knut to be foolish. For you see, the small cave like structure that he had taken refuge in was not a clever place to stop. Had he been thinking clearly and paying attention he would have noticed the tracks, he would have seen the bones, the dried blood and he would have known to be wary of such shelter and what it might be home to. He noticed these things now though, but just as it dawned on him what he had stupidly done it was already too late. The bear was behind him and it announced its return with a huge roar and a massive blow to Knut’s back, ripping it open even with his armour on. Knut picked himself up and span on the bear, determined to protect the woman. A vicious and bloody wrestling match ensued because Knut had stupidly laid his axe down out of reach. The bear tore at him, raked him, bit him but Knut did not give up. He took the bear on in a wrestling match; he punched, he kicked, he head-butted, he bit at the bear. Knut took a massive claw laden rake to his leg, a wound that to this day has never healed fully and plays up in the darkest and coldest of winters. All of a sudden, he found the axe was in his hand as the woman had awoken and passed it to him. And so it was that he was able to finally slay the bear. As soon as the fight was over the woman smiled at Knut and then drifted back into unconsciousness, as if her work was done, the danger over and time to rest again. Knut smiled, this was no shrinking violet, no weak milk drinker; this was the woman he would marry. Knut managed to link back up with the hunters the next day and get back to the tribes camp, whereupon he succumbed to his injuries and collapsed. Both he and the woman were tended to and eventually Knut was able to walk without too much difficulty, although he was never to be as quick and agile as he once was. The woman recovered and it was in fact her that had nursed Knut back to health. It wasn’t long before Knut and the woman, Anna, were married. She was a strong woman; opinionated, determined, caring yet feisty. She would act feminine in order to be cute but was more than capable of carrying out any task a man could, sometimes better than a man could. Knut was very happy that he had found her that day; that he had stopped to loot the body just in the right place to disturb Anna enough to wake her and be able to get his attention. The All-father and the gods had truly smiled on him that day. During that harsh winter many warriors succumbed to it and died either out in the wilderness or in their beds. Even Bjorn’s, the tribal leaders, first son died from old wounds and the cold in his sleep. More yet died in the fierce fighting between the tribes over precious resources and the herds of beast that the tribes followed through the lands. By the end of that winter Bjorn had lost all of his sons bar one and the tribe had shrunk by a tenth. Knut, though, had found some joy in the dying days of that winter as Anna had told him that she was with child; after all, how else does a couple stay warm in the coldest of nights. And so it was that in the summer, as much as the northlands have a summer, that Ivar, a strong little boy, was born. Over the next few years Knut and Anna went on to have 3 children in all; Ivar, Lagatha, who was Knut’s first daughter, and then they had a second daughter, Sasha. But it was shortly after Lagatha’s day of birth that things changed drastically for Knut and his family.

When Knut was 20 there was a rival tribe, considerable in strength, that was making life hard for the Odinson Tribe. They had made camp at the edge of their territory and where stealing from Odinson land; salt, iron, wood and they were also hunting the same herds and pillaging the same towns. This could not be tolerated as it would affect the tribe’s ability to survive the fast approaching winter. There had been minor battles with this tribe in the past, all of them costly, but now there was no choice; it had to be all out war. The tribe gathered its warriors together and Knut led in the traditional singing of songs and telling of stories on the eve of battle. He played the horn as the tribe marched to war. It was bloody and unforgiving; many died in battle, many more from their wounds. Knut was celebrated in his battle prowess but even he could not win it by himself. In the end, after many battles, they had all but lost. Bjorn’s only Eire had died in battle and he himself was badly injured. There was talk of who would succeed Bjorn should he die and even if he lived, should he be allowed to carry on as Jarl as he had led them all to defeat. Knut’s name came up in the discussions as he was nephew to the Jarl and a mighty warrior as well as soothsayer. Knut though dismissed the notion, he had no wish to rule and Bjorn had always done right by the tribe, he had merely been beaten by superior numbers, not military prowess. Anna, in private, challenged Knut on his dismissing the idea of leading; after all, he was the strongest and smartest of all in the tribe and it would mean his family, his children, would never struggle and be given the best of lives. Knut went to bed that night with troubled dreams.

The next morning, Bjorn was found dead in his bed having succumbed to his wounds in the night. Knut noticed many of the tribe looking at him expectantly but he neither said nor did anything, he just stood there. Braun, an old childhood rival of Knut’s and himself a great warrior, pronounced that he would lead the tribe and that he would see to their victory where Bjorn could not. Now, Braun had always been jealous of Knut, especially of the fact that Anna had chosen him and not Braun. He had in the past, when drunk, tried to force himself on her, an act that had almost led to his death at the hands of Knut but had been saved by Bjorn who had announced that Braun was to be spared as he was needed to lead the hunters. Braun assumed the mantle of Jarl but was not too hold that title for very long, not very long at all; about 90 Seconds in all, at most. As the tribal elders fetched the mantle of Jarlhood to place upon Braun’s shoulders, Anna told Knut, who had returned to his hut to gather his ceremonial garb, that if Braun become Jarl then there would be no one to stop him from taking her, that Braun would force himself upon her and take her as his wife. Knut filled with rage at the realisation but kept it in check as he would protect her from such a fate. At least, he did, until Anna also pointed out that he would have the whole tribe behind him and that he would also kill Knut and the children to prevent future vengeance. Anna barely even finished saying the words before Knut was out of the hut and marching towards Braun who, at that very moment, had just had the mantle placed upon his shoulders and had begun to declare: “As my first act…….” Knut stopped as he realised that what Anna had said was just the fears of a woman, that Braun would not do such a thing, the tribe would not alo………………“as Jarl, I must ensure the future of our tribe and so I must take a wife…….” Knut listened on in horror; surely……… “and as we know, most of the tribes women either died last winter or have been taken, violated and therefore tainted by the enemy. The women that remain are, well, not of suitable stock to produce a Jarls Eire. And so it is with a heavy heart, and with the knowledge that our laws allow such a thing in dark days, that I must take the only wife befitting a Jarl, I must take…….” He never finished the sentence, at least not in words, more of a gurgling scream as Knut’s great shoulder smashed into his chest and then his huge hands snapped his neck. “After careful consideration, I have decided to accept the Jarlhood.”

Knut, now Jarl of his tribe, sent an emissary to one of the other tribes that his people had a good relationship with. Together the two tribes won the war quickly and in return their ally was given 70% of the spoils of battle. The next year, when the other tribe appealed for help with surviving winter, he had the two tribes unite through marriage to his sister whose husband had died. Knut was a great leader and over the years his tribe grew and grew. When the battle of Ten-Towns took place, his tribe was one of those to unite with the barbarian King and Knut even met Drizzt and co in the post battle celebrations. By the age of 28 Knut led the second largest tribe in all the north and was well respected by the largest tribe, that of the Barbarian High King. What’s more, he had a loving wife and 3 beautiful children; Ivar, who was now 10, Lagatha was now 9 and Sasha was 4. Knut had everything he could ever hope for and was content, he could not be happier, especially as Anna was with child once more; he so hoped for another son. Things, though, were about to change and it started, as these things so often do in the north, with bad omens and a strange traveller.

It was whilst Knut was in the village of Ten-Towns on a diplomatic and trade trip during winter that he began to see the signs of what was to come. Of course, at first he dismissed them immediately, but as the number grew, so did the amount of attention he paid. As he approached the village in the afternoon, an owl flew above his head for a moment before disappearing off into the distance. Then, later that same day, when he was in the town hall, he looked on the wall to see the famous clock that the town had, famous because such things were rare indeed. As he looked at it and watched the hands moving round, it stopped; upon inspection by the towns “engineer”, there was no reason for it to have stopped “hmmmm, damned bad omen that, time is gonna stop for someone soon, mark my words”. Knut dismissed it with a laugh and told the man that he was an old fool, the damned thing is just a fancy toy. But the omens kept on coming; the next morning he was awoken by a raven pecking at the window to his room, then saw a black cat sat on the end of his bed. Knut got up to shoo the bird away and saw something through the window which has been burnt into his memory ever since. The village was full of grey men and women in white, the streets were full of black cats, the skies full of ravens and owls fighting, a banshee was by the lake side, washing his armour. “Ughh” Knut awoke with a start, it had been a dream; but still, a dream of omens is still omens. Tap Tap went the Raven at the window; that part was true at least but when he looked out of the window he saw nothing. Still, it disturbed him greatly; so much so that as soon as his business was completed, a task that took a couple of days, he skipped the usual festivities and headed straight for home. When he arrived he found that a visitor had come to his tribe and had indeed arrived the very same morning as Knut’s dream, at the very same time if Anna was to be believed, for Knut had told her all about his dream and told him that it could mean only one thing, death, lots of death.

The traveller was a strange looking man dressed all in black leather, black furs and a black leather wide brimmed hat. He spoke with a strange accent and carried an assortment of strange items. Despite it being the morning the sun was nowhere to be seen, as it is so often absent in winter at The Spine of The World. Anna told Knut how this stranger had taken a particular interest in her and looked at her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. Knut was ready to get rid of the man then and there but his people had taken a strange liking to him. Knut decided that he would wait until morning to send him on his way as it was late that Knut got back to camp and his people would be upset if he threw a stranger out into the cold, dark blizzard that had started. If only he had followed his instincts, if only he had gotten rid of the man; merely going to see the man that night would have been enough to realise what he was and why he was there; to realise who the stranger had brought with him and was right now waiting out in that blizzard to strike. The fool, tiredness and the thought of hurting people’s feelings had influenced him; just how week and soft had he become, such a milk-drinker, such a bad Jarl, bad husband, bad father, bad barbarian, bad warrior, bad excuse for a man. But, Knut only realised all of this the next day; for now, he went to bed.

The next morning he awoke to an empty tent with a sore head. As he rose he realised, from the gnomish clock he had been given years ago by the village of Ten-Towns, that it was late-afternoon. He rubbed at the back of his head which was strangely saw and felt a welt. He had been knocked unconscious even whilst he slept, but why? Where was his family? Knut remembered his dream the night before in Ten-Towns and he ran outside and dropped to his knees instantly. They were dead………..they were all dead. As he looked around it was a scene of pure, unadulterated horror. Blood covered everything, everywhere; the snow was red in the whole vast camp, the tents and tents were all torn and covered in blood and guts. Bodies lay everywhere, all torn and broken and many of them were grey and some white due to being drained of their blood. Vampires, this was the work of vampires; the stranger had caused this, he had brought vampires, he must have been one himself. And then Knut remembered why he had left his hut, his family. He frantically searched, in a way hoping to not find them as that would have meant that they were dead. But find them he did. His whole family was dead; pale and bloodless his children lay on the floor by the village totem. But it was what was on the totem that truly horrified Knut. There, on the totem, with her ribcage torn open and entrails about her feet was Anna. Her head was tied back so that she appeared to be looking up to the skies and her mouth was wedged open with something. Knut leant forwards to take a look and it was something he couldn’t quite make out. A strange macabre fascination overtook him and Knut had to get right up against the dead, desecrated body of his beloved wife to see that in her mouth, was a holy symbol. Knut guessed it must have been one that she had used to ward the vampires off but that it didn’t work and that the vampires had displayed her in this way as to mock her and the gods. He discovered that the same sort of thing had been done to his children as they too all had holy symbols in their mouths.

As Knut searched the camp he found that he was correct in what he had hoped to be an exaggeration of his discovering the scene when he emerged from his hut. His entire tribe was indeed dead, down to the last child. He had lost everything, everyone; he had lost his people, his children, his wife and even his new baby boy for when he had arrived at camp the night before, before even being told of the stranger, Anna had put the little baby boy in his arms and told how she had given birth shortly after his leaving for Ten-towns. Knut continued to search the camp, looking for the stranger or any attackers but he found no one and no trace. Knut looked at the hoy symbol that was still in his hands and, even though he didn’t know to which god it belonged, he vowed that he would destroy the monsters that were responsible for this and furthermore, that all foul creatures that revel in such action would, from hence forth, be his sworn enemy and that he would seek them out, wherever they hid, and vanquish them.

Knut was smart enough to know that his strength alone was not enough to accomplish his new life’s work and so he sought out holy men and spiritual guidance; he sought out information about his enemies; about vampires, lycanthropes, golems, the undead and all other manner of foul spawn of darkness and evil. He sought out new fighting techniques and ways to fight the darkness. So it was that Knut ventured south to Miribar, luskan, Silverymoon, Gauntlgrym, Neverwinter, Waterdeep, as well as many other towns and cities. Knut even ventured as far south as Baulders gate in search of clues of the vampire, or vampires, responsible for his families and tribes deaths but he never found as much as a clue. He did find many vampires and other monsters on his travels and he slew them all, with others aid, but of the vampires that destroyed his world, there was no trace.

It was in the early days of his quest that he met a holy warrior of Tyr that taught him the ways of the Paladin and the god Tyr. Knut considered the fact that this Dwarves’ holy symbol matched that of the one he found in his dead families mouths to be too much of a coincidence, and as such, it was obviously a sign. Indeed, that night as he slept, he was visited by Tyr who told him that he had been chosen to vanquish the hunters and denizens of the night and the darkness and deliver Justice to all. At first Knut misinterpreted what was said and raged at the god for what it had done to him in order to forge a holy warrior. But the god showed patience and understanding; Tyr pointed out that Knut had only been chosen after the terrible ordeal, that he was being given a chance to avenge his family and his people as well as to redeem himself from past transgressions. The next morning, Knut officially accepted the god into his heart and took on the role of Holy warrior and Paladin of Tyr.

It was when Knut was 29, and had been questing as a Paladin now for a year, that he found “The Maelstrom”. He was in Waterdeep, where he had been a number of times over the years, when he overheard someone talking about the group in the famous tavern, “The Yawning Portal”. After enquiring further about them with the famous barkeep and some of the locals he sought out this like-minded group. He knew working with them would involve a few tasks other than monster hunting but overall a group of skilled allies with access to resources was exactly what he needed. The life of a solo monster hunter was a hard one and there was many a time that he found himself working menial jobs to be able to pay for mercenaries to assist him. “The Maelstrom” was exactly what Knut needed. Sure enough, he was not disappointed and found that much to his joy, they were more than happy to support him in his quest.

Knut then spent 5 years, almost 6, working with “The Maelstrom” before being pulled into the Events of Ravenloft where he eventually destroyed Strahd Von Zarovich, along with 4 other powerful vampires.

Alignment

Lawful Neutral

Current Location

Underdark

Species

Human

Gender

Male

Eyes

Blue

Hair

Blonde braids with Goatee Beard

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale White

Height

6'5"

Aligned Organization

The Maelstrom

Other Affiliations

• Order of The Gauntlet