Games of State

Uther Utherson was the bastard son of a camp follower and a solider of the Dwarven Fifth Legion. He was born in the Dwarven Quarter of Middenheim on an unknown date under the Two Bullocks, roughly 55 years ago. Uther doesn’t celebrate his birthday or speak about his family.

Uther worked as a camp errand boy until he was old enough to enlist as a common foot soldier. Over 35 years, he sought to prove both his honour and combat ability, eventually joining the ranks of the Shieldbreakers, the elite guard of the Dwarven clans. It was this which gave Uther the chance to experience the culture of the Empire first hand, when he was posted to Middenheim as part of an escort guard for the Great West Road. This duty saw Uther and several others escorting valuable cargo, Runebearers and Dwarf dignitaries to and from various locations along the road, often assisting the Road Wardens of the Empire or drinking with local guards when not required. Many of the Dwarves befriended the road men, who’s surly demeanour sat well with the equally surly warriors. It was here Uther acquired his nickname, on account of at 5 feet tall, being tall for a Dwarf, and met Kasper several times.

The closure of the Great West Road saw 20 Shieldbreakers, including Uther left without a pay check or anything to do, much to the despair of the publicans of Middenheim, who were faced with the prospect of having to refuse credit to vicious killers who had axes hefted at groin height. In order to prevent any unpleasantness, the garrison commander in Middenheim ordered the various unemployed Shieldbreakers to take extended leave until such time as they are called upon or the road reopens.

In the particular case of Uther, this means seeking some adventure out past Ferlanghan, having heard from a bloke in a pub about some kind of military build up in the area. A consummate soldier and lover of gold who’d recently lost his pay check, Uther couldn’t pass such an opportunity up. He’s also heard stories about a Middenheim Roadwarden who was heading in the same direction…

Appearance

Standing at 5 foot tall, Uther is tall for a Dwarf. In other respects, he’s fairly typical, sporting a big, bushy beard and long brown hair. He also has a large and many times broken nose. As a profession soldier, he is generally loath to part with his mail coat, axe and shield, all of which are now rather rusty after a winter spent on the Kislev border.

Personality

Like most of his kinsmen, Uther can seem gruff, blunt and grumpy to humans. The life of a professional soldier has not softened those traits in Uther and has only intensified his racial hatred of Greenskins and his desire to see honour fulfilled.
Uther pays regular fealty to Grimnir and Sigmar, as befitting a Dwarven warrior. He knows that when honourable battle comes, they will protect him no matter what he’s fighting.
Interestingly, Uther sees no honour in drinking to the extent that he loses control of his facilities and has a no nonsense attitude towards drunks. He’s also not predisposed towards frivolous entertainment and the creative arts, preferring to see the artistry in military tactics or a well-crafted weapon. He dabbles in the forge arts.

-

This is the background for my current Warhammer Fantasy RP character. It was written based on the two or three paragraphs which serve as background to the Dwarven race in the WFRP 2nd edition rulebook, so I think I managed to make a pretty good job of coming up with something which fits in with the Warhammer attitude to Dwarfs.

I’m also looking forward to the challenge of roleplaying this character. Playing a surly character who’s likely to constantly draw racist comments from NPCs (and some party members) seems like it could be fun. We’ll have to see if I have the same attitude in a few months time.