Dietrich Steiner, or “Deet” as he is known to his drinking buddies, is best described as a thug,

second-story man, and an aspiring duellist. Until recently he has spent his days drinking through,

flirting in, and burglarizing Pyrokin1. He never ran with any of the various gangs in the area, he

was too honest to join the Gutter Rats, too dishonest to join the Crucifers, and too much of an

individual to join the Green Legion. Instead, Dietrich made a few friends at the local pubs –

mostly soldiers who had returned from service in the army, who were dis-enchanted with the

Grotten system. These men were older than Dietrich and they would offer him advice (tips and

tricks involving Grotten law enforcement etc.) as well as provide him with ‘jobs’. In return for

this advice Dietrich would buy these ex-soldiers countless drinks, tell them tall tales, and pay

them part of the proceeds. A job to Dietrich at best meant scaling a wall, picking a lock, and

stealing some jewels. At worst it meant using his massive great sword to slay a government

official loaded with money and taking the spoils.

To understand why Dietrich would so readily do jobs like this it is important to note two things

(1) He lusted after money, and more importantly (2) he lost his father young in an unfortunate,

suspicious, and traumatic way. Wilhelm Steiner was a master and professional duellist. In

Grotten in matters of honor and in matters of politics dueling was quite common. However under

Grotten Law there were numerous provisions that allowed a dulliest to be replaced by a stand-in,

and if the client was wealthy enough that stand-in would be Wilhelm Steiner. Dietrich’s mother

Ingrid died during childbirth, so Dietrich spent the first ten years of his life traveling the country-

side with his father learning about dueling and sword fighting. Wilhelm was a master of all

martial weapons – but when the duel allowed free choice of weapons he always favored a

1 A medium - large city in Grotten, located in the south of the continent, not too far from Marken. It is perhaps the countries 2nd or 3rd largest locale.

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massive greatsword. A great sword too large for a man his size. Dietrich’s earliest memories are

of his father sharpening that massive sword.

Wilhelm was a polarizing figure. He was an ex-soldier, but he sometimes too openly showed his

discontent with the officers of the Grotten army. He was a master of many weapons, but his

entire profession was built around giving cowards a way to avoid battling for their honor. That

being said, Wilhelm was arguably the most respected professional duellist in the country.

However when Dietrich was but 10 years old, he faced his last duel. In a manor in the

countryside outside Pyrokin, Wilhelm was to duel in place of a captain who claimed that another

captain had dishonored him by refusing to withdraw his army from a conflict first. Wilhelm was

standing in for the challenged2. The duel was with battle-axes the favorite of the challenger.

Wilhelm won handily. Dietrich paid no mind – this was the 12th duel he had seen like this.

However, as soon as Wilhelm struck down the challenger, despite all the laws, and all the codes

of ethics and honor the challenger’s younger brother and 5 guards ran Wilhelm through with

rapiers. Dietrich fled, and barely escaped what he could only imagine would have been his death.

He returned to the inn he had stayed at with his father, retrieved his massive great sword, and

began a life on the streets – his heart full of sadness, rage against Grotten and its so called

‘officers of honor’, and the desire to match his farther in skill, prestige, and someday wealth.

Dietrich lived as a vagabond for many years on the streets of Pyrokin and as a bandit in the

countryside. His life was good for many years – he became quick, strong, and smart. He won

2 It is worth noting the challenged in this case was nearly 70 years old and could barely walk.

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most of the fights he was in. He acquired a fair amount of money. He blew most of it on drinks

and women. He kept the massive sword sharpened, and he bought himself a nice chainmail shirt.

Everything was going fine until he seduced the wrong woman. A young beauty named Ava. It

turned out that Ava was the teenage daughter of a local lieutenant. Ava posed herself as a poor

farm girl dislocated from her family from monster raids, but she was lying. When the

government found Dietrich in bed with Ava at a local inn, needless to say they were none too

pleased. A massive manhunt for Dietrich began. A manhunt that even a ruffian and burglar of

Dietrich’s skill couldn’t evade. He was forced to leave a tearful Ava and flee the city, promising

her that he would find her one day and they would run away together.3

Dietrich headed to the Borehole, the only place he felt he could continue his life while evading

the fury of a high-ranking Grotten Officer. His aspirations now are to continue mastering the

massive greatsword, make a ton of money, and someday settle his score with Grotten.

3 His honesty in this claim is suspect. – Eds.

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