Rordin, also known as Rordin the Dwarf or High Guardian of the West, is a dwarf fighter who first appeared in Dungeon Saga - The Dwarf King's Quest. He is something of an outcast among his people and the nephew of King Golloch.
He was sent to the Golden Horn as a representative of the Golloch Empire to the Basileans. Rordin rather likes the city of Golden Horn.
Biography
Early Years
Rordin lived amongst the humans of the City of the Golden Horn for so long that he has picked up many of their customs and manners. As the nephew of Golloch himself, Rordin was always somewhat of a black sheep within the noble family, and some mutter that his diplomatic posting to the Basilean capital was more of an exile so that he could not cause further shame to the family.
Pre-3849
Dungeon Saga Origins: Trial of Tyranny
After High King Golloch, Ariandaris, the Elf King of Therennia Adar, and Ballazar, current Hegemon of Basilea, had met to discuss the rising threat of Mortibris, High King Golloch sent Rordin to join other heroes selected by the council which included Danor, Madriga Starrekin and Orlaf Skull-Splitter. They were tasked in stopping Mortibris within the ruins of Dolgarth.
The four heroes met up with Master Ranvus, the arch-scribe from the Universities of Magic, who was current an advisor to Ballazar. Ranvus warned that Mortibris' guards would spot them approaching and to seek out the Map of Dolgarth to find a way in without being spotted. It was contained within an old ruined hold, once lorded by Lord Dureg, near the town of Yammerton. The four heroes set off and journeyed into the ruined hold.
They fought hordes of undead as they progressed through the hold, searching through varies rooms and doors. Eventually they come across the undead Lord Dureg which they managed to put to rest, collapsing the hold's main hall in the process. After continuing to battle through the undead and eventually come across a large Undead Troll. Once defeating it, they find a myriad of maps including the Map of Dolgarth.
Rordin, Danor, Madriga Starrekin and Orlaf Skull-Splitter leave the ruins after obtaining the map and find Master Ranvus waiting for them closeby with some caravans and horses standing idle. He mentions a Warlord in Galahir and the Abyssals of the Abyss. He wishes them luck in taking on Mortibris.
Dungeon Saga Origins: Glimmer of Greed
While resting after their recent journey to obtain the Map of Dolgarth, Rordin, Danor, Madriga Starrekin and Orlaf Skull-Splitter were drinking at a tavern and had run out of coin to refill their Honeymead. They were then approached by Master Ranvus to stop a goblin biggit Bruko Grimshank who was attempting to find a legendary sword called Glimmerdrake. It was an ancient sword which was once weald by Furhyn the Fearless to slay the black dragon Bennakor, which led to the creation of one of the most early and prosperous Dwarf realms which was later drowned at the end of Winter's War and left in ruin.
Rumour's out of Valentica said that Bruko had taken over an old fortress in the Dragon Teeth Mountains and had been terrorising the local population. It was said this goal was to make a second, northern capital city which would mirror the current goblin capital to the south, Glimmer. Rordin, Danor, Madriga and Orlaf Skull-Splitter agreed to the quest and journeyed towards the rumoured location.
The heroes found Grimshank's Fortress and began to hunt down Bruko, making their way through his goblin forces of Banggit's and Spitters. The heroes find instructions by Bruko to dismantle the Glimmerdrake and divide it into pieces, under the assumption it would generate more wealth. Rordin, Danor, Madriga and Orlaf Skull-Splitter begin to hunt down all the pieces and slowly begin to gather them all up as they travel throughout the fortress. Eventually they come upon Bruko who, despite the heroes efforts, escapes after defeating Bruko's forces. Continuing on, the heroes find the final piece of the Glimmerdrake, it's hilt, which causes an explosion from the level below which causes them to fall down into it and splits up the team.
A mawbeast pup manages to grab Glimmerdrake's hilt and runs off. Bruko and his remaining Luggits give chase along with the four heroes in a race to catch the pup. Before Bruko can reach the pup, the four heroes catch up to Bruko and kill him which scatters the rest of this forces including the mawbeast pup. The explosions from the Banggit's has caused the fortress to begin to collapse and Rordin, Danor, Madriga and Orlaf Skull-Splitter race to escape through the front gate. The heroes escape just as the stonework begins to fall down from the pillars surrounding the front gate.
Once the dust settles, the heroes see the mawbeast pup, with the Glimmerdrake hilt in its mouth, run out of the falling down masonry and down the hillside into the scrub and brush. Master Ranvus reveals himself as the heroes watched the mawbeast pup run from view. The heroes hand over the rest of the Glimmerdrake to Master Ranvus and Master Ranvus accepts no one will be able to reforge it due to the Mawbeast pup running away with the hilt. He invites the heroes to journey to Valentica and to tell him the tale of Bruko and his chance glimmer of greed.
Dungeon Saga Origins: Daughters of Doom
A short while later, Rordin, Danor, Madriga Starrekin and Orlaf Skull-Splitter were summoned by Master Ranvus to an unspecified location. He soon arrived with two others, Dyrra of Lantor and Marrub Ib Allesh of Ophidia. Dyrra and Marrub lb Allesh were working jointly in order to recover two tombs, Vannifer and Vannitash, which had been stolen by a group of Abyssal Dwarfs led by Ahmazud Doomfyre. If they do not, the armies of Lantor and Ophidia will land in Northern Basilea which is against the wishes of the Basileans which might lead to war.
The heroes are asked to travel to Slazeg-Gron to retrieve the tombs, stopping by Grunn Keep to stock up on supplies on the way. After arriving at Slazeg-gron, Rordin, Danor, MaMadriga Starrekin and Orlaf Skull-Splitter snuck into Slazeg-Gron and made their way through the hold encountering Ahmazud Doomfyre forces consisting of Abyssal Dwarfs and Goblins. They defeated the Slaver of Marn and eventually came upon Lord Beregar, a lord from Zantaporte that had been captured and tortured. Lord Beregar explained how his merchant caravan was ambushed and his companions were all captured and experimented on.
The heroes continued on, they destroyed the Wyrding Horns which were summoning Immortal Guards, took out an enthralled undead troll experiment and came across the spirit of Vergora, an ancient mage of Ithanmon who asked the heroes to put her soul to rest which they manage to achieve. Eventually they finally come upon Ahmazud Doomfyre. Ahmazud, managed to escape the first encounter with the group and quicked shouted at his minions to stop the heroes and to crack open the tombs of Vannifer and Vannitash to release their spirits. Ulimately, Rordin, Danor, Madriga Starrekin and Orlaf Skull-Splitter manage to defeat Ahmazud and capture back the stolen tombs. The remaining Abyssal Dwarfs and Goblins ran after Ahmazud was defeated.
The heroes transported the caskets to Zantaporte to be taken back to their final resting place with Vannifer to go back to Lantor and Vannitash to Ophidia. Master Ranvus met the heroes at the Port of Zantaporte, congratulating them on their completed task and advising of Lord Beregar recovery, who was also helping with the logistics of the transportation of Vannifer and Vannitash. He then asked the heroes if they have ever sailed to Dyryth
Dungeon Saga Origins: Mirrors of Malice
Rordin, Danor, Madriga Starrekin and Orlaf Skull-Splitter travelled on a Abbess-class ship over the Low Sea of Suan then passed the City of Golden Horn. Master Ranvus then advised the heroes that a messager had arrived overnight from the Wizard's Order and the Universities of Magic reporting that it had been six months since a favoured member of the Wizard's Order, Alysantor the Mage, had gone mysteriously quiet. She had been a regular at the Euhedral Library in Solistor and lives south of the library. There were concerns before she went missing that she was dabbling in arcane magic that was of a more darker nature.
Along with her disappearance, there had been more raids by the Twilight Kin along the Dyryth coastline over the last few months and it seemed they were searching for something rather than their normal harrassment/slave taking exploits.Despite the threat of Mortibris, the Council of Pannithor (High King Golloch, Ariandaris and Ballazar) are worried that neglecting this potential threat would leave them vulnerable. The group decide to go and land on the shore surrounding the City of Dyr in Dyryth.
After landing on the shore, they approached the Grand Tower of Alysantor which was west of the City of Dyr. Spliting up as they entered, they quickly encountered the Twilight Kin forces. The heroes moved through the tower, looking for signs of Alysantor the Mage, and discover that the mirrors contained within the tower seemed to act as conduits for foul spirits, spectres and other foul creatures which were connected to the void. The heroes began to destroy the mirrors to stop these enemies from attack the group. Eventually they come across Luko the Owl of Alysantor who began to guide them through and one of the defeated Twilight Kin mentions Yzariel who appears to be the leader of the local Twilight Kin.
The group continued on and came across a hologram like message left by Alysantor, advising that the Twilight Kin had come for the mirrors and encourages anyone hearing this message to destroy the mirrors. After hearing this Luko and the image of Alysantor disappeared but it was clear that Alysantor had travelled through one of the mirrors to a place called the Void. The heroes continued up the tower and soon encountered Yzariel Duskweaver, the Mistress of Malice.
Rordin, Danor, Madriga Starrekin and Orlaf Skull-Splitter managed to defeat Yzariel and began to remove the rest of the Twilight Kin that remained in the tower. As they faced the last of the Twilight Kin, they came across Luko once again along with the return of Yzariel despite being defeated earlier. Once again the group defeat her and it appeared her final essence faded away.
The group left the tower and once again encountered Master Ranvus once they got to the large entrance gate of the tower. He once again congratulated the group in stopping the Twilight Kin's attempt to access the void and the defeat of Yzariel, suggesting for the group to rest before taking the ship back to confront Mortibris.
Dungeon Saga Origins: Darkness under Dyr
Rordin, Danor, Madriga Starrekin, Orlaf Skull-Splitter and Master Ranvus were prepared to leave the shores of Dyryth and begin the task to take on Mortibris. On their way to the ship, there was a loud rumbling and part of the Grand Tower of Alysantor fell into a gaping hole in the ground that had opened up. The ground the heroes were standing on lurched up and they lost of sight of Master Ranvus and the rest of the ships crew who were preparing for the trip back. The heroes fell into the hole along with part of the tower and after the dust settled, they managed to hear Master Ranvus indicated he had survived.
Master Ranvus told them to find a way out and that he was a bit bruised but overall okay however the heroes couldnt respond back due to the distance between them. They were trapped in the deep cavern with part of the Grand Tower of Alysantor and noticed a large amount of crevices and tunnels in all directions. Once they adjusted to the new enviroment they noticed one of the tunnels looked different from the rest which had a rough-hewn archway which led to a dim passage with a curved roof indicating it was artificially made indicating there was a way out.
There was another loud noise which echoed through the cavern and Rordin, Danor, Madriga Starrekin, Orlaf Skull-Splitter were seemingly surrounded by the veil of the void indicating something was still trying to connect to the void closeby. The heroes proceed down the dark tunnel looking for a way out, suddenly a Nightstalker Butcher appeared and grasped at them then disappeared just as suddenly. It was clear a greater evil was trying to enter from the void and were on guard as they continued through the tunnel, battling Nightstalker and Twilight Kin forces they encountered including Unkord the Maw.
After defeating Unkord, they continued through the tunnels and caverns which began to get become bigger as they progressed. Eventually they realised that they were under the City of Dyr itself, seemingly indicating that it was intended to sink the city down into the depths, similar to what happened to the tower. The heroes determined that the people of the City of Dyr were the ulitmate target and needed to stop whomever was orchestrating this. After encountering more Twilight Kin and Nightstalkers, they eventuallly arrive into a large room with two ornate mirrors where a Soulbane named Kallagyth stood. Kallagyth was the one commanding the Twilight Kin forces and decleared himself Master of the Soulshear Blades which he held.
A lengthy battle took place and the group worked together to defeat Kallagyth, they forced him into the light which gained them the upperhand however they missed their opportunity due to being blinded by the light reflecting off his Djet armour. As this happened, Luko the Owl reappeared and knocked his helmet off, exposing his twisted face and the rays of Celestial light blazed into white flame, killing Kallagyth. The light faded away along with Luko, with his final purpose complete. The heroes finally manage to find the stairs which lead them into the back streets of the City of Dyr. Master Ranvus met them soon after, advising the journey home and preparations against Mortibris can finally begin.
Dungeon Saga: The Dwarf King's Quest
After Rordin, Danor, Madriga Starrekin, and Orlaf Skull-Splitter returned they were ordered by High King Golloch into Dolgarth and stop Mortibris. Rordin and Orlaf entered Dolgarth from the east while Danor and Madriga entered from the west. Rordin and Orlaf battled through Mortibris' Undead minions and eventually met up with Madriga and Danor within Dolgarth.
Continuing on, the heroes take on more Undead foes including an Undead Troll. A short while later they find Elshara, who's spirit was being used by Mortibris to be used to serve him. The heroes manage to free Elshara's spirt however Rordin did consider using her spirit for his own purposes instead of setting her free, however Danor convinced him otherwise.
Rordin suggested to take the shortcut that High King Golloch marked on the Map of Dolgarth which they did use. This led to Rordin to slay his own undead kin, a dwarf Revenant which seemed to had effected him emotionally.They continued on and came across Hogger, which the group also managed to defeat and Rordin found an legendary Runic Breastplate. Eventually the group came across Dolgarth's mausoleum but found the sarophagi raided and smashed open. Rordin roared with grief which caused the surrounding revenants to attack including the undead form of the hold's king, Grund Hammerhand. This affected Rordin with deep shame that was noticed by the rest of the group.
Finally the group come across Mortibris and the last of his forces, after a lengthly battle they defeat the undead forces and Danor was able to obtain the Tome of Valandor, however after the chaos settled they noticed that Mortibris had escaped. Rordin would go on to reclaim Dolgarth.
Post Dungeon Saga: The Dwarf King's Quest
Rordin knew he couldn't keep the Runic Breastplate as it had belonged to a famed Dwarf hero, Makkin, and the noble family to which he had belonged deserved to know his fate and the he same was true for Forgebreaker. The act of returning these items caused Rordin to elevate to even greater heights than his battles against Mortibris. In the end he had actually been given Forgebreaker to keep as he was seen as a hero himself.
Dungeon Saga: The Return of Valandor
Ur-Elohi Jullius and Samacris advised the Council of Pannithor of Mortibris survival and the continued threat he posed. They also advised about Valandor's true identity being a Shining One and that Rordin, Danor, Madriga Starrekin, and Orlaf Skull-Splitter must reform as a group and find artefact in which the contained the last essence of Valandor, in hopes it can be freed and fight along side the group against Mortibris and Ba'el (which Mortibris was attempting to summon). The group agreed to help and enter the ruins of Du’Lan Var.
The heroes quickly came across Mortibris' undead forces as they progressed which they easily dispatched, but unexpectedly they came face to face with Ba'el. They fought Ba'el to point of exhaustion when he suddenly vanished. The group quickly moved on further into the ruins. Using the gem that was given to Danor by Jullius, they managed to find the artefact, Starmetal Amulet which contained the Spirit of Valandor. Rordin, Danor, Madriga Starrekin, and Orlaf Skull-Splitter continued on battling through the undead with the help of the Spirit of Valandor towards Mortibris and Ba'el.
Eventually the Spirit of Valandor and Ba'el faced off, ending with Valandor seemingly the victor however the mortal shell of Valandor fell to the ground spent. With Ba'el defeated, the group continued on to face Mortibris. The group confronted Mortibris after taking on the last of his undead forces and as the final blow against Mortibris was inflicted, his body turned to ash and disolved. Believe the threat to be defeated, they group left Dul'Lan Var and advised the council on the outcome, unaware of Mortibris and Ba'el's survival.
Post-Dungeon Saga: The Return of Valandor
Under the leadership of the hero Rordin, the Dwarfs continued to repair the hold of Dolgarth - close to Basilea. After Rordin’s successful expedition to the ruins of the dwarven capital of Dolgarth, Golloch had tasked him with the reclamation of the ancient hold.
Repairs were being made and had started fortifying it with every artifice Golloch’s Warsmiths can produce. Troops marched to garrison the ancient city and the Basileans watched with concern as the Dwarfs re-established a foothold worryingly close to their territory. Rordin himself has been named as the High Guardian of the West due to this new lordship over Dolgarth.
3849
Destiny of Kings
In 3849, Rordin was in Dolgarth continuing to re-establish the hold to its former glory when he received reports of the Undead marching towards the gates, however a smaller force than what was currently marching against the Basilean forces with the Forces of the Abyss. Rordin knew that despite the smaller force, the Undead force was moving towards them for a reason. He advised this forces within the hold to sound the alarm and he began to prepare with Forgebreaker in hand.
Despite their best efforts, Mortibris made it inside and seemingly vanished down the east passage of Dolgarth. Rordin commanded his men to urgently and throughly search the east passage, which also included himself. Mortibris along with Razvan, Enric and Gerisoth managed to evade Rordin and defeat his forces, obtaining the Soulshard from the remains of Hoggar and escaping Dolgarth.
Rordin would then gather his forces and met up his old friend, Madriga Starrekin and chased Mortibris ,who left an army of undead to hold them off, to the Ophidian Plains where he was trying to access the fabled entrance to the Underworld to the Abyss in an attempt to release legions of undead beneath the sands of ancient Uhmnia. Rordin and Madriga's forces would eventually meet up with the Basilean army along with Orlaf Skull-Splitter and Danor.
Ultimately, Mortibris opened the entrance to the Abyss, pouring demonic legions and undead creatures alike into the mortal realm. Danor uses the Starmetal Amulet to summon the Spirit of Valandor to return one last time to face off against this potential apocalypse and to stop Ba’el who also had came through.
With legions of Elohim at his side and a grand alliance of Dwarves, Elves and Basileans (with the assistance of Orlaf and Danor) formed, they faced off against a huge horde of Abyssals and Undead led by Valandor's other half, Ba'el. The forces of good were eventually pushed back and hordes of the Abyss continued to arrive through the portals. Resulting into the events of the Edge of the Abyss.
3850
Despite being defeated, Rordin survived these events and eventually fell back to Dolgarth where he would stay to continue rebuild.
3866
Pride of a King
In 3866, Rordin was being hunted down by Golloch. Rordin and his men came across Banick Kholearm as he was attempting to get to Dolgarth after escaping Caeryn Golloch where he was imprisoned. Rordin confront's Banick and asks if he was sent to kill him as well.
Trivia
- Rordin first appearance was in Dungeon Saga: The Dwarf King's Quest however his first appearance in canon is in Dungeon Saga Origins: Trial of Tyranny
Gallery
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Rordin Model -
Rordin Profile -
Rordin Fight Art -
Rordin Kickstarter -
Rordin 2nd Edition Rules -
Rordin 3rd KoW Edition Rules -
Rordin Vanguard Stats -
Rordin Dungeon Saga Origins -
Rordin Dungeon Saga Origins -
Rordin Dungeon Saga Card -
Rordin Dungeon Saga Origins Art -
Rordin Dungeon Saga Origins Model
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