Remnant

Appearance

Remnant appears at first glance as a weathered dwarven statue. They stand as a slightly larger than life dwarf carved out of granite with a massive beard. Heavy plate armor, an elaborate shield featuring the face of a dwarf, and a heavy best featuring the same face are carved of the same material. They also possess a collapsible throne that is carved of the same material which they can fuse with to a certain degree, rendering them unmovable. The fall left them cracked and dinged up, but they remain fully functional.

Background

Remnant was created during a time of peace by the ancient dwarves of the Torunn Clan. They were originally one of many constructs that served as library assistants and memory storage units. Their purpose was to assist in the massive libraries of Torunn by retrieving books or helping to locate information. Prominent dwarves that were nearing the end of their lives would also imbue their consciousness and memories into these units, allowing later generations to access their memories or communicate in various capacities with deceased dwarves.

Shortly before a massive peace meeting (between the various races that had formed a truce) was scheduled to take place in Torunn an "earthquake" ripped through the library that Remnant was stationed in and dumped him deep into the earth. They crashed and tumbled through the darkness, severely damaging themselves, until they came to a rest at the bottom of an underground lake.

Many thousand years later, dwarves miners digging deep below the ruins of Torunn cracked into the lake, flooding their tunnels temporarily but then revealing the cavern in which Remnant sat. Thinking he was nothing more than a long forgotten Torunn relic, the miners put them on a cart and hauled him out of the caves. A magical explosion in the city the dwarves were trading in finally awoke Remnant from his slumber. Initially thought to be a menace to the city, Remnant was rescued from onlookers by a passing musician - Verity.

After some time and discussion, Remnant has come to the following conclusions about themselves:

- During the fall through the earth, their core "programming" was jumbled causing the memories and knowledge that twas contained within themselves to become jumbled.

- The fall left them near some magical source (potentially an entrance to the underdark) that caused this jumbled programming to form a semblance of life and the personality now known as Remnant.

- The "earthquake" that caused their accident was likely an attack of some kind, as it was shortly thereafter that the Torunn clan vanished. Probably the drow.

- <redacted until revealed to fellow party members>

They have access to some of the memories and knowledge that they contained during their former "life." But their real power comes from repurposing their programming that was originally used for the pursuit and retrieval of knowledge:

- The magical charms that allow Remnant to move can be repurposed to harden Remnant's already tough stone exterior, causing their armor to glow with dwarven runes.

- The magic that allowed Remnant to absorb and store dwarven memories and personalities can now be used to influence or control others thoughts, gain access to some knowledge of others, or even causing physical pain.

- Remnant's storage system that allowed him to carry books around the library can also be used to store his weapon of choice (currently a Bulf sword that they received from the Bulf mines).

Remnant has a rather unique perspective on life. They are an ancient being who came from a time of peace and had an excessive amount of time to come to terms with their existence of their understanding of what that peace and life meant. They value life greatly. Partly because they understand what a gift life and conciseness is and partly because <redacted until revealed to party>. To this end, they go out of their way to avoid physical conflict, preferring to end confrontation with words, as opposed to violence. Even in the event of actual violence, Remnant will never go for a kill, and will go out of their way to try and ensure that all parties end up coming out alive. They are blunt, and occasionally more obtuse, than those of a more traditional living being, often not understanding the social cues of true living creatures (particularly non-dwarves).

Remnant suspects that something dark and shadowy is at work, and is likely tied to whatever brought an end to the Torunn clan and the peace that they promoted. They are currently trying to discover the source of this darkness, while also searching for <redacted>. They have also taken up training in swordplay, but this is largely to be better able to protect those that they have come to call friends.

Rules wise, Remnant is a Warforged Mystic 5/Fighter 1, using rules from the "Player's Handbook," "Unearthed Arcana Psionics & the Mystic: Take 2," and "Unearthed Arcana: Eberron."

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