Gundugar Herdtender

Character overview

Gundugar Herdtender — a herd tender and alchemist known for bombs, crafting, and care of animals and land.
A stout, solidly built dwarf of middle years, Gundugar Herdtender has a completely shaved head, thick dark eyebrows, warm brown eyes, a magnificent dark handlebar moustache waxed to curled points, and a neat soul patch. Broad and robust, he bears a shield and spike gauntlet and carries alchemical vials, bombs, potions, a clan dagger, a satchel for rocks, and smithy’s repair tools. He has also carried a spear, prepared vials, and a spacious pouch. He worships Airstil, whom he calls his favorite deity.
During the Phaendar market festival, Gundugar hit targets at the archery range. When the Ironfang Legion attacked, he fought behind his shield, counterattacked, and threw alchemical bombs, including a bottle of lightning. After a skirmish, he suggested that Fangwood Six take healing potions and other useful items. He said, “I blow shit up.” He is connected to nature, cares for animals and land, and has taken part in crafting and nature-related work.
At Fender’s Bridge he hurled alchemical fire. In fights against the Ironfang Legion, he used fire against a swarm of wasps, helped secure the area and protect refugees by gathering supplies and planning for survival, and led a crafting-and-nature group among the survivors. His crew built shelters for four people and later completed Main Camp’s remaining shelters. He carried a javelin, a Quicksilver Mutagen, and bomber devices, announced plans to drink the mutagen and use a quick bomber without harming allies, and said he would continue gathering food.
In the woods, Gundugar examined a corpse and determined that the Ironfang Legion had tortured the victim. His crew built Camp shelters, and in Gristledown he threw bombs and bottled lightning at Bloody Skeletons, at first with little effect. During a cabin fight, Pilla the leopard bit him and held him in its jaws. Gundugar set Kellogg aflame, continued attacking the undead, and dissolved one Bloody Skeleton with acid. He suggested scouting and diversion tactics while approaching Phaendar and used knowledge of Fahrak operations to assess their likely behavior. His group found a goat for Camp, and he contributed stored rations to communal food. While tracking a lone Fahrak Scout, he drank a Quicksilver Mutagen, threw a long-range bomb, and used bombs and close-range attacks until the Hobgoblin was killed. In an ambush on a Hobgoblin patrol, he harried the front rank with bombs and used a fear bomb; he reported having level 3 bombs that dealt increased damage.
Gundugar fought xulgaths and Giant Monitor Lizards with bombs, used Captive Alchemist’s Fire in ambushes, and drank healing potions during battles. Quicksilver Mutagens increased his speed and resilience; on one occasion, a mutagen increased his damage and caused a misfortune effect. He ignited a gas-filled room with a lit torch. In a skeleton fight he mixed and threw acid, then followed with his clan dagger. He attacked blighted foes with bombs and a lightning vial, critically striking another foe with a thrown vial. A Lamplighter’s spell blinded him, but he later regained his sight. He used curatives on Bruneg, bombed a paralyzed Hobgoblin, splashed Goblin Dogs with thrown vials, and punched one, smashing its head. He told Bruneg he would get him a healing potion later.
Gundugar served with explosives before he was cornered at Ramsgate, where he set off all his charges and later woke downriver. He suggested building a still to raise Camp morale. He and his team recovered a stray sheep, and he stood watch with Bruneg’s group. When Hobgoblin Mercenaries Tied To Maltheum attacked Cave Camp, he warned others to check for tracks. He killed two Hobgoblin troopers, driving a blade through one’s heart, and confirmed there were no more of the mercenaries present after the battle. He later hurled a Blight Bomb that killed York, a centaur. During questioning of an Alchemist, he remarked that a bite could make her like the Fugitive. When he encountered an owlbear, he initially panicked and fled, then recovered and rejoined the fight. On watch, he heard growling, discovered Bruneg snoring, and noted that a solitary cherry tree was missing. His team continued building Camp’s goat herd over the following week.
At a burned clearing, the Party found flasks smelling of the alchemist’s fire Gundugar prepares. Back at Camp, his crafters increased the livestock by one sheep, while he spent days working on bombs and spider-climb potions. He gave Wren fire arrows. In a patrol fight he drank a Quicksilver Mutagen and critically hit a scout with alchemist’s fire, leaving the Hobgoblin burning and bleeding. In a glen, he kicked Arsène awake to interrupt a fey’s sleep attack, sought the invisible pixie’s location, and bombarded it with alchemical attacks until it died. He found scythe and cold-iron wounds on dead Redcaps and concluded they had fought one another. He later spotted an older Redcap, joined the fight with his spear, and struck her hard enough to leave her dying; he prepared fire to halt her recovery and the nearby Trollhound’s regeneration, ending the battle. Examining flayed Hobgoblin Mercenaries Tied To Maltheum, he determined one had bled to death after being skinned alive. He concluded that the redcaps had tortured them for information, tried to conceal the damage, and then turned on one another. In a forge room, he drank a mutagen, set two stuffed bear constructs ablaze, smashed one apart, and reignited the other. He threw bombs at the workshop korred and attacked Halk from range and at close quarters before Vendel Coldblade’s magic killed the korred warlord. He later helped bargain with the workshop korred for defenses and constructs.
Gundugar knows herbs and ritual formulas for crafting magical items. During three days of rest at the cave camp, he made a magical spoon capable of purifying and stretching up to eight gallons of food or liquid. During a Canopy Troll attack in the western forest, he drank a Quicksilver Elixir and used directional bombs to throw fire. He killed the troll holding him and prevented other fire-struck trolls from regenerating; he also cleansed himself with fire during the battle. He traveled with Fangwood Six toward Fort Nunder carrying a shield. In the misty Lowland, he wounded the three-headed Chimera with fire and other attacks until Finnetharyn Fimbleshanks finished it. At Fort Nunder, he understood the Jotun argument within the ruins. Against attacking trollhounds, he opened with acid and fire, confirmed fire harmed them more effectively, and hurled a blast that caught several at once. Against the trolls inside, he drank a mutagen, sent fire through the crowded approach, continued bombarding wounded trolls, and later hid behind his shield. When a troll seized him, his raised shield stopped its claw from striking.
While traveling through a captured fort and the surrounding wilderness with the Party, Gundugar identified a dagger in the fort commander’s room as Dawnsilver and recognized the names of two Chernasardo Rangers on corridor plaques. He helped carry a table into a trapped passage and dragged it back on the return journey. He burned a southern wooden guardian to charred debris and later attacked a northern guardian with fire before the Party destroyed it. In the armory, he claimed a charm of acid resistance. At a fissure, he saw a giant beetle feeding on a Chernasardo ranger’s remains and crushed one beetle in the ensuing fight. Afterward, he transferred protective runes from two spare suits of armor, took a spacious pouch from Norvi, and transferred runes from Arsène’s dagger to an adamantine starknife. He said he could craft a perception-enhancing tattoo and manufacture several varieties of drugs for the hermit.
As Fangwood Six’s alchemist, Gundugar prepared five lesser spiderfoot brews and six lesser potions of acid resistance for an expedition, allowing each traveler to take one of each. Before the group descended the gorge, crossed the river, and climbed into Fort Trova-Lay, he drank one of each potion with the Party. He stayed behind to watch their backs during the fighting, then entered a cage-filled building while Bruneg and Wren examined bones. When a specter rose from a human corpse, Gundugar struck it with an alchemical weapon, leaving it exposed. His alchemist’s fire did no damage; he moved in and tried to punch the specter but missed.
Gundugar proposed using explosives to find an intelligent Zombie Lord and used explosives against clustered undead and to target it. He helped convince a Militia Veteran to leave a dangerous area and guided her to safety. He helped ambush Hobgoblin supply wagons with morale-shaking and incendiary bombs and repaired Vendel Coldblade’s damaged shield. A Chernasardo Ranger recognized him as the militia member who burned two Molthuni Attackers alive, calling him “that mad bastard.” Gundugar communicated with hidden Rangers using an owl call and spoke with their leader about the Party’s refuge and the forts ahead. At Fort Ristin, he drank quicksilver and bombed the korreds, pinning one in place and striking others with fire and lightning. Traveling with Fangwood Six, he carried a cold iron spear, alchemist’s fire, and tools for repairing damaged equipment. During a construct battle, wasps covered him; he hurled alchemist’s fire into both swarms, singeing Wren in the blast. He later repaired Bruneg’s broken shield. He moved quietly ahead into the basement, woke a drunken fey by prodding it with his spear, and helped evict it. He gave the one-legged Cirieo Thessaddin an elixir. In the ghost’s Office, he spent about an hour reviewing the merchant’s Wine accounts, after which the ghost set a selling price of 125 gold. When atomies challenged the Party, Gundugar declared the fort belonged to the rangers and ordered them to leave. One atomie insulted and stabbed him; he later grabbed another and held it in place until Wren killed it. Against an axe-wielding Fey, he pulled out its second special white hair, kicked it, blocked its escape, and battered it at close range.
At Fort Trevely, Gundugar supplied the Party with spider-climbing and resistance potions before they entered. When trolls approached the kennels, he readied fire and drank his stone-self potion. He advanced, hurled fire among the enemies, and stepped back. A soldier wounded him; later his stone-hardened body and armor stopped a strike, and an attempt to grab him failed. He threw bottled lightning at the Hobgoblin leader, affecting nearby enemies, and blocked a blow as he threw; his next vial missed. He then threw acid toward a wounded troll, spreading it to another troll and a soldier. The trolls missed him, and he blocked the leader’s strike. When the acid nearly brought down one target, an enemy healer restored it. Gundugar knocked a burning troll prone, watched it flee and die from its injuries, then raised his shield and struck the leader. As enemies retreated, he threw more acid at a troll and attacked a nearby soldier. After the cleric died, a troll restrained him; Gundugar escaped, drew its strike, and brought fire against it, killing the troll.
After the fight, Gundugar urged the wounded rangers to take weapons from dead Hobgoblins and guard against reinforcements while they recovered. He told them the Party would deal with the dragon. When a troll challenged the Party upstairs, Gundugar claimed they were reinforcements, then said they had killed the fort’s Hobgoblins and invited it to check the bodies. In the forge, he threw a Dread Ampule at one creature and a versatile vial at the basilisk. He surveyed the forge and found its contents awaiting repair rather than especially valuable, and expressed a desire to return for some mold spores. In the upper rooms, he threw bottled lightning at a dire weasel and raised his shield, then hurled a freshly prepared vial at another foe. He later threw acid and fire at the spellcaster, leaving continuing injuries; Wren’s attack killed the burned spellcaster, who did not regenerate.
Gundugar reported that recovered loot included two sets of Handwraps of Mighty Blows, two figurines, and a map, and pocketed both sets of handwraps. He warned that the steps were wet, then climbed with Finnetharyn Fimbleshanks to the fog-filled tower level. He threw two vials at a hobgoblin woman’s cat, setting it on fire, and later threw a vial at the woman. When a dragon appeared, he argued that they should stay and fight for the hoard in the water. He threw bottled lightning at the dragon and raised his shield. After the dragon filled the area with bugs and spiders, Gundugar tried to purge his sickness and threw another lightning vial. He later prepared and threw two more lightning vials, then threw two bombs after the dragon intimidated him. Once the dragon was dead, Gundugar counted seven gold, four silver, and ten copper, took Jang’s striking scimitar, and offered room in his pouch for more loot.
Gundugar warned that the chamber’s indoor water feature might weaken the tower and discussed stopping or redirecting it. He and Finn reiterated that the Party had taken the fort for itself and questioned whether the rangers could defend it. At the caverns, Gundugar identified a retained corpse as a Morlock and described them as humans corrupted in the dark ways underground, losing their humanity and sight. He called for packing, finding the departed refugees, and collapsing the tunnel entrance. In a discussion about what the puppies should eat, he argued that sapience, rather than body shape, should determine it. He later learned that contact with Kraggodan had been lost and it was believed to be under siege; he called the hobgoblins opportunistic bastards.
While tracking the departed refugees, Gundugar identified marks on deer bones as signs of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, explained how it used its host, and warned that time was short and the refugees should not be eaten. At their camp, he examined Arden and the deer jerky Arden had eaten, found no apparent eggs, judged Arden probably uninfected, and offered poison if symptoms appeared later. He searched for gloss leaf with his companions and argued that their combined woodcraft could find it and that they should speak honestly with the refugees about the cure. He avoided a dire bear while searching. At the refugee camp, he measured doses for the infusion and told the leader that he was an alchemist, not a wizard, and to drink the cure. He advised holding one’s nose, warned that it tasted horrible, and explained that the treatment killed the parasites while leaving their hosts ill. The refugees took the cure, and Gundugar and his companions stayed to care for them. Within hours, the visible worms stopped moving; after a couple of days, the refugees began expelling them.
Gundugar walked toward the dwarves and became captivated by the dancing Maenad. He later warned her about seducing pyromaniacs and threw fire and acid bombs at her, taking care not to harm anyone else. He asked the dwarves about the attackers and an onyx tower, described dangers posed by hobgoblins and other foes, and explained that the miners could help rebuild the damaged fort. He made them a map with food, and they agreed to visit the caverns. He threw vials at hobgoblin deserters, was struck by a bomb from the hobgoblin alchemist, and replied that he had left the forest and returned. He attacked the alchemist with a cone-shaped burst and then punched her, killing her. Afterward, he found ponchos, oil, and more bombs, and noted that the alchemist’s book held formulas he did not know. He later said Wren would get hurt but that they had magical healing, and counted minotaurs, some goblins, dragons, and fairies among people.

• Uses alchemical bombs, bottled lightning, alchemist’s fire, acid, and other vials in combat; has used quick alchemy and made a magical spoon.
• Drinks mutagens, elixirs, and potions, including Quicksilver Mutagens and a stone-self potion; has used healing potions and prepared spider-climbing and resistance potions.
• Fights with a shield, spear, clan dagger, and spike gauntlet, and has blocked attacks, escaped restraint, and made close-range attacks.
• Crafts and repairs equipment, manages supplies, and has led crews building shelters and tending Camp’s livestock.
• Examines corpses and has made determinations about torture, cause of death, and wounds.
• Supported refugees and Camp with supplies, shelters, food, livestock, and proposed morale-raising work.
• Suggested scouting and diversion tactics, tracked and fought a lone Hobgoblin, and helped ambush Hobgoblin patrols and supply wagons.
• Shared information and negotiated with Rangers, a ghost, and the workshop korred; urged wounded rangers to arm themselves and watch for reinforcements.
• Fought alongside the Party at Fort Trevely, including against trolls, Hobgoblins, and a spellcaster.
• Fought the dragon with bottled lightning and bombs, and argued for staying to fight over the hoard.
• Discussed the tower’s water feature and whether the rangers could defend the fort; called for finding the departed refugees and collapsing a tunnel entrance.