Proposed Armament for the Hearthguard
Pieces I would like to propose for the various members of the Hearthguard:
For Ylva:
Durak Azulkazad
Hard Iron Fortress
A set of hard Adamant plate covers the bearer from head-to-toe in the most unyielding of armor, left at base a pristine, mountain-snow white. Damascene and acid-treatment has exposed the inner patterns, glittering and gleaming at even the slightest touch of the light, fractal, ordered patterns that bear a faint resemblance to the physical form of the Runes her lord forges. The exceptions to this color are the hard gromril chain that armors the harness where plate or scale are unviable, lacquered red, and trimmings of reddest, brightest brass, in particular at the face mask and at in the helmet's crest, a particularly fearsome image of a Brana's snarling visage in the enclosed, flat-topped helmet. For a bit more offensive fire and to fit with the effect, the knuckles--all of the knuckles--in the armor have hearthstones inset to act as fiery knuckle-dusters, so that in grappling the Fire Keeper is just that bit more dangerous. Three plates of reddened brass serve to hold her cloak to the armor, each etched with a great victory of the Hearthguard: Saving the children of He who Thinks and Ebonbeak, Cleansing the Mines, and saving the survivors of Dum.
Runically, it carries:
The Master Rune of Valaya (Ancient Stone Troll Blood): Protection from magic, the best of endurance. Stoic, stubborn, vigour, to keep fighting, to keep standing, protection from even the worst, most terrible of enemy spells conferred by the hunger of the worst, most terrible of trolls, a power beyond power, a strength beyond strength, no eldritch power threatening her, no perfidious spell endangering her, no mere tiredness slowly draining her. If the enemy would kill her, they shall need to kill her, not simply outlast her.
Rune of Grungni (Barazgal): Arrows, stones, boulders, they all shall simply fail against the wearer of Durak, as Grungni offers his protection to the bearer, to the Valkryrie of His Wife. Given the most pure, the best, of Oathgold, it will protect her from ranged attacks, leaving one less avenue of offense no matter the scale, whether it be a mere bow from some gori or a mighty boulder tossed by a depraved and fallen giant, ensuring they must enter melee combat with her.
Rune of Stone (Adamant): The armor is further hardened, providing a last, base level of protection in melee combat, protection from all three avenues of threat. Sword and spear, axe and hammer, mace and flail, all shall strike the hardened Adamant and break, bend, fail. The blows of Daemons shall not pierce it, and the strikes of Fimir will not scratch it, as inviolate and unbreakable as the iron will of the once valkyrie who wears it to combat.
My Hope: Straightforwardly, a combination of protection along the three axes: Magical, Ranged, and Melee. Master Rune of Valaya, as I consider Esoteric Magical Bullshit the biggest threat to anyone wearing this, then the Rune of Grungni for ranged, and the Rune of Stone for Melee (and as a general defensive option). I believe it will combo to essentially make a nearly-tireless, just-short of invincible, warrior that can resolutely strike at anyone--and everyone--and just keep fighting, in particular useful in fighting enemy leaders, champions, hyper-combatants, etc.
Drungula A Dum
Masterful Vanquisher of Evil
A single-handed ax with a single, bearded blade. The haft, of wutroth stained a bright red, has a grip of Ancient Troll Hide split from the main portion of the haft with silver bands studded with hearthstones, and a counter-balance to the weight itself in the form of a cap of that same pure silver worked to resemble a Brana landing on a mountain, resolute and defiant. The adamant head, meanwhile, is designed to look like Valaya's plaits, each loop etched and filigreed with some legend of Valaya. The dominant, of course, are the stories of the creation of the Pillars and the foundation of Clan Winterhearth, so long ago now. So many evils slain by her hand, her resolute will turning them aside with naught but a mere shrug in the face of such wickedness.
Runically, it carries:
Master Rune of Currents (Elder Griffon's Brain): As Ylva's armor makes her a mountain, resolute and unyielding, this becomes the furious, whipping winds at the peak of the mountain. Quick, cold, unblockable strikes shear through the opponents as the simple might of those mountain gales will one day carve through mountain stone, hacking through the shoddy defenses of lesser smiths as easily as easily as a chisel through ready metal, punching and biting into them. Enduring her strikes becomes as akin to enduring the top of the very mountain itself.
Rune of Cleaving (Thundertusk Horn): Cold to cleave, cold to cut, cold to slash. Raw strength and raw force fill every blow, allowing each and every cut to carve through even the best enemy armor with ease. Should the enemy prove resolutely strong of body, the blows will strike with the force necssary to smite, to slay, to end, hacking through any natural protection, any hardened thew, any bit of scale as surely as it would cut through cheap iron chain.
Rune of Chain Lightning (Dragon Ogre Shaggoth Brain): The malicious wisdom of a being antediluvian and cruel guids every blow to the most fruitful spot it can be aimed, gaps in armor, joints, eyes, and other weakpoints, the lightning it devoured unleashed with ferocious guile by an ancient mind to strike the foe with bolts of unblockable lightning.
My Hope: Fast, unblockable, mighty blows allow Ylva to break through enemy champion armor, shields and other equipment and protection and hack them down, even as her own armor allows her to withstand their attacks with ease, a mountain-peak and mountain storm acting as one, even as unblockable, mighty lightning trails from the original foe along with buffeting, sharp winds to smite lesser foes, breaking through their armor with ease as well.
For Rudil:
Dammak Wyrharaza
Grudge Bearing White Fire
A finely made set of heavy armor, the upper torso covered by Adamant Plate and below the waist sheathed under scales sewn directly to Ancient Troll Hide, though scale also acts as the flexible portion of the armor. Twin horns erupt from the open faced helm, reinforced with bands of Adamant and colored a pristine white, encrusted with Hearthstone. The armor is lacquered a bright red, the better to allow the Hearth Guard to see their commander in battle, while the plate is trimmed with white knotwork of best and purest of gold depicting Grimnir's salvation of Kraka Drak while the bottom scales have the mundane form of various Runes related to him--Grimnir, The Master Rune of Grimnir, The Master Rune of Grimnir's Ferocity, and so on--filigreed in gold. Interrupting this are three Runes: The Master Rune of Rune of Infernos, the Rune of Grimnir, and the Rune of Courage.
Runically, it carries:
The Master Rune of Infernoes (Elder Magma Wyrm Blood): Bright fire, burning fire, unending fire. Fire above and fire below. A shield of fire, bright and hot, scorching the enemy within its range even as it leaves friends and compatriots unharmed, the fire washing over them without even a bit of ash left behind, protecting the bearer. If need be, It can be exploded in a great wave of fire that will scorch away all evils, all wretched things, all foemen slain in its fury.
Rune of Grimnir (Adamant): Fierce and warlike is Grimnir, strong in battle, cunning in strategy. Hard shall be the will of he who bears the armor that channels, mighty shall be their prowess and resolute their courage, their resolve, their Will, not as Grimnir the Slayer, Grimnir the Doomed, but as Grimnir the Strategist, the Able, the Warrior. Warlike, resolved, focused, a strategist and tactictian and leader as much as a warrior.
Rune of Courage (Grimnirzan): But even the best strategist must sometimes screw himself to the sticking place, must find his courage and his resolve and his willingness to endure, to keep fighting, to last just that bit longer. As bright and fiery Grimnir himself shall fight they who come near the wearer, the bearer, the leader of the Hearthguard, resolute and terrible in that resolution, no enemy too terrible to face, no foe too dread to withstand.
My hope: The Master Rune of Infernoes Combos with the Rune of Grimnir and the Rune of Courage to essentially create a walking, burning ball of sheer, unrelenting resolve, even as the fire itself continues to burn away at the foe, so that Rudil can deploy himself where the fighting is thickest, whether that be because the enemy is so numerous that they are drowning the Hearth Guard in bodies or so terrible that even Dwarf resolve begins to wane.
Rudil's weapon:
Kazaken Zanaz
Warring Red Ax
A daneax, hefty and cleaving and strong. The head of purest Adamant, pristine, fiery, raging red, hard and sharp and biting, an unwavering thing. Gold as white as snow is inlaid on the blunt body in the shape of Grimnir's Heraldry, surrounded by precious stones from the Major Holds he established before his Doom: A ruby of Karak Kadrin, a sapphire of Karak Agilwutraz, and an emerald of Zhufbar, breaking up what could otherwise be a boring color palette. The opposite side is filigreed with proverbs, wisdoms and writing from the Kazakul Kron, and one larger than the others: Die For Something Worthy. The haft, made of the best of Wutroth worked to a white like the snows that cap the World's Edge Mountains, has a counterwight at the back depicting Grimnir the Warrior, made of shimmering white gold, while the grip--made of Ancient Troll Hide dyed red to break up the monotony--is split from the rest of the haft by two bands of shimming gold inlaid with whitest pearls.
Runically, it bears:
The Master Rune of Grimnir (Sky King's Crest Feathers): Fury, ability, strategy and tactics alike. The bearer will battle like a nascent god of war, throwing himself into the fight with both a dreadful resolve--to kill his enemies--and a great ability, a melding of Grimnir the Doomed and Grimnir the Valiant, Grimnir the leader, battling as an equal to the both of them. No enemy will surpass him in skill, in strategy, in tactic or cunnings.
Rune of Battle (Dragon Ogre Shaggoth Brain): An evil brain, a wicked brain; but not one without valor, not one without ability, not one without experience. His brothers in arms shall see this ax and fight as those ancient, veteran monsters, who stood through many battles and waged many wars, the experience ripped from their minds to serve the dwarfs who slayed them in the end.
Rune of The Ancestors (Grimnirzan): A line from warrior to warrior, back and back and back, to days long since passed, back to the first and greatest of warriors: Back, to mighty Grimnir, Grimnir who slays monsters, Grimnir who ravages the foe, Grimnir who knows war as a fish knows water, as a bird knows the air, as a dwarf knows stone, Grimnir The Warrior. Along the way, gathering, harnessing the ability of his children and his grandchildren and so on, until the warrior becomes as Grimnir, and his allies shall follow him.
My Hope: A warrior, a killer, a battler, but most of all a leader. One who Knows war, one who can examine the field of battle, look upon it and see what must be done and then push himself to do it no matter what, breaking hordes and slaying foemen as surely as he can adroitly command his allies, themselves infuenced by the aura of Grimnir that Rudil invokes. Ideally it ends up forming a Set Combo with my proposed armor such that the aura Dammak Wyrharaza transfers the buffs of both that armor and this ax such that every ally within at least the Hearth Guard becomes a Terminator.
Norgrim's armor:
Brynmohnar
Brightshadow
A brigandine of night-blue cloth and black studs, lined with plates of pure white Adamant on the inside, draping down to the thighs. The leather is made of Elder Frost Wyrm Hide, worked until it does not make a noise, leaving only the slight thud of Adamant against Adamant. Grim faced Gazul dominates the center of the armor torso, shiny red zinc outlining his visage and drawing the enemy's attention there, to where the Adamant is thickest and strongest and most resilient, fiery red hearthstones acting as his eyes to ensure the gaze is drawn there and not elsewhere, and a massive one carved to resemble Zharrvengryn. Imagery representing the various aspects of Gazul, but particularly the flame, flows along the brigandine.
Runically it bears:
Master Rune of Disguise (Needs to be converted to armor) (T4 Invisible Diamonds) -or- Master Rune of Concealment (Don't know, would need to learn, is already armour based) ( T4???): No foe shall see him, no enemy know him, no monster sight him until it is time, time for him to act, to slay, to cut, to carve, and hunt. He shall track the world unknown, unseen, unheard, until the time is right for him to be seen, until it is the moment for him to be a danger.
Rune of Discord (Ancient Greedy Troll's Blood): Witless, ignorant, arrogant, and unseeing, the foe shall be turned into half-wits by the presence of the armor, confused and discordant and idiotic as a pack of trolls, hungry and stupid.
Rune of Terror (Elder Shard Wyrm's Blood): Terror will follow him. His enemies will fear, and dread, and imagine, what he might do to them; they will picture what he has done; they will know what he desires to do, even as he is unseen. When they do see him, know him, locate him, the dread will grow all the worse for then he shall be on them, unassailable in this, the garb of a monster slayer, the armor of the best of rangers, a shadow they cannot find nor kill.
My Hope: An aura of dread, fear, terror, and despair will follow him, disorganizing the enemy, leaving them easy pickings and easy prey for the ranger, until he appears seemingly out of a nightmare and proves he is their dread, their terror, their hunter made manifest, an enemy force turned into an easily broken mob.
Norgrim Weapon:
Dalgnolokri Darar
Wise Old Craftsman's Challenger
A crossbow and testament to the craftsmanship of the Dwarfs, coming at it from both angles: both the aesthetic beauty, the artistry, of Grungni, and of Thungni, and of Smednir; and the form, and function, of Morgrim. It is not entirely without decoration, of course, no Runesmith would tolerate that, but it is much milder than usual, depicting the smithy of Smednir on the left prong, lightly carved into the Adamant, while the right depicts Morgrim's workshop, both extremely detailed as usual. The wooden stock depicts Grungni working with his fellow Ancestors, his fellow craftsmen, teaching them their arts, such that they are. The bolt rest resembles (small) mountains, also allowing it to act as a sight. The mechanism is the simplest, and therefore, most reliable, possible form. The bolt nut holds the Master Rune, the right prong the Rune of Morgrim, and the left prong the Rune of Smednir.
Runically, it bears:
The Master Rune of Breaking (T4 Cockatrice Eye): No armor may withstand its bolts, no sword parry them, no talisman deflect them. Every shot shall break, disorientate, frighten, weakening, withering, lowering, ruining, such that if the first shot does not kill then the next will--and if not the next shot, then the ax blow that follows.
Rune of Smednir (Adamant): The maker of metal, the smith, the craftsman and an artist, one who seeks first and foremost beauty in his creations. His gaze shall fall, resolutely, on the enemy's works, looking for even the slightest flaw even as his hammer purifies the metal of the crossbow itself, making it pristine. Smednir's standards were hellacious for his own apprentice's, his judgement utterly harsh and without mercy, and that towards people he theoretically tolerated; guess how he shall judge the work of his enemies?
Rune of Morgrim (Ancient Greedy Troll Heart): Form Follows Function, and so Morgrim is pleased with this form from his heart and so he shall make it function, ensuring the crossbow is perfect. Further it will elide together with the Master Rune of Breaking: Morgrim's standards are much the more objective than his brothers, making it all the more galling that the enemy cannot meet them.
My Hope: Very strong alpha strike as well as very strong sustain by applying an immediate buff removal to the enemy while still being pretty dangerous afterwards what with power from both Smednir and Morgrim making it a very good crossbow, possibly expanding break to less manufactured notions since, after all, it must function.
