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Ruanaidh

by JD Wiker
Editing: Stan!
Layout and Typesetting: Marc Schmalz
Artist: Clarence Harrison

Ruanaidh is a free NPC offered in promotion of Swords of Our Fathers, the first publication from The Game Mechanics, Inc.

The Battleblade Scion of Sure

In Swords of Our Fathers, the tale of the Glen-Blades, Swift and Sure, speaks of a young elf ranger named Ruanaidh. Ruanaidh wields the legendary sword Sure, the companion to Swift, and it is to Ruanaidh that Swift has been leading the hero who wields it.

This is Ruanaidh's story.

Ruanaidh

The legendary blades of Laoghaire have passed from family member to family member for centuries. The blade Laoghaire called Cywir--known now as Sure--has come into the possession of an elf ranger named Ruanaidh.

Ruanaidh carries Sure with pride, though he is only barely aware of the legend behind it--and not at all aware of the existence of its sister blade, Buain. To Ruanaidh, Sure is the sword his

It had been Ruanaidh's lifelong dream to become a ranger, a member of the Wood-Walkers like his father, Hoireabaird, but, in truth, he hardly knew his father. For as long as he could remember, Hoireabaird had rarely stayed at home for more than a month at a time, and was often gone for many months in a row on mysterious quests to the west. Ruanaidh's mother, Aine, told him stories of Hoireabaird's heroism and bravery--knowing that he was a brave warrior, even when she couldn't understand his obsession with the west.

Then Hoireabaird disappeared for three years. Aine had long feared that one day Hoireabaird would not come back, and so was prepared to accept that this time he was, in fact, dead. But Ruanaidh could not bring himself to believe it. Whether it was faith in his father's abilities, or something else entirely, Ruanaidh felt that Hoireabaird was not only alive, but that he desperately needed his son. He swore to his mother that he would find out and bring his father back, one way or the other.

Ruanaidh set out westward, asking everywhere he went for news of Hoireabaird. Finally, after many months of traveling, he heard tales of an elf Wood-Walker imprisoned in a ruined tower by an undead warrior. Something told Ruanaidh that he was near the end of his quest. He located the tower and stole inside under cover of darkness. Sure enough, found his father locked in a cell--broken and battered by his years of captivity. Hoireabaird had been caught off guard while recovering from another battle, but the undead fiend who had defeated him had chosen, for some reason, not to kill the elven hero.

As Ruanaidh worked to free him, Hoirebaird told his son the little he knew of the tale of the Glen-Blades. The old ranger was certain that if Sure had been pulling him westward, Swift must be pulling someone else east to meet him. Hoireabaird guessed that his captor was using him as bait, in order to gain control of both blades. Though the undead warrior never confirmed this (and never said anything, in fact) the monster spent every hour of every night watching to the west as though it was waiting for someone to arrive.

But that wasn't important to Ruanaidh at the moment. Hoireabaird was locked behind a sturdy cell door, and Ruanaidh lacked the strength or the tools to break the door down. Hoireabaird suggested that the key might be elsewhere in the tower, and if Ruanaidh could find it before the undead warrior returned from his nightly vigil, father and son could face the monster together. Ruanaidh promised his father that he would return soon with the key, and dashed down the steps to explore the tower's cellar. He didn't find the key, but he did find Sure, lying atop the pile of his father's armor and equipment. Desperate now, Ruanaidh decided that if he couldn't find the key, at least he could use the magic sword to hack through the cell door. He raced back up the steps to free his father.

Somehow, though, the undead fiend had been alerted to Ruanaidh's arrival, and returned early. Ruanaidh arrived just in time to see the undead warrior emerge from Hoirebaird's cell and begin descending the staircase. The monster's rusty sword dripped fresh blood. Ruanaidh howled with grief, and the undead creature made a hollow, rasping sound--laughter. But the monster's dark mirth ended when it saw that Ruanaidh held Sure. The fiend raised its own blade, and Ruanaidh raised his father's sword.

The battle was intense, but apparently Hoireabaird had not gone meekly under the sword; the undead warrior was weakened. Though Ruanaidh sustained a scrape here, and a slash there, he finally drove Sure through the creature's grinning skull, ending its threat and avenging his father.

The young elf carried Hoireabaird's body back home, to be buried with honor. His mother told him that Hoireabaird's sword was something special--a legendary magic blade carried by members of his family for countless generations, though she knew little else about it. Now it belonged to Ruanaidh, and he swore that he would not dishonor it.

Ruanaidh joined the Wood-Walkers, intending to follow in his father's footsteps--though, as it turned out, not in the way he had anticipated. Not long after learning the rangers' ways, Ruanaidh began to feel a compulsion to journey west, back to where his father had died. Ruanaidh at first thought that it was his father's spirit, somehow calling him back. But even after he reached the ruined tower, he felt drawn still further westward. Ruanaidh has since guessed that this is somehow Sure's doing, but he doesn't know why. He does know that whenever he drops Sure upon the ground, it always lands pointing west, his dreams each night are filled with images involving westward travel, and that every evening when the sun sets it seems to pull his heart with it over the western horizon.

It is too much of a coincidence, Ruanaidh has decided. And lately, he has noticed that the sword has begun to land point-down when he drops it. Surely, that must mean that the object of his quest is growing closer.

Ruanaidh: Male elf Rgr 4/Battleblade scion 4; CR 8; Medium-sized humanoid; HD 4d10+8 plus 4d10+8; hp 62; Init +3 (+3 Dex); Spd 30 ft.; AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15; Base Attack: +8; Grp+8; Atk +12 melee (1d8+5, crit 18-20, Sure); Full Atk: +12/+7 melee (1d8+5, crit 18-20, Sure) or +10/+10/+5 melee (1d8+5, crit 18-20, Sure and 1d6+1, crit 19-20, shortsword) or +11/+6 ranged (1d8, crit ×3, composite longbow); SQ Elf traits, favored enemy (undead: +1), wild empathy; AL NG; SV Fort +10, Ref +5, Will +4; Str 12, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 13.

Skills and Feats: Climb +7, Hide +11, Move Silently +11, Ride +7, Search +10, Speak Common, Speak Elven, Speak Sylvan, Swim +7, Survival +9; Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Endurance, Mobility, Point Blank Shot, Track, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (longsword), Weapon Specialization (longsword).

Racial Traits: Immune to magic sleep effects; +2 racial bonus on Will saves against enchantment spells or effects; low-light vision; Search check within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door; Martial Weapon Proficiency (composite longbow, composite shortbow, longbow, shortbow, longsword, and rapier) as bonus feats; +2 racial bonus on Listen Spot, and Search checks (already included above).

Sure Abilities: +2 longsword, increased threat range, know direction, true strike.

Spells Prepared (2; base DC = 13 + spell level): 1st--delay poison, speak with animals.

Possessions: Sure, shortsword, composite longbow, 20 arrows, +1 chain shirt, backpack.

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Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

 

System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

 

Swords of Our Fathers Copyright 2003, The Game Mechanics, Inc.

 

Ruanaidh Copyright 2003, The Game Mechanics, Inc.