Krieg

Krieg is a human priest of Kord from Ratik. He was portrayed by Brian Carpenter.

History
Krieg was born 572 CY in the Kingdom of the Fruztii, the son of a Frost Barbarian father and a Ratikian mother. His father was a warrior in King Ralff’s army, and fought in the Battle of Loftwood in 577 CY, in which a combined Ratik/Frutzii force destroyed forces led by the Vile Rune orcs of the Bone March. His father slew many foes in that battle, but was unfortunately brought down by several orcish arrows.

Soon after his father’s death, Krieg left the lands of the Frost Barbarians with his mother and returned to her family in Marner, Ratik, where she remarried in 579. Krieg's stepfather was a successful shipbuilder who valued hard work and discipline, neither of which were the lad's strong points, who preferred to spend his time roaming the wilds beyond the town or roughhousing with the other boys rather than learning a trade. Krieg became even more distant from his family with the birth of a younger brother in 580, and the youth soon found himself spending much time in the local temple of Kord. Krieg found something comforting in the sheer physical, straightforward nature of Kord’s priests and their effective, if simple, way of addressing problems, and soon became a regular fixture at the temple, volunteering for any task the priests would give him, be it bearing water, sweeping floors, polishing weapons, or cleaning chamberpots.

In return for his services, the priests trained Krieg in the athletic and combative arts, and eventually initiated him into their order, completing his training in 594 CY. Argas, his mentor, gave Krieg a list of several contests of athletic and martial prowess held in various towns and cities across the Flanaess, and told him that it was tradition for novice priests of the Brawler to spend their early years traveling and competing in such events before eventually settling down and training the next generation of Kordites. One event in particular interested Krieg–the Champion’s Games, a fairly new event held in far-off Greyhawk City, more than a year off. Luckily, Argas had an old adventuring friend in the area, a wizard name Allustan, who lived in the town of Diamond Lake, just three days east of Greyhawk. Argas gave Krieg a letter of introduction to give to the wizard, should he need a place to stay or an opportunity to earn coin.

Over the next year, Krieg traversed the eastern Flanaess, where he competed in many events, in small villages or great cities alike, winning some and losing many, but improving his skills with each competition. He arrived in Diamond Lake Reaping 20, 595 CY, where he secured lodging at the Able Carter Coaching Inn, where he slept until midday. By early evening, Krieg had located Allustan’s house, where he was warmly received. Unfortunately, the Champion’s Games were some two months away. To help occupy the young priest's time, Allustan proposed that he join the wizard's apprentice, Jethias, on a small excursion to fight a band of evil cultists beneath Dourstone Mine. The two then went into the mines, were they joined forces with the Steelfire band and the necromancer Filge (along with his pet troglodyte zombie, "Herman"), and brought the cult of the Ebon Triad low. Krieg left Diamond Lake shortly after this excursion, on Reaping 22.

Krieg would eventually arrive in Greyhawk, where he began competing in a fighting ring in the city's Foreign Quarter known as the Pit. There, he made the acquaintance a half-orc barbarian named Aushtar Bloodgrin, a dwarven barbarian named Durlauf Dragonhyde, a human fighter named Fredricka the Fierce, and a human pugilist named Marcus. The five soon decided to band together and enter the Champion's Games. By Harvester, the group had found a sponsor in Lord Gerdacyr of Verbobonc, a frequent visitor to Greyhawk and former adventurer himself. Confident in their physical prowess, but concerned that Krieg's healing magic would not be enough to keep the entire party in good health, Aushtar and Fredricka recruited Verben Ranzoff, a cleric of Pelor whom they'd just recently adventured with. Calling themselves the Teeth of Kord, the six entered the Champion's Games, where they made it to the semifinals, only to be defeated by Auric's Warband. Krieg would later attend the Steelfire band's post-Games celebration dinner, congratulating his old allies on their victory.