Table of Contents
The Story of Thuzar Goldflask
Life at the Free Wall
A Passion for a Good Brew
Becoming Golden
A Passion for More Powerful Brews
Into the Sunless Citadel
Introduction
Thuzar Goldflask is a character I created for the D&D 5E version of The Sunless Citadel, a campaign for a party of level 1-3 characters. I chose to go with a Sorcerer of the Draconic Bloodline type, but instead of being the descendant of a dragon, they became dragon-like after consuming the essence of a gold dragon who once lived among the mines of his homeland’s hills. This gave me room to create a strong but well-rounded character who is steeped in their own personal lore, and can be roleplayed for both their strengths and weaknesses. This also gave me the chance to justify the alignment of the character as someone with evil and trouble in their heart being converted to someone who is good-natured but still resistant to falling in line with societal conventions and customs.
The Story of Thuzar Goldflask
Life at the Free Wall
As a mere child, Thuzar had dreams of being wealthy and powerful, wanting to hoard wealth and artifacts just as the red dragon from his favorite childhood story did, rather than sympathizing with the heroes who made a journey fraught with peril and sacrifice to eventually confront the dragon in their former homeland. With this as his primary objective in life, he had taken to mining the free walls, an area where his clan went to train new blood and test equipment against a sturdy low-yield wall of stone and rough ore. Every now and then someone would find something worthwhile, such as a small jewel or part of an artifact, which is why Thuzar spent his time there, despite being seen as a misguided child by neophyte miners and their overseers, but they would nor deny the chance for him to take up a passion in mining. Prior to the free wall, there had been a cave-in at the previous training cavern long before, which forced the mining overseers to use the free wall as their proving grounds for mining. Due to the stability, anyone was allowed to freely mine there and it was generally considered safe. Thuzar managed to stumble upon it with no guidance from others, and was present for a rare occurrence where someone found something of worth on his first day of mining, which was part of a large golden scale with a dense cluster of ancient gold coins and jewels embedded in it.
By the age of 15, Thuzar had found that he could get away by completing his chores with a non-thorough job, then heading out. Normally a dwarf would be kept in line by their family, but aside from his parents, most of the closer members of his closer kin had moved a quarter day’s travel away because the area where they once lived was identified as a cave-in risk. This left it up to his parents to raise him, and he was too much for them, being somewhat of a dishonest troublemaker. He knew he’d get chewed out for not doing well at his chores, but instead of doing better the next time, he’d do just a bit worse, until it got to the point where he was simply not asked to do chores anymore because it would take more work to clean up his mess and sort things properly after. This also made him appear untrustworthy and limited his opportunities, so he got to know the free wall quite well, as it did not judge the miner who set tools upon it. He never had anything to show for it but a pile of stone and sometimes a few chunks of material worthy of a few copper coins, except one resinous, gleaming gold jewel that he found. It was a curious jewel, it made him feel at ease and peaceful when he held it, and it seemed as if it called to him in some unspoken way whenever he was away from it for long. Instead of banging on the free wall with his spare time, he’d go somewhere secluded and meditate with the stone in hand. He never once revealed the jewel to anyone – a rough droplet shape with a perfect sheen of the purest gold, but somewhat translucent and resinous like a golden amber, about the size of a fingertip.
A Passion for a Good Brew
A few years later, he became of age to drink, and realized his new passion lied in bottles, kegs, and barrels. It was tough to build trust back, but he eventually showed a good effort and interest, plus exceptional endurance, and was taken on as an apprentice to the brewing guild at age 30. As to be expected, he started off doing manual grunt-work like moving equipment and hoisting sacks of grain up to the mash reservoir, and was very thorough and diligent with every step of every task. He observed everything with every brew, asking questions about each and every step, and by 35 was starting to work hands-on with the more important and time-sensitive processes. He was also entrusted to clean the equipment, which is a high honor since even the smallest speck of leftover material could affect the next brew, and one had to be extremely careful to not scratch or dent any piece as that could make them vulnerable to collecting unwanted impurities.
Two years later he’d started forming a plan, after having seen a different resinous stone get used in a brew where it was fully dissolved. The resulting beverage was sticky and tasted like tar, but appeared to have properties similar to a potion of healing, which was a rare task for the brewing guild as that normally falls into the hands of the alchemist guild. After a major seasonal brew, Thuzar volunteered to clean up the equipment and restock everything by himself. It would be two weeks before anyone would go into there again, which was plenty of time for him to make a small brew that nobody would notice. Using a smaller specialty mash system, he took the golden droplet jewel and mashed it with the grains, but added it whole as he felt compelled by the jewel to keep it intact. The jewel seemed to fully dissolve, and made the brew shine with an iridescent golden glow. As the brew cooled, the volume shrunk from a few gallons to the size of a good beer, but retained its weight. Without hesitation, but with great struggle, Thuzar drank it down, feeling an electric tingling throughout his body with each labored sip. The feeling Thuzar got from holding the stone was greatly intensified, and was now a part of him at all times.
Becoming Golden
Over the coming months, Thuzar would start to exhibit odd new signs. He started getting a sense of things that are more magical in the world, he started to present himself in even more of a respectful and dignified manner, and he started showing odd cracks and seams throughout his skin which began to manifest into faint dragon scales. This was noticed by his parents, who sought out the wisest of the clan for answers. They gathered and looked at Thuzar, and asked him of how he may have been affected, and told them all of the jewel and the forbidden brew he made. A few gasps and murmurs spread, and developed into uproar after the wise elders managed to confirm to the crowd what happened. The essence of a gold dragon who lived in the hills had been left behind, and he had crudely but proficiently turned it into a brew that would infuse himself with that essence. As the gathering adjourned, the leader of the brewer’s guild approached Thuzar and told him he would be formally expelled from the guild at the guild’s next meeting, for using the equipment in an unauthorized way, even if nothing was damaged and the equipment was all completely clean afterwards.
Upset at the loss of his status as a brewer, Thuzar took to the library to study law, to see if there was anything that would help him make a case for return. Along the way, he started taking an interest in books about other cultures and their laws, and started to realize no cultures agree on any one thing for anything that truly matters, and that laws themselves are relative and not universally absolute. He even managed to find a way to trick his mind into thinking it knows languages that it doesn’t in order to read them, and it worked surprisingly well, as he was able to read volumes of old scripts written in draconic and interpret them in full, even pronouncing the written word properly when spoken.
A Passion for More Powerful Brews
While studying law, he came across a book that had been checked out by a senior member of the alchemy guild Ol Halaur Torst–meaning Magic Gift Fun, as their potions were often known for whimsy and merriment. He visited the alchemist and they got to know one another, and discussed law as a subject. One form of law that wasn’t in the library was about the laws of magic, which the alchemist taught to Thuzar by providing a lengthy tome that details the arcane. By the end of it, Thuzar managed to discover that he’d taken on sorcerous powers to some extent, as a side-effect of the golden droplet potion, and the energized sensation he felt from the golden droplet was the arcane powers that now flow through him.
At 45, he was asked to join the Alchemist guild, where he began learning how to apply his newfound knowledge and powers to making the finest remedies, as well as powerful chemicals for a variety of purposes. This continues for fifteen years, at which point Thuzar sheds his apprenticeship and is accepted as a junior member. His research ended up running into a dead-end, one which many have run into before him, one which can only be resolved by taking matters into one’s own hands. In order to proceed, he must search out materials that the lab does not have, and processes the lab doesn’t have on record. He was given permission by the guild to travel by wagon to the location where an ancient book of alchemical processes was believed to have been stashed. While on a commissioned errand for the guild, Thuzar’s member dues are waived, and is considered in good standing unless he returns with no materials and no additional useful information about where those materials may be found.
Into the Sunless Citadel
Thuzar spends his resources making a variety of special batches for the journey to where the tome that Ol Halaur Torst seeks, including condensed meal draughts to last for weeks, a few healing potions, a few remedies to known deadly conditions, and a few packs of specially-prepared ceramic sling stones containing pressurized chemicals. Unfortunately, the resources he made were mostly expended through trading and use during the journey to the region where the Sunless Citadel was known to be located, along with other supplies the guild sent with the commissioned group. Being the only capable fighter of the group, Thuzar was requested to find others willing to brave the depths, which one of the elders claimed would be waiting for him when he reached the nearby town of Oakhurst, and that there were friends to be found within as well.
This proved to be true, and he met with the adventurers Sonthelion, Taradyn Wishbreaker, and Zerrias Thews, who were also seeking to assist the town with the local threat from the cavernous temple nearby. Within the Sunless Citadel, he managed to befriend the Kobolds who were at war with the invading Goblins from further down, who had also trapped and caged a Gnome Cleric named Erky Timbers who joined the four after being rescued. Together they braved the depths, and emerged successful!
Character Sheet (Start of Campaign)
Profile
Race: Hill Dwarf
Age: 70
Trade: Brewer/Alchemist
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Class: Sorcerer
Walk speed: 25
Attributes
Strength 10
Dexterity 14
Constitution 16 (+2 of which from being a Hill Dwarf)
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 12 (+1 of which for being a Hill Dwarf)
Charisma 14
Proficiencies
Arcana, Deception, Insight, Persuasion
Brewing Supplies, Alchemy Supplies
Dwarven weapon training
Sorcerer weapon training
Languages
Common, Dwarvish, Draconic
Additional Features
Darkvision – 60 Feet
Advantage to saving throws vs poison
Resistance to poison damage
Stonecunning – History proficiency granted when analyzing stonework
+2 HP/lvl (Hill Dwarf and Draconic Bloodline)
Natural AC 13 + Dex Bonus
Gold Dragon Affinity
Double Charisma for Proficiency when interacting with Dragons
Inventory
Traveler’s Clothes
Warhammer (also acted as Arcane Focus)
Dungeoneer’s pack
Light Crossbow with 20 Bolts
Sling with 20 Stones
Letter of Introduction from Ol Halaur Torst
Bedroll
Mess Kit
Torches
Rations
Waterskin
10 Feet of Hemp Rope
Potion identification tools from an Alchemy Kit
Cantrips
Fire Bolt
Mending
Prestidigitation
Mage Hand
Level 1 Spells
Comprehend Languages
Burning Hands