Shirra

World: Forgotten Realms, Dungeons and Dragons, high fantasy.

Shirra’s Backstory

Daughter of Naurim from the Plinthstone keep. From early childhood she was surrounded by extremely materialistic culture, where her fellow gold dwarves believed themselves superior than other dwarves and other races in general, but her people weren’t isolationistic and traded with nearby settlements. To a gold dwarf, there was no greater purpose than to fashion the minerals of the earth into things of beauty. Gold dwarf guilds took great care in their craftsmanship, often spending centuries to perfect their work and mark it distinctively as their own, a practice that was carried down to even the most simple tools, marking such items with detailed runes and carefully shaped flairs. Shirra’s father, a blacksmith, taught her and guided her to be his successor in smithery, but Shirra always dreamt of greater things. When she turned 70 – about 20 y.o by human terms – she left the keep to explore the world.

Over the years she gathered quite a few friends around her with whom she traveled the realms in search of adventures. One of such comrades was a half-orc woman named Durgat, who was a cleric of Ilmater. Durgat, despite being a half-orc, was a gentle soul and became a dear... friend... to Shirra. So much so Shirra still bears Durgat’s clan tattoos on her body in her honor. Durgat died while protecting Shirra – to her it was a terrible blow, because nothing is more important and honorable to a dwarf than protecting their friends and loved ones.

After Durgat’s death Shirra said goodbyes to her friends and retired from the life of adventuring, but still kept correspondence with them. She opened an inn for travelers on a popular road between the cities of Mulptan and Mulsantir, in the harsh land of Rashemen. It’s a simple life that allows her to stay connected to people and learn their stories, while simultaneously providing them good food and comfortable housing.

Shirra’s Appearance

Shirra is a female dwarf, more specifically a hill dwarf, or gold dwarf. In her 110’s she can be considered close to being middle-aged, but she still retains some of carefreeness of her youth. Shirra is 140cm tall and is quite tall for a female dwarf, and weighs 85kg – she’s built like a mountain, all stocky hardiness and firm muscle with ample curves. She has a square face, open and friendly, with freckles and lines of laughter and sorrow after years of adventuring. Her blue eyes are small and shrewd, accentuated by bold winged eyeliner, and her hair is long and bright red. Shirra prefers to dress in practical clothes that don’t get in the way of her active lifestyle. Shirra’s arms and collarbones are adorned by faded tribal tattoos that don’t look like they are in the dwarven style. As all dwarves Shirra is rather hairy – her arms, pits, legs and lower belly are covered with thick red hair. Female dwarves grow facial hair but Shirra shaves off hers to grudgingly conform to the standards of beauty among non-dwarves, though she sometimes toys with a playful idea of growing a bushy mustache to twirl.

Shirra’s Personality

Shirra is a no nonsense woman that may come off as gruff but she has a warm core. She likes a good brawl, a good tankard of beer and a good tumble. Shirra actually brews her own beer and it’s quite good, if a tad too strong for non-dwarves. In her spare time she weaves on her loom: various carpets and tapestries adorn her inn, she makes her own clothes and does some basic enchantments on her creations. If fought Shirra is a formidable opponent, skilled with a battle hammer.

Shirra’s inn, The Good Egg (the name is a bit of a nod to Durgat who was considered a bad egg by her tribe for not being ferocious and a half breed), is a sturdy, spacious thing with two floors, stables and even a small adjoined building with baths that rests on hot springs. It’s a place where one just wants to linger. In The Good Egg, a halfling named Keri is employed as a cook there along with a young fire genasi named Asher as a waiter– both were given a place to stay and honest work by Shirra. Both a source of shenanigans that Shirra grumbles at but enjoys nonetheless. Shirra takes fierce pride in the inn, putting the same care and craftsmanship into it as her father had taught her to invest in the forge.

Shirra’s views on romance

Shirra would enjoy the company of a man or a woman that is strong both physically and spiritually, but on the other hand an idea of caring and spoiling someone weaker physically is unexpectedly appealing to her as well. She likes roughhousing: sparring and brawling is like foreplay to her.

Shirra’s speech patterns

Shirra speaks with a slight gold dwarven accent (stylized as Scottish), but makes an effort to tone it down so that others can understand her. When angered she slips into a thick brogue.

Hairy and fiery dwarven lady, a retired adventurer turned innkeeper. Set in Forgotten Realms.