Born and raised in Hochland, Goran Schaffer discovered at an early age that he was bigger and stronger than most other boys. His father was the village blacksmith, and Goran took after him in frame and power. Working in the forge from a young age built up his muscles further, but unlike his father, Goran longed to test his strength not against metal but against other people. He got into fights often, less from a bad temper than from a love of fighting, and by the age of ten, he could beat any boy and most men of the village. His father hoped he would outgrow his violent tendencies, but age only increased and honed them, and eventually the man admitted that his son would never follow in his footsteps. Instead, he apprenticed Goran to the town guard.[1a]
Goran excelled at fighting, with weapons and without, and soon he became the village tough, enforcing the mayor’s wishes both officially and out of uniform. When the governor of a nearby city passed that way, he noticed the tall blond guard and offered him a post with the city guard instead. Goran jumped at the chance to leave the town. Within a year, the governor had mentioned him to the local baron, and Goran found himself working for the baron as a personal guard. It was there that he met Woldred Adelof, one of the baron’s outriders.[1a]
For several years, Goran stayed with the baron, but eventually he grew bored with the job. It was too quiet, too safe. He needed people to fight, preferably people he had never met before. He wandered from Hochland to Talabecland and from there to Stirland and Averland, hiring on as a bodyguard for small caravans. Then, through a stroke of good luck, he met Woldred again. The other man had become a tomb robber and offered Goran a job with his crew, protecting them and providing muscle on their expeditions. It was an exciting prospect, full of danger and the unknown, and Goran jumped at it.[1a][1b]
Goran is a tall, powerfully built man in his prime. He has very short blond hair and pleasant, even handsome, features with a square jaw, a strong nose that’s been broken twice, and large blue eyes. He is not very talkative, preferring to let his actions speak for him, and he often resorts to threats and actual blows to make a point. Goran does have a sense of humour, but it is coarse, reaffirming both his village upbringing and his military training. He wears a mail shirt and a leather jack and carries both a longsword and a two-handed sword—it’s his prized possession, which he took from the body of an Orc chieftain he slew in single combat.[1b]