Each month, Character Closeup introduces a brand-new NPC related to the current d12 Monthly zine issue. These are fully detailed and ready to use at the table. These are original characters designed to drop straight into your campaign as potential allies, rivals, or adversaries for your adventuring party.
This NPC is associated with Issue 54 of d12 Monthly.
Some make an appearance in my own campaign world.
You can download a PDF featuring Hargun Stonevein at the end of this article.
Hargun Stonevein – Dwarven Giantslayer
A Short History of Hargun Stonevein
Hargun Stonevein was born the third son of a respected but unremarkable mining family in the eastern hills, expected to spend his life cutting stone and shoring tunnels rather than carving a name for himself.
That changed when a band of hill giants descended from the high passes during a lean winter, smashing an outlying dwarf stead and killing Hargun’s elder brother along with a dozen clanfolk.
Hargun survived only because he was buried beneath a collapsed storehouse, pulled free hours later by rescue crews who mistook his stillness for death.
In the aftermath, Hargun swore the Giantslayer’s Oath before the clan forge, binding himself to vengeance rather than inheritance.
He abandoned the mine, took up axe and shield, and joined a caravan guard heading into giant-haunted borderlands.
His first years were marked by brutal lessons: companions crushed by thrown stones, near-death beneath a giant’s club, and long marches that ended in retreat rather than triumph.
Hargun’s first giant kill came not in glorious battle, but in a narrow ravine, where he hacked at a wounded giant’s legs until it fell and could be finished at close quarters.
Level 3 – The Oath-Bearer
A young but driven dwarf who has sworn vengeance rather than earned it.
Dwarf Fighter 3
AC 4 [15] (chain mail, shield)
HP 17
Att 1 × two-handed axe (1d10)
THAC0 19 [0]
S14 I10 W 9 D9 C15 Ch8
MV 60′ (20′)
SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16
AL Lawful
Morale 9
Dwarf Abilities:
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- Detect Construction Tricks
- Detect Room Traps
- Infravision: 60-ft
- Listening at Doors: 2-in-6
- Resilience: +4
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Special:
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- Giantslayer’s Oath: +1 to hit against giants and ogre-kind
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Gear:
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- His Father’s Great Axe: A +1 magic weapon
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Motivation: To prove himself worthy of his clan’s fallen dead, slain by hill giants in a border raid.
Appearance: Broad-shouldered, with a carefully braided beard and unscarred armour bearing fresh clan runes.
Personality: Grim, earnest, and rigidly honour-bound; takes insults seriously and trusts tradition over experience.
How the Road Has Changed Him:
At this stage, Hargun’s hatred of giants is idealised and absolute – he imagines glory, not cost, and believes skill alone will carry him through.
Level 6 – The Giant-Killer
A seasoned slayer who has learned that giants die hard and dwarves die easily.
Dwarf Fighter 6
AC 3 [16] (plate mail)
HP 36
Att 1 × two-handed axe +1 (1d10+1)
THAC0 17 [+2]
S14 I10 W 9 D9 C15 Ch8
MV 60′ (20′)
SV D10 W11 P12 B13 S14
AL Lawful
Morale 10
Special:
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- Giantslayer’s Oath: +2 to hit against giants and ogre-kind
- +2 bonus on saves vs. giant rock-throwing and crushing attacks
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Gear:
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- His Father’s Great Axe: A +1 / +3 vs. Giant weapon
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Motivation: To actively hunt giants before they can threaten dwarfholds and human settlements alike.
Appearance: Beard hacked shorter from fire and blood, armour dented and reforged many times; one eye clouded from a giant’s club.
Personality: Coldly practical and wary; respects competence over lineage and has little patience for boasts or hesitation.
How the Road Has Changed Him:
Hargun no longer seeks glory, only results. He studies giant tactics, terrain, and habits, and retreats without shame if it means surviving to strike again.
Level 9 – The Living Rune
A legend among dwarves, and a name whispered in giant camps.
Dwarf Fighter 9
AC 2 [17] (plate mail +1)
HP 54
Att 2 × two-handed axe (1d10+1)
THAC0 14 [+5]
S14 I10 W 9 D9 C15 Ch8
MV 60′ (20′)
SV D8 W9 P10 B11 S12
AL Lawful
Morale 11
Special:
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- Giantslayer’s Oath: +3 to hit and damage against giants and ogre-kind
- Giants must make a Morale check when first engaging
- Hargun never needs to roll Morale vs. Giants
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Gear:
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- His Father’s Great Axe: A +1 / +3 vs. Giant weapon
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Motivation: To ensure giants never again rise unchecked by training others and destroying ancient giant strongholds.
Appearance: Thickly scarred, with a white-streaked beard bound in iron rings etched with kill-runes; moves stiffly but purposefully.
Personality: Quiet, heavy with memory, and unyielding; speaks rarely, but every word carries weight and finality.
How the Road Has Changed Him:
Hargun has become more symbol than mortal dwarf. He knows he will not die peacefully, and accepts it, seeing himself as a weapon forged by fate and clan alike.
PDF Download
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While You’re Here…
Since 2021 I have been publishing d12 Monthly, a monthly zine, which has a ton of articles for any edition of Dungeons and Dragons.
Printed copies are available in my store. The PDF is available on DriveThruRPG and you can get both, plus support my work, via my Patreon.
I will also be releasing some more products in the near future.
Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or my contact page any time.