Durkon Thundershield

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caption=Durkon Thundershield, drawn by Rich Burlew.
comic_color=background:#8080ff
character_name=Durkon Thundershield
real_name=
publisher=Giant In The Playground
debut="The Order of the Stick" #1
creators=Rich Burlew
alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0
status=Active
alliances=Order of the Stick, Thor
previous_alliances=
aliases=
relatives=
powers=Spell-casting, undead-turning, combat proficient, can consume vast amounts of alcohol with no negative effects.|

Durkon Thundershield is a major character from The Order of the Stick, created, written and drawn by Rich Burlew. A 39-year-old dwarf, Durkon is the party's cleric, with Thor as his deity.

Character History

Pre-Order

Durkon was born in the dwarven lands and stayed there throughout his early life. He joined the temple of Thor as a cleric and lived within its walls.

Seventeen years prior to the formation of the Order of the Stick, Durkon was visited by Hurak, the high priest of Thor, who informed him that the deity had selected him for a mission to human lands. Durkon was to remain with humans indefinitely, ostensibly until he was summoned home to act as a cultural instructor to his people.

However, the true reason for the "mission" was that the priest of Odin had arrived at the temple that morning with a prophecy that, when Durkon next returned home, he would bring death and destruction upon his people. In order to thwart the prophesy, the high priest had no intention of ever calling Durkon home, leaving him effectively banished for life; possibly an unnecessary deception, as given Durkon's extreme sense of duty, he might well have accepted lifelong banishment for the good of his people.

Durkon made his way to human lands, where he almost immediately got off onto the wrong foot with the first humans that he met, then was appalled to discover that the best beer in human lands tasted, in his opinion, like moose urine.

Fourteen years later, Durkon was part of an adventuring group. Having grown surly and unpleasant as a result of his experiences, he was frequently sent on apparently suicidal missions by his allies. When his party accepted a mission to deal with a group of orcs who were causing problems in a nearby village, Durkon was paired with a newly recruited fighter, Roy Greenhilt. In the course of another suicide mission, Roy threw himself in the way of an attack that the dwarf hadn't seen coming, earning a measure of trust from the dwarf. When Roy subsequently negotiated a peaceful settlement between the village and the orcs, who it turned out were only in the area for a concert, Durkon came to realize that there was at least one human worth knowing.

Roy left the group, which had simply wanted to slaughter the orcs, that being quicker and more convenient than negotiating, and Durkon followed him, agreeing to be a part of any party the fighter subsequently founded.

Roy and Durkon traveled together for the next three years, searching for clues to the whereabouts of the lich, Xykon. Finally getting the information that they needed from an oracle, they came to the conclusion that more allies would be required to assault Xykon's stronghold. Returning to a nearby town, Roy recruited four other adventurers to join the party, and the Order of the Stick was born.

The Order of the Stick

Durkon has been a highly effective member of the team since its formation. As team cleric, his healing spells are often in demand and he serves well alongside his friend Roy as one of the Order's frontline warriors. During his time with the party, he has had a brief relationship with Hilgya Firehelm, a female dwarf cleric of Loki and was also briefly the leader of a group of bandits. As a prize from his adventures, he possesses an "Amulet of Natural Armor" and may also still have the "Girdle of Masculinity/Femininity" which Roy discarded after Durkon helped him remove it with a Remove Curse spell.

As a boon from Lord Shojo of Azure City, a messenger, in this case Miko Miyazaki, was sent to Durkon's homeland to obtain permission from the High Priest of Thor to allow Durkon home. Hurak had died years ago, and the new High Priest could find in his predecessor's notes no mention of or justification for Durkon's ostracism; he wrote for Durkon to come home at any time. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, given the original reason for his exile), the letter was [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0375.html eaten] by the Monster in the Darkness. The message was in a sealed diplomatic pouch, making any verbal communication of the message impossible, as the courier, the now-deceased Miko Miyazaki was far too honourable to have opened it up.

When the Order revisited the Oracle of Sunken Valley to gain new information about Xykon's whereabouts, Durkon asked "How will I finally be returnin' ta me beloved dwarven homelands?", the Oracle [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0331.html answered] , "Posthumously". Durkon, who had previously believed that he would die in human lands and his body torn apart by animals or left to rot, found comfort in this idea, knowing that he would ultimately be reunited with his family. How this foretelling will affect or be affected by the prophecy of Odin is unknown.

Personality, Traits and Abilities

Durkon is something of a stereotypical dwarf, wearing heavy armour, carrying a powerful weapon, possessing a low charisma, having a great interest in beer and so forth, although - as noted in the paragraph below - he also subverts this stereotype somewhat. He is dutiful, pious (often attributing his god Thor with more purpose and planning than the rather wild god is actually [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0201.html capable of] ), unassuming and stoic. He believes in speaking plainly, rarely resorting to the wit or sarcasm often used (or at least attempted) by his teammates. He speaks (and, oddly enough, writes) with a thick Scottish accent. Though not immune to temptation, he believes strongly in proper behaviour; while he [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0035.html ogled] Haley along with the rest of the males in the party on one occasion when she suffered a 'wardrobe malfunction', he chastised Julia Greenhilt when she attempted to flirt with him to gain his attention. This is probably because, while the party saw Haley naked by accident, Julia was attempting to use her body on him deliberately, and Durkon's strong morals prevent such behaviour.

While Durkon generally fits the concept of a dwarf very well, he is much like other members of his party in that he's a counterstereotype, too, this time of the traditional "drunken dwarf fighter". Despite loving beer, Durkon has never been shown as drunk, and is fully capable of holding massive amounts of liquor (drinking ten beers in ten seconds while New Year's was counting down in Azure City and it has been noted in the Priest's letter that dwarves have 2 livers). Likewise, though most dwarves in fantasy novels are the goofy comic relief, Durkon is the other "straight man" besides Roy (who is also a countersterotype of his class) of his party; and despite wearing heavy armor and weapons, Durkon tends to rely more on his spells than his sheer physical might. It [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0034.html has been noted] though, that "He'd be a pretty good warrior if he had a better head for numbers". He also shows no sign of the stereotypical dwarven greed.

Durkon has been described in the print comic, On the Origin of PCs, as being lawful. It has never been explicitly stated that Durkon is good, but based on his behavior in the comics his most likely alignment is Lawful Good.

He hates the undead and reflexively tries to [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0016.html turn them] as soon as they are even mentioned. He also, apparently in common with the rest of his people, has a severe phobia regarding trees, believing them to be [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0150.html powerful stealthy monsters] .

Based on the spells and abilities he has displayed or had attributed to him by other characters, he is at least 13th level, as that is the minimum level to cast Resurrection.

The Order of the Stick Adventure Game

Durkon Thundershield is one of the characters players may choose when playing the Order of the Stick Adventure Game. The abilities of the character are reflective of his personality and skills as depicted in the comic, with cards titled such things as Thor's Lightning, Cure Assorted Wounds, and W.W.T.D.?.