A seeker of knowledge and artifacts, a scientist who builds whatever he needs to learn about the world around him. He has little fighting ability, preferring to run when needed.

Brick can be played purely as a lore master, someone interested in knowledge for its own sake (and for his desire to tinker). He can be played more as an investigator, using the tools he creates to track down criminals (looking at pipe ash, footprints, blood spatter, and so on). He also can be played more toward humor if I focus on the strange and silly devices he creates that are unknown to those around him (such as sunglasses, magnifying glasses, compasses, and so on).

Appearance: With glasses pushed up on his head and all manner of strange devices scattered about his person, this odd dwarf peers nearsightedly at you.

Stuff his friends would know: There's not much about Brick's past to know. He has had the stereotypical dwarf upbringing: mining, mining, gold, gems, mining. No family tragedies, no hints as to strange or royal parents, really nothing interesting. The family is even functional and gets along very well. The only strange thing is what Brick loves: stories about old civilizations, huge magical battles, strange technologies and devices.

Brick grew up in his family's mines. He first heard stories about the ancient dwarf mines nearby, and traveled there with some friends. (Their interest was in assessing whether the mines could be reopened, his was in old technologies.) He then heard stories about the lost civilizations in the deep forests, and continued on there. From there, he traveled through the great desert, listening avidly to the tales of entire cities lost in the hungry sands of the desert. He found himself fascinated by the deserts: though seemingly opposite the world he grew up in, burning light instead of cold dark, he finds the two worlds very similar. If he can find an old tome that gives him clues as to locations, he will be off like a shot to dig up a city.

Brick prefers technology to magic: he is interested in steam engines rather than harnessed magical energies. He wants to know how things work, and is always looking for devices of the ancients that he can take apart.

Drawbacks: I have found that Brick is completely useless in a Forgotten Realms campaign, as I know nothing about the world, its characters, or its history. It's pretty hard playing a lore master when most other players know more about the world than I do. Brick would work better in a campaign in a custom world where the DM was willing to feed me information about history and lore as needed.