Ad aspera

He could hardly wait to finish his shift, then stop by the tavern as usual, down a couple of mugs, and head home to bed...
The dark pavement ahead soon became a gray, motionless blur. Quiet nocturnal sounds barely disturbed the silence. The serenity of the sleeping city was lulling — it seemed that even if something were happening here, it certainly wasn't happening now.
His heavy eyelids drooped...
...
...
Tongues of flame shot upward, reflecting ominous glints in the beastly yellow eyes briefly snatched from the darkness.
...

Rubbing his eyes, the first thing Ruven saw was a mug filled to the brim with fragrant, foaming beer sitting on the table before him. Looking around, he realized he was in that very tavern he liked to visit after his shift. And there was already a drink waiting... Without thinking twice, he drained the mug. Seemed like everything was in order.
But wait... He had just been at his post. 
He glanced out the window — it was deep night outside. And by the time his shift ended, dawn should have already been breaking...
Ruven scratched his beard, shook his head, pulled himself together, and left the establishment.

An unexpected encounter awaited him outside. The watch captain was looking at him with a frown.
— Aiketir? What the hell?! Why aren't you at your post?
— Well, I was, umm... Conducting a secret inspection.
Bright flashes caught his eye, blazing at the opposite end of the street. Looked like a fire somewhere.
— Conducting what?! Do you see what's happening? A crime on your shift! And you're walking out of a tavern, reeking of beer!
— I... Actually, I was on alert. I stood at my post, never left, everything was quiet. I think I dozed off for a minute, and how I ended up here — I have no idea. Some kind of sorcery! No need to worry — I'll return to my post right away.
— Are you an idiot? Can't you see it's already happened. Go help.
The captain waved his hand, directing a brigade of men armed with buckets of water toward the burning building.
— This is the last straw, Aiketir. I'm not covering for you anymore. So start thinking up excuses for the captain.

...
The captain's words refused to stick in his sleep-deprived, throbbing head, but the gist was clear: turn in your gear and get the hell out of here, you bungler, don't disgrace the guard's name.
...

Back home, Ruven took a deep breath, pulled out a bottle of wine saved for special occasions, and drained half of it in one go. His head spun again, and he awkwardly sank onto the bed, staring blankly into nothing. It would be hard without work and income. He needed to figure something out... 
Of course, there was nothing truly shocking about what had happened. Such things had occurred before. But back then, he'd at most just come to his senses in an adjacent room or on his doorstep. The scariest was probably that time in childhood... When he fell asleep at home, pretending to study reading to dodge chores, and woke up because a fallen apple bonked him on the head — he'd ended up under a tree in the neighbor's orchard. Strangely enough, no profound thoughts about the universe dawned on him; he just got a cuff on the ear for "attempting to steal what was grown by honest labor." If only he could get off with just a cuff now, but no. The future looked quite bleak...

After resting a bit and gathering his thoughts, he stood up and, staggering, opened the door to the room he usually never entered. Passing by old bookshelves, he stopped at a rack upon which rested an imposing suit of armor. His father's old armor... And beside it, a massive spear hung on the wall. These heirlooms were still in good condition. Well, maybe a bit dusty.
Ruven shifted his gaze to a painting hanging nearby. A huge Black Dragon atop a mountain peak. Its talons gripped the rocks, its raised wings churned whirlwinds of dust in the air, and from its snarling, fanged maw it seemed a pillar of fire was about to burst forth, sweeping away everything in its path. He could imagine the deafening beastly roar, the whistle of wind, the rumble of an avalanche. Even covered in dust, this image seemed to radiate incredible power.
Long ago, in pursuit of that legend, his father had headed North, like many others impressed by it. What exactly he had hoped to find remained a mystery — no one ever shared the details. He returned about six months later, looking gloomier than a storm cloud, not a coin in his pocket, with barely healed severe burns all over his body.
"Don't go after the Dragon" — that was all he told his son, refusing to say anything more.
And so Ruven didn't go. Having trained at a military academy, he'd counted on a relatively quiet life as an ordinary city guardsman. However, he'd turned a blind eye to something that had now come back to bite him... Though for a long time it hadn't really interfered with his duties, this time he'd simply outdone himself.
Fortunately, Ruven took after his father in build and skill. The armor fit well, and the spear sat comfortably in his hand. He certainly wasn't planning to go after the Dragon. Three hundred years had passed; it might be long gone. And his father could well have fallen into a fire drunk or something. Though... He still had to do something. He had no particular talents — he only knew how to fight. Not for nothing had he skipped reading and writing lessons, preferring to brawl with the neighbor boys instead!
Ruven paced around the room, getting used to the gear, and stopped, staring out the window at the night street. What would tomorrow bring?

Origin:
Fenderin: damage spread halved (lower bound raised), good-quality equipment at start. +1 to strength, +1 to endurance, +2 to agility, +2 to intellect, access to champion skill

Conviction:
Black Dragon: all attribute checks tripled, +10% CHC

Attributes:
Strength: 20
Endurance: 20 
Agility: 18 
Perception: 17
Intellect: 12
Willpower: 10                    

Skills:

Polearm Weapon

I. +1 to strength, +1 to endurance, +30 to accuracy and evasion [3]
II. +1 to attack range  [3]
III. +1 to agility, +1 to endurance, +2 to accuracy per point of perception and agility [4]
IV. +2 to evasion per point of perception and agility [4]

Piercing Strikes [3]
+10% CHC

Preemptive Strike  [5]
Attacks each enemy that enters attack range, agility/5 times per round. An enemy that fails a strength+endurance check against the character's strength check will interrupt its attack

Specialization: two-handed spear
I. +3 to agility, +1 to attack radius [2]

Armored Combat

Equipment: heavy armor, two-handed spear, money, provisions, a collection of dragon legends.