Magrim, The Taskmaster

Magrim’s role as a divinity is preparing dwarven souls for judgment, escorting them to the River of Souls, and ensuring they appear before Pharasma when their appointed time comes. He is the oldest of the dwarven divinities, senior brother to both Torag and Angradd. Although the priests of Magrim acknowledge that Torag is the Father of Creation and greater in rank than his older sibling, Magrim’s place as the eldest earns him the respect of nearly all other dwarven deities. He fills the role of ancestor to the gods, the root and the originator of the first dwarven clan — that of the dwarven deities — and though he is not the leader of that pantheon, this grants him a solemn and unique prestige.

Known as the Taskmaster, Magrim oversees ensuring that dwarven souls have appropriate, fulfilling tasks in life and are prepared for the next step of their existence after death. When dwarves fall short of this state of readiness, Magrim seeks to reshape them through whatever means are necessary to allow them to fulfil their roles. In life, the purpose of these tasks is to build something great and feel satisfaction in having done so, while the labours Magrim provides in the afterlife are meant to give the souls of departed dwarves eternal purpose and contentment.

Magrim is not a divinity who revels in complex plans or obscure destinies, instead preferring to act as straightforwardly as possible. As a lawgiver and overseer of the dead, Magrim believes in ensuring that all creatures have the tools needed to do all the things asked of them. While Torag created the dwarven race at his forge and sends them riddles and omens to help guide them, it was the more staid Magrim who taught the first dwarves how to properly commune with their gods.

Magrim is also the keeper of a series of named runes, which he uses to judge the qualities and temper of a dwarven soul before bringing it before Pharasma. Each rune has its own power related to a specific concept and, on rare occasions, Magrim loans such runes out to his most faithful followers to aid them in accomplishing specific tasks. However, most runes in the possession of his church are holy runeplates, infused with the power of runes as taught to his followers, but not the true runes Magrim carries for his own use.

Magrim is depicted as an ancient dwarf with black iron skin and molten orange eyes. His head is bald, and the white hair of his beard is woven into multiple braids of varying thickness. He wears a thick blacksmith’s apron made of stone and holds a red-hot blacksmith’s hammer in his rune-carved stone blacksmith’s gloves.

Magrim’s holy symbol is a cave or tomb entrance that is carved with runes. While he rarely interferes in mortal life with divine omens, the results tend to be obvious and spectacular when he does so. Signs of Magrim’s approval include mundane tools and crafts becoming magical when created, runes becoming wards of protection, and stone splitting cleanly beneath hammers and chisels. Signs of his disapproval involve crafted items shattering, magical runes turning against their caster, and metal objects becoming blazing hot for just long enough to burn whoever is touching them.