Ruck

"It's my claim, not yours! Crunch your bones!"

Ruck is a deformed, darkspawn-tainted dwarf that inhabits Ortan Thaig in the Deep Roads.

Background
According to his mother, Filda, Ruck left Orzammar as the only smith of an expeditionary force into the Deep Roads five years ago. While in the expedition, he accidentally killed a fellow dwarf in a quarrel. Rather than stay and endure the punishment he ran away. In order to survive in the Deep Roads, Ruck took to feeding on the corpses of darkspawn, becoming severely tainted by the Blight. He is also known as a scavenger, finding anything for him to keep for in his eyes it is treasure. He seems to remember his days in Orzammar, or at least his mother, and now it pains him greatly to even think of such good times.

After meeting The Grey Warden, Ruck decides to leave his campsite and continue to travel in The Deep Roads. He meets up with and joins The Legion of the Dead and when Kardol leaves, he takes over as their leader and the Legion has a better chance of beating the darkspawn becasue Ruck can sense them. The Legion pushes back the darkspawn and Ruck is hailed as a Hero, but he never returns to the city and lives out the rest of his days fighting darkspawn in The Deep Roads.

Inventory
Carries unlimited Lifestone and Deep Mushroom. He also carries the Armor of the Divine Will, and the Shield of the Legion.

Bugs
If The Grey Warden has a character within his/her immediate party that can cast the spell Force Field, they may use it on Ruck during their initial meeting to quickly speak/trade with Ruck without following him into the spider's ambush. That said, upon leaving Ruck they must trigger the ambush.

Quotes

 * "Shinies!"
 * "They takes things of paper and metal! They takes the shinies and the words!"
 * "No you cannot! The mother remembers a child with bright eyes. Not this, tell her he is dead."
 * "The dark master calls them with his beautiful voice!"
 * "Once you take in the darkness, you not miss the light so much. You know, do you not? Ruck sees you, he sees the darkness inside you".
 * [about the Grey Wardens] "Grey like the stone. Guardians against the darkness".


 * Oghren: "Word has it you can only survive down here by eating the darkspawn dead.
 * Warden: "Really? Why would they do that?"
 * Oghren: "It brings the taint. Turn their brains to sewage, but it hides them from the darkspawn."
 * Leliana: "That's disgusting! I'm not certain whether to fear or pity him."
 * Morrigan: "Well, if you need to dispose of darkspawn bodies after the Blight..."

Trivia

 * Ruck is likely inspired by the character Gollum from The Lord of the Rings as he eats darkspawn just as Gollum ate goblins, speaks in the third person with broken English, and leads The Warden into a spider ambush just like Gollum lead Frodo into Shelob's lair.


 * Ruck was voiced by Nolan North, who is also the voice actor for Desmond Miles, from Assassin's Creed, and Nathan Drake, from the Uncharted series.