Varrask can be viewed as the “barbarian” artisan, as he’ll craft mighty two-handed weapons (earthbreakers, greataxes and greatswords), “Kellid items” ( a category that includes boots, a ring, a breastplate and gloves) and “Orc items” (either a chain shirt, a dagger or a cloak). If you ask him to craft something specific you can choose between the following categories:

• A two-handed sword.
• A two-handed axe.
• A two-handed mace.
• Armor.
• …a Kellid-style weapon.
• …orc weapons and armor.

Varask’s masterpiece of Obliteration, an Earthbreaker +5 with the Vicious property (on hit: 2d6 damage to target, 1d6 damage to wielder) that bestows a stacking -2 Armor Class penalty on the target every hit.

Recruiting Varrask¶

You can recruit Varrask by claiming the Kamelands, which you’ll be able to do once you raise your Loyalty Kingdom Stat to Rank III. Once done, found a village in the Kamelands and travel there to find Varrask standing around. Talk to him and he’ll tell you about an opportunistic merchant who took advantage of a moment of weakness and acquired Varrask’s tools, without which he cannot smith. Well, that just won’t do! Talk to the generic Trader nearby and purchase Varrask’s Tools for a mere 50 gold, then talk to Varrask and reunite the craftsman with his tools. This trivial task will start - and complete - the quest Varrask’s Tools and earn you the services of Varrask. Be sure to begin construction on Varrask’s Weapon Shop to ensure he starts crafting your first item.

Obliteration - Varrask’s Masterpiece Quest¶

This quest is the followup of Varrask’s Tools, and it will begin after the artisan Varrask finishes crafting the first item for you. The time this takes is variable, so there’s no set timetable for when this quest will begin. Once Varrask brings your item to you via a throne room event, he’ll mention “giving you something even more impressive - a weapon worthy of Gorum’s herald”.

Why he can’t just tell you about this while he’s there is a good question, but such is life. Make your way to your village in the Kamelands and speak with Varrask and he’ll tell you about the “hammer named Obliteration”, which he promises can reduce enemies into mere spots of grease. Fun. Unfortunately, the weapon isn’t in fighting shape, and he needs a MacGuffin called “inubrix”, which can be found at a “Technic League camp”. If only you could find such an area…

Hopefully you found the Technic League Encampment way back in Chapter 1, most likely during your trip to or from the Abandoned Hut, where you were likely ambushed by some Technic League slavers. These events are part of the quest Hand of the Technic League, which hopefully ended with you recruiting Octavia and Regongar.

If none of this sounds familiar, check out the linked pages and wander around the North Narlmarches and the heavily wooded western parts of the Outskirts until you trigger the aforementioned ambush.

Inubrix at the Technic League Encampment¶

Assuming you’ve already been to the Technic League Encampment, you can follow these direction to return there from your capital:

• northeast
• north
• northeast
• northwest
• northwest
• north
• northwest
• west
• southwest

This route will take you along the river until you’re just across from Thorn Ford, then southwest to the Technic League Encampment.

When you arrive - presumably for the second time - you’ll find the fog of war has returned. Make your way to the northern end of the map to find that the Technic League goons have been replaced by bandits. These bandits are considerably stronger than this area’s original inhabitants, being 7th-8th level, but their stats make them inferior to just about any foe you’ll come across during the second half of Chapter 2’s main questline.

While their Attack Bonuses and Armor Classes aren’t terribly high, the archers do have a surprising store of Hit Points (Half-Orcs and all) and one of the Bandits - a 7th-level Transmuter - will caste Haste if you let him, complicating matters somewhat. Still, they shouldn’t prove to be a serious threat, especially if you dispose of the enemy caster quickly and engage the archers in melee combat.

After you dispatch them, loot their bodies for any masterwork weapons and two Rings of Protection +1, then search a chest for the Inubrix you’re after.

The Blood of An Enemy¶

Return to Varrask in your village in the Kamelands and give him the inubrix you found and he’ll tell you about the next component you need - the blood of a mortal enemy. Despite being old with few surviving enemies, Varrask will still find the nerve to nominate the one foe who has thus far escaped death - a witch with the “look of a devil” who is “missing two fingers”. As for where to look for this creature, he suggests at a hunting lodge run by Dumra.

This, of course, is the Secluded Lodge area in the Southern Narlmarches. The directions to this area will vary depending on where you founded your village; make your way there, head upstairs and search the eastern-most room to find a “stranger”. Talk to her and, if you get too wordy she’ll offer a contrasting depiction of herself and her mission as compared to the story Varrask told.

There’s no reason to assume either are lying, and Varrask has done little to hide his rapacity. Still, the salient point here is you will botch the quest if you end up allowing this “Stranger” to continue her hunt for Varrask, or worse (better?), telling her where she can find Varrask [Lawful Good]. This doesn’t seem to immediately affect Varrask as an artisan, but if you want to complete the quest you’ll need to put this “Stranger” down, morality be damned. If you want to avoid a moral hit, be sure to pick the first [Attack] option you get in dialogue, as subsequent ones will be [Chaotic Evil] actions… unless you want to boost your alignment in that way, of course.

In a fight, this “Stranger”, a 12-level Inquisitor, has a decent Attack Bonus and Armor Class, although in the former case she’s not as dangerous as some Owlbears you may have encountered, and in the latter case her defenses aren’t further bolstered by concealment or Damage Reduction. If you can flank her and apply some buffs, you should have no trouble taking her down (she’s especially vulnerable if she gets a poor Initiative roll, as much of her Armor Class won’t be applicable if she’s flat-footed), and if you can get her to focus on a tank, you can do so without much trouble.

Should you defeat her, loot her for The Blood of the Murderer of Varrask’s Family, a Masterwork Longsword, a Scroll of Protection from Chaos, a Potion of Cure Serious Wounds, Alchemist’s Fire, a Belt of Giant’s Strength +2, an Amulet of Natural Armor +1 and a Cloak of Resistance +2. You’ll also gain 240 XP for defeating her (also the same reward you’ll get for snitching on Varrask).

Assuming you killed the “Stranger” and took her blood, return to Varrask in your village in the Kamelands and give him the grisly relic to complete this quest.

Craftable Items - Varrask¶

Below you’ll find lists of all the items Varrask can craft:

Artisan Tiers - Varrask¶

Below are the various ways to increase Varrask’s artisan rank, hence the tiers of items he can craft: