A broad, weathered hill dwarf with copper-red hair braided through a thick beard, soot-darkened fingernails, and bright gray eyes magnified by brass-lensed spectacles. She wears reinforced scale mail beneath a heavy leather apron, with a shield fitted with rotating plates, tiny gears, and a mounted lantern. Her hands are scarred from forge work, and a small steel defender shaped like a squat hound usually pads at her side.

Brunna is practical, fiercely observant, and more comfortable repairing a broken mechanism than discussing her feelings. She treats every problem as a design challenge and becomes animated when explaining how a device works. Though she appears stern, she has a soft spot for apprentices, strays, and anyone trying to make something useful with limited resources.

Brunna Coppervein was raised in a hill dwarf smithing enclave where every craftsperson was expected to leave behind one work worthy of remembrance. She lacked the strength for heavy hammer work and possessed little patience for traditional ornamentation, so she turned her attention to mechanisms, alchemical fittings, and enchanted tools. Her breakthrough came when she built a clockwork hound from discarded armor plates and imbued it with a fragment of protective magic. The construct, named Rivet, became both her workshop assistant and her closest companion. Brunna eventually joined the Guild of Practical Artifice, where she repaired mining equipment, fortified caravans, and designed compact devices for adventurers. Her reputation was damaged when a wealthy patron stole one of her inventions and used it to sabotage a rival guild. Brunna exposed the scheme, but the resulting scandal cost her workshop and forced her onto the road. She now travels as an adventuring artificer, collecting rare components, defending honest craftspeople, and searching for the stolen masterwork that could restore her name. Rivet remains at her side, loyally recording every debt, insult, and promising design.