The Rolling Wheel The Cataclysm & The War of the Lance The current year for our Dragonlance campaign is set during 351 AC "After Cataclysm". Inspired By Trampas Whiteman

Harlen “Old Wheel” Raskin has run the Rolling Wheel for most of his life, and few people in Digfel can remember a time when the steady sound of hammering and sawing did not echo from his workshop. Travelers arriving through town often stop first at his yard, where half-finished wagons, stacked timber, and repaired wheels lean beneath weathered awnings. Though the Rolling Wheel serves common folk more than nobles or wealthy merchants, its reputation stretches far beyond the settlement itself. Teamsters, traders, and adventurers alike know that if Harlen repairs a cart, it will survive roads that would break lesser wagons apart.

At forty-eight years old, Harlen is a wiry, broad-shouldered man whose hands are rough with decades of labor. A thick bushy moustache dominates his face, and his dark hair is beginning to gray at the temples from years spent hunched over workbenches and wagon frames. He nearly always smells faintly of sawdust, lamp oil, and hot iron from the tools scattered throughout his shop. Harlen dresses simply in a faded work shirt and worn trousers, his sleeves forever rolled above his elbows no matter the weather.

Though some mistake him for gruff or impatient, Harlen is widely regarded as one of the most dependable men in Digfel. He speaks plainly, wastes few words, and has little patience for laziness or foolish extravagance. Harlen believes tools and wagons should be built to last, not merely to impress wealthy buyers with decorative flourishes. He often mutters complaints about how things were “built better back in my day,” especially whenever he examines shoddy foreign imports or cheaply made carts from traveling merchants.

Despite his stubbornness, Harlen possesses a sharp and inventive mind that quietly delights in improving old designs. He constantly experiments with stronger wheel braces, reinforced axles, and lighter wagon frames that can better survive muddy roads or rocky terrain. More than once, caravan masters have paid extra coin for one of Harlen’s custom-built wagons after hearing stories of them surviving journeys that destroyed every other cart in the caravan. Though he would never openly boast about it, Harlen takes enormous pride in every wagon that leaves his shop.

The Rolling Wheel itself is a warm and lively place filled with the scent of fresh-cut wood and the rhythmic clatter of tools against timber. Lantern light glows late into the evening as Harlen works beside piles of oak planks, iron fittings, and unfinished wheels. Visitors frequently find him bent over a worktable or crouched beside a damaged cart, studying the problem with intense concentration before fixing it with practiced efficiency. Apprentices and laborers come and go, but Harlen oversees every important repair personally.

Over more than thirty years of work, Harlen Raskin has become something of a local institution within Digfel. Farmers trust him to keep their wagons moving through harsh winters, merchants rely on him before long trade journeys, and travelers often seek his advice about the safest roads in the region. Though he claims he will someday retire, few truly believe it. Most suspect Harlen “Old Wheel” Raskin will continue building carts and repairing axles until the day he can no longer lift a hammer.