Rorin, son of Balir is a typical Dwarf with a typical history, at least on the surface.
He was raised in the Iron Hills by his father Balir, a renowned craftsman and smith of his people. Balir and his son both followed Dáin Ironfoot to aid Thorin Oakenshield at what became the Battle of Five Armies, but unlike most of his kin, Balir returned to the Iron Hills afterwards rather than staying at the Kingdom under the Mountain. Though Rorin had rather liked his first real taste of battle, he followed his father and, under his tutelage, became a fine smith himself.
Ironically, it was this more peaceful path, rather than war, that led to disaster. While mining iron ore deep in the mountains, Rorin became trapped when a larger-than-expected fragment of the cavern wall broke off as he was chipping away at it, crashing into the wooden walkway where he stood and causing it to collapse. When Balir heard of the accident, he rushed to Rorin's aid and was lowered down by rope to drag his dangling son to safety. He managed to hoist Rorin back to solid ground, but the rope became snagged on a rocky outcropping and snapped, sending Balir plummeting deep into the shaft to his death.
Grief-stricken, Rorin took up the last axe crafted by his father, packed all the supplies he could carry, and left the Iron Hills, unable to bear living among his kinsman anymore. He made his way back to the Lonely Mountain, and was welcomed by Dáin's people, even after they heard the rumors of what had driven Rorin there.
Rorin continued as a smith and became quite well-known for his work among the Dwarves of Erebor, but began training himself as a warrior, occasionally with aid from the likes of Glóin, father of Gimli, and Thorin Stonehelm, son of Dáin. Aside from his friendships with them and a couple other Dwarves, however, Rorin never felt like he completely belonged.
This caused him to venture more than most Dwarves into the town of Dale, where he mingled among first the local blacksmiths, and later many others. He became a great friend of the Men of Dale, helping them combat occasional goblin and warg raids, great floods, and even financial troubles by negotiating several trades between Dale and Erebor. Soon, he was somewhat of an ambassador to both his kinsmen under the Mountain and the Dale-men.
But he was not liked by quite everyone. One day, Rorin saw a lad of Dale come under attack by goblins from the north, and remembering the helplessness he had felt while trapped in the mines of the Iron Hills years ago, rushed to the boy's aid, driving the goblins away with the boy's own sword. The boy, as it turned out, was of royal blood, a direct descendant of Bard the Bowman. His father was openly grateful for the rescue, and rewarded Rorin lavishly, but his appreciation soured as the boy, named Ryle, began to treat the adventurous and reinvigorated Rorin as more of a father figure than his busy, beaurocratic father, an esteemed councilor of the city.
Eventually, his building animosity frustrated Ryle, and he left Dale and headed west. He still kept in occasional contact with Rorin through messengers that traveled between his eventual settling place--Lake Evendim by the ancient, abandoned city of Annúminas--and through them, the Dwarf learned that the young man had founded a group of ranger-like followers, called the Ortans, and was doing quite well for himself.
Rorin, even at the height of his comfort in Erebor and Dale, began to long to see his friend again. When he heard of a gathering of heroes answering the call of a ranger of the north, Curubethion, in faraway Bree--and further heard that a certain young man was likely headed to join them--Rorin packed his things and left, vowing this time, however, to return again. He was reunited with his young friend, and the two ventured out, side-by-side, into unknown adventures ahead.
