Dùghall and his brother were raised in Arclight by a hardworking couple who both served as gunsmiths, never knowing their real parents. Their father figure left behind the traditional work of being a miner to perfect the craftmanship of rifles with his wife, creating an independent business and doing fairly well for themselves. Dùghall took over this business at the age of 16 when the two who raised him had passed, while his brother, who was two years younger than him, left home against Dùghall's wishes to do something important in the world. Although he can't confirm it, Dùghall assumed that his brother succumbed to the many dangers of Dust.

Dùghall could never reach the success of the man and woman who raised him but he was good enough to put food on the table and afford a few luxuries. He was 18 when he fell in love with a local girl named Aileen whom he soon married. She worked at her mother's smithy, growing up without a father since he had died in a mining accident. Within a year, she was pregnant with Dùghall's child, Esme. After she was born, the three lived a happy, if uneventful life for several years. With the protection of Aqueous forces and plenty of defenses in town, there were hardly any troubles. Their decent business practice kept them fed and happy.

Things remained this way for years. It wasn't until Dùghall left town on a delivery of guns to a buyer in Tas that things changed. He had reached the age of 26 and his daughter was a mere seven years old. Upon his return, Dùghall found that his home had been invaded and ransacked and his wife and daughter were missing. According to neighbors and other watchful eyes in Arclight, a band of men had slipped in during the night and took the girls with them. After some investigating, a witness claimed that he saw these men with the mark of a small slaver group.

Dùghall dropped everything, closing his business and gathering the goods he had promised to sell along with pulling out all of his savings in order to buy his wife and daughter's freedom. He knew that he wouldn't be able to take these people on alone and there was no one to help him. After three years in which Dùghall had dedicated his life to tracking the slavers down, he found that his wife and child had not been sold to a new master, they were killed a few months before when raiders staged an attack on the slavers' camp.

Taking the news badly, Dùghall immediately executed the slaver which he learned this information from. The others retaliated, firing upon Dùghall and nearly killing him. They dispatched him in a body of water, figuring that he would be dead within the hour. However, a traveling merchant spotted Dùghall and came to his rescue, saving the man and treating him to health on the condition that he act as a caravan guard for a few months as repayment.

After doing so, Dùghall found that he had a knack for combat. He had become a good shot after years of gun work and was in good shape. He needed a new source of income and with nothing to lose, offered himself as a gun for hire. He did many jobs for merchants and small time business owners around Dust, working solely as a mercenary for four years. When work suddenly became scarce, Dùghall turned to a new alternative.

The roads of Dust aren't thoroughly under protection and traders and civilians alike travel these routes commonly. With a crew of a few men who he had met through his mercenary work, Dùghall formed a band of highwaymen. They robbed and killed to gain and although they lost a man here and there, the high risks were outweighed by the high rewards.

Years of life on the edge had passed when Dùghall finally realized his own mortality after witnessing the people around him die one by one. The fellow bandits whom he had lived with were killed in raids and robberies, one life blinking out at a time as the years went by. Now, Dùghall is seeking repentance for his sins and now wandering aimlessly in hopes of finding redeeming work.

He is still hated by many and found untrustworthy by even the kindest hearts. Some have even put bounties on his head while others are actively hostile toward the man. Although he may be a loyal companion, some might find he to be too much trouble for what he is worth.