By Kristian Juul Rasmussen aka Skrir

Leander in his Chair

Leander (lee-AN-der) is the oldest son of Thollos and Redalla Shever. He is eighteen years old and, unlike his siblings, spends most of his time out in the city. He shares his father’s affinity for technology and enjoys tinkering with it, but Leander’s take on tech is practical rather than theore-tical. He doesn’t care for books or manuals and is much too impatient to write up detailed plans before he gets his hands oily. Leander is very much a natural technologist, and will probably rise to greater talent than his father some day. Thollos recognizes this fact and takes pride in his son, but is annoyed by the boy’s unwillingness to study the theory behind their craft.

Leander is a joyful, bright young man, whom most peo-ple seem to like instantly. He likes to hear about other peoples’ lives and is fascinated by the mix of cultures and races in Ptolus. He has white hair and a very slight build.

Leander was born with misshapen legs. Thin and practically boneless, they are unable to support him. Thollos has hired all kinds of doctors, healers and priests but none have been able to mend the boy’s deformity. It seems he has inherited this trait from his one of his predecessors who was never successfully healed either. Anyway, Leander doesn’t mind. At age eight he built his own steam cart, which has been modified and added to over the years. He doesn’t leave it all day, except to go to bed.

Surprisingly, and unusually for a noble, the young Shever spends most of his time away from the house, and the comfort and security of the Nobles’ Quarter. Instead he drives his cart around what he thinks are the more interesting places in Ptolus: Oldtown, Midtown, the Temple District and the North Market. He stays out of the seedy section of town, particularly the Warrens and the Docks, and only comes to the Necropolis to visit his grandmother’s grave in the family crypt.

Leander’s mother is worried about him visiting these ”unsafe” areas, and Thollos has given him a +1 dragon pistol (and some other gear) to protect himself, and taught him how to use it. Leander always carries the firearm with him and is a decent marksman. Also, his father has one or two of the house guards follow him at a distance sometimes, just so potential ambushers are deterred, never knowing if the boy is protected or not. Leander is aware of this precaution (though his father thinks he isn’t) and is extremely annoyed by it. He believes he can take care of himself.

When not at home or in the Nobles’ Quarter he drives around looking at shops, conversing with the Shuul members in the Smoke Shop, visiting a tavern or simply hanging out by the queues at the gates, striking up conversations with the newcomers, sometimes offering his service as a guide (free of charge. Leander doesn’t need money).

Leander Shever is bored with his cushioned life and longs for excitement. Secretly, he hopes that one day, a group of delvers will take him along on adventure.

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* the cart has a speed of 25 and Leander can’t use his legs

** Leander is effectively denied his dexterity bonus to AC when in the chair

SIDEBAR NOTES 

House Shever, page 96
Dragon pistol, page 560
The Shuul, page 131
The Smoke Shop, page 310

Leander is tired of being recognized and treated differently because of his family name. When talking to strangers and newcomers he rarely, if ever, states his last name, rather making something up.

Leander’s Cart
The custom steam cart Leander drives around in works like a Medium Steam Cart (see Chapter 29: Technology, page 563), with a few notable exceptions. It has a speed of 25, and can carry 350 pounds. A year ago, Leander built in a small set of retractable wheels on stilts at the front which allows the cart to move up and down stairs, albeit very slowly (speed 5). Also, the cart grants him an armour bonus of +2 because of its big, heavy plating.