Leopold
05-16-12, 12:38 PM
Sir Leopold Winchester
Updates in red.
2633
Name: Leopold
Surname: Winchester
Title: Sir, Guilds-man Master
Alias: Bullion
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: (1154) Appears 38
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 88kgs
Languages: Common, Tradespeak, Drow
Place of Birth: Radasanth
Current Residence: Scara Brae
Occupation: Merchant/Businessman
Relations: Married to Ruby Winchester, Family Deceased
History: If you were to ask Leopold Winchester of Scara Brae what his greatest accomplishments were, you would find him short of the words required to describe them modestly. From an early age, his head for numbers, haggling and trade earned him a foothold in the mercantile on goings of Corone’s capital city, Radasanth. Though gifted with a small measure of wealth as the last descendent of the Winchester family, he did not squander it like the rest of the dubious noble houses. Instead, he turned it to opportunities he could not pass up; investment, re-sale and property. By twenty four, he had turned his family’s dwindling coffers into four estates. Two were lost at age twenty six to the first outbreak of the civil war, and the remaining two were swiftly sold upon Leopold’s parent’s death on the eve of his twenty seventh birth day.
Suddenly free from the stagnant underbelly of Corone, Leopold cut his wealth from the skeleton of Radasanth and retired early to Scara Brae. There, he found a friendlier climate, and put his considerable expertise and understanding of Althanas’s volatile trade market to good use. He invested in membership to the Merchant Circle, one of the many guilds of the considerable Guilds-man Ring. He very soon became a master, one of each guild’s ruling council, second in power and influence within that industry to the Guild’s Van. That power allowed him to establish the Winchester name and heraldry in the noble circle of Scara Brae, and he debuted as a bachelor aged twenty nine.
The morning after his investiture, he was seated in a small polite bar on the north side of Scara Brae. He was wearing his usual golden threaded waistcoat, over coat, hat and tails and smoking a cigar in a pensive mood at the end of a long night of celebration. He caught sight of a young red headed woman, resplendent in the morning sun and wearing an equally radiant crimson dress. The leather lattice work down the front and the heavy basket of goods tucked neatly under a strong arm placed her as a young debutante of one of the more to do households. Leopold had studied the women of the city long enough to know the wheat from the chaff.
His heart skipped a beat. He stubbed out his cigar and ran out with a wheeze into the morning sun. His tall, lanky form was pallid and sickly in the morning light, his cheeks drained of life and colour after a few too many cut-crystal decanters of port, whiskey and quite possibly gin; he could not remember. Despite his dishevelled appearance he ran after the woman, expecting to catch her gently on the arm and ask at the very least her name. By the time he turned a corner and came out onto the building site of Market Square, her basket, buxom cleavage and lofty and joyful laugh were absent from the city streets.
Leopold was understandably heartbroken. Love was something he had never experienced, too busy as he was ensconced in his monetary world and the languishing existence of a noblemen with too many responsibilities.
What he did not know then, was that he had just laid eyes on the young Ruby La Roux, his soon to be wife and immortal spell singer of the strange and mysterious Tantalum Troupe. Fate denied their meeting for a full turn of the moon before they crossed paths at a noble sway in the upmarket district of Mrs Rochester’s residential district. Ever since their first fateful meeting, when she had been equally enamoured by his chiselled young looks, smart dress and equally smart tongue, Ruby has pledged herself through thick and thin, and even death to be dutiful and loving to Leopold.
In the last five years, as his wife has come and gone and he has suffered heart ache in her long absence, their love has only grown stronger. Though his business has suffered and his money has been drained by the resurgence of conflict in Corone, at the Queen’s unruly behest, Leopold has doubled his efforts to ensure the Winchester legacy remains a strong, powerful possession to leave a name for itself through the history of Scara Brae. Though somewhat more portly and considerably more wise in understanding his wife’s trials and tribulations, he is too stubborn, and too secretive with the full extent of his business dealings, legal and otherwise to lay low whilst the world steals from his velveteen pockets.
Leopold Winchester is as smart, quick on his feet and stubborn as a man married to Ruby Winchester had to be.
History Level 1:
Shadow Rituals (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?23627-Shadow-Rituals-(Closed)&highlight=Shadow+Rituals) (66)
Hire And Hire He Rose (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?24013-Hire-And-Hire-He-Rose-(Closed)&highlight=hire+and+hire+he+rose) (81)
By Rook, Wrath & Ruin (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?23980-By-Rook-Wrath-amp-Ruin-(Solo)&highlight=rook%2C+wrath)(81)
Personality: Kind, subtle and ever ready to ply humour to a sour situation, Leopold is an endearing counterpart to Ruby’s ball-busting feminism. He is the sort to split his personality into work, a phase he enters with alarming ease and love life, the homely demeanour a gentle soul wields to make lovers fall into his arms. He is controlling, confident yet friendly in the application of his charisma to his work, and is honest beyond all reproach in everything he says and does. That does not mean to say he is not without a deceptive streak, and certainly, that Leopold Winchester has not learnt to vent his anger like his wife does all too frequently.
His logical head for money has the tendency to inhibit any display of emotion outside of his marriage, making him a difficult person to get to know and to understand at times. He is relatively down to earth for a man born into a noble household, but his history with his family and their relatively early death for a peaceful age has severed his ego from his purse, allowing him to come across more as a hard working merchant who has made it to the lofty heights of a Guild Master on skill, rather than providence and aristocracy.
Skills:
Duellist: Leopold has unnerving accuracy with flintlock pistols, and has his own firing device, though it has long since rusted and fallen into disrepair. He can still shoot with above average accuracy, however.
Logistician: Leopold’s ability to perceive shape, distance and time in relation to spaces is outstanding. He can handle figures, quantities and dimensions with adept skill, outstripping elder and wiser individuals who may have worked on docklands and in quarter master’s company for many years more than Leopold’s working life.
Mercantile Brilliance: Leopold is an adept haggler, who possesses adept knowledge of the trade markets and rules & regulations of Corone, Scara Brae, Alerar and Fallien. His connections allow him access to the black markets of those regions, though he is morally upheld by his standing in the Merchant Guild, so such connections rarely come to play except in times of crisis.
Geography: In his travels, Leopold has acquired a considerable knowledge of the physical geography and coastlines of the places his ships and wagons trade with. He has an adept knowledge of Scara Brae, Alerar and Corone’s geographical qualities, and can plot distance, route and course using simple tools and maps through these regions.
Clandestine Operations: In the course of his work, and in the course of his assignments for Queen Valeena and the Royal Court, Leopold has had to apply his intellect to the clandestine acquisition of knowledge and items when secrecy is paramount. As such, he can use the Tantalum Menagerie and his charisma, as well as a small amount of acting tutoring from Ruby to disguise himself with average skill, perform false dialects with average skill and act at an above average level. Such skills pale in comparison to even the weakest kneed thespian, but it does the job and allows him to trade where he would otherwise be turned away, or worse still, killed for even trying.
Abilities: Many of the noble houses of Althanas are ancient lines, who pass on wealth, title, name and legacy through the blood of their children. For many centuries, the Winchesters were renowned for curious talents and strange occupations with the magical arts. Leopold’s grandfather possessed a weak telepathy, his aunt; still living in Dheathain can grow wings and conjure flame. His mother, god rest her soul, possessed the ability to transform objects from one material to another. Leopold’s legacy is that of shadow, of the crow’s eye, of the darkness in all men’s hearts where greed dares to seed its evil taint.
Flicker Wisp: With a brief incantation and a flick of the wrist, Leopold can conjure a sphere of radiating shadow element equal to the size of his own clenched fist. Such a sphere can be projected like a thrown object, and strikes with a concussive voice that implodes, as opposed to explodes. The relevant physical properties of such a projectile are difficult to describe, as they often leave anti-spaces in their wake, and scatter no debris from their impacts. When they strike, they make no sound themselves, but often wood cracks, people scream and unruly bricks crumble. For the purpose of conflict and damage calculation, each Flicker Wisp strikes with the equivalent force of a steel Warhammer swung by a man of average strength of Leopold’s age (X1.5 the strength of his best punch). Such a projectile may only be summoned once per post, up to thrice per thread. An incoming Flicker Wisp can be dispelled by countering it with a light element spell, and will be halved in strength to 0.75 in direct, full sunlight, and doubled to X3 when in a darkened room without sunlight.
Vernal Vault: Every merchant needs a secure method of keeping his wealth, trinkets, accounts and personal valuables so as not to attract thieves, jealous rivals and harlot lovers to his side. Using the strange other world of shadow that he is bound to through the providence of his family’s magical heritage, Leopold can conjure and exile items into a space he calls the Vernal Vault. Such a vault has no physical properties, no after taste, and no presence anywhere in any plane except the thoughts of its owner. It cannot be destroyed (even when Leopold dies, any items in the fault will simply remain there for eternity) and cannot be accessed by anyone except Leopold. There are limitations to this curious ability. He cannot store perishable items in the vault, nor can he exile living creatures, or the dead for that matter. Items with magical properties will be exiled for only a brief time, suddenly re-appearing with a violent crackle of deep violet lightning as they reject their unruly confinement. Any item that is not by rights Leopold’s, or is reclaimed by an angered individual with truth in his words will also come screaming back into reality in a similar fashion. Any item stored in the vault will be kept track of through a spoils and inventory system.
Items/Equipment:
Winchester Menagerie: Leopold has a large merchant empire, and as such has access to common household items and trinkets.
The Contra: A merchant schooner that acts as the Winchester Empire’s flagship. Though modest in size and constantly at sea on an endless trading route, Leopold can acquire its use with notice to the crew and cost to appease the waiting customers who will receive their shipments much later than expected. It has no use other than for story effect, and to display an ability to travel Althanas.
Isabella: A customised flintlock pistol with a steam cushioned chamber, used by Leopold in his younger days to keep himself safe on long voyages and black market dealings. Since his development of his magic however, it has fallen into disrepair and it has remained rusted and out of use over the mantel of the Winchester dining room. It has faded along with the once gold leaf etchings of the grand hall of their home, calling out to its master to take up her loving body with his fine, subtle hands.
Vernal Vault Contents: (Will be updated in spoils and linked separately in threads to the Tantalum PG thread if required - though imagination and story take precedence and PC permission can be used to override contents).
Candles
Sextant
World Map
Sea Charts
Account Ledgers
Quill & Ink
Assorted Work Clothes
Gold Threaded Waistcoat
Three Piece Suits
Cobble Top Hat
Silver Tipped Walking Cane
Woollen Blankets
Wedding Ring
Cutlery
Gold Leaf Stem Wine Glass
Several Large Cushions
Ruby's Spare Clothes
Assorted Small Foreign Change
Il'Jhain Outsider Pass
Aleran Merchant Signet Ring
Guild Membership Scroll
Travel Documents For Corone
Cooking Pots & Pans
Updates in red.
2633
Name: Leopold
Surname: Winchester
Title: Sir, Guilds-man Master
Alias: Bullion
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: (1154) Appears 38
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 88kgs
Languages: Common, Tradespeak, Drow
Place of Birth: Radasanth
Current Residence: Scara Brae
Occupation: Merchant/Businessman
Relations: Married to Ruby Winchester, Family Deceased
History: If you were to ask Leopold Winchester of Scara Brae what his greatest accomplishments were, you would find him short of the words required to describe them modestly. From an early age, his head for numbers, haggling and trade earned him a foothold in the mercantile on goings of Corone’s capital city, Radasanth. Though gifted with a small measure of wealth as the last descendent of the Winchester family, he did not squander it like the rest of the dubious noble houses. Instead, he turned it to opportunities he could not pass up; investment, re-sale and property. By twenty four, he had turned his family’s dwindling coffers into four estates. Two were lost at age twenty six to the first outbreak of the civil war, and the remaining two were swiftly sold upon Leopold’s parent’s death on the eve of his twenty seventh birth day.
Suddenly free from the stagnant underbelly of Corone, Leopold cut his wealth from the skeleton of Radasanth and retired early to Scara Brae. There, he found a friendlier climate, and put his considerable expertise and understanding of Althanas’s volatile trade market to good use. He invested in membership to the Merchant Circle, one of the many guilds of the considerable Guilds-man Ring. He very soon became a master, one of each guild’s ruling council, second in power and influence within that industry to the Guild’s Van. That power allowed him to establish the Winchester name and heraldry in the noble circle of Scara Brae, and he debuted as a bachelor aged twenty nine.
The morning after his investiture, he was seated in a small polite bar on the north side of Scara Brae. He was wearing his usual golden threaded waistcoat, over coat, hat and tails and smoking a cigar in a pensive mood at the end of a long night of celebration. He caught sight of a young red headed woman, resplendent in the morning sun and wearing an equally radiant crimson dress. The leather lattice work down the front and the heavy basket of goods tucked neatly under a strong arm placed her as a young debutante of one of the more to do households. Leopold had studied the women of the city long enough to know the wheat from the chaff.
His heart skipped a beat. He stubbed out his cigar and ran out with a wheeze into the morning sun. His tall, lanky form was pallid and sickly in the morning light, his cheeks drained of life and colour after a few too many cut-crystal decanters of port, whiskey and quite possibly gin; he could not remember. Despite his dishevelled appearance he ran after the woman, expecting to catch her gently on the arm and ask at the very least her name. By the time he turned a corner and came out onto the building site of Market Square, her basket, buxom cleavage and lofty and joyful laugh were absent from the city streets.
Leopold was understandably heartbroken. Love was something he had never experienced, too busy as he was ensconced in his monetary world and the languishing existence of a noblemen with too many responsibilities.
What he did not know then, was that he had just laid eyes on the young Ruby La Roux, his soon to be wife and immortal spell singer of the strange and mysterious Tantalum Troupe. Fate denied their meeting for a full turn of the moon before they crossed paths at a noble sway in the upmarket district of Mrs Rochester’s residential district. Ever since their first fateful meeting, when she had been equally enamoured by his chiselled young looks, smart dress and equally smart tongue, Ruby has pledged herself through thick and thin, and even death to be dutiful and loving to Leopold.
In the last five years, as his wife has come and gone and he has suffered heart ache in her long absence, their love has only grown stronger. Though his business has suffered and his money has been drained by the resurgence of conflict in Corone, at the Queen’s unruly behest, Leopold has doubled his efforts to ensure the Winchester legacy remains a strong, powerful possession to leave a name for itself through the history of Scara Brae. Though somewhat more portly and considerably more wise in understanding his wife’s trials and tribulations, he is too stubborn, and too secretive with the full extent of his business dealings, legal and otherwise to lay low whilst the world steals from his velveteen pockets.
Leopold Winchester is as smart, quick on his feet and stubborn as a man married to Ruby Winchester had to be.
History Level 1:
Shadow Rituals (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?23627-Shadow-Rituals-(Closed)&highlight=Shadow+Rituals) (66)
Hire And Hire He Rose (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?24013-Hire-And-Hire-He-Rose-(Closed)&highlight=hire+and+hire+he+rose) (81)
By Rook, Wrath & Ruin (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?23980-By-Rook-Wrath-amp-Ruin-(Solo)&highlight=rook%2C+wrath)(81)
Personality: Kind, subtle and ever ready to ply humour to a sour situation, Leopold is an endearing counterpart to Ruby’s ball-busting feminism. He is the sort to split his personality into work, a phase he enters with alarming ease and love life, the homely demeanour a gentle soul wields to make lovers fall into his arms. He is controlling, confident yet friendly in the application of his charisma to his work, and is honest beyond all reproach in everything he says and does. That does not mean to say he is not without a deceptive streak, and certainly, that Leopold Winchester has not learnt to vent his anger like his wife does all too frequently.
His logical head for money has the tendency to inhibit any display of emotion outside of his marriage, making him a difficult person to get to know and to understand at times. He is relatively down to earth for a man born into a noble household, but his history with his family and their relatively early death for a peaceful age has severed his ego from his purse, allowing him to come across more as a hard working merchant who has made it to the lofty heights of a Guild Master on skill, rather than providence and aristocracy.
Skills:
Duellist: Leopold has unnerving accuracy with flintlock pistols, and has his own firing device, though it has long since rusted and fallen into disrepair. He can still shoot with above average accuracy, however.
Logistician: Leopold’s ability to perceive shape, distance and time in relation to spaces is outstanding. He can handle figures, quantities and dimensions with adept skill, outstripping elder and wiser individuals who may have worked on docklands and in quarter master’s company for many years more than Leopold’s working life.
Mercantile Brilliance: Leopold is an adept haggler, who possesses adept knowledge of the trade markets and rules & regulations of Corone, Scara Brae, Alerar and Fallien. His connections allow him access to the black markets of those regions, though he is morally upheld by his standing in the Merchant Guild, so such connections rarely come to play except in times of crisis.
Geography: In his travels, Leopold has acquired a considerable knowledge of the physical geography and coastlines of the places his ships and wagons trade with. He has an adept knowledge of Scara Brae, Alerar and Corone’s geographical qualities, and can plot distance, route and course using simple tools and maps through these regions.
Clandestine Operations: In the course of his work, and in the course of his assignments for Queen Valeena and the Royal Court, Leopold has had to apply his intellect to the clandestine acquisition of knowledge and items when secrecy is paramount. As such, he can use the Tantalum Menagerie and his charisma, as well as a small amount of acting tutoring from Ruby to disguise himself with average skill, perform false dialects with average skill and act at an above average level. Such skills pale in comparison to even the weakest kneed thespian, but it does the job and allows him to trade where he would otherwise be turned away, or worse still, killed for even trying.
Abilities: Many of the noble houses of Althanas are ancient lines, who pass on wealth, title, name and legacy through the blood of their children. For many centuries, the Winchesters were renowned for curious talents and strange occupations with the magical arts. Leopold’s grandfather possessed a weak telepathy, his aunt; still living in Dheathain can grow wings and conjure flame. His mother, god rest her soul, possessed the ability to transform objects from one material to another. Leopold’s legacy is that of shadow, of the crow’s eye, of the darkness in all men’s hearts where greed dares to seed its evil taint.
Flicker Wisp: With a brief incantation and a flick of the wrist, Leopold can conjure a sphere of radiating shadow element equal to the size of his own clenched fist. Such a sphere can be projected like a thrown object, and strikes with a concussive voice that implodes, as opposed to explodes. The relevant physical properties of such a projectile are difficult to describe, as they often leave anti-spaces in their wake, and scatter no debris from their impacts. When they strike, they make no sound themselves, but often wood cracks, people scream and unruly bricks crumble. For the purpose of conflict and damage calculation, each Flicker Wisp strikes with the equivalent force of a steel Warhammer swung by a man of average strength of Leopold’s age (X1.5 the strength of his best punch). Such a projectile may only be summoned once per post, up to thrice per thread. An incoming Flicker Wisp can be dispelled by countering it with a light element spell, and will be halved in strength to 0.75 in direct, full sunlight, and doubled to X3 when in a darkened room without sunlight.
Vernal Vault: Every merchant needs a secure method of keeping his wealth, trinkets, accounts and personal valuables so as not to attract thieves, jealous rivals and harlot lovers to his side. Using the strange other world of shadow that he is bound to through the providence of his family’s magical heritage, Leopold can conjure and exile items into a space he calls the Vernal Vault. Such a vault has no physical properties, no after taste, and no presence anywhere in any plane except the thoughts of its owner. It cannot be destroyed (even when Leopold dies, any items in the fault will simply remain there for eternity) and cannot be accessed by anyone except Leopold. There are limitations to this curious ability. He cannot store perishable items in the vault, nor can he exile living creatures, or the dead for that matter. Items with magical properties will be exiled for only a brief time, suddenly re-appearing with a violent crackle of deep violet lightning as they reject their unruly confinement. Any item that is not by rights Leopold’s, or is reclaimed by an angered individual with truth in his words will also come screaming back into reality in a similar fashion. Any item stored in the vault will be kept track of through a spoils and inventory system.
Items/Equipment:
Winchester Menagerie: Leopold has a large merchant empire, and as such has access to common household items and trinkets.
The Contra: A merchant schooner that acts as the Winchester Empire’s flagship. Though modest in size and constantly at sea on an endless trading route, Leopold can acquire its use with notice to the crew and cost to appease the waiting customers who will receive their shipments much later than expected. It has no use other than for story effect, and to display an ability to travel Althanas.
Isabella: A customised flintlock pistol with a steam cushioned chamber, used by Leopold in his younger days to keep himself safe on long voyages and black market dealings. Since his development of his magic however, it has fallen into disrepair and it has remained rusted and out of use over the mantel of the Winchester dining room. It has faded along with the once gold leaf etchings of the grand hall of their home, calling out to its master to take up her loving body with his fine, subtle hands.
Vernal Vault Contents: (Will be updated in spoils and linked separately in threads to the Tantalum PG thread if required - though imagination and story take precedence and PC permission can be used to override contents).
Candles
Sextant
World Map
Sea Charts
Account Ledgers
Quill & Ink
Assorted Work Clothes
Gold Threaded Waistcoat
Three Piece Suits
Cobble Top Hat
Silver Tipped Walking Cane
Woollen Blankets
Wedding Ring
Cutlery
Gold Leaf Stem Wine Glass
Several Large Cushions
Ruby's Spare Clothes
Assorted Small Foreign Change
Il'Jhain Outsider Pass
Aleran Merchant Signet Ring
Guild Membership Scroll
Travel Documents For Corone
Cooking Pots & Pans