Gregor the Cooper
Background: Gregor was born and raised in the city of Speyer, in Swabia (southern Germany). He learned the cooper's trade from his father, who taught him to use shape and infuse wood to make barrels both mundane and magical. The young Gregor was rebellous and wished for a more adventurous life, however, so at 17 he joined to army of Frederick Barbarossa and was a foot soldier for the next 6 years, being part of Barbarossa's campaign in Poland to gain control of Silesia in 1163. Gregor's great strength was greatly priced for a soldier, but his career was cut short when his right leg was severely wounded in a river crossing turned bad. Unable to continue as a soldier, with his taste for the adventurous life now laid to rest, and having to take care of a fallen comrade's family, Gregor returned to Germany to take up his father's trade again. Spending most of the wealth accumulated while campaigning, he managed to complete his training as a cooper and became a journeyman. His military past was often a hindrance, as other craftsmen looked down upon him. But through hard work he developped his abilities, delving into the magical secrets his father had taught him. That same military past, however, led him to make contact with magi of the Order of Hermes through their grogs. He entered into a partnership with them to set up a cooperage in Koblenz for them, after establishing his own position with the cooper's guild in that city.
Appearance: Although only slightly taller than average, Gregor is strongly built with a barrel chest and thick arms. But his strength is even greater than his stout build suggests, particularly when he exerts himself. His black hair (which he wears long to hide his missing left ear) is just beginning to be sprinkled with grey, and he wears a thin beard. His hooked nose has a noticeable scar, which does not detract from his solid and imposing presence. His heavily callused hands bear the numerous small scars from his fighting days. He walks with a pronounced limp, his right leg having healed badly from the crippling injury that ended his days as a soldier. He has a deep voice, slightly raucous from years of yelling on the battlefield.
Age: 35
Characteristics: Int 0, Per -1, Str +5, Sta +2, Pre +1, Com +1, Dex +2, Qik 0
Virtues: Mythic Cooperage (Major Supernatural), Guild Master, Great Strength x2, Improved Characteristics x2, Reserves of Strength, Warrior
Flaws: Ability Block (Academic), Dependent (fallen comrade's family), Fear (Drowning), Lame, Missing Ear, Overconfident (Major)
Personality Traits: Brave +2, Deliberate +1, Hardworking +3, Loyal +1
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: Light -1 (1-5), Medium -3 (6-10), Heavy -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20), Dead (21+)
Abilities:
- Area Lore: Koblenz (merchants) 2
- Area Lore: Poland (Silesia) 1
- Area Lore: Speyer (craftsmen) 2
- Athletics (marching) 2
- Awareness (keeping watch) 2
- Bargain (hard sell) 3
- Brawl (scuffle) 4
- Carouse (storytelling) 2
- Charm (first impressions) 2
- Chirurgy (bind wounds) 1
- Craft: Cooper (wine barrels) 7
- Folk Ken (townsfolk) 1
- Language: French (Norman) 3
- Language: High German (Swabian) 5
- Language: West Slavonic (Polish) 2
- Leadership (in the shop) 2
- Organization Lore: Koblenz Cooper Guild (politics) 2
- Single Weapon (military hammer/mace) 6
- Stealth (hide) 1
- Thrown Weapon (javelin) 3
Equipment: Military harhammer (mace), heather shield, partial chain mail, javelin, dagger, woodworking tools.
Combat:
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Dodge: Init: 0, Attack --, Defense +3, Damage --
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Fist: Init: 0, Attack +6***, Defense +4***, Damage +5
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Dagger: Init: 0, Attack +6, Defense +4, Damage +8
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Military hammer/mace & Heather Shield: Init: -1*, Attack +12, Defense +8*, Damage +13
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Military harhammer/mace: Init: 0**, Attack +12, Defense +6**, Damage +13
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Javelin (thrown): Init: -2*, Attack +8, Defense +3*, Damage +10
*Includes Burden penalty of 2 for encumbrance
**Includes Burden penalty of 1 for encumbrance (Load reduced by 2 without the shield)
***+1 for scuffle (non-lethal combat)
Soak: +8 (+2 without armor) Encumbrance: 2 (8)
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: Light -1 (1-5), Medium -3 (6-10), Heavy -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20), Dead (21+)
Mythic Cooperage (Major Supernatural Virtue)
You have a magical affinity with the craft of cooperage. You can imbue the barrels (or other items created using this craft, such as tubs, churns and buckets) with minor magical effects. These powers can work in three different ways.
First, you can improve the item itself. The bonus provided by Superior and Excellent Quality items is automatically increased by 1. This has no effect on how long it takes to craft the item.
Second, you can imbue an effect into the item that will affect its content. This can be an effect that preserve or improve the content (thus mostly Creo effects). The active effect only lasts as long as the content remains into the barrel and the barrel remains sound, although its consequences may be permanent. Thus, a wine aged within a barrel that improves its quality remains a high-quality wine even after it leaves the barrel, and flour kept fresh by a cask does not spoil immediately upon being taken out of it. The Ease Factor of such effects is 15 + (3 x effect magnitude). These items take twice as long to make.
Third, you can imbue an effect into the item that will transfer into the content, so that when the content is used the effect is activated. The transfer of the effect to the content is a long-term process, taking 1 season per magnitude. Once the item has imbued its content once, it loses any magical power. The Ease Factor of such effects is 15 + magnitude of the level (treating all effect as if they had Personal range). These effects cannot have a duration longer than a month and cannot use raw vis. These items take five times as long to make, and may require specific materials to create. These effects are essentially charged items, with 1 charge per gallon of the container.
The above Ease Factors are modified by the size of the item, and other factors, as follow:
- Pin (4.5 gallons) 0
- Firkin (9 gallons) +1
- Kilderkin (18 gallons) +2
- Barrel (36 gallons) +3
- Hogshead (54 gallons) +5
- Puncheon (72 gallons) +7
- Butt (108 gallons) +9
- Has imbued this effect before -3
An example would be an effect providing a +2 bonus to longevity of those who consume the wine contained in a barrel (requiring 1 gallon per month). This would be the equivalent to a level 10 effect. A pin (enough for 4 months) would be an Ease Factor of 17 and would take 2 weeks to craft.
Another example would be a barrel of grain that allows an animal to ignore the effects of Fatigue for a day. This would be a level 20 effect (Base 10, +2 Sun), so an Ease Factor of 19 for a pin (4 charges).