Name: Jameson of Orlumbor [Montorson] (hm, 0Lvl, CG, shipbuilder/engineer)
Submitted by: J Dave Ramsey
Jameson is an aging engineer from the small island of Orlumbor, south of Waterdeep. Like many on the island, he was a shipbuilder, working on the grandios galleons and caravels the island community is famous for.
Jameson is a fantastic worker and a very skilled engineer. He has an eccentric imagination that does not utilize his vast engineering intelligence very well (in game terms, high INT, low WIS). Seeing a future where giant wheeled Galleons cross not only the sea but also the land, he was socially ostracized for his foolish idea. However, as he was a good worker, the Orlumborians didn't exclude him from shipbuilding.
And then came the Knights of the Shield...
In 1369 DR, Lord Hhune, one of the highups in the Knights of the Shield and the Tethyrian Government (see "Lands of Intrigue" for details), decided to hire Jameson to work on new, non-magical ship weapons for defense against the Nelanther Pirates. Being a relatively peaceful man, and not wanting to get involved with such a "shady" group, Jameson refused. Lord Hhune at first didn't mind, but as he was walking out of Jameson's dwelling, Jameson stated, under his breath, that Lord Hhune was a "closet Waterdavian"; one of Jameson's less thought-out insults. Lord Hhune wasn't amused, so he told Jameson to work on the weapon or die. Jameson agreed to work with him, starting the next day.
Not being too smart, Jameson retaliated. Late that night he went to the wood section of his hillside home with a bucket of bright red paint. He there recorded all the knowledge that he had learned over the years about Lord Hhune's involvement in less-than-savory actions. Then, he left for the mainland on a raft.
Searching for a hiding place, Jameson went by the name Montorson. He found Arylon in his journeys, and thought it a nice place to hide out and work on his dream of amphibious ships. He owns a small warehouse where he works on his plans, and can also almost always be found in the local taverns drinking his favorite spirits and gossiping about his master plan of powered amphibious ships.
Montorson is easily duped as long as he thinks an individual is doing something benign. He is a little nervous, but not totally paranoid, about being found by Hhune's men. He doesn't figure that the gossip he painted on his home in Orlumbor was very accurate, or that Hhune will waste his time worrying about a little man like himself with the turmoil in Amn and Tethyr for distraction. Unfortunately, Jameson heard some very sensitive and accurate gossip, which he painted for all the shipbuilders of Orlumbor to see, and Hhune was none too happy. He has minor agents looking for this "spy" throughout the Realms, but they haven't found Arylon yet.
Montorson probably won't have to work for the rest of his life; his engineering and shipbuilding abilities were none too cheap. He constantly, however, works on his prototype of a small Caravel ship with large wheels and various means of power.