Inspector Arum
Artificer (Armorer), custom municipal inspector
Inspector Arum
Species
Gearforged
Appearance
Inspector Arum is a towering gearforged built from dull gunmetal steel, reinforced titanium joints, and thick overlapping plates designed for high-pressure steam environments. Their upper torso houses a rotating cluster of multi-spectrum optical lenses that click into alignment before every observation. Decades of municipal inspection seals cover the armor in neat rows, some crisp and black, others faded to ghostly silver beneath layers of heat-scarring. Their movement is deliberate and hydraulic, each step releasing a soft pneumatic sigh, yet Arum can suddenly move with startling grace when a valve bursts or a cable snaps. Their silhouette suggests a brutal industrial engine, but their hands are delicate, narrow-fingered, and capable of repairing a watch without scratching its casing. The unexpected contradiction is their carefully polished left gauntlet, which bears a tiny painted image of a blue moth beneath the official seals.
“Clipped, precise, and unusually formal. Arum speaks in complete technical statements, labels emotional states as conditions, and pauses for exactly two seconds before answering uncertain questions.”
Ability Scores
Alignment
Distinguishing Features
A rotating six-lens optical cluster embedded in the upper torso instead of a conventional head.
Hundreds of municipal inspection seals stamped into the armor, including several from offices destroyed decades ago.
A blue moth painted beneath the left gauntlet's official markings.
A hairline crack across the chest plate that glows faintly whenever Arum hears music.
A thin exhaust plume that smells faintly of rain on hot stone during dream-loop episodes.
Voice
“A resonant contralto filtered through a brassless speaker grille, with the dry clarity of an automated station announcement. When distressed, a second whisper trails behind the words as if the chassis is remembering how the sentence ends.”
Clothing
A charcoal inspection coat of heatproof canvas hangs from shoulder brackets over the armor. It is fastened with ceramic toggles, lined with copper mesh, and crowded with gauges, chalk sticks, seal punches, folded hazard notices, and tiny numbered tags. A battered yellow hood is usually draped over Arum's back rather than worn over their head.
Body Language
Arum stands perfectly upright when calm, with their lenses rotating in slow measured arcs. Under stress, their shoulders lock, their head tilts several degrees too far, and one optical lens tracks an empty point behind whoever is speaking. When emotionally affected, they polish the left gauntlet instead of making eye contact.
Turn Inspector Arum into a sheet
A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.
