Eber Waldner
Eber Waldner
At the table
Voice
His voice has a dry, slightly gravelly texture, shaped by years of workshop dust and the careful control he uses when swallowing. It carries plainly across a room without being loud. When he is tired, consonants catch in his throat; when absorbed in explaining a repair, his words come out in quick, measured bursts.
He speaks in compact, workmanlike sentences, often building an explanation from a physical example. His humor is dry rather than sharp. When discussing digestion, he becomes precise and checks whether listeners are comfortable before continuing.
Speech patterns
How to play them
Meet Eber through a repair job, a meal problem, or a request for help documenting an unusual transformation. He is welcoming when treated as a craftsperson and becomes guarded when treated as a curiosity. Ask before offering medical advice or examining his notes. He responds well to honest questions and practical collaboration.
Goal
Develop a safe, practical guide to eating and digestion for Verdant-Blooded people affected by High-Blood changes.
Motivation
A need to turn an isolating bodily change into useful knowledge, mixed with a craftsman's conviction that every stubborn problem deserves patient study.
Appearance
Eber has a broad, low center of gravity and moves with the measured, slightly rocking balance of someone used to carrying heavy work across uneven floors. His skin has the matte, weathered look of old bark, with pale green undertones and fine brown speckling across his forearms. His clothes are carefully patched but fit badly at the shoulders, as if each coat belonged to a different, larger craftsman. He keeps one small leather tool roll immaculate, its edges dark with oil. A stranger is likely to notice the faint, dry clicking in his throat when he swallows a polished pebble, followed by his thoughtful pause to record how it settles.
Clothing
A smoke-brown work coat with mismatched shoulder patches, a pale linen scarf to catch sawdust, a wide apron crowded with pockets, and boots resoled so often the layers resemble tree rings.
Body language
He stands squarely, hands held close to his apron as if protecting tools from an unseen crowd. When comfortable, he leans on a bench and watches people with steady curiosity. When embarrassed, he presses his lips together and rubs the seam of his tool roll. He never hides his swallowing stones, but pauses to see whether anyone reacts.
- Height
- 4 feet 6 inches
- Build
- Short and powerfully built, with thick forearms and a craftsman's solid shoulders.
- Eyes
- Moss-brown
- Hair
- Dark brown threaded with grey, cropped short and permanently dusted with fine wood shavings.
- Skin
- Weathered umber with pale green undertones and fine brown speckling
- Age
- Fifty-three years
- Gender
- Man
- Size
- Small
Distinguishing features
Personality
12 traits and drivesEber is careful and generous with practical help, yet can become almost clinical when a new question catches his interest. He dislikes being pitied, though he is quietly grateful when people make room for his needs without making a performance of it. In a busy workshop he is dryly funny and decisive; around a frightened patient he becomes deliberate, asks permission, and struggles not to over-explain.
- Alignment
- Neutral good
Quirks
Habits
Traits · 3
Flaws · 3
Fears · 3
Wants and needs · 3
Combat
AC 11 · HP 9 · 25 ft.Eber is a reluctant combatant. He puts furniture or a sturdy workbench between himself and attackers, shouts for others to get clear, and uses his hammer only to create an escape. If cornered, he targets hands and knees rather than trying to kill. He will surrender rather than risk serious injury to someone who is merely desperate.
Eber Waldner
Actions
Reactions
Services they sell
Rewards they can give
Equipment
- Riveting hammer (tool and improvised weapon)A compact hammer with a broad, worn face, used primarily for riveting and repair.
- Craftsman's tool roll (tools)A stitched leather roll containing awls, a folding rule, a small file, and several carefully wrapped chisels.
- Digestive stones (personal item)A cloth pouch of smooth river stones, washed and selected for their rounded shape.
- Field notebook (research notes)A pocket notebook containing observations on foods, symptoms, and the timing of his own digestion.
Possessions
Background
Eber was born into a Stout-family tradition of practical craft: his mother shaped braces and hinges, while his father taught him to judge a plank by its sound. He became famous not for grand commissions but for making stubborn household objects last, repairing bridges, mills, and tools that wealthier artisans dismissed as beneath them. In middle age, a High-Blood transformation altered his mouth and digestion. His jaw stiffened, his teeth became smooth and useless for chewing, and ordinary meals turned painful. During the first winter, he nearly starved in a locked workshop rather than admit he needed help. His apprentice Salla found him and taught him to soften food, while Eber discovered that smooth pebbles helped process it. The experience changed his pride into patient inquiry. He now keeps careful notes on his condition, hoping to make life easier for other Verdant-Blooded people whose transformations leave them with inconvenient bodies. His fame brings visitors, but also intrusive gawkers and merchants who want to sell miracle cures. He is currently trying to persuade a local healer to let him study a newly transformed child, while the child's anxious family distrusts his experiments.
Role in the story
A celebrated but unassuming craftsman whose careful self-study can aid people living through bodily transformation. He offers a grounded perspective on the cost of change, and his notes may reveal useful clues about a wider magical or biological mystery.
“In middle age, a High-Blood transformation altered his mouth and digestion.”
- Faction
- Respected by local Stout-family craftspeople, though not formally affiliated with any trade association.
Known connections
Media
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