Folk

The Folk of Waterwheel

The town of Waterwheel is a respectably sized town of around 2700 people. Here are some of the more important residents.

Related to the PCs

Marlowe Alder’s NPCs

Vernon ‘Peepop’ Alder

• Been in the area since the town was new
• Married a human woman here named Mary Ellen, had a family with her
• Stayed after she died, and after a couple of centuries was ‘bullied’ into marriage by his current wife, Willow
• Old as hell, mourns his (relatively) recently deceased son
• Actually sleeps, which is weird for an elf
• His son is buried in the Cemetery

Willow ‘Grandma’ Alder

• Younger than her husband, Vernon
• Doesn’t like to speak common
• Has a very strict routine
• Friends with Parnell McKeag, plays dragon chess with him (and usually wins), helps him practice elvish
• Her son is buried in the Cemetery

Marina Alder

• Marlowe’s mother
• Manages an engineering team as third engineer after her husband drowned beneath a waterwheel
• Primarily a safety engineer - effectively Waterwheel’s head of OSHA
• Very well respected
• Her husband is buried in the Cemetery

Samir Alder

• Marlowe’s oldest sibling
• Comes to visit with some frequency
• Works on a trading barge

Clay Alder

• Marlowe’s next oldest sibling
• Left home and hasn’t been back since shortly after Marlowe’s birth
• There are other people in the village who are related, but distantly, from Vernon’s first family

Parnell McKeag’s NPCs

Mosshoof

• A Noriker draft horse McKeag purchased in Five Hills Town
• A simple, but loyal animal
• A surprisingly good seeing accessibility animal

Beltisse DuFelrose

• The only person who McKeag has told his whole story to
• Keeps an ear out for information that can help him

Tam Humboldt, Proprietor of the Pearly Perch Inn

• McKeag’s friend, who works effectively as Tam’s information broker
• Owns and runs The Pearly Perch Inn
• Happily passes on information to McKeag, as long as McKeag is a paying customer or is willing to gamble on dragon chess games for it

Ferdiad Felustrone, Main Guildhall Clerk

• Main clerk of the guildhall
• Handles visitor logs, work permits, caravan manifests, all sorts of bureaucracy
• For a few coins, keeps McKeag up to date on any strange names, notable individuals or traveling companies that pass through waterwheel

Lincoln Mortise’s NPCs

Elias Mortise (Deceased)

• A deceased human man
• Lincoln’s adoptive father and mentor
• Had a great reputation in town, and people still tell stories about him
• Serves as Lincoln’s moral compass, even in death
• Buried in the cemetery

Mara Bellweather

• An older halfling woman, heavyset, with strong arms and warm hands
• A baker across the street from Lincoln’s shop
• Widowed long ago
• Generous, frequently fed Lincoln as both a child and an adult
• She is outspoken, good-natured-ly nosy, and protective of her neighbors and neighborhood
• She worries that Lincoln works too hard and takes care of everyone but himself
• Calls him Link

Rowan Hale

• The Second Watch
• Knew Lincoln’s history from the start
• Was skeptical of Elias’s decision to take Lincoln in, but took being wrong with grace
• Now has a good relationship and occasionally asks Lincoln to help during investigations

Nell Fenwick

• Local tinkerer (potential artificer levels) whose workshop is nearby Lincoln’s
• Took some instruction from Elias
• Really likes Lincoln

Korwin Littlefoot’s NPCs

All of these characters speak sign langauge

Remy Littlefoot

• Korwin’s adoptive father
• A farmer
• Raised Korwin as his own and doesn’t have the heart to tell him he’s adopted

Lilah Littlefoot

• Korwin’s adoptive mother
• Handles a lot of work around the house
• Loves her family deeply

Ricky Littlefoot

• Korwin’s younger brother
• 13 years old and looks up to Korwin in every way
• Helps Remy in the fields, but dreams of joining the Waterwheel Watch

Lavender Littlefoot

• Korwin’s younger sister
• 8 years old, born deaf
• Treated as a princess by all

Important People in Town

Government/Authority Figures

The Irondome Family

Karrus Irondome, The Mayor

• A middle-aged duergar man, bald as his name might imply
• Curmudgeonly, anti-authoritarian, very begrudgingly the mayor, goes swimming every day
• Shares being mayor with his wife
• Lives, naturally, at The Mayor’s House
• Primary manager of the Water Locks with his family
• Married to Sorna Irondome, The Mayor
• Four kids, two young grandkids

Sorna Irondome, The Mayor

• A middle-aged duergar woman, looks soft for a dwarf, has big, frizzy hair
• Curmudgeonly, very begrudgingly the mayor
• Shares being mayor with her husband
• Lives, naturally, at The Mayor’s House
• Manager of the Water Locks with her family
• Married to Karrus Irondome, The Mayor
• Four kids, two young grandkids

Irondome Kids

• Umnas - Eldest daughter
• Orno - Son, father of Gwynvia and Jensora Irondome
• Hurnir - Son
• Grydar - Son
• Gwynvia - Very young daughter of Orno
• Jensora - Very young daughter of Orno

The Witch

• An oooooold Satyr woman
• A wonderful musician, apparently

Waterwheel Watch

Beltisse DuFelrose, Chief Watch

• Older human woman with a hard face and strong back
• Principled and just leader of the guard who knows the look of trouble, well-respected
• Retired adventurer warrior
• Has crossed paths with The Darkspire Exchange and knows their danger
• The only person in Waterwheel who Parnell McKeag trusted with his full story

Rowan Hale, Second Watch

• An middle-aged half-elf man with long, graying hair and a surprising amount of energy
• Knowledgeable, and Beltisse DuFelrose, Chief Watch relies on his intuition and skepticism heavily

Molthar the Chartusk, Second Watch

• A huge, old half-orc man, scarred, obviously an ex-adventurer
• Keeps a shaved head and has black tusks
• Can breathe fire
• Moved to Waterwheel after stopping adventuring for a comparatively quiet life
• Enjoys being Second Watch because there’s some occasional issue he has to look into, but he can mostly just fish while he delegates
• Very competent when he wants/needs to work
• Feels entitled to laziness after successfully saving many communities
• The only person who properly lives at the Bridge Watchhouse

Pindle Blackheel, Third Watch

• A tall halfling man with frizzy black hair and very pale skin
• Joined the guards because he likes authority, but also genuinely likes to use that authority to help people
• Stubborn, looked at as “The Strict Parent” of the guards
• Lives south shore of the the Adventuring Guild Bridgehouse in a small house on stilts

Selchek Bantuk Brasseye, Third Watch

• A broad androgynous dragonborn with brass scales, a long tail, and glittering eyes
• Gregarious, personable, a little too willing to let benign things slide
• Looked at like “The Cool Parent” of the guards
• Lives in a house by the Upstream Docks

Malachy Bowe, Third Watch

• A sleepy human man with bright red hair and really cool tattoos
• Always late to incidents, but manages disputes really well
• Supports his aunt, Saoirse Bowe and grandfather, Soren Bowe with his work
• Lives in a house on the south shore near the cemetery, where his aunt works as the cemetery keeper
• Doesn’t get jokes about working the “graveyard shift”
• Expects to quit when either his grandfather or aunt can no longer work at the cemetery

Waterwheel Maintenance Crew

Beffica Creakensqueak, Chief Engineer

• A sprightly gnomish woman with a soft voice and rosy cheeks
• Recently took over as Chief Engineer, doesn’t feel up for the task despite clearly having what it takes
• Known for her meticulous attention to detail
• Nobody knows when she sleeps, and nobody knows how she doesn’t seem overworked
• Is cripplingly addicted to caffeine, but not as a way to keep working
• Always gives credit where credit is due

Marina Alder, Second Engineer

• Marlowe Alder’s mother
• Received significant acclaim for the waterwheel safety net she created after her husband drowned beneath a wheel, and was offered her post after she designed and implemented it

Temple Leadership

Elder Starlight

• A mysterious wood elf with extraordinarily long, shiny hair and crows feet around their bright, mischievous eyes
• The third eldest elf in town, though they are not originally from Waterwheel
• Has been here for two hundred years
• Knows much about many gods, and is specifically a theologian
• Lives up towards the foothills on the north shore, roughly midstream, in a house abutting The Wooded Temple
• Looked to as the primary religious authority in the region
• Their sole vice is vanity, expressed through their colorful, beautifully embroidered robes
• Provides a holistic religious view

Elder Gattis Castry Zellson

• A fatherly gnomish man whose chronically unshaven face and lopsided smile alternate between anxious and comforting
• Dresses in simple robes, indulges in simple delights (frequently as a self-soothing mechanism), and offers simple wisdoms
• Not actually that concerned with religion and feels guilty for it, but does legitimately provide good comfort, advice, and perspective to those who come to him

Elder Peony Silksatchel

• A tiny, sleepy old halfling woman with thin wisps of hair and deep wrinkles
• The citizens of Waterwheel are convinced she could pass away at any moment
• Dazy and dreamy
• Flat refuses retirement - she will die in her position, and she doesn’t intend to do that soon, and she is vocal about it
• There’s a rumor that she sleeps so much because she’s hibernating to live longer

Business Proprietors

The Hook and Tail Tavern

Nerus Whithorn

• A lively older halfling man who is broad and strong from lifting kegs and boxes, who cannot admit he is balding and takes great pride in his remaining grey curls
• Jovial nature belies his good business sense
• Would be a selfish man if not for his wife Helga’s and son Nastur’s giving, communal nature
• Truly loves running his inn and serving patrons
• Almost clumsy
• Lives above The Hook and Tail Tavern

Helga Whithorn

• A slender halfling woman, whose older age doesn’t stop her from keeping active, she has strong dimples, a wide face, and is tall for a halfling
• Equally lively, but less loving of the work of running the tavern
• A pillar of the community, she may be the first person to know about someone else’s issues…
• Gossipy, but in a well-meaning way
• Graceful, but not elegant
• Lives above The Hook and Tail Tavern

Nastur Whithorn

• A thoughtful looking halfling man with his mother’s dimples and his father’s curly hair (though much more of it)
• Trying to figure out what his future looks like
• Doesn’t want to be tied to the tavern forever, but wants to stay in the village with his family
• Has been trying to get into a relationship and is having limited success
• Lives above The Hook and Tail Tavern

With the Fish Tavern

Michelle Ulatra

• A wide, barefoot triton woman with turquoise hair, and speckled, deep-blue skin, who frequently picks her teeth with a crawfish claw
• Sister of Tonio Ulatra, these twins run With the Fish Tavern
• Finds Tam Humboldt charming, is not interested in moving their relationship in that direction but is appreciative and keeps a friendship with him
• Loves dangling her legs in the water off the edge of her tavern

Tonio Ulatra

• A loud, broad triton man with turquoise hair, speckled, deep-blue skin
• Brother of Michelle Ulatra, these twins run With the Fish Tavern
• An excellent cook of seafood, if you can handle his spice

The Pearly Perch Inn

Tam Humboldt

• A friendly, nosy, handsome halfling with a wide smile and sharp ears, has some elf in his lineage
• Hears everything that happens in his tavern and passes information onto Parnell McKeag if McKeag will pay for something or gamble against him on a dragon chess game
• Has a strong connection to the two cats who live in the tavern, but who he insists are not his
• Has a great passion for dragon chess, and the inn also functions as a gaming space, featuring upbeat songs, raucous drinking, and hearty food
• Is trying in vain to court Michelle Ulatra, who receives it well and maintains friendship, but is uninterested of moving their relationship in that direction

The Tacklebox

Elrael Lynalen

• An affable, friendly elvish woman with dark brown hair and strangely angled features who seems to always have her head in the clouds
• Owner of The Tacklebox
• Leaves a lot of management to her three employees, but does pull her weight
• Lives in a back room on the second floor

What You Knead

Mara Bellweather

• An older halfling woman, heavyset, with strong arms and warm hands
• A baker across the street from Lincoln’s shop
• Widowed long ago
• Generous, frequently fed Lincoln as both a child and an adult
• She is outspoken, good-natured-ly nosy, and protective of her neighbors and neighborhood
• She worries that Lincoln works too hard and takes care of everyone but himself

The Inked Eye

Withel Candleby Estheldottir

• An ink-stained gnomish woman with black hair (the tips seem darker, maybe?), thick glasses, and a button nose
• Easily fixates on things and can be snippy when interrupted or when someone tries to guide her thinking
• Her fiance is Gerold Peartree, a halfling man who works as a dockmaster
• Can do a surprising amount of magic, but is not very good at it
• Can make spell scrolls very reliably, and of higher level than she can cast

Iron and Oak Smithy

Moloch Craft

• A deep, dark red tiefling with curled horns, strong arms, and a serious demeanor
• Self-conscious about his craftsmanship in a town full of dwarves, and strives to prove himself
• The best smith in town, but refuses the title
• Married to Peach Craft, who helps with the woodworking portion of his work
• Has a peg leg that his wife turned and carved for him

Peach Craft

• A pretty, confident firbolg woman with gentle eyes, rough hands, and big, bushy, auburn hair
• Does woodcarving and wood repair work
• Works with found wood, pulled from the river and dried or foraged from the forest nearby
• Beautiful carving and craftsmanship in her work
• Married to Moloch Craft
• Is in the consulting phase of being commissioned to do ornamental work on The Water Locks

Guild Hall Betwixt Walls

Bekker Strikemallet

• A dwarf man with an immaculately groomed blonde mustache and a single, thick, intricate braid in his beard, and some fine silver chains woven into the braid
• Manages the guild hall
• Hands-off management style, but good at handling situations
• Handles almost all of the meetings, regulations, and finances

Adventuring Guild Bridgehouse

Ferdiad Felustrone

• An overworked human man
• Handles a lot of the guild bureaucracy and knows the ins and outs of local needs that can’t be met by the Guild Hall
• Acquaintance of Parnell McKeag, and passes him information on strange or suspicious movements of people through Waterwheel for what he refers to as “overtime”, effectively a bribe

Good Herb

Thrombin Bellowblast

• A dwarf with a curly dark beard who wears a broad green sun hat, and whose hard features are softened by his expression
• Immigrated from Mount Snowhead, where he was a mine foreman who hated his job
• Is much, much happier here, not only for the weather, but for his newfound intuition and love for (and quickly expanding knowledge of) herbs, mushrooms, and medicine
• Moved out here at his wife’s suggestion, and they work as healers together
• So very dearly loves and dotes on his wife

Nyterya Bellowblast

• A dwarf with short ginger curls and a close-cropped beard, she has long elegant eyelashes, deft hands, and swears like a particularly salty sailor
• Is a good doctor, having worked as a medic in the mines
• Good under pressure and in crisis
• Very much enjoys the slower pace of life in Waterwheel, but gets excited when there’s “action”
• Encouraged her husband to pick up and move from Mount Snowhead seeing how much he hated his work, didn’t realize how much she was burnt out of hers

Cemetary

Saoirse Bowe

• A human woman with streaks of grey in her hair and a weary demeanor
• Very talkative
• Caretaker of the cemetery
• Aunt of Malachy Bowe, raised him when his parents passed away, daughter of Soren Bowe

Soren Bowe

• A heavyset human man with a white mustache whose age is slowing him down
• Caretaker of the cemetery
• Taciturn, but helpful and understanding
• Grandfather of Malachy Bowe and father of Saoirse Bowe

The Rat’s Pack

Metzer Steeltrap

• A dwarf with a hard nose, black hair, and a short black beard with steel-grey streaks
• Frequently fidgets with a lucky coin
• Despite the overwhelming inventory in his store, has a keen memory of exactly what he has, and mostly knows where it is

Wilfred Markelsson

• A timid, older halfling man with gray mutton chops, a receding hairline, and a beer gut
• The only employee of The Rat’s Pack

The Bathhouse

Reedy Bytheby

• A halfling woman dressed very casually in fine clothes with rosy cheeks and a very relaxed posture
• Runs the Bathhouse and spends much of her time there, hence habitually carrying a fine towel
• Not a nepo baby, but comes from some wealth, basically runs the Bathhouse as a hobby

Tavrel “Wrinkles” Janelleson

• A broad, short, hairy human man who spends a lot of time in the baths, hence his nickname
• If he had a beard, he could be mistaken for a tall, slender dwarf
• Convinced Reedy to build and run the Bathhouse, took care of the engineering and maintenance himself

Citizens

Wet Ronnie

• A kind of weird, dark green kobold who lives beneath the Upstream Docks
• Is basically never more than fifty feet from the river
• Gets by fetching things that fall into the water for coin and catching fish
• Sleeps in a makeshift hammock slung between posts beneath the dock
• Has been substantially upstream and downstream
• Checks in on Peepop when he can
• Very stealthy

Tenken ‘Armsbreaker’ Gelunakano

• A goliath with a brick jaw, a beer gut, bold tattoos, and a would-be booze problem, if he were much smaller
• Armsbreaker’s nickname is not a misnomer, but is frequently misunderstood - it comes from his weapons not being strong enough to withstand his strikes, though he has definitely broken people’s arms
• Spends time at The Hook and Tail Tavern where outsiders think he waits for barfights, but he really sticks around so fights don’t happen
• The Waterwheel Watch takes care of his tab in exchange for him keeping an eye out for trouble, and flexing his muscles when it might quiet trouble down

Naminix Shipwrong

• A hunched, dark goblin with bandaged fingers
• Does discount boat repair, and sells or rents refurbished boats
• He doesn’t promise to get you far, and gives fair warning, and the rentals are kind of a rip-off anyway
• Generally only deals with people passing through, but will work with whoever
• His smaller-scale boat repairs and refurbishing are quality

Stephan Yesteryear

• An old, scruffy, wiry human man in worn leathers, light grey hair, and a certain look in his eyes
• Carries a shortbow and shortsword with him everywhere
• A hunter for the town
• Rarely outright communicates his thoughts

Mathom Flinthand

• A dwarf woman with a thick mustache who is always wearing brimmed hat
• Uses a hunting bow and hatchet
• Speaks in two or three words at a time, but mostly because she doesn’t like talking, not for lack of ability
• Very practical, very resourceful, doesn’t have a “home” except for the valley

Gerold Peartree

• A tanned halfling man with a long brown ponytail, and wide, expressive eyes
• Works as a dockmaster at the Downstream Docks
• Engaged to Withel Candleby Estheldottir
• Is looking to move in with Withel soon, though they’re already frequently staying the night with each other