Otto van der Velde VI

Otto van der Velde VI is a human artificer and wizard associated with the group of adventurers hired by Nelenet to explore the continent of Ahlus.

While utilising the magic of the Wayfinder Stones, he was cast out into the Astral Sea, and is yet to return. It was later discovered that he had created, or otherwise come to occupy a chaotic tower colloquially known as Otto's Opulent Observatorium, though his current fate remains uncertain.

## Personality

Strange is the word to describe Otto van der Velde. Non-sensical, whimsical and utterly deranged, very few can bear to afford their company to the transmuter. A single conversation is enough to roll eyes and back away slowly. If held in conversation longer, it tends to drift towards madness and fantasy as he loses track of what has been said and the points of discussion. But behind every mad man, there is a genius.

## Backstory

Born to a slave girl in Thay and quickly sold to a Thayan noble family, Otto has no memory or recollection of birth parents. Risen as a child in chains, his purpose upon receipt was simply for experimentation by Thayan enchanters to see how magic could be transmutated within a life force. Whilst some inherent abilities came of such machinations, the side effects were clear to see. First, perception of reality was inhibited, as was the development of speech and proper linguistic patterns. Whilst his owners were able to communicate with Otto, very few others were able to as he bizarrely created his own linguistic patterns and a broken form of common. To most, his speech will more than mumblings and bumblings of a possessed child, but to those with whom he lived, there was a formation of understandable communication.

At an early age, he bore the tattoo'd markings of Thay, that imprinted him as a slave of magic under the owndership of the Ashmeddai family in Thay. Whilst his childhood was hindered and free of normality for a young boy, he was able to learn both Thayan and Infernal, as he was forced to do so in order to survive both life in Thay and the devilish mutterings and incantations of his enchanting captors.

Tics and abnormal physical outbursts followed as the enchantments grew more wild in the mage's machinations. In his teens, an eye was nearly lost as Ivor Ashmeddai attempted to enchant his vision with the ability to see within darkness. This was not the first, nor the last failed experiment upon Otto. The first of few successes was a transmutation ritual when Otto reached puberty, as Ivor attempted to enhance Otto's skeletal structure, emboldening his muscles and core strength. As a result, a great deal of scar tissue lingered on his body, but he found himself resistant and his constitution hardened. Thought it could be argued that years of experimentation and near torture could develop a higher threshold to pain inhibition.

When Ivor was sentenced to death by Zulkirs of Thay, the Ashmeddai family were forced to sell all property, including Otto. Taking him to the markets, he was quickly picked up by an outlawed Halruuan slave peddler. Travelling across Toril, Otto made himself useful with the few magics he knew in the hope of finding some form of kinship with the slave trader and find his release at best, employment at worst. It was off the coast of Halruua on a pirate ship that shady beings of the country travelled to to see the wares of illegal humanoid property. Aldym van der Velde, an enchanter and battle-smith from Halruua frequented the markets. Not out of the desire for slaves, but to purchase artefacts and illegals enchantments. But seeing Otto and a Gnome by the name of Klaus, two young beings that had no place as a slave, he engaged in a greater crime that he ever had done before and purchased the two young humanoids.

Aldym had made it very clear to them, that they were free to leave whenever they wished, but if they desired training and a trade then he would give it to them. Finding kindness for the first time in their lives they quickly accepted his proposals and became apprentices to the battle-smith enchanter. First came the tutoring of enchantments, forging weapons with magical properties. Then came the constructions of clockwork creations, fireflies, bugs and small constructs. In time, Otto found a fascination for transmutation and the enchantment of alchemical properties. Encouraging his craft, Aldym presented him with his first spell-book and texts on the arcane, from which Otto learnt basic, but useful spells such the absorption of elements, arcane shields and enchantments such as enlarge/reduce and hold person. The combination of clockwork technology and transmutation magic had a near perfect synergy and only enhanced the works of Aldym's business.

For forty long years, Otto was as happy as he could be. He was a master of his craft and loyal employee of Aldym. So much so, that Aldym adopted Otto and Kasper informally. But none-the-less, Otto was the sixth Otto in the Van Der Velde family, and so he was named Otto van der Velde VI. Sadly, when Aldym passed away in old age after a period of sickness, the informality of their adoption held no legal grounds and all property was placed into the care of the Halruuan authorities.

Furious, lost and betrayed, the two artificers no longer had a home or a penny to their names and their belongings, coin and homes had been taken from them. Seeking a place to call home, somewhere quiet and remote, they caught wind of a call to explore new lands and jumped at the chance to join Nelenet's expeditions to Ahlus.