Eliphet "Tinker" Pryce

Art by ???

### Connections

Dian Wolfwing, Dash Whiskers, Dr. Piper Hellebore, Wade, Victor Valentin von Cicero

## Campaign Appearances

### Main Campaign(s)

*Deadbeats*, *Deadbeats X Pipe Dreamers*

> *"Fair? You think any living creature in this universe actually cares about fair? Nobody gets what they deserve, that's not how this works. Things just happen. Good, bad, doesn't matter, it just is. They didn't ask for it, neither did I. But there's no going back now, is there?*
>
>

> -Eliphet "Tinker" Price
>
>

**Eliphet "Tinker" Price** is a member of the *Deadbeats* party. Also known by the alias **"Toymaker"** for his artificing expertise, Eli was committed to a life sentence for arms dealing on behalf of the Lamantos Crime Family, a crime he profusely denies. Imprisoned in the Vault beneath the city of Xiros, the Toymaker's connections to the criminal underworld are ironically the very thing that could earn him back his freedom... He is played by Snake.

## Description

### Appearance

Eliphet Price is a very tall human male, standing at 6ft 8in, with dark brown skin and black and grey hair. His hair, which possess no small number grey strands, is usually pulled back off his face and restrained in a messy bun held in place by a thin metal rod. The lower half of his face is covered in an equally black and grey full beard that extends out to about halfway down his neck. Eli's physique is hardy and toned from years in prison, with long limbs and dexterous fingers. His imposing figure is made complete with a pair of piercing black eyes which are normally looking down through a pair of gold rimmed pince-nez spectacles.

Eli wears a rather simple outfit consisting of a dark green collarless shirt and a pair of light brown trousers that are worn and torn at the left knee. A pair of black suspenders hold up the trousers. Around his waist is a tan leather toolbelt, with a pouch containing tools on his right hip. A gold and silver circular object resembling a pocket watch hangs from a loop on his left hip. On his hands are a pair of thin very dark brown leather gloves that leave sections of the skin uncovered. His feet are covered by a pair of buttoned-up grey stockings and a pair of black loafers.

### Personality

Eli is a quiet and stern individual that rarely loses his head. For the most part, Eli is calm and patient, using his wits and logic to guide him and others through stressful situations. His logical mind also gives Eli impressive insight into the motives and mentality of others, allowing him to piece together information into a single narrative through questioning what he sees and hears. He prefers to keep his head down and focus on the task at hand rather than get caught up in hypotheticals or let emotion get the better of him.

That is not to say that Eli does not feel, rather that he would rather not show it. For example, Eli's breakdown after being released from the Vault was done in the privacy of his bathroom where no-one could witness it. Perhaps the most public display of emotion Eli has ever show was when he punched Logan Horn after the frustrated detective revealed his deceptions to the group, after which Eli coldly berated him and walked away. It is also clear that when Eli feels, he feels deeply, as he very clearly loves and cares about his family and also nurses a burning hatred towards his former partner Wade after he learned of his betrayal.

Eli's past has made him somewhat of a cynic as well. In his conversation with the imaginary Dian Wolfwing, he iterates that he believes there is no fairness or reason in the universe and nobody truly gets what they deserve. This cynicism also makes Eli suspicious of most people, even the Lamantos who had previously supported him and his family when he initially reunited with them, and he keeps his eye on those he doesn't fully trust, such as Keres Creed and Victor von Cicero. Eli also gets easily exasperated with the antics of his party members, such as Dr. Hellebore's erratic mood swings and Victor's penchant for chaos. This can often lead to Eli just resigning himself to accepting their quirks, such as his signing of Hellebore's post-mortem contract. Eli also demonstrates a rather dry sense of humor that stems from his cynical nature, often quipping from the sidelines of conversations to highlight the ridiculousness of the subject matter. His "three rules" remark to Victor's offer of a tattoo is one such example, though that may also be an insight to his behavior as a parent as well.

Eli's criminal background also highlights a degree of moral unscrupulousness, as he willingly developed weaponry for a crime syndicate with no real regrets. It is possible that Eli views such matters through an entirely utilitarian lens, as he was preforming these illegal acts to support his family. However, Eli also shows an unwillingness to involve innocents in dangerous situations and expresses disdain at the idea of killing people to further his own ends. He also holds a degree of admiration for the idealistic Dash, who still uphold lofty goals of justice and protecting others despite the world constantly beating the rookie prot down.

Given his trade, it is no surprise that Eli is an avid artisan and spends a lot of time analyzing and appreciating machinery, remarking on fellow artificer Zugg's skill. His own designs tend to be creative and multi-functional in nature, as seen in his upgrading of Logan and Dash's equipment. Eli's designs also bring out an element of black comedy as his steel defender, Amity, resembles a child's doll while also being a dangerous weapon. His title as the "Toymaker" implies this is not the only case, further evidenced by the prototype given to Lou Bubka which proudly announced itself as such to her amusement. Eli is also a very fast learner, becoming extremely adept at shardhacking to the point he was also to overtake the whole security system of the Arcmond Reactor despite its high level security. All in all, Eli makes the most of his talents and constantly explores new avenues to improve so he might provide for his clients and his party.

## History

### Early History

Eliphet Price's early life is currently unknown. He was probably born in Southern Ishtar, or at least has Southern Ishtarian heritage, but it is unknown where he grew up or what his family was like. It is likely though that Eli's prowess as an artificer was something that started at an early age. Over the course of his life, Eli would learn not only to repair machines but also modify them and even create his own. It is unknown if he ever plied this trade openly, but at some point he earned the nickname "Tinker" as a result of his technical skill.

### Family Man

When Eli grew into adulthood, he eventually found love in the form of a woman named Lorie. In time, he and Lorie would get married and settle down in Southern Ishtar together, having several children over the years. However, Eli's need to support his family soon became too burdensome and finances became tight. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, a new lucrative benefactor came into his life. It is unclear how it came about, but Eli came in contact with a criminal organization called the Lamantos, whose Southern Ishtarian branch was led by a woman called Lou Bubka. The Lamantos were impressed by Eli's skill with artifice and requested that he work for them in exchange for protection and money. The requests of the crime family typically involved the creation of weapons and other useful gadgets to assist in their illegal activities. Regardless of his perspective on this, Eli nonetheless accepted their proposal.

Rather than directly dealing with Lou, Eli was primary involved with her lieutenant, the smooth-talking Dian Wolfwing, known as "The Wolf" to his colleagues. Dian was the one responsible for giving Eli his jobs and also was responsible for the Tinker's safety and that of his family. At some point during this employment, Dian introduced Eli to a man named Wade, who became Eli's working partner. It is unclear if Wade was a fellow artificer but he worked closely with Eli during his time with the Lamantos. In addition to weaponry, Eli also created other armaments included a series of oversized dolls that were to be used for combat purposes. His creative designs and prolific output for the Lamantos Family earned him a new name that became known throughout the criminal underworld, "The Toymaker".

### Caught in the Act

With the patronage of the crime family, Eli was able to comfortably support his family and raise his children. It is unclear if any of his family ever knew about his criminal dealings. However, some years after working with the Lamantos, things went swiftly south for Eli. His partner Wade, unbeknownst to the rest of the Family, had betrayed them and began feeding information to law enforcement authorities to undermine their operation. One of the most critical pieces of information was the whereabouts of the Toymaker and a shipment of weapons he was preparing for transit. The exact details are as of yet unclear, but the prots apparently used Wade to arrange a sting to arrest Eli and deal a crushing blow to the Lamantos. Eli was caught completely off-guard and was immediately taken into custody along with the weaponry in the workshop. The Lamantos scrambled to exhort some measure of damage control under Dian's guidance, managing to hide Eli's family from the law but ultimately unable to prevent his apprehension.

When brought before the courts, Eli denied any wrongdoing and maintained that the entire operation was a set-up designed against him. Whether there is truth in these words is still unknown, but it did not sway the judge or jury in any capacity. For his work as an illegal arms dealer and weapon manufacturer, Eli was sentenced to life imprisonment at The Vault, a ultra-high security prison located beneath the city of Xiros on Qethos, suspended only by chains miles above the planet's core. Eli was then transported by the prots to his place of incarceration, separated from his family and surrounded by the worst Io had to offer. Now behind bars, Eli would endure the isolation of his cell, unable to pursue his passions and having no news on his family. Eli also claims that he was regularly beaten by the guards of the Vault during that time, pointing to bruises and other injuries as proof of this mistreatment. With no other recourse available to him, Eli would spent the next seven years atrophying beneath Xiros, gradually giving up hope of ever seeing his family or even the sky again.

## Mechanics

### Powers and Abilities

#### Artificer Abilities

* *Magical Tinkering*
* *Infuse Item*
	+ *Homunculus Servant*
	+ *Repeating Shot*
	+ *Replicate Magic Item*
	+ *Boots of the Winding Path*
* *The Right Tool For The Job*
* *Tool Expertise*
* *Flash of Genius*
* Battle Smith abilities
	+ *Tool Proficiencies*
	+ *Battle Smith Spells*
	+ *Battle Ready*
	+ *Steel Defender*
	+ *Extra Attack*
	+ *Arcane Jolt*

#### Spell List

##### Cantrips

* *Mending*
* *Prestidigitation*

##### 1st Level

* *Catapult*
* *Cure Wounds*
* *Feather Fall*
* *Grease*
* *Heroism*
* *Longstrider*
* *Shield*

##### 2nd Level

* *Branding Smite*
* *Enlarge/Reduce*
* *Pyrotechnics*
* *Warding Bond*

##### 3rd Level

* *Aura of Vitality*
* *Conjure Barrage*

#### Steel Defender Modifications

* Glaive Add-on
	+ When a Melee weapon attack is made, you deal an additional 2d12 slashing damage.

### Notable Items

* *Brilliant Artificer Font Scrapblade* (Custom Weapon)
	+ Damage: 1d6
	+ *Brilliant*: When making an attack with a weapon containing this property, you can choose either your Strength or Intelligence modifier for the Attack and Damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for *both* rolls.
	+ *Artificer Font:* In place of casting a Cantrip, you may make a magical ranged attack with this weapon if you are an Artificer, dealing this weapon's Damage roll as Force damage.
* *Pearl of Power*
* *Uranium Hammer*
	+ As an action, you may grant your extra attack action to your steel defender. If you cast a 1st level spell or higher on your steel defender, you may heal it as if it were affected by the Mending spell.

## Etymology

"Eliphet" appears to be an original name created for the Ioverse setting. It may be inspired by the name Eliphelet, which is a Hebrew masculine name meaning "God delivers me". The diminutive form of the name "Eli" is also a Hebrew masculine name which roughly translates to "ascent" and has its origin with the biblical high priest Eli from the Books of Samuel. Eli also forms as a basis for several other Hebrew names, such as Elijah, Elias and Elisha.

"Price" (alternatively spelled "Pryce") is an English surname that derives itself from the Welsh "*ap Rhys"* meaning "son of Rhys". The name Rhys roughly translates to "enthusiasm" in Welsh. Price is also an English word that describes the required cost to gain possession of something, or the resulting cost of a deed or action.

A "tinker" (or "tinkerer") is an archaic term for an metalworker (usually a tinsmith) that mends household items and tools.

## Trivia

* According to SummersSalt, who has synesthesia, Eli's art evokes the scent of pine, evergreen and light sugar cookie candles.
* Eli's Steel Defender takes the form of an oversized doll named Amity.

## Images

### Official Art

Eli's Steel Defender, Amity. (Art by Dire)