Mortimer Mittlemer was a con artist illusionist who swindled wayfarers from a forest-edge glade in the Vast, in the environs of Ravens Bluff, the Living City in the mid-14th century DR.[1]
Description[]
The wizard was a disheveled-looking, selfish and voracious human man.[1]
Abilities[]
Mortimer Mittlemer was a liar and a wizard who used illusions in his scams.[1][3] By 1360 DR, he had access to such spells as audible glamer, change and alter self, chromatic orb, hypnotism, improved phantasmal force, massmorph, non-detection, ventriloquism, and spectral force. When cornered, he would use the spectral force spell to make himself appear as a platinum dragon and his seven canaries to appear as gold dragons.[1][note 1]
By 1367 DR, Mortimer had expanded his repertoire of known spells to include cantrip, demi-shadow monsters, dimension door, ESP, feather fall, fog cloud, improved invisibility, mirror image, monster summoning II, scare, shadow door, sleep, suggestion, and wraithform.[3][note 1] The spells dimension door and shadow door in particular proved to be quite useful in his profession, as the con artist used them to make quick getaways from his victims.[4]
Relationships[]
Mortimer loved Marilyn Mittlemer, but the wizard married her because he wanted to use the woman's thieves' skills to enrich himself. Elmerth Willowit was another thief in Mortimer's crew. Still, when diving the profit, Mortimer always claimed 60% of the take, 30% went to Marilyn, and only 10% – to Elmerth.[1]
Possessions[]
Mortimer typically wore a pair of bracers of defense and a ring of animal friendship.[1][3] He armed himself with an enchanted +3 dagger[1][3] and an enchanted +1 staff. Other magical gear he tended to have on his person included two potions of fire breath, dust of disappearance, and three potions of healing.[1]
By circa 1367 DR, Mortimer had came into possession of a +1 ring of protection, a hat of disguise, a potion of speed, oil of slipperiness, and a coin with continual darkness cast on it.[3]
Marilyn and Mortimer lived in an apartment atop a tavern they invested into in the city of Ravens Bluff. They retired there every time their scams ran hot, and they needed to lay low.[1]
History[]
Before resorting to the life of con-artistry, Mortimer Mittlemer attempted to live an adventuring life. He traveled with several tiny troupes, but none of the adventures were profitable nor successful due to the man's greed. One time he used dust of disappearance after discovering a booty to render a portion of the treasure invisible and hidden from his teammates. When the deception was discovered, Mortimer was kicked out from the group and stripped of all the stolen treasure as well as magical and valuable items he possessed.[1]
The next attempt to adventure ended in a disaster when his new group investigated a raided caravan. The group set against ogres and trolls and claimed treasure from the monsters. On their way back, the group came across three fearsome black dragons who took the treasure from the adventurers. Mortimer Mittlemer was the only survivor, escaping with the aid of his favorite item – dust of disappearance.[1]
Returning to a life of poverty once again, the wizard decided to use his magic to turn himself into a dragon and steal treasures from adventurers. To collect money for the operation, the wizard sold his services to a wealthy merchant entertaining his progenies. When Mortimer made enough, the exited the employ after robbing the merchant's home. He used the stolen money to purchase necessary magic items and pay for lessons in the draconic languages. Unable to find a solar who could teach him the tongue of black wyrms, he turned his attention to a story of a hermit with seven yellow canaries – in reality, a platinum dragon and his seven gold dragon allies.[1]
Mortimer purchased a dozen canaries, taking five of them with him into scams. The birds were affected by the magic of Mortimer's ring of animal friendship, stolen from an ex-employer. The canaries were trained to act in a certain manner. Traveling to a forest edge road along with his wife and a thief ally, Mortimer used flammable oils to scorch a cone in the grass, imitating a dragon's breath, and left tracks in the soft soil, leading to where the show would commence. Traveling adventurers were treated to the smell of the scorched forest and a sight of a rugged hermit who sat surrounded by seven golden birds who listened to the mage talk to them in the gold dragon language. When the wizard noticed guests, he addressed them in golden dragon tongue, then he pretended to realize they did not speak the language and imitated a spell – putting a golden coin in his mouth and switching to the Common tongue. He asked traveling adventurers for a donation of gold and gems to finance some unspecified "northern" nation in some unspecified conflicts, claiming that he already spent all of his hoard to help the poor goodly people.[1]
He continued talking about how he, a platinum dragon, flew over the area of conflict and felt compelled to help. During the conversation, he did not hesitate to hint at his birds being disguised gold dragons. Unwitting travelers would then share their treasures for a good cause, and Mortimer would continue asking for more as his wife and Elmerth Willowit snuck and tied to pickpocket any remaining valuables. If adventurers demanded proof of his draconic identity, Mortimer discreetly consumed a potion and produced a fearsome dragon's breath.[1]
During a spring or summer of the mid-14th century DR, a group of adventurers from Ravens Bluff, the Living City, came across the charlatan while traveling the forest. The result and successes of the interaction remained unrecorded. However, Mortimer was ready to use magic to scare adventurers into donating or fleeing using dust of disappearance. During that time, Mortimer Mittlemer and his wife Marilyn used swindled treasure to invest in a certain lending institution and a popular tavern in Ravens Bluff.[1]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The events of the Living City Ravens Bluff campaign took place on a timeline that advanced together with the real world's time. Even though all Living City adventures and issues of Ravens Bluff Trumpeter were dated with real-world dates, there were events that received a DR year. The Living City timeline can be derived from Myrkyssa Jelan's historic events of the late 14th century DR. Myrkyssa Jelan attacked Ravens Bluff in 1370 DR, according to The City of Ravens Bluff and Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition; these events are chronicled in an in-and-out of universe issues of Ravens Bluff Trumpeter. This places the real world year 1997 as 1370 DR, and in 1998 (1371 DR), Myrkyssa was at last arrested and tried and said to have been executed, only to reappear in 1372 DR in The City of Ravens novel. As the real world's months and the Calendar of Harptos are virtually identical, we can also date all events of the Living City Ravens Bluff as close as an in-universe month.
Appearances[]
Adventures
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
Mercenaries, Judges, and Wives • Monday's Child
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 Jean Rabe, Michael Lach (March 1987). “On the Road to the Living City”. In Skip Williams ed. Polyhedron #34 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 7–8.
- ↑ Jean Rabe, Michael Lach (March 1987). “On the Road to the Living City”. In Skip Williams ed. Polyhedron #34 (TSR, Inc.), p. 30.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Rob Nicholls (July 1994). “Your Tax Dollars at Work”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #97 (TSR, Inc.), p. 25.
- ↑ Rob Nicholls (July 1994). “Your Tax Dollars at Work”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #97 (TSR, Inc.), p. 23.