Gellan Primewater
Councilman Gellan Primewater
Gellan is a well-spoken, dapper older gentleman, with a fancifully trimmed beard and ornately overstated wardrobe who plays up the role of being a flamboyant, foppish dandy. Beauty and elegance are his principal pleasures, but he values reputation above all else, craving respect, and will be harshly vindictive to any who are discourteous or dismissive of his station.
But greed colours every decision Gellan makes – he cannot turn down a chance to turn a profit. Using cunning instincts and a ruthless hand, he presides over the most prominent commercial organisation in Saltmarsh, but now faces an intractable problem: much of his fortune has been attained from smuggling, and his cartel must keep operating with as little interference as possible. While ostensibly known to trade mostly in timber, textiles and liquor, his ships also move significant volumes of illicit goods, including slaves (although he takes great care to keep this aspect of his business quiet, since any hint of involvement with slave traders could mean the end of his days in Saltmarsh, if not his life).
When the town was a sleepy backwater he could operate with impunity, but the rise in piracy and resulting attention and intrusion from the outside world, Waterdeep in particular, has made things more difficult and less profitable. A seat on the council positions Gellan perfectly to preserve business interests while supporting the Traditionalists’ agenda. While he pretends to care little for mundane council functions, usually defaulting to support Eda's position, this deference masks shrewd efforts to divert attention from his smuggling and other illicit operations.
Gellan’s standing as Traditionalist is second only to Eda Oweland. As the wealthiest man in town, he garners enormous popular support by frequently sponsoring lavish feasts, carnivals, concerts and other diversions from his pocket. Gellan believes that, even if he is implicated in criminal activity, he can buy back into the town's good graces by throwing the biggest. most extravagant festival Saltmarsh has ever seen.
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Contacts & Relations
Member of Saltmarsh's Town Council, with Anders Solmor, Eda Oweland, Eliander Fireborn and Manistrad Copperlocks.
Gellan...- encourages Anders Solmor's impetuous and and often precipitous decision making, as it makes the latter susceptible to being carefully manipulated as required and because it contributes to keeping the other Councillors off balance;
- is almost obsequious to Eda Oweland, purportedly because of her wisdom and standing as a town elder, but fundamentally because she has no enthuisiasm for supporting proposals that would put his endeavours at risk;
- warily opposes Eliander Fireborn as being the most immediate and significant danger to the ongoing viability of his activities;
- has little regard for Manistrad Copperlocks and her narrow-minded self-serving agenda, although he is prudently alert to the possibility that success of her venture may bring too many eyes directed towards the town.
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