Heironymous Tigana Alchemist, Guild of Wizardry

AC 7/6 (Dex 17; gauntlets of dexterity sometimes worn MV 12; M12; hp 27; THACO 19/17; #AT 1; Dmg by weapon -1 (Str penalty Str 5, Dex 17, Con 6, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 4; AL N (NE).

Spells: 4 1st, 4 2nd, 4 3rd, 4 4th, 4 5th, and 1 6th.

Magical items: see below.

Heironymous is a spectacularly ugly man. At 4'11", with sparse tufts of gray wiry hair atop his bumpy-knobbed scalp and bulging gray eyes on either side of his huge, red-veined nose, he looks like a slightly elongated alcoholic and geriatric gnome. He is, however. notably sprightly and dextrous for his 71 years, and his intelligence has not dimmed. He dresses in a leather jack and apron (this is not treated as armor), and smells horrid-there is a miasma of stale sweat, acidic vapors. and boiled cabbage about him. He is irritable, and has time only for his work.

Heironymous has his own laboratory in the basements of the guild house, where he insists on total privacy and seclusion for his work. No guildmembers will enter without making an appointment through Kondradis (usually at least two days in advance) unless there are exceptional circumstances (fire, threat to the city itself, etc.). This enables Heironymous to go about his work undisturbed, and he will cheerfully slice, dice, grind, boil, puree and simmer whatever it is that he needs to use, whether it is wing of griffon or the bone marrow of a comely elf. Heironymous labels his materials in an old Suloise runic alphabet which is known to no one else in the guild except Kondradis, so that a casual inspection might not reveal what the bottles (opaque to con ceal appearances) and urns hold.

Heironymous accepts useful materials from whoever will supply them. Usually such people come to Kondradis, who also deals with the selling side. Heironymous has shelves of books with almost all known alchemical recipes, and he knows all of the common potion recipes (healing, ESP. Dying, invisibility, and the like). For each type of rare potion (dragon control, super-heroism, etc.), there is a 90% chance that Hieronymous knows the recipe. Word has gotten around that if one wants a potion, Greyhawk is the place to get it, and the biggest demand of all is for potions of longevity. After all, who does not want youth returned and life extended?

This is why elf bone marrow and blood (used in the recipe for a potion of longevity) are so valuable to Heironymous and Kondradis, and why they eagerly deal with the Shapechangers. Chapter 5 gives further details of this dubious trade and how PCs may become involved with this business.

Heironymous sits and sulks down in his laboratories, staring at the glasswork and equipment most of the time. However, he is also an alcoholic, and he has expen sive tastes in wine. He will not trust any one else to buy his wine for him, so from time to time he is forced to venture out into the better markets to purchase his own. He then takes back his cases of nectarwine and similar potables, using an unseen servant to push along a Tenser's floating disc with the wine atop it. He has tried to send an invisible stalker out to do this shopping, but the merchants refuse to deal with such a creature, and so Heironymous is forced to make this trip every week or so. Also, on rare occasions, a half-drunk Heironymous uses invisibility and fly to make a perilous trip to Old Mother Grubb's (see Chapter 5 amazingly, he has not yet collided with any rooftops on this bumpy journey. He only gambles there, and never risks significant sums; he just likes the seedy atmosphere of the place. The predatory staff of this dubious establishment knows that Heironymous's disappearance at their hands would be very dangerous for them, since magical scrying and determined investigation would lead Kieren and the other mages to their place, so they have not attacked the old alchemist.