**Race:** Halfling **Age:** 42 **Specialty:** Furs, leather, game meat **Alignment:** True Neutral ### Appearance Tam is a weathered halfling with the lean, wiry build of someone who walks miles daily through rough terrain. His hands are quick and careful—trapper's hands. He dresses in leather and fur (his own goods), practical for wilderness work. His most distinctive feature is the collection of animal teeth and claws he wears as jewelry—trophies from dangerous catches. He walks with a slight limp from an old wolf encounter. ### Background Tam came to Oakrest fifteen years ago after his family's halfling community was destroyed by bandits. He'd been a hunter there and adapted his skills to trapping in the dangerous forests around Oakrest. He works the edges of safe territory, setting trap lines that he checks daily. It's risky work—several trappers have vanished over the years—but Tam is cautious, skilled, and lucky. So far. He lives alone in a small cabin between Oakrest and the forest, preferring solitude to village life. ### Personality - **Quiet and Observant:** Tam speaks little but notices everything; wilderness survival depends on observation - **Pragmatically Amoral:** He kills animals for a living and sees it as natural cycle, not cruelty - **Respectful of Nature:** He takes only what he needs and thanks the spirits (hedging his bets) - **Suspicious of Civilization:** Prefers animals to people; was betrayed by humans before ### Market Stall A simple folding table displaying furs, leather goods, and wrapped game meat. Everything is clean and well-prepared—Tam takes pride in quality. The stall smells of leather, wood smoke, and wild places. ### Goods **Furs:** - Common pelts (rabbit, fox): 5 sp - 2 gp - Quality furs (deer, beaver): 5-10 gp - Rare pelts (bear, wolf): 25-50 gp - Exotic/dangerous catches: 100+ gp (rare) **Leather Goods:** - Cured leather (per hide): 10 gp - Leather armor (made to order): Standard cost + 20% - Leather straps, cords: 1 sp - 1 gp - Leather working tools: 5 gp **Meat:** - Fresh game (rabbit, pheasant): 5 cp per pound - Venison: 1 sp per pound - Preserved/smoked meat: 2 sp per pound **Services:** - Tracking lessons: 10 gp per day - Guided wilderness excursion: 20 gp per day - Custom leather work: Varies ### Special Knowledge Tam knows: - Animal behavior and territory markers - Safe paths through dangerous terrain - Signs of Glade corruption in wildlife (animals avoiding areas, mutated creatures) - Tracking and hunting techniques - Where rare animals den or migrate - Which parts of the forest are getting "wrong" ### Personality Quirks - Almost never makes eye contact (watches hands, feet, surroundings instead) - Speaks in short, clipped sentences - Uncomfortable in crowds—positions himself near exits - Has vast knowledge of animal behavior but struggles with human interaction ### Quotes _"Bear track. Three days old. Heading west. Won't go near the Glade edge. Smart bear."_ _"You want to know about the forest? Walk it. Watch it. Listen. It'll teach you—or kill you. Probably both."_ _"Seen things in the woods lately. Animals acting wrong. Running from nothing. Won't go certain places. Something's changing."_