Colin Haig

Colin comes from a long line of distillers. His great-grandparents took over the ailing distillery in the lowlands town of Kinloch, a day's ride north from Tor Occam in Dunhill, and for the past hundred years one of their kin have run the Haig & Sons Distillery. Colin's father Fergus still runs the place, but Colin's time will come soon enough. The Haig family fills the role of royalty in the small town of Kinloch. Everyone in town knows them and at least acts friendly toward them.

Colin grew up learning every step in the process of making whiskey. His parents sent him away to Aldunleigh for schooling, skipping the excellent education available in Occam in favor of a higher pedigree in the capital, but the water of life flowed in Colin's blood. He learned the basics of magic and deeply studied alchemy, but he kept thinking about how to apply alchemical processes to the family business, filling notebooks with ideas about mash additions to try and improved stills to experiment with. He graduated with high honors, but he gave up a lucrative apprenticeship at court to come back home after his mother died. He told everyone he had to help his father with the business, but he seized the opportunity to expand his experimentation with magically-enhanced whiskies and spirits.

He distills all manner of plants, fruits, and grains in an accelerated overnight process that produces various effects (his two experimental elixirs). Most of his experiments run too quickly to produce enough alcohol to maintain a buzz, but they can have some impressive effects. He's earned quite a following for his Water of Life, a healing drink distilled from dandelion greens. He always has an alchemy jug in his workshop (from his Replicate Magic Item infusion) to ensure a supply of pure water to work with.

In his youth he learned how to cook from Orla, his dearly departed mother who took care of everyone around her, and making her recipes partially fills the hole she left in his life. He keeps butting heads with his father who wants to keep the family business all about the whiskey, but Colin feels driven to expand into a wider variety of spirits and food to become more of a full-service tavern. He enjoys experimenting with food almost as much as he does with his distilled concoctions. For now he waits for his father relinquish control of the distillery, anxious to move in new directions.

Colin keeps his light brown hair short on the sides in a parody of his father's strict military cut. His honey-brown eyes always seem to smile as they dart around, giving the impression that he enjoys trying to keep up with his own thoughts. Many find him handsome, with a dusting of freckles and a pleasing jawline. Colin grew tall, but never really gained weight, and his father keeps telling him he needs to find a wife to fatten him up. He keeps putting him off, more focused on his work than on any sort of romance. He still struggles with focus, but he managed to trick himself into becoming obsessed with everything he has studied so far. He talks with people easily, though sometimes his excitement to talk about his experiments can dominate the conversation and put people off.

Colin Haig
Human (Dunhill) Alchemist Artificer (Level 6) (He/Him)
(Noble Background; Chef Feat)
Str 8  Dex 14  Con 12  Int 18  Wis 10  Cha 14
Arcana +7, History +7, Nature +7, Persuasion +5, Sleight of Hand +5

Design Note: I wanted to make an Artificer who primarily worked alchemy through whiskey. A tall, thin, whip-smart Scots-Irish lad with ADHD felt about right. He'll probably never travel to Fellport, but I'm happy with how Colin turned out.

Part of T.W.Wombat's Lore 24 project, detailing the world around Fellport.
For all city posts, see the Fellport Index. For posts about the wider world, see the Beneterra Index.