Yanagizawa Suetomo
"People say my work is impossible, and they say I'm the blind one!" - Yanagizawa Suetomo
Character Description
Yanagizawa Suetomo is an old dwarf, getting on into the later part of his years. His goggles, almost as old as himself, have one lens cracked to the point where it can't be seen through clearly, which suits him just fine considering his corresponding eye is completely blind anyways, his sight taken by the same accident that originally cracked the lens. His beard, unlike his balding, unkempt hair which has seen damage from various workshop mishaps, is kept maintained and somehow unblemished from his day-to-day experiments. He tends to smoke while he works, and his workshop smells appropriately to reflect this.
History
Born to a small dwarven clan within Mukei, Suetomo was raised amongst the inhabitants of this tech-driven city and had always been fascinated by the functions of magitech. He was no child prodigy, it took him a bit longer than his peers to grasp the basics of magitech and he was written off to be nothing more than a mediocre assembly line engineer.
That was until he started working with materia, and found ways to manipulate and combine them more efficiently that the traditional methods of his clan. This was seen as blasphemous by his elders, who stripped him of his clan-name and cast the young Suetomo out. With no where to go, he used his knowledge of magitech to earn enough money to perfect his process- Often to the point where he wouldn't save enough to eat some days.
His strange methods were eventually noticed by a regular client of his, an aristocrat human woman by the name of Yanagizawa Miku, who made her name in the selling of specialized magitech machinery. She offered to fund his project in exchange for teaching the method to her own engineers and inventors once it was perfected, and Suetomo took that deal, and a few years later, took Miku as his wife and joined her family.
Suetomo eventually completed his method, and helped make the Yanagizawa Workshop into the successful enterprise it is today. While his wife passed away some years ago, he still keeps an old picture of her in his workshop, and still works with her family to maintain the business.
Contributions to Magitech
By combining his knowledge of magitech with the remnants of a Created washed up on shore, Suetomo had created the first of their kind on the shores of the east. Due to this experience, he also had a unique view into Eteran's technology before they established contact, which helped further the field as a whole beforehand as he introduce new ideas to the study that Eteran technology seemed to be based on. Due to his experience, albeit limited, he is uniquely qualified to help with adapting their technology to their newly found neighbors, and has been overseeing some of the conjoined efforts on the East's part.
For GMs who wish to use him:
As an ally: Suetomo tends to be a bit rough around the edges and prefers to remain in his workshop. He's happy to help in exchange for goods and services, but won't do so if it puts him, or his creations, at risk of death or destruction. He treats each of his creations like his own children, and may enlist PC help to deal with thieves or anyone who abuses or breaks his inventions. His help is limited to likely allowing PCs to borrow inventions / items that may be required to complete the quest, provided they're returned in once piece, as he refuses to leave his workshop due to being half-blind and near-sighted.
As an Enemy: Unless they cause direct harm to him or his inventions, Suetomo likely won't initiate any conflict, although if such a thing does come to pass he defends himself using the various inventions and gadgets from his store. While he won't pursue PCs far from his "lair" of a workshop, he will get the city guard involved, which could lead to further troubles for them down the road.