Calvin Ford

Calvin Ford is just a simple traveling salesman whose greed and curiosity takes him to The Dreaded Nelanther Isles. However, when the Nelanther Isles proved to be unprofitable he turned his eyes toward Sembia and found himself caught up in the Vindication of the Merchant Nation. Played by Jorge Jaramillo.

Description
Calvin is slightly taller than the average man with a fairly slim build. He wears clothes that are easy to travel, though, may not always look the part. He also wears a straw hat when outdoors, the hat helps keep his head cool. He can almost always been seen smiling. A smile is a good tool to get people to like and trust you. People who like and trust you are more likely do do business with you.

Personality
Calvin is a fast talking, amiable, individual. There are only three things that truly matter to Calvin: his family, his desire to figure out how things work, and his money. There is no clear hierarchy to the importance of these three things.

He is a person full of curiosity. Ever since he was a child, Calvin has been curious. He needs to know how everything works. He needs to know how everything is made. He would frequently take things apart just to learn how they worked. Not much has changed. He is skilled craftsmen in many areas. His curiosity, coupled with his greed, led him down the path of the artificer.

Calvin is also a quite a greedy person. Having endured a very financially modest childhood, Calvin wants more for himself. He doesn't want to end up like is father. While Calvin truly loves and respects his father, Calvin believes that his father's skills and services were not properly compensated. Calvin refuses to allow himself to be cheated and tries to find ways of making money whenever they present themselves.

Family & Relationships
Calvin has the privilege of having a close knit and loving family. Having fled from Murann during the invasion by the armies of the Ogre Magi, his family now enjoys a comfortable life in Athkatla.
 * Harrison Ford (father) stubbornly still tries to work as a blacksmith despite his age.
 * Faith Ford (mother) spends most of her time tending to the aches and pains of her husband.
 * Simon (eldest brother) along with Frederick (elder brother) are now home after enduring years of hardship at the hands of pirates. Despite their ordeals, though, their love of the sea has not wavered, and they still sail on merchant ships.

Early Years (1340 DR - 1370 DR)
Calvin Ford was born on Uktar 18, 1340 DR, in the Amn city of Murann. His father, Harrison, was a simple but hardworking blacksmith. His mother, Faith, maintained the household and cared for Calvin and his two brothers, Simon and Frederick. Harrison would make weapons and armor and provide them to one of the local guilds. While this provided constant work, it didn't pay very well. Most of the family didn't mind this very much, Calvin saw this as an injustice, and at an early age decided that he did not want to be poor.

Calvin was an inquisitive youth and enjoyed tinkering with things. He spent most of his youth working as an apprentice to his father and became a gifted blacksmith in his own right. While being a blacksmith was his livelihood, he still tinkered with all sorts of various crafts on the side from woodwork to pottery. Calvin's older brothers, on the other hand, worked on the ports and would eventually become sailors. At the age of twenty-three, Calvin took the reigns from his father and ran the family business, with his father in more of a supporting role now. Calvin made the decision to try to work outside the guilds, in hopes of making more money for himself and the family. Unfortunately, the guilds didn't take too kindly to this action, and the business failed very quickly. Demoralized, Calvin would go back to the guilds and continue making wares for them.

The Rise of Sythillisian Empire and the Fall of Murann (1370 DR)
This simple and unfulfilling life of Calvin's, would continue until the march of the humanoid armies in 1370 DR. These armies, led by the ogre magi Sythillis and Cyrisnea attacked many cities in southern Amn and eventually worked their way to Murann. Calvin and his parents fled from the city before the humanoid hordes descended on Murann to Athkatla where the Fords had some family. His brothers, on the otherhand, were sailing during these troubled times. Their fate was uncertain to the family caused them much grief. However, aside from the uncertainty surrounding Simon and Frederick, the Ford family made it to Athkatla before Murann was taken by the ogre magi.

Athkatla and a New Business Model (1370 DR - 1376 DR)
As did many many people from Murann and southern Amn, Calvin and his family headed toward Athkatla for safetly. Fortunately, the Fords had family to stay with. After a few weeks of adjustment, it was back to business as usual. Calvin and his father were connected with a local guild and continued smithing. While Murann was a large city, Athkatla was much larger and much more opulent. Calvin wanted to share in the prosperity. He soon realized that the money was not in mundane goods but, in fact, magical goods. While Calvin didn't trust a magic user as far as he could throw one, he had to figure out a way to get his hands on their goods. If he could figure out a way to make magical goods without the use of magic, then the world would be presented to him on a silver platter. He knew it could be done. He just had to figure out how to do it. He figured that with his crafting skills and keen mind, if anyone could do this, he could. He would spend the next four years researching and studying the craft of the artificer. While he succeeded in learning a new craft, business was still poor. He was only capable of making the very simple scrolls, which had little to no use to the people of Athkatla. However, in 1375 DR, a lot happened in Athkatla. A great military effort was underway to reclaim Murann. The Shadow Thieves were eliminated. Even the ruling Council of Six was in upheaval. This didn't mean very much to Calvin, though. Life and business, overall, still went as usual. What mattered to him was the news of a new settlement, West Weng. A new untouched marked could provide an excellent business opportunity. Calvin would make two trips to West Weng. The first of these visits was during its construction. Being a skilled craftsman, Calvin offered tools and assistance with the city's construction, for a fee. This results of the first visit had Calvin very optimistic for the future. He returned to Athkatla with plans of relocating to West Weng. Unfortunately, this would not happen. His next visit to the little village was a horrifying one. The city was razed, and its inhabitants were all killed. He would go back to Athkatla once again.

The Decision to Leave (1376 DR)
It was back to business as usual, and Calvin grew more frustrated at his failures. Though, in Marpenoth, 1375 DR, a miracle happened that would turn Calvin's attention away from his lack of success. Long thought dead, Simon and Frederick were reunited with the rest of their family.

As their story goes, the ship that the brothers were on noticed the capture of the Murann docks. However, when the ship was on route to Athkatla it was captured by pirates. The brothers, along with the rest of the ship's crew, were presented with two options: service or death. The brothers chose the former. They endured hardship for five years but eventually managed to escape.

The family reunion was truly joyous. The brothers told many stories of their adventures and hardships with the pirates. Including stories of the Nelanther Isles. The desperate state of some of the villages on the isles seemed to smile upon Calvin. This would be another opportunity to make money. Basically, his plan would be to travel to a friendly village on isles and to sell his wares, magical and mundane. He presented his idea to his brothers. Of course, they frantically tried to talk him out of this crazy and, potentially, suicidal plan. Calvin, however, had his mind set. Having made the trip to West Weng and back by himself, he was confident that he could take care of himself to an extent, plus, he rationalized, any village that exists in such a hostile environment must have decent defenses.

The Decision to Return and Leave Again (1376 DR - 1378 DR)
The Nelanther Isles proved to be less profitable than he had hoped. The poor village offered little business opportunity, despite his efforts. The constant strife with the local orcs and pirates quickly put an end to Calvin's dreams of easy money. Calvin returned to Athkatla after only staying a few short weeks.

Calvin's family breathed a collective sigh of relief when he returned home. For the next year-and-a-half Calvin would stay in Athkatla and work in the family business. These were happy days for Calvin. Despite this, though, Calvin's wanderlust could not be quelled. Early in 1378 DR Calvin would decide to set out in search of fortune once again. Calvin would take this skills in artifice as well as the few treasure he managed to secure from the Nelanther Isles to the merchant nation of Sembia. The larger, more mercantile, nation of Sembia might prove to be a more friendly place for the budding entrepreneur, Calvin thought.

Calvin had no idea what would await him there.