Guildmaster Balthasar Thames of The Planewalkers Guild v. I

Here is a very rough first draft of Balthasar Thames of The Planewalkers Guild. The final write up will be about twice this lng (3 pages or so) and will probably evolve quite a bit. In the meantime I figured I would post what I have and look for input. All ideas and suggestions are welcome and encouraged.
NOTE: I have included spelljamer info in his background deliberately. In the few Planescape products that illustrate or speak of the Prime the cosmology used is uniformly the spelljammer one (Crystal Spheres containing solar systems that float in a gaseous plane called the Phlogiston. See http://www.spelljammer.org for more information).

Anyway, here is the super rough and unedited first draft!
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Beyond the fact that he came to manhood in a remote demiplane in the Ethereal, little is known of Thames' early years. Whenever the subject comes up he cheerfully deflects it with a self-depreciating air. Speculation on the dark of his background runs rampant. What is known, and documented, is his migration to the Prime as a young mage. Having wandered the inner planes and the depths of the Ethereal he still had the wanderlust of a new planewalker. For twelve years he traveled the crystal spheres of the Prime, hiring himself out as a helmsman for many spelljammers traveling The Maelstrom (http://spelljammer.org/worlds/Maelstrom/ ), using Twilitespace as his home base.

It was during his time spelljamming that he became fascinated with the way the Powers' influence fluctuated from sphere to sphere. Although many laughed at his comparison of the crystal spheres of the Prime to the demiplanes of the Ethereal, there were a few who took careful note. Many a long night aboard ship was filled with debate on the subject as he accosted every cleric and mage in the crew to his theories. It is even bandied about that he once was laughed out of a meeting of the Seekers when propounding his views.
Discovering a doorway to the Infinite Stair in Songspace he set off for the Outer Planes, never once looking back. It is shown in the records of the Planewalkers guild that he was brought to their encampment while near death by one of the Lilendi who tend the stair, his wounds seemed to be of Fiendish origin. After being nursed back to health he joined the guild and set out on his own, taking the Stair towards the Outlands.

Even the Guvvners have only spotty information about the next several years as he wandered the Great Ring and beyond. It is sometime during this phase that he began to show his skills at crosstrading, as evinced by the fact that what little records there are of him during this time tend to be receipts or bills of lading. There is evidence of his visiting (/portals/node/ )The Crop Circles of Arvandor , /portals/node/" The Cutters Vineyard in Sigil (href="portals/node/ )The Seventh Ratatosk and (/portals/node/ )Commerce Park in Bytopia</a> among other exotic locales during this period. It is also during this time that his primary wife, Alusa (CG Female Assimar Planar Ftr 10), was first seen to be traveling with him. They are said to have met on the Infinite Stair and to have married shortly thereafter. It is worthy of note that records show an increase in the number of trips Thames took to Arborea, his new wife's home plane, after the marriage.

Over the next eleven years Thames became easier to track due to his assumption of greater and greater duties with the Guild. With Alusa at his side he took an active part in the Guild's efforts at planar cartography. While still considered a bit of a radical for his position concerning the spheres of the Prime being akin to demiplanes on the Ethereal, his work was uniformly detailed and of high quality. He also showed a knack for diplomacy, navigating the wide array of planar cultures with relative ease. His only notable failure in this period was an attempt to map parts of the Hinterlands. After disappearing for three years with Alusa and a band of ten experienced planewalkers he and his wife were found by the rogue modron Individual 23 near the base of the Spire. Neither of them remembered anything of the expedition beyond their departure. The rest of the group was never seen again. To this day Thames and his wife become reticent to speak when this incident is mentioned.

After their harrowing experience in the Hinterlands Thames and Alusa stayed to the more traveled pathways, traveling extensively on the Via Romana and the River Styx. They were also seen often in Sigil, bartering maps and information. It is notable that during these visits to the Cage they would often frequent the Civic Festhall, particularly when the tieffer bard Teloja (NG Female Tiefling Planar Brd 9)and her mandolin were there. Thee three would often be seen reveling 'til peak after the shows. Few were surprised when Teloja left with them on their next foray into the planes. Most were somewhat surprised to discover that she also married Thames, in an Efreet ceremony performed in the City of Brass! The striking trio of human mage with his Assimar and Tiefling wives rapidly became well known and while none espoused any faction, they were familiar faces at Sensate revels across the planes.

When Davrillith Kithradin, head of Planar Cartography for the Guild, met an unfortunate demise in Nimicri (during a rather peery arrangement involving at least three different 'Loths) Thames was tapped to take his place. His first duty in this position was leading an expedition mapping the borders of the quasi-elemental planes. Journeying first to the Ethereal for a quick trip to his home demiplane, he added a native guide named Silar (CG Female Fire Genasi Planar Rog 9) to his party. After several months of traveling between the Ethereal and the various quasi-elemental planes, they returned to the Planewalkers Guild encampment on the Everclimb to collate their research.

From this point on Silar became a constant companion to the trio, accompanying them on expedition after expedition. During this time Silar married into Thames' extended family during the Sensate celebrations of the month of Savorus in the Cage. The four then began a tour of the gatetowns as a honeymoon.

Thames and his wives are utterly devoted to each other, a seeming case of "true love." While their multiple marriage is slightly unusual, it is by no means unknown throughout the planes. The four of them are perfect complements to each other, Thames relying on the quick sword of Alusa as well as the diplomatic skills of Teloja and Silar when traveling. Rarely is one of them seen without at least one other accompanying them. His detractors have been known to compare the four to cranium rats, but not within their hearing.

As the years went by Thames distinguished himself not only by expanding the amount of cartographic knowledge at the Guild's disposal, but also by turning a profit on it by selling it to the Guvvners and other interested parties, oft times mercantile ones. These profits in turn went to finance more and more exotic expeditions, such as journeying to the point where (/portals/node/ the Infinite Staircase meets the blinding light of the Positive Energy Plane</a> and the Indian power Brahma, Lord of Creation, holds sway. It was there that Thames acquired the statues "spoken into being," that decorate his Sigilian Offices. This is also the period of his infamous climbing of Yggdrasil, the World Tree.

Balthasar Thames; Human Wiz13: CR 13; ECL 13; Size M; HD 13d4+13; hp 52; Init +5; Spd 30 ft; AC 19, touch 14, FF 18; BAB +6/+1; Grapple +8; Melee Unarmed +8/+3 (1d3 + 2); AL CG; SV Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +12; Str 14, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 15.<br>
Languages spoken: Common, Infernal, Celestial, Terran, Draconic, Ignan<br>
Skills and Feats: Craft (Alchemy) +12, Concentration +17, Decipher Script +15, Diplomacy +14, Knowledge (Arcana) +21, Knowledge (History) +9, Knowledge (Planes) +21, Knowledge (Religion) +10, Profession (Herbalist) +6, Profession (Merchant) +18, Spellcraft +23, Knowledge (The Blood War) +9, Profession (Phlo Navigator) +4, Profession (Wildspace Navigator) +4; Combat Casting, Endurance, Extend Spell, Greater Spell Penetration, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Maximize Spell, Scribe Scroll, Spell Penetration.
Equipment: Bracers of armor +5, Necklace of adaptation, Ring of protection +3, 2 Masterwork dagger (1 Baatorian Green Steel, 1 Tanaar'ri Red Steel).
Jandor's Music Box (/snail/node/ ), moebius Ring (/snail/node/ ), Planewalker's Belt (/snail/node/ ),