Frequently referred to by his admirers as “the Prince of Rogues” and by his critics as “the Clown Prince of Gluttony”, the youngest child of Queen Reichsha and the Herzgraf is by his own account a rather shiftless and lazy fellow. However, he is more than capable of rising to an occasion and putting his skills to work for the good of the realm, especially if there is a chance he can line his pockets with pilfered goods along the way. There has probably never been a more successful thief in the entire history of Slothjemia, nor one with less personal ambition. Any other rogue with his impressive skillset and formidable reputation would by now be in charge of a huge criminal organization, but Bortimer is quite content to sit in his favorite bar (the First Decree, owned by his first cousin once removed) and collect information about everything happening in Slothenburg.

Bortimer’s parents have tried numerous ways to force their wayward and listless son to mature and take on responsibility. They tried to get him to quest, but Bortimer thought that sounded a lot like “treacherous camping.” They made him join the army, but he was drummed out after serving just over two years as a scout. They were productive years even by Bortimer’s low standards, and he earned two knighthoods for his service against long odds in hostile territory against the Sikilian Confederation, Brendelasia, and Romillia. He managed to serve against so many enemies by virtue of being kicked out of several armies for laziness and insubordination. The Queen then made him the Baron of Leperstadt to cause her son to own up to some measure of nobility, but other than establishing a brewery (home of Cloak & Dagger, “the Prince of Beers”) and coordinating the local Freedom Raiders into a more efficient sabotage element against the designs of the Ash King it can’t be said that Bortimer has accomplished a hell of a lot. He still spends most of his time in Slothenburg harassing his long-suffering family by steadfastly doing as little as possible.

There are only two members of the Phantom Legion assigned to guarding Bortimer, Shr Grogdahl the huntsman who serves as his bodyguard and Shr Iosif the former Sikilian Centurion who guards his villa in Leperstadt, because Bortimer’s criminal contacts have rendered him all but immune from harm. Bortimer has the admiration of every criminal cartel, family, gang and alliance in the Coreland. All of these seek him out for information on any number of things and when they come to blows against each other it is to Bortimer that they turn to resolve their differences. A more serious threat to Bortimer are the nobles and powerful businessmen of Slothjemia. Their main grievance is that in social settings Bortimer will find a way to pilfer small tokens from them, especially signet rings. It is rumored that if anyone needs a signet ring for any notable family they have but to ask Bortimer to borrow one of the many that he has swiped over the years.

This brings us to the greatest fear that the powerful elite of Slothjemia have regarding Bortimer; undoubtedly and inevitably the Prince of Rogues is going to take a wife, and there is a strong chance that he will seek out a wealthy bride to guarantee he won’t have to ever break a sweat in honest labor. And there isn’t a noble house in the entire Empire that would welcome Bortimer as a son-in-law. This makes Bortimer even more appealing to the young women of these families. Not only would they be marrying a prince, but he is by his nature somebody their parents don’t approve of. If that doesn’t seal the deal, what does?