Independent information broker and occasional intermediary operating out of the waterfront district; known to all three powers as useful neutral ground
At a glance
A tall, weathered man in a good coat that has been good for a very long time. He looks like the waterfront looks — functional, enduring, carrying more history than it announces.
Lean and slightly wrong — too still when standing, moves in a way that takes up less space than his frame should require.
River-gray eyes that don't quite track the way normal eyes do — a beat behind, like he's watching something adjacent to what's in front of him. An old burn scar along his left jaw he doesn't explain. Hands that are always slightly too cold to the touch.
Their story so far
Ptolemy Rask has been in Caelum Reach longer than anyone can reliably account for. He brokered the last major labor dispute on the docks without being hired by either side and collected from both. Poseidon's harbor agents leave him alone. No one knows why, and Rask doesn't explain.
The crack in them
He has protected himself from loss for so long that he no longer knows how to stay when staying would cost him something — he will betray an alliance before he allows himself to need it.
How they sound
A deep, thunderous bass kept just below conversational — the voice of a man who has learned that speaking quietly makes rooms lean in. Cadence is irregular, with long unhurried pauses before the word that matters most. Sits naturally in a register that feels less heard than felt, like a pipe organ testing its lowest note. Never raises his voice. Doesn’t need to.
Their music
Low brass and a single bowed string, out of phase. The rhythm is tidal — advancing, retreating. Something wooden creaks underneath. Never resolves.
What they carry
- A leather-bound ledger whose entries are written in a script that shifts language depending on who is reading it — he calls it the Manifest
- A pocketwatch with no hands and no maker's mark that grows warm when someone nearby is lying
In their words
Word going around is.
Seems to me.
Every debt finds its door.
A.C.E.S. card
Ptolemy Rask's character card for A.C.E.S. Lite, front and back. The goal and secret are hooks for the table, not story canon. The secret stays folded until you open it.
A.C.E.S. Lite · Character
Ptolemy Rask
Mysterious Broker
- Affinity
- ♥ Strange
- Adjective
- Mysterious
- Role
- Broker
- ♠ Athletics
- 1
- ♣ Cunning
- 3
- ♦ Eloquence
- 3
- ♥ Strange
- 4
Caelum Reach · The Copper Cabaret · Season 1: Caelum Reach
Ptolemy Rask · Back
Physical Description
Male, 6'1", lean and slightly wrong: too still when standing, and he takes up less space than his frame should. He is weathered, in a good coat that has been good for a very long time. His river-grey eyes track a beat behind, there is an old burn scar on his left jaw, and his hands are always too cold. His voice is a deep bass kept just below conversation, with long pauses before the word that matters.
Goal
Keep his neutral ground: stay useful to all three powers and beholden to none.
Flaw
Has protected himself from loss for so long that he no longer knows how to stay when staying would cost him. He will betray an alliance before he allows himself to need it.
Secret
Secret — select to reveal
Why Poseidon's harbor agents leave him alone, and how long he has really been in Caelum Reach.
Inventory
Growth
- Concept
- Goal
- Flaw
- Secret