Ren o’ the Star was the product of the dalliance between
a human merchant’s daughter and an elven noble in the
Kingdom of Celene. His mother loved him and raised him
by herself, with help from her father. When Ren was two
years old, his mother married a merchant whom she had
known since childhood. The combination of his stepfather’s
careful training, his father’s influence (for he visited his
father regularly), and his maternal grandfather’s advice,
he decided to study the arts of dweomercraft and swordsmanship.

As Ren o’ the Star grew up, he displayed the stigma of his
father’s noble House: a reddish, star-shaped birthmark on
his shoulder (hence, his nickname). His proper name in the
human languages is Ren Shan Fitsparaleen, which indicates
his illegitimate relationship to the noble elven House
of Paraleen. The combined wealth of his father, stepfather,
and mother could pay for the best tutors, and young Ren
was, like most half-elves, an excellent pupil, combining the
best features of his mixed ancestry.

When he reached maturity, he received an inheritance
from his maternal grandfather, which he used to begin a
business. He traded furs, ivory, and precious metalsanything
that combined high value and low bulk. If offered
something bulky at an irresistible price, he would buy it,
but the bother of transportation and security in getting
bulky goods to a profitable market made him hesitant to
accept such items.

He soon realized that the hub of mercantile activity on
Oerth was the city of Greyhawk. After accumulating a
respectable amount of wealth, he moved there and joined
the Traders Union. His knowledge of various parts of
Greyhawk and his connections in human and elven communities
made him a valuable recruit for the Union. Soon
he was a wealthy, respected trader, investing his wealth in
more and more trading ventures across Oerth.

His success was not without problems, however. There
were various envious people who resented the “halfbreed’s’’
success. Their actions against Ren varied, from
magical scrying methods to learn his business plans, to
actual assassination attempts. There were even attempts
to bribe bandits and humanoids to attack his caravans.
Whenever Ren found out who was behind these attempts,
he retaliated. After a while, surviving enemies began
spreading the word that he was not an easy mark. Eventually,
Ren was chosen as a Master of the Traders Union, fulfilling
one of his life’s ambitions.

Ren o’ the Star is a half-elf, and takes strongly after his
elven father. He is 5’9” tall, with black hair, upswept eyebrows,
pointed ears, and a thick moustache.

He has a set of antique bronze plate mail of which he is
very proud. This armor was given to him by a tribe of barbarians
who found it while looting an ancient ruin. It was a
great day for him when he persuaded them that, in 
exchange for the armor, he would present them with a wonderful
horse. The horse was a magnificent beast. He had
made certain of that, when he polymorphed it from a monkey
a few hours earlier. When the barbarians found the
horse missing, they naturally checked Ren’s camp, but no
one made the connection between the little monkey sitting
so innocently on Ren’s shoulder and the missing steed.

In addition to his armor, Ren owns a wand of lightning
which he won in a dice game, gauntlets of swimming and
climbing, a necklace of adaptation, and a folding boat. His
collection of magical weapons includes a longbow of speed,
bastard sword of sharpness, and a cursed sword + 1 that he
sometimes sells to raise cash, knowing that it will return.
The bastard sword of sharpness has an intelligence of 14,
an alignment of chaotic neutral, detects precious metals
and gems, and argues constantly with Ren. “Some people
are hen-pecked,” Ren will moan, “but I’m sword-pecked!”
His old trading associates are used to seeing him walking
along, arguing with his sword.

Ren’s main weakness is gambling. In the old days, when
he was a trader crossing half of Oerth, he was able to satisfy
his taste for risk easily, and make a profit. He gambled
then, but it was mostly minor dice games with his trading
associates. He kept his losses well within what he could
afford.

With little to entertain him in Greyhawk except counting
his gold, he has let his taste for gambling overpower
him. He spends endless time in Nerof Gasgal’s gambling
house, as well as others. He bets on horse races, on elections,
and his friends have been amazed to see him seriously
trying to make wagers on which of a pair of flies will
take off first.

Possibly Ren  o’ the Star feels that he is too wealthy to be
hurt by his losses. This is not exactly true. He is rich, but
he is not infinitely wealthy, and already he has run
through an incredible amount of money. His friends have
tried warning him, but he brushes off their warnings.
Nerof Gasgal and other proprietors of gambling houses
love him, since his wealth is funneling rapidly into their
pockets.