The epitome of the proper butler, James is a tall, thin man with wisps of white hair and an ageless face.  Dressed in an impeccably tailored black suit, he always displays unemotional calm.  His voice is low and even while his speech is peppered with honorifics.  He’s served in his position as butler for as long as anyone can remember and exhibits the greatest skills in all manner of tasks.  Typically, he appears at the side of his employer as they call for him, generally already carrying whatever they were going to request.  People rarely see him moving throughout the manor, he simply appears where he is needed and then vanishes again just as swiftly.  In addition to his remarkable skills in moving unnoticed and his ability to predict the desires of his employer, he is highly efficient and keeps an excellent eye upon things to ensure the manor is kept in perfect order.  One particular quirk is that he avoids physically touching other people, to the point that his fellow servants have never seen it happen.
            There are several possible story possibilities with James.  One is that he actually died several years ago while exploring a secret room within the manor.  The beautiful, but estranged daughter of his employer was searching the hidden room for valuables she could sell when James discovered her.  Terrified that he would reveal to her father that she’d already stolen several expensive pieces of jewelry from her step-mother’s jewelry box, she killed James.  His spirit refuses to move on until his remains are properly buried, but he would never presume to require this of his employers, so he remains at his post.  He retains the ability to move objects, but his actual form is incorporeal.  He can also move invisibly and instantaneously throughout the house at will, though he generally makes it look as if he was actually merely using stealth.  To set his soul at rest, the heroes must find his body and properly inter them. 
            Another possibility is that James is actually an agent of a foreign power.  He uses his post as his employer’s servant to listen in on conversations and spy on high level meetings.  He remains above reproach because he seems to have no ambitions or close ties to others, but he’s simply concealed the fact that he fathered a son named Timothy ten years ago.  The mother is a noblewoman who was raising Timothy as the son of her husband, though the husband knew the truth and was abusing the child.  The foreign power approached James eight years ago and revealed the truth about the child and offered to eliminate the husband to prevent further abuse.  Regardless of his good motives, James’ information has cost his nation dearly.  James sends off his information with the local grocer who visits the manor weekly. 
            Another possibility is that James is a suspect in a series of terrible crimes.  Over the last few months, the police have discovered half a dozen dead bodies, mostly women, near the manor house.  All of the victims disappeared while walking alone outside on a Tuesday night, the only night each week that James has off.  The killer struck from behind with surprise and slit the victims’ throats.  James is actually innocent of wrong-doing in these cases as he spends his night off playing chess with a beautiful female doctor.  He will not reveal this for fear of harming her reputation.  Sadly, she does not deserve such consideration since she is actually the killer and often arrives late for their games because she was stalking her prey.