Monday, October 3, 2016

Dramatis Personae, Pt. 2 - The Heroes Of The Story

Julian F. "Geist" Sabbatini (played by Mike Fontaine)

Investigator/Magic Specialist, River City Investigations 


Body: 2          Charisma: 5      Edge: 2
Agility: 3        Intuition: 3        Essence: 6
Reaction: 2    Logic: 3            Magic: 5
Strength: 3     Willpower: 5    Initiative: 5

Active Skills: Assensing 2, Banishing 4, Binding 4, Con 3, Counterspelling 4, Etiquette 2 (Underworld +2), Negotiation 2, Pilot Ground Craft 2 (Bike +2), Pistols 2, Ritual Spellcasting 4, Spellcasting 4, Summoning 4, Unarmed Combat 1

Knowledge and Language Skills: Area Knowledge: Omaha 3, Catholic Church 2, European Club Culture 2, Language: English N, Language: Italian 4, Language: Latin 3, Magical Theory 2, Smuggling Routes 2

Qualities
Positive - Magician (Tradition - Black Magic; resist Drain with WIL + CHA), Mentor Spirit (The Adversary)
Negative - Low Pain Tolerance, Sensitive System, Simsense Vertigo

Spells
Combat - Powerbolt, Stunbolt
Detection - Heal, Increase [Attribute] (CHA)

Illusion - None.

Manipulation - Control Thoughts, Influence, Magic Fingers, Makeover

Gear: Actioneer Business Clothes (armor 5/3), armor jacket (armor 8/6), form-fitting full suit (2050 era, armor 2/2), Colt Manhunter (concealable holster and laser sight), sword, Suzuki Mirage racing bike (vehicle sensor), Sony Emperor commlink, fake SIN (Julian Schwarz), spirit binding materials (rating 4, 2 packs), sustaining focus (health; bonded; rating 3), 600¥.

Background: Julian is the youngest of four children, and the only magically active member of his family. He grew up in and around the shadows as his family runs a smuggling operation, but for the most part his life was pretty normal as a child. In high school his parents let him in on the open secret of the family business and he would work for the more legitimate fronts of the business as he learned the ins and outs.

Being the youngest, he often was spoiled, but his inherent charm kept him from being seen as spoiled. Beautiful as a child and handsome as a man, Julian's family had big plans for him either in the family business or in politics. This all changed when his magical aptitude test came back his sophomore year of high school, showing that he had a high likelihood of becoming a full magician.

To a very Catholic family like the Sabbatinis this meant only one thing, and after he graduated from high school he was shipped off to Rome to learn magic from the Church. He studied for years with a number of groups, including the Westphalian theurgists of Germany, the Orthodox Exarchs, even the Vigilia Evangelica, but never seemed to get the hang of Christian theurgy. The idea of being subservient and submissive seemed abhorrent to him. He could follow the basics, but her was never able to get off the ground and dropped out after a few years.

He decided to then take some time off and see Europe on a personal quest for power of another sort – in the more hedonistic dens of Europe – and accidentally opened his world to the magic he knew he had. Following the voice of the Adversary in his head he was led to one of the dark cabals of Europe, a cabal of the young “Who's Who”, all dabbling in the occult, but few having any power. To most is was just an orgy of drugs, alcohol, and sex. But Julian could see that in the chaos was control. He could see the magic and hear his mentor.

For the next few years Julian avoided his family and ruled the European club scene, until one day he realized a deeper truth. He couldn't go further in his magic until he returned home. By avoiding his family, by hiding who and what he is, he was giving them power over him, and he couldn't have anyone having any power over him.

So he returned home and outed himself to his family as a follower of the Adversary and a practitioner of black magic. His family reacted almost exactly as he expected. They cut him off completely and threw him out. They even went so far as to partition to have him excommunicated from the church and his SIN burned.

Julian knew this was going to happen and accepted it as a challenge. At the start of the game it has been about two months since he was kicked out. He is down to the bottom of his funds. He has worked a few jobs, but they were hard to get at first as he had to actively work against his parents influence, but it is getting easier as he is starting to create his own reputation.

Things are beginning to turn around, however. An uncle he never his mother never spoke of (her older brother, no less) has taken him under his wing as a protege of sorts. Julian hasn't quite sorted out what this means, exactly, but when in River City...


James "Bison" McClendon (played by Terry Buethe)

Investigator/Surveillance and Recon Specialist


Notes: Bison's stats are the same as the Covert Ops Specialist archetype on p.100 of the Shadowrun 20th Anniversary rulebook, except for the following changes:

Active Skills: Change Modern Literature 2 to Rare Books 2

Knowledge and Language Skills: Change the languages listed to: Latin 2, Chinese 2, Spanish 2, Arabic 3, English N

Background: James McClendon grew up in a well-used RV, spending a lot of time near the Missouri River in Omaha. As he was growing up he didn’t know where the money came from for his family to live, but he knew they often had to relocate on very short notice. He later realized his mother was a prostitute and the sudden moves were driven by law enforcement’s attempts to crack down on such activities. Because of the promiscuity of not only his mother but his ancestors over the last several generations, James’ ethnic and racial backgrounds are a muddled mess. His appearance is almost Polynesian, but not quite.

James’ greatest ambition is to put as much distance between himself and those trailer park roots as possible. Some of that is accomplished in the minor details of his life. For instance, as he was growing up everyone called him “Jimmy,” so now he detests that nickname and insists on being called James. Whenever he can scrape together enough money he goes out on the town to fine dining establishments and high-class entertainment venues. Of course, this first required him to accumulate enough funds to purchase appropriate clothing for such occasions.

Early on in his quest to at least appear classier, James purchased a pricey gold watch and after wearing it for a few hours was itching all over. Realizing he was allergic to gold, most of his jewelry now is platinum. He typically wears a platinum ring on each hand, a platinum watch and a platinum chain around his neck.

James primary source for this funding has been “borrowing” money or valuables from nearby RVs when the camps filled up for the night. He became quite adept at picking the basic locks on the mobile homes and breaching whatever security systems some of the wealthier campers had installed, skills he began acquiring at the age of fourteen. He had always been fairly intelligent and seemed to have an affinity for working the intricacies of locking mechanisms. The electronic locks and security systems confounded him at first, but with some study online and after nearly being caught twice after accidentally setting off alarms, James became more comfortable with dealing with those as well.

Believing that knowledge is power, he values any information he can gather, especially if it seems leverage-able. (This is also part of avoiding the “dumb as a box of rocks” trailer park image.) As a result he has accumulated a decent understanding of corporate politics, finances and rare books. James has earned an associate’s degree in cyber security (learning more about those pesky security systems) but most of his knowledge comes through his own time spent in various cyber libraries.

James keeps himself in reasonably good shape, attempting to avoid the fat, blemished, disheveled look often stereotypically attached to trailer park denizens. He also attempts to dress somewhat fashionably, even when not going out on one of his rare luxurious evenings. His mixed ethnic background is a decided asset for his physical appearance giving him a slightly exotic look that seems to draw women to him.

James is in his early twenties, although when necessary he can pass for a teenager or (with a bit of makeup) someone significantly older. His hair is a dark brown, nearly black, with dark eyes (although his cybereyes allow this to be modified) and a brown/olive skin tone. He is slightly taller than average, but not so much as to stand out, and of average build.

James has a brother and a sister that he knows of, although odds are high that other half-siblings exist. His brother is a mechanic and his sister works in a cyber components factory during the day and works the streets at night. James can’t remember his mother ever being employed by the same source for more than a few months and he’s not sure which of the many men, if any, is his father.

Although James acquires much of his income through burglary, he also does freelance work in acquiring specific objects or information for those who can pay well. It was through one of these jobs that he acquired his cybereyes as part of his payment. Mr. Johnson involved wanted to be able to communicate with James during the course of his mission and so agreed to provide the necessary equipment.

James loves the thrill of conquering the locks and security systems people and businesses have put in place to foil him. It gives him a sense of power and superiority when he can dismantle what the elite and powerful think is keeping them and their belongings safe. This is part of overcoming his RV camp upbringing and one-upping those he views as looking down on him for his background.

James is also aware that since Mr. Johnson paid for his cybereyes a backdoor might exist into their systems. He isn’t too concerned about that in the short term, but his long-term goal is to be able to have them swapped out for an upgrade with no Mr. Johnson involved.

James has two fake SINs. One as a tradesman who can come and go easily for various “service calls.” The other for a moderate level corporate person. His short-term goal is to increase the number of fake SINs in case the current ones become a problem.


Artwork ©2016 CGL

Tank (Played by James Smith)

IT/Computer Specialist


Notes: Tank is temporarily being played by the GM as an NPC. His stats are the same as the Hacker archetype on p.105 of the Shadowrun 20th Anniversary rulebook.

>>>>>[Further information forthcoming...]<<<<<
 - Big Red, Sysadmin (23:08:00/10-03-77)





Artwork ©2016 CGL

Clay "Broadside" Moore (Played by Chuck Themm)

Surveillance Specialist/Driver


Notes: Broadside is temporarily being played by the GM as an NPC. His stats are the same as the Drone Rigger archetype on p.101 of the Shadowrun 20th Anniversary rulebook.

>>>>>[Further information forthcoming...]<<<<<
 - Big Red, Sysadmin (23:08:00/10-03-77)