Character Writeups(Writeup 2: Talon, Elven Street Samurai)

Details:

High Pain Tolerance(1) allows him to ignore a box of damage for modifiers.

Will to Live(2) extends his damage overflow box by 2.

Combat Monster makes him make a Willpower(6) test to pull out of combat if all enemies are not incapacitated or dead.

Flashbacks force a Willpower(6) test on a certain stimulus, or else he is incapacitated for 1d6 minutes.

Distinctive Style makes others get a -1 to their TNs to remember details about him.

His cyberware is detailed on his character sheet. Any equipment and other things are listed there as well as his stats, etc-I’ll probably put that in a more mechanical, character sheet section. 

(The timeline is still in the 2050s, where we play.)

Character has some sensitive stuff in his background regarding sex work and bunraku parlors, so if that sorta thing bugs you, the history might be skipped.

Appearance and Personality: Talon is an elven Street Samurai of Japanese and German heritage, taller than most elves, though it’s not impossible to find elves his size or even taller(Downfall, of course, is one.) He stands about 6'8’’ without his boots on(those add a bit of height), and weighs in at over 350 pounds, though his build belies this; it’s due to his extensive cyberware. He’s got more of an athletic, martial artist type of build; well muscled but agile looking. Both of his legs and his left arm are cyber replacement; obvious, and they’re heavily modified with huge amounts of strength, some quickness and extra armor as well. His legs aren’t visible usually with his long pants and boots on, but his arm is often seen. His right arm-and back-have elaborate tattoos. (He does do work for the Yakuza, but he’s not an official member, but given his father’s old standing, he is one of those ‘gets hired fairly often to do work for them.’ Yes, they are of the more ‘new’ point of view, who have accepted things like metahumans and the like.) 

Talon has longish, jet black hair streaked through with purple, worn straight and over one eye normally; he’s pale, with his cybereyes an eerie dark violet color with white irises, reversing it from normal and giving him an unsettling gaze. He tends to wear dark eyeliner rather heavily, giving him a bit of a gothic, glam type look. He has several piercings as well, which he sometimes takes out or leaves in; the final tally is a nose ring, two lip rings, four in his brows(inner and outer), tongue, and one in each ear. He doesn’t always have these all in at once; usually he leaves it to his lip, tongue, and one brow, but occasionally at a club he’ll have them all in. When fighting, they tend to get in the way, so he leaves them out on the job. They’re of a fine gauge, so one can’t really tell he’s pierced if he has them out unless you would examine him closely. He is charismatic and exceedingly 'pretty’-members of the team had joked that they may have the best-looking runner team in Seattle. He often favors tank tops and cargos or loose leather pants; he always wears his tall, heavy combat boots as these are modified to allow his foot anchor cyberware to shoot out from the heels properly. (These are foot-long spikes which can be used to anchor himself to the ground to be more difficult to move…he can also use them as weapons, naturally.) If it’s cold he favors leather jackets or longcoats. He varies his style, though-going for a more glam-like gothic look is not unheard of with ties, open button down shirts, and the like. Some clubbing nights he could look like he stepped right out of a Visual Kei band.

Talon can be a bit of a scary guy to be around. A little unstable, his past experiences have left him mentally somewhat fragile, though he is not a wreck unable to function in society. He’s a little standoffish when one first meets him, and if he decides to trust you, he opens up. He is highly vindictive, though, and exceedingly brutal to enemies; even the giant Downfall-his elven partner in crime and who might be his best friend on the team-winces at some of his doings, and Downfall regularly smashes enemies’ heads in. He revels in combat, and knows the streets very well; he’s the team’s best go-to when it comes to that, as Jolt is still almost eight years younger and hadn’t spent as much time in the underground. He knows spots to lay low, how to deal with street types and organized crime, and can even run undercover street duties if necessary. Needless to say, if they need to deal with the Yakuza, he’s the man they send with no troubles at all. Given his-and to a lesser extent Downfall’s-history with the Mafia, the team tends not to run too hard there; if they need to be dealt with, any of the others tend to do that, as they have no particular background with them.(Ortega is on acquaintance terms with one or two lower-level soldiers, so this helps as well. Talon often needs to hold his tongue. He’s not hunted, as everything that happened went down when he was still in his late teens to twenty, and it’s likely anyone involved in that is no longer alive anyhow. Water under the bridge would be too light of a way of saying it, more like a murky sludge under the bridge.)

He does like to relax from time to time-he enjoys music(the harder and more driving the better for him, guitars and electronics combined for best results; he shares a lot of musical tastes with Downfall), alcohol, coffee, and the occasional light stimulants, though nothing terribly addictive. He loathes anything that affects the mind too heavily(BTLs, strong hallucinogens) due to his past experiences with them, but he manages to grit his teeth and look the other way at the Yakuza dealing with the stuff, though he won’t touch it.

When it comes to food, he eats anything that keeps him going. Like any 'runner he of course has a taste for higher end stuff(much like Downfall he eats plenty of meat, putting paid to the whole 'elves are veggies’ rumors), but he’s perfectly content stuffing himself with Bucket-Burgers, McHugh’s, and crap from various isles the Stuffer Shack, though he won’t touch soykaf which he finds revolting.
He runs to live, he runs for money, to hit back at people who have pissed him off, to deal with his anger issues which he tends to have a lot of, and to stick it to some of the greedier bastards out there. He manages to afford to keep a decent place on a very high floor in downtown Seattle; he loves heights and has one of the highest places there(and the buildings get very high indeed.) He has a quick temper and tends to answer threats rather heavily; perceived threats on his or his teams’ life are likely met with lethal force. His team-mates try to temper him somewhat…and they’re occasionally successful. Occasionally.

He is fairly decent friends with a street doc, Dr. Douglas; Doc helps take care of his limbs(and has taught him to somewhat), and in answer he helps out keeping his clinic safe from potential attackers, as the doc has a bit of a past on him.

Talon spends his spare time training, fighting in underground pits, and even reading; while his education stopped short right around what would have been his senior year, he is extremely intelligent, and likes to read things, particularly things on history, war, and the like. He can be coerced by Jolt into playing some online games with him, and he does like going to clubs now and again, particularly goth-oriented ones. He lives in a decent place on the top of a hi-rise in downtown Seattle; it’s not the fanciest hi-rise, but he loves heights and high places. It looks more like a converted loft; he has it pretty well secured but it’s clear he put more money into toys and entertainment than he did the decor; it’s mattress on the floor of the living room, bedroom converted to an armory and various bits and pieces of music, video game and just plain demonic looking artwork(mostly Japanese mythology based) is around. He had drawn some of them, being rather artistically talented.

Besides being hard to drag out of a battle, Talon can suffer flashbacks from certain triggers; no one really can tell what the exact things are, but certain sorts of simsense seem to send him into it(possibly from the BTLs that were forced into him in his time in the bunraku parlor). He tends not to jack into things when on jobs due to this, in case he runs into it, but there could be other things out there as well. He hates bunraku parlors; despite the fact he barely remembers anything from his time there(and he sort of doesn’t want to anyway), he will hit them and hit them hard when he has the chance. (He has little problem with regular, by-choice prostitution and well-maintained brothels; he made the choice himself, and he has no problem with others who do, though he does not do this anymore.)

He is very close to and defensive of his team.  Despite an almost antisocial and dangerously violent air, he was rescued by Downfall and the team he was running with at the time when they were hired to break people out of the bunraku parlor; he was under the effects of BTL and thus unable to do anything about it. He is particularly close to Downfall. It has been hinted that the two had shared more than friendship. If any one of them are messed with and he finds out, the person had probably better steer very clear…

Quotes:

“I said I wouldn’t lay a finger on him, and I didn’t. Didn’t say anything about kicking his head in.”

“They built me to serve them. So I served them. They didn’t like it all that much.”

“Blood for blood. For every one of mine you take, I’ll take ten of yours.”

History:  Darren Fuse was born to two elves; a Japanese father and his mother was German-American. He has some family in Germany he knows, though he has never met them.) They were upper-middle class living in Seattle his mother a successful corporate accountant…but his father with ties to the Yakuza, which he kept secret from Darren(his mother knew.) Usually more traditional branches did not allow Metahuman membership, however he belonged to one that moved ahead slightly, knowing talent when they saw it and would hesitantly give membership to metahumans who proved their worth, which his father had done at a young age, apparently.

His life was fairly normal and middle class for the first part of it; up until he was a teenager nothing much went on with him. He went to school, he had friends, and he discovered an interest in martial arts at a young age which his parents fostered, since it gave him discipline and control, kept him in shape, and he was quite good at it, as well. His circle of friends was small, but fairly close.

This all changed after the Mafia gunned down his father when he was fifteen; his mother was distraught, though she naturally had a feeling that something could go wrong at any time. Darren himself never knew the truth until after the funeral, when he decided to go through some of this father’s things…things even his mother didn’t know about. He discovered the truth…but said nothing to his mother. He had other plans.

He could fight, and he could use a few of his own resources-he did hang out at areas that may have been considered seedy-that he considered trying to hunt down the people who did this. He was young, and angry; viciously angry. After a bit of time of poking around; he discovered a Mafia hideout; he decided to strike when it was lightly guarded.

Armed with only a knife and a cheap armored vest he had procured-he was better at fighting with his bare hands, but he decided to go somewhat armed-he snuck around the place, managing to sneak in…but he was seen.  A fight broke out-and the young Darren shocked them at his strength, speed, and ferocity; being an elf he was taller than humans his age, and being taller than average, he was larger than most of the men there. He was unrefined, though had eight years of training behind him already…he had started at the mere age of seven, at his father’s behest.

Still, he was wounded; there were more of them. At the end, though, Darren sat there with his knife having done some damage; he had also came across a lead pipe which he had used to some extent that he had torn out of the wall in an adrenaline-fueled rage. The two deaths, however, were caused with no weapon whatsoever, bloodily beating two of the men to death on the ground.

He had been stabbed twice and shot once, though, in his time. Plus…he had been seen, three of the men escaped wounded(carrying one who was critical) and he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Thanks to his contacts, he was able to shift himself over to Dr. Douglas, a street doc a friend of his knew, who patched him up, no questions asked.

He managed to-by some miracle(and some hefty painkillers the doc gave him)-hide his injuries…and oddly enough, no retribution came through right away. That happened closer to when he was 17. Hearing about it, and not wanting his mother to suffer, he packed a few of his things and slipped away into the night, leaving a message that it would probably be a good idea to leave the city. His mother, a successful businesswoman, could easily find work in Denver or something he figured(he wasn’t sure where she moved to-but she indeed moved, but not after trying to find out where he went.)

He didn’t have much he could do but underground stuff; given he was good at hurting people, he did odd jobs roughing people up and made money in fighting pits. One day, however, he was approached by someone whom found him quite attractive…and they had mistaken him for a joyboy, given his very 'pretty’ appearance. He then got an idea…it was good money if you went to the right clientele, and being bisexual opened up his clientele to many a person.

With this money now coming in-along with his other criminal activities, he managed to set himself up in a low end of town. He was quickly discovered by an Elven woman known as Madam Star; she happened to run a very high-class 'establishment’, if he was interested. He was, and this net him even more money. He also worked a bit as a bodyguard for some of the other joyboys and joygirls, as most of them often had only the bare minimum of self-defense knowledge.

For a few years, he worked odd jobs in the underworld, most of them having to do with violence, but he did still occasionally work for Madam Star, as it was good money without the need to hurt people. He even occasionally ended up on a shadowrunning team needing muscle; he got bits and pieces of 'ware over the years, though he mostly had enough money to keep himself with a lower lifestyle roof and food, he was able to get a few pieces of combat cyberware put in.

His past caught up to him, though, right around the time he turned about twenty-three or so; the Mafia had pinned him down(after one of their members had gone to the very establishment.) Sneaking up on him one night when he was out, they managed to finally subdue him with drugged shots; he did kill two more of their number with his bare hands before they did so. They were at an impasse; he caused them far too much grief to kill without a massive ceremony, and he could possibly get them quite a bit of money. On top of that, they wanted their revenge…so they sold him to a bunraku parlor.

He does not remember much of this time, thanks to the personafix chips, BTLs and other things they had feeding through him the entire time, as they did. He brought them in a lot of money, and eventually they had him converted into having multiple cyberlimbs for their cyberfetishists, and he ended up doing even worse things, as this place was known to cater to rather nasty, violent fetishes.

The less said about all of them, the better, but he occasionally has flashes of horrible things which he doesn’t like to discuss.

He was rescued by Downfall and his team(he was not running with their current team, as this was awhile back) around a year later. After 'cleaning the chips’ out from him and taking off any other overrides or whatnot they had on him, he put his cyberlimbs to use and killed every trafficker and shady individual in the place. Mentally, he was a wreck; the team also knew Dr. Douglas(he worked in a rather known shadow clinic in Seattle-well, 'known’ to the ones in the shadows that is), so they brought him around. The doc kept him to help him detox from the severe BTL addiction that he had ended up with, though he couldn’t do too much for his mental state, and said as much. For some reason Downfall took to him and would occasionally go there to talk to him to help bring him out again. (Downfall bringing him some driving heavy aggrotech music somewhat helped, as it was one of the genres they had in common; having little things in common seemed to and he started bringing coffee as well, given Darren’s hatred of soykaf. While the other teammates introduced themselves, Dr. Douglas had said allowing Downfall to be the sort of main contact for now was likely best. They also had underground fighting bloodsport pits in common.)

The entire thing probably took another month; at that point, Darren was back to a person who could function pretty much normally in society; he was quiet and easily triggered into flashbacks by certain simsense overloads(he sticks to regular trid or flatvid movies when he wants to watch things; smartlinks don’t hurt him thankfully), he also had quite the hairtrigger temper, getting into fights that turned ugly due to his strength. But he was coming around. After several more months, he would become the runner they knew. He and Downfall would spend time at each other’s places, having bonded to what seemed like a legit friendship, and he grew on the rest of the team as well, allowing him to fit in nicely as another heavy hitter(they had another teammate, an archery adept who only went by the name of Wind, who died on a run about three months before, and were looking for a replacement; while Talon did a lot of in-close combat, he was also very skilled with firearms, so he did fill in more ranged weaponry.) He stuck on the team and has been there for the past three years, which seemed to have gone by very quickly.

He managed, through the help of Spanky the fixer, to get a decent pad in downtown Seattle on the highest floor of a massive, middle-class hi-rise; he had a few of his old possessions-his katana, given to him by the Yakuza for his first kills, was liberated from the bunraku people who had kept it(he never did figure out why) was a prized one. He’s quite good with it, though he prefers to fight with brutal unarmed tactics.

He does do work for Yakuza out of Seattle; the people he are with follow the New Way and such are not as bothered by the fact he is a half-Japanese elf; while they do tend to prefer pure Japanese humans, his father was a respected member for a very long time, and between the family ties, his father’s work, and the own work he did for them on his own, he deals easily with them.

He has no idea where his future will take him; after all he’s been through, he lives for the moment.

He will, however, continue on his path to 'right a few wrongs’.

Contacts(mostly described more in detail in NPC section):

Dr. Douglas is a street doctor; man of roughly around sixty, but in excellent health. He was a skilled cybersurgeon working for a corporate delta clinic; he ended up knowing a bit too much one day and was targeted for something nasty, as he found out when his substitute turned up dead. He quickly enlisted the help of a shadowrunning decker and moved out, erasing his old life to set up a clinic in the Tacoma district. He may have a strong resemblance to Morgan Freeman.

Spanky is the known Fomori who runs a craft beer bar called Goal! and loves football. He’s a very, very well connected street fixer. He runs Goal! in the more underground downtown location, and it’s highly successful. There are several rooms to meet in. (He has a bigger write-up due to his importance in our games in a separate area.)

Killswitch is an elven combat technician; He is an expert at fixing electronic and mechanical devices 'on site’. He’s even heavier cybered than Talon, with only his head and left arm remaining, and both of his legs are highly custom Kid Stealth taloned monstrosities(that basically look like the legs of a raptor) that he is very good at using as well-runs that require techs that don’t need bodyguards he is ideal for. Is known for his long, green hair and solid, nearly glowing green cybereyes. He has gone on a run or two that needed extra tech when Jolt was injured; he occasionally trades them for the odd bit of interesting tech.

Huginn and Muninn are twin elven bouncers at Spanky’s bar; one is an adept, one is a sam. they are quite a cut above normal runners; they are not used for common occurrences(game note: GMs shouldn’t let them ever go on runs with the team, see NPC section.) They are good for street and corporate info.

'Mama’ is a talismonger; a short, heavyset graying human Hispanic woman, somewhere in her late forties roughly. She has a classically messy talismonger shop, but is also a skilled mage in her own right. She is great for magical knowledge, fetishes, and rituals. She practices Santeria, following Legba.

Pedro is Mama’s younger brother; tall and lanky, in his late thirties, he has a goatee, top hat, and wears an old suit with no tie whose legs seem too short; he works as a mortician. He also practices Santeria and follows Ghede, the Loa of the Dead. He is useful for things having to do with certain types of magics, or organlegging.

Character Writeups(Writeup 1: Downfall, Elven Physical Adept)

I decided to get my character writeups over as well(given, well, trying to use this for a bunch of Shadowrunny stuff.)

So to start, Downfall will be the first in line; mostly since he's the most often the semi-POV character of the stories. That being said, everyone has parts in the stories, but it's easier usually if I have one focal character.

--

Details:

Exceptional Attribute allows his Strength to raise beyond the racial modified limit by 1.

Mild allergy to Sun means he recieves a +1 to all TNs if in it and unprotected.

Bravery gives a -1 to all TNs to resist intimidation, and similar spells/powers

Sensitive System doubles all Essences losses from cyber

Distinctive Style grants opponents a -1 TN to remember/track him

Equipment and stats will be detailed on a character sheet.

Appearance and Personality: Downfall is an elf of massive proportions; standing fully seven foot seven without his boots and weighing in at about three hundred and eighty pounds, he is one of the larger elves one would have probably looked at. Looking trolls in the eye is something that is not uncommon for him. (Elves average about six-four, so he is sort of an exceptionally tall version, much like how some athletes nowadays might stand about seven-foot-plus compared to an average-height human.) He’s not overly bulky, though he is quite large; to say he fills in as the team’s primary muscle along with Talon is putting it lightly. He is highly agile given his size, though, throwing people off.  He wears his straight black hair somewhat past his shoulders(he has an undershave) and his eyes are icy blue. He’s rather pale-he is sensitive to sunlight-metahumans can develop allergies to various things, and tends to be nocturnal due to this, vitamin D makes up for the loss of it so his health is robust), and his voice is a bit on the deeper side. He seems to have some northern European in him, but besides that and Irish he’s not sure where else his family is from besides Tir.

He’s perhaps a little creepy looking to some corporate types, looking like he may have popped out of an industrial-goth club, but he’s also exceptionally handsome, even pretty. He occasionally has a bit of goatee on his chin, though keeps the rest of his face clean shaven. One of his ears has a bit of a ragged look, having gotten it half sliced off in combat, though he does put rings in them from time to time.

Due to his fairly large build and huge limbs-he’s quite long-limbed and his legs are longer than most average humans are tall-he can make himself look incredibly intimidating if need be. He generally doesn’t try to scare the populace though; that’s used more for situations where he needs to turn on the scary. If the job says for someone to be taken alive, he can usually scare them into submission with his natural intimidation skills, as well as his parlor trick of kicking a holes in hard objects like concrete and car doors.

A habit of his, when chilling more, is to flip a coin over his knuckles; he is surprisingly adept at it, his huge hands rather dexterous.

He dresses in the same sort of ‘goth-rivethead’ style, favoring loose cargos(black or camo), tight tank tops or sleeveless shirts, an armored leather longcoat and huge, steel-covered black buckled boots; given his specialty in Tae Kwan Do, these, along with his brute strength and killing hands power, cause immense and nasty damage to their targets. He can swap to a hoodie and jeans if he needs to dress a little less 'club-like’, and can even swap to nice clothing if pressed, even grudgingly dropping the black eyeliner or nail polish, both of which he tends to wear.  He’s been known to occasionally wear leather bracelets or chokers that incorporate nails, cogs, and other industrial bits. The team has been known to joke he and Talon look like they fell off the same truck, though Talon has a bit more of a 'glam-goth/VK’ look to him.

Downfall is a fairly bold individual; he can be quick to speak, though he’s far from stupid-he has a couple of years of education post-high school, and is naturally smart on top of it, both in book and in street. He’s usually not going to insult anyone he’s trying to deal with(unless by 'dealing with’ one means 'kicking them really hard.’) He isn’t the team’s face, though he is charismatic enough and fairly adept at dealing with a variety of types; he’s spent enough time on the streets to know the ins and outs, and enough time with Elven high society to understand that as well, though corporate types elude him.

He has a particular talent with languages; he’s fluent in Sperethiel as well as English, speaks Russian to a conversational level and even a little Korean and Japanese on top of it, though he’s not particularly good at the latter two yet(Talon enjoys picking on his rough Japanese in his moments of humor.) Despite being completely brutal muscle, he has a scattering of other skills which makes him still valuable to a team(in the shadows, it does not pay to be a one-trick-pony. Those types don’t last long.)

He is passionate about things he likes; be it good alcohol and coffee, his drivingly hard industrial-metal/aggrotech soundtracks, his martial arts, and even his teammates. He is a 'gentle giant’ to Ortega’s charge since he’s even bigger than Spanky, and was the person responsible for bringing the traumatized and mentally scarred Talon out of his shell and back into humanity(they seem to have more than just a working relationship…but given how the shadows are, they leave it at physical.) He’ll eat anything he can get his hands on; not a vegetarian like some elves, he likes everything from meat to fish; sushi and bibimbap(the latter introduced to him by his old trainer, a kind Korean elf who lived in Tir and worked as a bodyguard; he has sadly not seen him in years and wonders how he is)are two huge favorites of his and he’ll be seen eating either of them more than once a week. The local Korean restaurant in Tacoma loves when he comes in, given his ginormous appetite; they even keep one of their Troll-sized tables ready for him. (They usually throw in a free gimbap if he buys a quadruple order that day.)

Like Talon, the two detest soykaf, choosing to spend their last nuyen on real coffee and fighting in a pit for more before they’d drink the other foul swill. At the end of the day, he’ll fill himself with McHugh’s, Bucket-Burgers or stuffers if he’s on the run.

When in combat, he much prefers fighting unarmed; given his skill in different martial arts, he doesn’t need a weapon. He shares this with Talon and they spar; the two of them are able to actually withstand each others blows(though he naturally does not use his lethal force in sparring matches.) He will kill with little hesitation if lethal force is used against him; he can get quite brutal and vindictive if people close to him are messed with, and things can get messy with him quickly due to his massive strength; 'colorful head wounds’ have been mentioned when he’s finished. He doesn’t mind fighting in underground bloodsport pits against people who he knows are dirty, and he’s done it long enough he can tell the desperate from the vicious. He has taken wetwork before as well. His mindset is that the shadows are sometimes kill-or-be-killed; while he does not seek out death-dealing, he will not shy away from it. He won’t mess up a job though; if the request are no bodies, then he will load gel rounds in his handgun(which he only uses if necessary, he’s not a huge firearms fan though he respects their versatility), and strike with non-lethal force(though he can’t promise bones won’t break.) He messes around with edged weapons for fun, and Talon has been showing him some tricks with them, though he prefers to simply fight with martial arts.

He utilizes all of his known styles-Tae Kwon Do, Carromeleg, Karate and kickboxing-well together, but Tae Kwon Do is his favorite, and quite a sight when dealt out by a gothic-rivethead that stands over seven and a half feet tall. His overall style is brutal, aggressive, and overwhelming; he uses his huge size and reach well to his advantage.

Relaxing to him is music, videogames, possibly books, or just sleeping in with a bit of trid; he also has taken a liking to the flatvid movies that go around his current team. He does not look for a serious relationship, though he has shared more than one intimate moment with Talon; right now, being on the same team they’re keeping it 'friends with benefits’, and aren’t looking to push it further. It’s not a constant thing, more like 'if they feel like it.’ Even going to a club with driving music and some drinks is 'relaxing’ to him, as he sits in the back somewhere.

He has quite an interest in the workings of magic and the occult; being a trained adept, he knows there is further his abilities can go. He’s been known to talk to Silver about magical things, though her specialty is more with the hermetic, scholastic side of magic and spellcasting, she’s an expert on the subject and finds his insight into some of the occult studies interesting. Politically he’s bored of most of what goes on and tends to go for 'the least evil’ in these days, and he runs agnostic-in his opinion, with all of the planes and things out there, just trying to say there is or isn’t 'one main thing’ is short-sighted. His adept powers are geared more toward the 'mundane’ rather than the outlandish; he funnels it to increase his already insane strength, to allow him to smash objects and enemies better, to increase his reflexes and better protect himself. (He would love to further develop his astral sight; he’s seen it before, thanks to deepweed from a talismonger to find out some information, but he cannot do it himself yet.)

He doesn’t have too much on him that he would be completely lost without; he would not like to lose his geas, given the trouble he would have getting it back(and he’s a little attached to that particular collar), and he happens to like his massive boots, but besides that he has a soft spot for the heavy silver and steel ring given to him by Talon the night he went 'home’ from Dr. Douglas’ clinic, since Downfall had helped him through everything and he insisted he take it.

Quotes:

“I’d rethink your current situation. You’re just about small enough for me to step on.”

“'The bigger they are, the harder they fall’ is only relevant if you can knock them down.”

“You bleed too much, chummer.”

“If the gods do exist, I’m pretty sure they’d ask for bibimbap instead of ambrosia.”

History: Downfall was born Gaelorite Tiergnach(a name he considers one of the snootiest in the world, though certain people are allowed to call him Gael…VERY few) to an upper-class Tir Tairngire family in October of 2028. They worked with nobles, were one step below nobles themselves and Gael was set toward big things. As he grew rather immensely, there was talk about getting him toward the more elite guard later in life; when he expressed magically as an adept, many people took a great interest in their potentially new and deadly person; there was talk of Tir Paladins in his future if he proved loyal and all went right. Besides being schooled well, he was sent toward training with some of the best Tir warriors-he trained mainly in Tae Kwon Do which he took a major liking in(and it fit his long-legged and massive physique and strength), but he also trained some in the traditional elven martial art of Carromeleg, and even some kickboxing for clinching and traditional Karate to round him out. He was trained in the use of handguns, simply for versatility.

Along with his great strength and developing skill, however, came a bit of a temper. He would get into scraps now and then; usually with the sons of other nobles. The thing was, his family was sort of 'almost-noble’; they had plenty of money, but were sort of just under the status, and some of the nobles’ kids were a little jealous of his special treatment due to his ability. Still, he held back fairly nicely, only smacking them around a bit. He had a few friends, mostly enjoying training, testing his limits, but also reading, games and music. He would frequent Tir clubs as a teenager, though the more underground ones.

It was his 20th year that would mark the big change; a particularly nasty son of one of the noble families decided to ambush him one night with his friends, hoping to injure him enough that he would fail the tests he would have to take later that week. Gael, in a rage of getting attacked with lethal weapons(they had knives), fought them off pretty badly; he did not kill any of them, but the noble’s son was left very badly beaten within a few inches of his life. Naturally, the parents were not too pleased with this…that being said, they were not evil people(snooty and elitist, yes, but they recognized that the wounds on Downfall-he had a few-were caused by knives wielded by the others), and so no charges were pressed.

However, the situation made the others who would have possibly taken Gael on as looking over him again; his temper proved to be fearsome if pressed, and they wondered. On top of that, while the parents of the son(hospitalized-he would live but it’s said he does not have particularly good sight in his right eye nor use of his left arm these days even now) were somewhat understanding, though a bit fearful now, other family members were a bit more hostile to the Tiergnach family as it was. Gael did care for his family, and he could see by being there he was not helping them press forward in anything, as his reputation was that of somewhere between 'scary’ and 'a threat.’ No one would take the family higher, as they feared the huge elf’s reprisal.

He decided to cut the losses of his family a few months later, and disappear into the night, heading toward Seattle. Thanks to his family’s general wealth, he had a decent nest egg; with that, a large pack filled with some of his favored possessions(music chips, his pocket secratary, some of his favorite rivethead clothing, a ring he received for winning a martial arts tournament and his choker which acted as a geas for the adept powers he had developed; the choker was linked to his reflexes) he headed out. Getting to Seattle was no issue; with a real SIN and everything he was able to travel easily, though he chose to lay low in the new city, getting an out-of-the-way place in the Tacoma area and tried to find work that would suit someone like him. He thought a bouncer might be the best bet, and was able to get some part-time work in a bit of a lower-end place, often frequented by organized crime folks, the Vory would pop up there not uncommonly. When asked his name, he simply went by 'Downfall’, having felt it fitting-he did not fancy letting too many people know his real name, as he was trying to lay low.

His switch to the shadows happened one night when enemies of some men who were at a table(Vory, unbeknownst to him) attacked; being a bouncer, he had to protect anyone else in the club, of course, so he did just that, and since these men were fighting for keeps, so did he. By the time Downfall was finished, he had taken a few wounds, but no patrons were hurt and three men were in various states of dead on the floor, their heads basically kicked in. (The proprietor of the bar claimed they never did get all of the blood out of the wood, and there’s a carpet there now.) Having not killed before, his instinct told him organized crime folks like this would not have taken it lightly if they had roughed him up; given the weapons they had on them, he would have been right.

His boss did NOT turn him in, as he did sort of save the lives of everyone there, though he regretted that, due to possible revenge, he would have to let him go(he slipped a paper with a number on it in his pocket before he left; the name was 'Spanky’), and it turned out the Vory he ended up saving liked what he did…and thus, he ended up doing a few odd jobs for them over the next year or so; they also introduced him to the world of underground bloodsport rings. Given his highly brutal way of fighting, he became a favorite as the rings were usually left a mess afterward. For awhile, his life was running odd jobs of random violence and fighting; he was suriving, though. He was even starting to do wetwork, which was able to complete rather effectively, though he was not used for quiet jobs…more ones that there was meant to be a severe message sent to whoever found the remains.

He had to pull back to think when he became so damned comfortable with beating people to death; it sort of alarmed him, but looking at the growing number of scars on his body, and seeing just how foul some of the people were in the underground-taking part in organlegging and human trafficking and other sorts of human misery, he began to see himself as sort of doing his part to clean up; the people he killed in the ring were people who were fairly foul as well; the lowest of the low. He didn’t see himself as a vigilante, but more of someone who didn’t mind doing what he did. The shadows can do weird things to one’s morals. Meeting Spanky, the proprietor of Goal!, the craft beer and sports bar, helped give him more of a choice of work; Spanky was a skilled fixer, and he even hired him on when his own bouncers-also Tir expatriates and twin brothers-were off. The way he met him was a rather unforgettable experience; a man tried to kill Spanky for some reason; his usual bouncers were not there. Since Downfall was at the bar, he had the shotgun pointed at him, as well.

Downfall, in the way, did not appreciate the threat to his own life and moved quicker than the man expected; he then subsequently kicked the man’s head off in a single blow, between his natural strength and adept powers. Spanky coughed, called for a mop and cleanup, and hired him on the spot as a part-time security enforcer of sorts. Downfall joked that this was the first time he had ever done that that did not result in someone wanting him dead(his previous job as 'underground pit fighter’ had gone bad after his 'manager’ tried to fix his loss for extra money. It didn’t work out well for him either, though Downfall still has the scars from that.)

He was pulled into a job from a team who needed muscle and who lost theirs; they were going to deal with raiding a bunraku parlor. He knew how nasty these places could be. They were mostly going for the goods, though after they saw some of the people, they rescued them, as well. One of them was a heavily cybered elf-a big fellow in and of himself-that Downfall unplugged and let loose; he ended up killing the rest of their opposition before collapsing in a pile. The team, having some scruples about them, funneled everyone out and most of them went off on their own; the rest-including the black-haired elf-were taken to Dr. Douglas, a friend of Spanky. Most of them were fixed up and chose to go off; the nameless elf was nearly catatonic. Dr. Douglas had a soft spot for the more broken types, and so set him up in a back room to stay…though he was regretful there wasn’t much he could do for him.

For two days Downfall went back to his routine, but he was bothered by that one. He wasn’t sure why. He decided to go check up on him one day while he was there; Dr. Douglas had said he had eaten, but was not particularly responsive. He had interest in one of Downfall’s cigarettes, which he gave him. From there, he brought him coffee, would bring him music(once they discovered one of the genres they shared was that hard industrial-aggrotech), and every day try to get him to sort of come out of his shell. He didn’t know if he had been broken by the memories, if it was the BTL, or a little of both; Douglas had thought it was the BTL which had driven him into the near catatonic state.

It took awhile, but eventually Talon started to speak; Dr. Douglas thought this wonderful. He was able to do some things on his end, as well-some brain scans said that Talon could recover, though he would be sensitive to flashbacks if overwhelmed by simsense stimuli. The two became better friends…and then friends with benefits, once they discovered they had that in common, as well.(This took a few months).

By the time the two were about twenty four, they were hooked up with their current team(Jolt came later, given his age-he’s the youngest), and they had run together now for three years. Occasionally gaining or losing another member one way or another, they’ve been fairly successful, despite them being a rather different bunch put together. Downfall has not really found a spot that he can leave the shadows at this point-he’s too far in. He simply takes it as it comes and wonders what the future will hold.

Adept Powers:

Improved Strength(2)
Improved Reflexes(1)
Killing Hands(M)
Mystic Armor(1)
Smashing Blow

Contacts:

Besides the ones the group shares(Spanky, Dr. Douglas, Mama, Pedro, Killswitch, Huginn&Muninn):

'Mr. Steve’: A dwarf club owner of a place called 'The Black Machine’ in downtown Seattle. An industrial-gothic deal, it’s color scheme seems to be black, gray, red, and camouflage, it’s open from 6pm to 6 am, plays stuff like Grendel most of the time, if you held a magnet up to the place a lot of people would come flying out due to the amount of chains and industrial equipment they’re wearing, and the drinks all glow interesting colors. Downfall has worked the door of this place before, and it has a couple of underground meeting rooms for more 'street types’ who are useful for getting bits of info on the down-low. If Downfall wants to unwind, this is probably the place you’ll find him. Oddly, 'Mr. Steve’ does not look like someone who would frequent his own club-he looks like an 'Everyday Guy’; he knew there was a lot of request for a place like this about a decade ago, so he opened one, and is rather well liked besides not being 'one of them.’  Mr. Steve also happens to be a Johnson, so there’s that.

Future Plans:

-Initiate to at least Grade 3 or 4

-Develop Astral Perception

-Increase his already impressive Strength score to the Attribute Maximum(which may take a lot of Karma but would be incredibly fitting to his character, the sheet shown is his starting sheet and not the developed one with some Karma)

-Increase his Unarmed Combat and Athletics

-Pick up some more odds and ends of skills out of interest

A few NPCs and places in my personalized Seattle 205X

Decided to update with a few descriptions of contacts for my sorta personalized Seattle. Basically I use the sourcebook Seattle and lots of things that entails, but of course, I add some of my own NPCs, companies, diners, bars and the like; yes, Dante’s Inferno is there, but so are some other personalized places. Because it’s just cool.
–

Contacts and Places:

First a word of note: these NPCs are a bit on the ‘Higher’ side in terms of skills. The Talismonger is actually also a highly skilled and Initiated mage in her own right, for example-but that doesn’t mean, of course, that the PCs can just take *advantage* of all of that. It was more things that just sorta happened to their characters(in that case, it was ‘So, what happens when there’s a powerful mage who *doesn’t* get into corps or running? They become a talismonger, why not?’

It’s more to show that even some ‘Regular People’ can be more than what they seem, and that maybe out there, there exists people who haven’t let the dystopia completely get them. Just a little. Their character sheets will follow in another update(hopefully this weekend), along with things their facilities have to offer being listed in game-format.

The rules I list are actually for later(SR5) editions since I know more people are playing that, though I of course include notes for the older editions, being that’s what we use. (Remember back in the day a few things were played faster and looser with sometimes less fiddly stuff, sometimes more.)

Reginald ‘Spanky’ Mcgee:

Spanky is a Fomori in roughly his mid-thirties; he’s not the tallest troll around, but he’s fairly robust, perhaps with a bit of a beer gut, though he’s not particularly overweight. More stocky if anything. His full-blooded Irish ancestry gave him fair skin, plenty of freckles, and flaming red hair which he wears about to his shoulders; his ram’s horns curve around the sides of his head, and he grows no mustache, but a beard underneath his chin. Like many Fomori, he’s even fairly handsome in a cuddly kind of way. He’s got a friendly smile and is very charismatic upon meeting him. It’s kinda hard to dislike him.

Spanky is actually a very well-connected fixer; he has contacts in both the UCAS and Europe. However, he is the type where trust needs to be established before he shows ‘his best stuff’, so to speak.

Spanky deals in a lot of different things; not as much magical(that would be Mama’s domain, which he can put runners in touch with if they don’t know her), but he does have access to several different types of weapons(even some military-grade), and knows people who are involved in Beta-grade cyberclinics(Namely, one Dr. Douglas.) He can get his hands on some light magical equipment, but he’ll even tell them they’re better off going to Mama. He can find them work, but more of a ‘he can connect them to a Johnson’ sort. He himself doesn’t give the jobs-he can put the runners in contact with Johnsons who do have work. Even though he’s only in his mid thirties, he has a lot of connections around in the northwest UCAS, and even a few in the UK area(though he does not have technical ‘worldwide, anywhere’ connections.)

Spanky loves football(soccer) to the point of near obsession. Sparking up a conversation about football with him is a great way to get started chatting. He always wears a jersey of sorts in his bar; under this he usually wears an armor vest, just in case, and sticks to things like jeans and workboots. His pub-a rather large and well-taken care of place, is appropriately named ‘Goal!’(with the exclamation point at the end, of course), and serves many a microbrew that Spanky had designed himself. Spanky does *not* server soy beer in his bar-he finds the stuff vile and insulting. This does help keep some rabble out(as do his bouncers), but he does not overcharge for some of his more standard designs(though his special Coffee-Hazelnut-Chocolate Mega-Stout runs a pretty nuyen and is so thick you reportedly need to chew it.) Indeed, besides football, brewing is one of Spanky’s passions. He has a small brewery in the basement.

Goal! actually has some rather excellent security if nosy runners try to do things. The building is covered in material that is not quite kind to traveling astrally, and he has a very good ‘decker overwatch’ as well as a security system. Meeting at the pub is generally done in three ways; the ‘general’ spot, the ‘secure’ spot, and the ‘Private’ spot.

The ‘General’ spot is well in the back of the place, in the booth area. His bouncers will ensure basic privacy, but it’s still open for ordering things like dinner and the like, and isn’t 100% private, as there could be other meets and stuff there, and you will be seen.

The ‘Secure’ spot is in the ‘upstairs dining room’, and is more secure both magically and technically. The door is locked, and the crew will ensure it stays decent. However, it’s not ‘Private’ in the sense that other meets can be going on at the same time(in different parts of the room.) You do need to go through the bar to get here though, so you will be seen as well, though no one ‘unauthorized’ can get back there.

The ‘Private’ spot is reached from a different part of the entrance, and is in a specially made basement room. It actually costs considerable nuyen to ‘rent’ this, but it’s extremely secure. Spanky himself uses this for some more of his delicate deals. One of his bouncers will personally escort people down and wait for the meet to get done.

The bar is actually two levels high. The second floor is open to the public(just not the ‘secure dining room’ which needs a heads up from Spanky.) There is plenty of room to drink and enjoy what is most likely a football game playing on one of the many monitors. The bar itself is in a fairly ‘high lifestyle’ part of Seattle, though not quite that of the really high rollers. It does not look terribly out of place, but nor does it look too posh; it looks like a nice, clean, very well maintained sports bar.

Spanky’s bouncers have been mentioned. While he has some generic, ‘ordinary’ bouncers milling around, his two ‘primary’ ones are old friends of his-Huginn and Munin, a pair of seven foot tall elven twin brothers; each one of them, while they have several tattoos, has one of the telltale ravens on their body; Huginn on his right shoulder, and Munin on his left pectoral. Powerful looking, with long white hair, violet eyes and no beard-growth whatsoever, they almost even dress similar; black cargos and combat boots, with tank tops-though Huginn favors a lined leather longcoat, while Munin favors an armored leather jacket. They are roughly around thirty years old, and are extremely good at what they do, being highly experienced near street legends over in Europe(they are apparently mixed Scandinavian, though Icelandic seems to be their primary lineage, given that they sometimes speak it to one another in lieu of English or Sperethiel.)

Spanky’s cook is a firecracker; a tough, no-nonsense British human woman in her late 40s known simply as ‘Maude’(who may resemble Dame Judy Dench a bit, only younger and less refined.) Maude is completely mundane and with no cyber(some say she may also be without humor, but not in her earshot)hates nutrisoy and refuses to cook with it. She’s foul-mouthed and generally grumpy, but good hearted all the same, and is an *excellent* cook. She carries a tazer that she’s not afraid to use, though she is not a combatant. She comes from Spanky’s past, and apparently came over from the UK when he came to the UCAS. It’s rumored she was a cook for a prestigious British boarding school which got bought out and closed. (And yes, Spanky’s pub also mostly only serves real food, but he actually has some reasonably priced burgers on his menu. The steaks will cost you, though. Any soy products are pre-packaged stuff sold over the counter, mostly bar snacks.) He DOES sell some cheap brew, too, along with this-mostly to keep up appearances. A bar in that area that sells NO soy or cheap products may raise more eyebrows than necessary; at least selling some lets people pass over it. It can look strange that a bar with higher-priced fare can operate there(though the area is fairly working-class wage slave), but he gets a lot of the bills paid through his fixing business as well, so he doesn't have to make all of his money via food and drink.

Using Spanky:

Under the rules, if he is used in your game and you're playing an earlier edition, he needs to be at least a Buddy before you start getting the good stuff(Level 2.) Since the older days were more ambiguous(Levels 1-3, the rest was role-played unless you used supplements), simply use this as a rule of thumb. Better friends get better deals and better crap from him(going with Lv. 1, 2, and 3 contacts.)

If you’re playing a later edition(4e+) that uses Connection and Loyalty ratings, his Connection rating should never be more than 1 point higher than his Loyalty. So a runner can have him at C2/L1, but will have to earn more trust before Spanky shows his more ‘C3’ side, and so on. Spanky’s Connection rating has a Maximum of 7(which the player will need to get to ‘Friend for Life’ level with him to get.)

To gain Spanky’s trust, they have to remember he’s more of a ‘Neutral with Good, if Pragmatic Tendencies’ type. He has some friends who have been known to be a bit on the ‘crazy’ side, but at the end of the day, out and out rotten actions are something that he does not like to be a part of. Wetwork is fine, and he’s got a fair limit to how far he’ll accept going, but there are lines.

A good rule of thumb, if the PC’s ‘earn’ Spanky as a contact, he is gotten at C2, L1. (He will give folks he’s dealt with from time to time a *small* discount on food and beer. ;)) It’s then, of course, up to the PCs if they wish to foster a relationship with him to get access to his better goodies. (For a GM note, you could also limit the Availability of gear that he will procure. C2 will be limited to Availability of 12, and then add 2-3 availability, as you feel appropriate, per Connection rating after that.) He will begin introducing his other friends to the PC’s at Loyalty 2(or, well, giving them word where to find them.) Likewise, in regards to the jobs that he can find for him-the higher his Connection rating, the better-paying Johnsons can be procured for the runners. (As usual with the 1e-3e days of Level ½/3 contacts, things should be played a bit faster and looser there, just using the general criteria for what those contacts have access to. His access is fairly good, as said, so long as he trusts the runners.)

Note that a character can have a higher Loyalty rating with one of his friends than Spanky himself, should they choose to do so.

Given Spanky’s high Connection rating, screwing him over would be a bad, bad move. Huginn and Munin are more than his bouncers, they are two of his best friends-and he has friends with several other prime runners and more than one street legend at his physical-and magical, or Matrix based-request.

As for his, bar, Goal!, Huginn and Munin are particularly skilled and geared; each one alone would be a match for an entire team of runners. They are extremely good bouncers, in other words. Huginn(the Samurai) is loaded for bear with bioware and higher-grade cyberware, with Munin a four-times initiated Adept(with some light bioware). Both brothers have Exceptional Attribute: Body and Strength, have max Body, Quickness, and Strength base, 5’s in their other stats, and have 8-10 in their primary skills, 5-6 in secondary, and 3-4 in their tertiary. Set their Karma Pool at around 12.  (I’ll probably get their sheets into the same section I do Spanky by the numbers.) If in a newer edition, their Intuition is 5 and Logic is 3, and they sit at a 6 Edge.

However-given that Spanky does not like blood all over his floor(he has a few stories about that-two of the more famous involves Huginn’s decapitating of a would-be assailant with his katana and Munin discovering someone trying to poison one of the taps and curb-stomping him in the corner for his trouble), any of his bouncers, including Huginn and Munin, will generally just strike to knock out and disable people, unless an actual attempt is made on Spanky’s life. In that case, the twins tend to show their lineage’s ‘berserker’ tendencies and turn the would-be assassin into a red pastey substance on the floor. (If attempts are made on the lives of the other bouncers, they also are more willing to strike to kill, but if lethal force is attempted to be used on *them*, they are more amused if anything and just perform a good lesson-teaching before depositing the runner onto the concrete outside in a ballistic fashion.)

It should also be said that Maude also helps clean the place and it’s rumored that Huginn and Munin are more wary of her yelling at them about the blood than they are what any general runner can do to them physically.

Huginn and Munin may become contacts, but use them carefully. It can be assured that they just won’t come kill stuff for a phone call. They’re very powerful, so use discretion on what you allow them to do. It’s possible to become better friends with them, but they have a personal code that they just don’t go using their heavy abilities for low reasons-these guys hit AAA-style stuff on the odd time they do it(and then would require a credstick so fat players are likely not able to pay it anyway.) These are the type of runners that *turn down* AA work as being dull, and they also always work together-so they have to be hired by the pair. Basically, GMs shouldn’t use them as ‘spot runners.’

These are elite NPCs in terms of ability.

Spanky’s other bouncers are more basic. His generic bouncers are(depending on edition) the equivalent of Professional Rating 4 with roughly similar stats, wear Armored Jackets, and have either Shock Gloves or Stun Batons and are often armed with an Ares Predator with either Stick n Shock or Gel ammo(depending on the edition.) They never strike to kill, only disable or knock out.(They have high Non Conductivity ratings on their armor. For a rule of thumb, they probably have 3's and 4's in most skills, (in a newer edition, toss around 6-8 dice for stuff, and have only minor implants to GM discretion; smartlinks, maybe some dermal plating. They do have audio/visual enhancements depending on edition, and solid Intelligence scores, or Perception in the new one, of around 4-5.)

He has two mages who swap shifts; a dwarf and an ork. They are more geared toward Counterspelling and Astral activities, though do have guns(with SnS/Gel rounds), stun batons, and access to Stun Bolt and Stunball spells if necessary. They are often not seen in the primary areas(and are generally made with roughly the same power as starting PCs, if GMs want a rule of thumb. Spanky’s decker friends are never seen, and are likely made with similar stat and skill levels with starting PCs, but they have excellent decks.)

Spanky himself isn’t really much of a fighter. He has some basic self-defense skills, but really, his thing ‘being a fixer.’ He keeps a shotgun loaded with gel or SnS behind the bar, along with a baseball bat, if he really needs them, but he generally dislikes fighting, and isn’t particularly good at it past ‘Can defend himself if necessary.’ He’s a Fomori, so he’s naturally a big tough and strong fellow, but he’s fairly average in terms of his race’s physical stats.

Goal’s! security is fairly tight, as said. In terms of ‘Raw’ security, assume the Maglocks are all Rating 8, with a variety of keycard or keypad readers(the tightest stuff has a Biometric lock that only Spanky, Huginn, or Munin can activate.)

Flora Hernandez, ‘Mama’

Mama is a human woman, in her middle fifties. She’s short, heavyset, and has long, slightly curly black hair worn down, streaked with gray. She wears little makeup, but tends toward big dresses(sometimes with a floral print), which gives her a slightly ‘matronly grandmother’ look. She’s tanned, and talks with a noticeable Spanish accent, though her English is fluent. She seems to like jewelry; taking to rings, necklaces, and earrings-these may or may not be foci. Mama walks with a stick at times; her age is starting to somewhat get to her, though she reacts surprisingly quickly for a woman her age. She has been practicing magic since she Awakened before a lot of runners were even born.

Mama is a talismonger, and a powerful mage in her own right, practicing Santeria, whose Patron is Legba. She has much knowledge on magic and everything therein; magical threats, groups, and she is very adept at creating talismans and foci. If she cannot create them, she knows those who can. She is also a skilled herbalist, and is a good magical healer, as well.

Her shop, ‘Elekes’, is located in a more low-key part of town; one needs to go through a few alleys to find it, and then end up going down some seedy looking stairs. It’s well protected though-she is a powerful mage, as is her younger brother, and they can well ward the place. People popping to the Astral may see some rather scary looking spirits hanging out, looking disapprovingly at them.

Mama has a younger brother, Joshua, a guy in his late thirties who is also a practitioner of Santeria, and who follows Ghede. Joshua is an undertaker, and is a strange man for all of that; he can be a contact in his own right. He’s usually seen in black slacks that seem a bit too short, boots, a collared shirt, a jacket, and often does have a serving of of Rum on him, making him fairly obvious, if one finds out what he practices, who his patron is.

Elekes has a smell that is a mix of herbs, burnt woods, smoke(Mama has a penchant for cigarettes), and tea(which she pours and usually spikes with some rather strong liquor, but the woman can hold her drink.) It rather chaotic looking; it almost looks like a bomb hit some parts of it, but Mama can pick out what people need. The shelves are mainly full of low-level stuff like herbs and reagents, giving the shop it’s telltale smell(which isn’t all unpleasant, just a bit reminiscent of an herb attic or something.) There are some shelves full of books; actual paper ones, pharmacopoeias and the like can be found here.

Mama herself can be a bit cranky and sarcastic, but not unfriendly. She more or less has a dry way of speaking and talking, almost nonchalant. If the PC’s behave, she may even offer them some tea. If they really behave, she may offer them some of her ‘special tea.’ Which may be pretty stiff stuff for those unprepared.

Using Mama:

Mama isn’t as strict with Spanky in terms of the whole 'Buddy' or ‘Connection/Loyalty’ thing. In older editions, it's again simpler; the higher the level, the more goodies and favors she'll be like to procure, and the more reasonable her prices will be.

In 4e+, Mama has a Connection rating of 6, but she won’t require the PCs to be super-friends with her to have access. She will, however, demand higher payments the lower Loyalty. This can range from extra nuyen(for more moderate stuff, she’ll sell off the shelf stuff for regular prices, as well as fence magical gear), to flat-out exchange of goods for the best stuff; this could mean her sending the runners out on some rather exciting material gathering adventures.(As said above, adjust rules if you’re old school like us to follow the 3e contact setup.)

GMs can roll as they think appropriate if she has(or they want their PCs to have access to) whatever spell formula and foci they deem appropriate on hand, or if it’ll take her a bit to find some.
Joshua’s specialty has more to do with ‘Undertaker Stuff.’ Remembering that he does practice Santeria, the GM is free to be creative with what sorts of services he can provide. (Note: Gaining Mama as a contact does not make her brother automatic, though gaining one or the other as a contact will, of course, make it easier to at least get in on the ground floor. Joshua is the more minor of the two; he has a Connection rating of 3 for his appropriate line of work, and is created by standard PC rules.)

As for the shop’s protections, Mama has some high level spirits on hand, bound, and ready to wreak havoc. Mama is Initiated three times, and she’s got rather high magical skills, making her a more uncommon type of talismonger. She does not like to flaunt this power though, and has no interest in shadowrunning itself; which is why she chose the job that she did. However, crossing a woman who is initiated, practices a type of voodoo and is very good at Ritual Sorcery…I’ll just say the GM should have fun with this one. Mama is very smart, and isn’t going to let herself be robbed or gunned down. She has a lot of contingency plans; one does not run a talismonger shop without them, especially with Foci valued as they are. Her Force 8 Spirits(usually several of them) will pop out and give direct attackers a very hard time, but Mama herself-while she has a couple of combat spells-is more the patient type. Again, be creative.😉

The shop’s basic protections are high-level Maglocks, strong magical Wards, and the like. Her most valuable stuff is kept in the back, under what one can imagine are difficult to get through physical and magical protections.

Dr. Marshall Douglas

Dr. Douglas is an ex-corporate cybersurgeon, and a very good one, who now runs a shadow clinic in one of the more middle-class parts of Seattle. Of course, the shadow part is sorta hidden; it’s a fairly ordinary clinic from the outside, and you need to know what to ask for and whom. Douglas is a black man of middling height and build, and probably in his fifties; he might just resemble Morgan Freeman a little bit, with short-cropped gray hair and a bit of a beard. He often wears glasses(which are modified.) Despite being a cybersurgeon, the only ware he has himself is a single datajack.
Dr. Douglas had actually worked for an AAA at one point in his life, ‘long ago,’ though he refuses to say who it was, for safety’s sake. He had a different name then(which he also isn’t telling-though he had gotten it legally changed.) Dr. Douglas was involved in the research and creation of some new, very secret pieces of cyber and bioware before(though he also won’t tell if any of it actually made it to the market.)

Douglas is actually a fairly kindly man, occasionally known to lecture those who come in consistently for ‘repairs’(IE, people who don’t take care of themselves particularly well.) While he wishes the world were a better place, having been through some of the ‘high end’ part of it, he realizes the importance of shadowrunners and how some of them at least manage to pick away at the corps enough that they don’t get even more of a foothold than they already do(and ruling almost everything, he figures, is enough of one.) Dr. Douglas, given his time in the field, knows other doctors and cyberware dealers, and can find a lot of things for people who need it. He actually has some Beta grade connections, and it has been rumored once or twice that he can find Delta grade stuff, though whether he doesn’t choose to, or just if it’s quite hard to find, no one knows. He is excellent at installing cyber and bioware, his facility is very clean and ideal to heal up in, and he is good at repairing ware as well.

Dr. Douglas does not deal much in used cyberware. It bothers him; people guess it’s again from his past, though he *will* fence it for others, he will not actually sell it. He also will not fence organs himself…though if pressed, and if in good standing, he is willing to point a runner in the general direction of where one might do that, though he tries to stay as ‘clean’ as a shadow doc can. He actually charges reasonable prices for things like healing and medicine(along with a lecture for ‘regulars’), but fairly standard for the ‘usual’ stuff.

Douglas looks tired sometimes; like his past manages to wear on him, and occasionally likes to take a shot of strong scotch, though he’s never seemed to have a problem with the stuff. Even though he seems skilled enough to be able to perhaps disappear to another country, he seems rooted here for reasons that stay unknown. In reality, he wants to sort of ‘repay’ the ‘little guy’ for the stuff he did/sold his soul out for the twenty or so years he worked for a corporation, doing some pretty nasty testing stuff.

The clinic is known simply as the One Visit Clinic, and it needs a little bit of legwork to discover the shadow side of it. Dr. Douglas does actually work there as a regular doctor as well. The receptionist knows what to listen for. The true nature of the place can be found through Spanky, or by asking around other avenues, as it’s not a Super Secret Shadow Clinic. While your general non gangers or whatnot won’t know, the ‘shadow community’ probably heard of the place.

There is a middle aged dwarf, Ranch, who works as his receptionist. Ranch is usually seen eating some sort of stuffers or soyburgers, his little cubicle often smells like soycaf and cigarettes, and he is usually watching some sort of news on the trid. He has a bit of a Southern drawl, and he apparently was a bit of a farm boy for awhile, hence his name. It is unknown how he began working with Douglas, though some actually believe he was part of the same corp, though these are purely rumors. He's fairly blase to the comings and goings, and knows what goes on, though he usually just contacts Douglas. Truth is, Ranch's one secret(though the corporate one is unknown), is that he is a mage that also helps with magical healing if necessary. (He's PC-level plus about 100 Karma, so not elite, but definitely good.)

Douglas' small staff in the main clinic(a couple of other doctors and nurses) are standard NPCs with NPC skills, are paid very well and are very tight-lipped. Silver has been known to occasionally help out with magical healing if extra hands are needed.

Using Dr. Douglas:

Dr. Douglas works a little more like Spanky in terms of his ‘connection/loyalty’, though not as extreme. SR2/3 rules work as usual with the Contact/Buddy system; in the newer, he is actually Connection 7 maximum, but will have a potential connection rating of 2 higher than Loyalty. (So at Loyalty 1, it’s 3, at 2 it can go up to 4, and so on.) He can get ahold of Standard grade, Alpha grade, and Regular/Cultured Bioware as anyone else can. He generally needs Connection of around 6 to net the Beta Grade, and for the people who manage to get him as a very close contact, he can point them in the direction of Delta Grade, and he’ll install it for them(if they get it, of course, but he himself cannot procure Delta, and he is NOT guaranteed to know where it is-he needs to roll as usual. He simply has a chance of knowing.

As said, he won’t fence organs, but at Loyalty 4+ he’ll nonchalantly point runners in a direction where to unload that type of stuff.

Douglas is not a combatant at all, having only extremely basic training in a sidearm. Security at the clinic is likewise standard. However, he is a Friend for Life with Spanky and co, so crossing him will still potentially screw up the runners’ lives rather efficiently.Douglas and the clinic itself actually has a bit of gang protection. He’s been known to patch them up, and since his patching-up prices are very reasonable, gangers don’t want to lose their source of rather inexpensive healing. It’s a trade off thing.

So, why the new Shadowrun blog here?

You three might be wondering 'Why transfer the Shadowrun blog over from Tumblr like you did your FGC blog?'

Truth be told, Tumblr just is not very receptive to the written word. At the time I started on the platform with my FGC blog, it seemed nice; it sort of helped 'advertise itself', and I DID collect a decent amount of followers there for that(and a handful for the SR blog too.) Regular blogs, like websites, it seems are rough, and while I pine for Livejournal again as pimping your stuff was great AND it was receptive to the written word, I figured I'd try Tumblr.

Well after some years it did occur to me that Tumblr was only receptive to, well, certain things. I mean I don't need like oodles of hits and notes and praise and all of that stuff, SOME reception is sort of nice since otherwise I might as well be shouting into a tunnel.

That and while official Tumblrs do exist and I follow them as such, it just feels that there is a double edged sword in terms of material. It's easier to spread your name around, but I kinda feel these days these blogs aren't taken as 'seriously'-I suspect due to the average younger age of the platform, and because it's easy to use. In other words, perhaps a blog like this that takes more effort to push might receive more effort.

Plus I kinda feel the tabletop community/cyberpunk community/folks into this sorta thing might be cool with traditional blogs and such. We shall see! As the next couple of days go by I'll be updating this with all of the stuff from the other blog and adding to it.

Until then, welcome!

Still Tinkering

Still tinkering with the layout and such. Decided to go with a color theme that reminds me of sort of night in a city(where the lights light up the sky). Seems appropriate. Eventually I will settle on something that I like and try to see how to include maybe an image or something.

Testing!

Okies, going to test this thing to see how we're running. Decided to move my blog over from Tumblr since that place doesn't seem to care about the written word very much, not that I'm expecting much to happen here either. ;P