Details:
Exceptional Attribute allows his Strength to raise beyond the racial modified limit by 1.
Bonus Attribute Point grants one more attribute point that can be used to raise a stat beyond its limit; used in Strength as well.
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 almost as long 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's working on developing his astral sight.)
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 steel knife 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. (Talon wears one of Downfall's nastier looking rings on a chain these days, though usually not in plain sight.)
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.
He was pulled into a job from a team who needed muscle and who lost theirs; it was here how he became buddies with the current team(though it was a bit different at the time.) They hired him more than once, and after a year, he became basically part of the team.
One time, they were hired to raid and liberate 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).
The current team had run together now for some 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
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