Ordinary People: Characters [0] to [-50]

[trans]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

I can't make this stuff up. :]

Me neither, the Larisa higher up on this page is a very real person.

I only worked as a pizza deliverer for three months, but maybe that gave me some kind of idea what it would be like to be a taxi driver. It sure gave me a cameo view of a lot of people's lives. Then there's that movie with Robert De Niro, too :-)

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by trans

Then there's that movie with Robert De Niro, too :-)

"Whattaya you wanna hack for, Bickle? You seem like you're on the ball..."
"Can't sleep. Gotta stay busy."

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Shelly / Naomi / [Name #3 Unknown], 30% Cheap Hooker / 30% Angry Beggar / 40% Terrified Beggar / 100% Crazy [-50 Points]:

Image: A white woman of average height and build, with shoulder-length grey hair and Salvation Army clothes. She's probably in her late-30s, early-40s, but looks older from years of hard living. Her demeanor varies broadly, with the exception of near-constant drunkenness. Shelly smiles often, finger-combs her hair, and washes her face once in a while. Naomi slicks her hair back with sweat or something greasy, has an aggressive posture even when she's begging for money (cussing people out when refused), and tends to wear a wife-beater no matter the temperature. #3 hides under a coat unless it's 100F, looks like she's scared out of her mind, and tends to scurry around frantically pleading for money and favors.

Culture: TL 8 [0]; Familiarity: Western [0]; Languages: English (Native / Native) [0];

Attributes: ST 9 [-10]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 11 [10];

Secondary: Speed: 5.25 [0]; Move: 5 [0]; HP: 9 [0]; FP: 11 [0]; Perception: 10 [0]; Willpower: 10 [0];

Advantages: None.

Perks: None.

Disadvantages [All]: Appearance (Unattractive) [-4]; Addiction (Tobacco) [-5]; Alcoholism [-15]; OPH (BO) [-5]; Split Personality (15-) [-7]; Status -2 [-10]; Wealth (Dead Broke) [-25];

Quirks [All]: Omnivorous Casual Drug-User [-1]; Personality Change (Paranoia vs "The Man") [-1];

Skills: Area Knowledge (E) (Downtown Neighborhood) IQ+2 [4]-12; Brawling (E) DX [1]-10; Fast Talk (A) IQ [2]-10; Hiking (A) HT-1 [1]-10; Holdout (A) IQ-1 [1]-9; Panhandling (A) IQ+1 [4]-11; Scrounging (E) Per+1 [2]-11; Sex Appeal (A) HT-3a [1]-8; Streetwise (A) IQ+1 [4]-11; Survival (A) (Urban) Per+1 [4]-11;

a = -2 for Appearance

Shelly Lens: Willpower +3 [15]; Lecherousness (12-) [-15]; Congenial [-1];

Naomi Lens: Willpower +3 [15]; Bad Temper (9-) [-15]; Proud [-1];

[Name #3 Unknown] Lens: Pitiable [5]; Fearfulness x3 [-6];

Notes: Part of our continuing series: "Wacky People From the Streets of Real Life Denver," suitable for a recurring Contact or bizarre recurring encounter for a character with Weirdness Magnet in a realistic or Modern Horror setting. I thought that this woman was just a temperamental drunken hooker / beggar named Shelly for years, until I tried to do her a solid the other day by bringing her a john who literally asked me to find him the cheapest hooker possible (G&AINC - We Deliver) and got shouted at about how she is most definitely not a hooker named Shelly, but a very respectable, if currently out-of-pocket lady named Naomi. One lightbulb moment regarding the way she acts the rest of the time later, and there you have it.

Background: Too crazy to be in the system, Shelly/Naomi/Whatever doesn't even get welfare checks, and does whatever she currently thinks it takes to survive. No idea what the real story is here. Probably ran away from home to end years of molestation. [/armchair shrink's idle speculation]

Sample Dialogue [Shelly]: [touches arm, big smile] "Hey cutie, you break even yet today?" "Hey, Shelly. Not yet, sorry." "You want a [term for a popular one-sided sex act]..?" "Already had one today, thanks!" [pouts] "Aww. Got a cigarette?" "You know I don't- Hey, your pupils are huge right now. Did somebody give you E?" "Yeah..."

Sample Dialogue [Naomi]: [crazy eyes, shaking fist] "HEY, %$@# YOU! I AIN'T NO %$@#!+& WHORE! WHO TOLD YOU THAT!?"

Sample Dialogue [#3]: [wide eyes, high-pitched young girl voice] "Please, please, mister, if you can't help me out for a cup of coffee, can I just ride around with you? Just for like ten minutes? I'm getting frostbite out here! Please?"

[Keiko]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

This is a topic that has risen from the ocean to devour many a thread, including parts of this one. It can't truly be destroyed any more than Gojira.

Oh, sorry. I'll shut up about it then.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Tom Smith, my Grade School Janitor [0 Points]:

Image: A middle-aged white man of average height and wiry build, with brown hair in a bowl cut and a somewhat unfortunate 70s-looking mustache. He generally dresses in plaid button-down shirts and blue jeans with hiking boots.

Culture: TL 8 [0]; Familiarity: Western [0]; Languages: English (Native / Native) [0];

Attributes: ST 12 [20]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 10 [0];

Secondary: Speed: 5.0 [0]; Move: 5 [0]; HP: 12 [0]; FP: 10 [0]; Perception: 10 [0]; Willpower: 11 [5];

Advantages: Signature Gear x2 (His Father's Tools) [2]; Single-Minded [5]; Talent x1 (Artificer) [10];

Perks: Dabbler (Former Boy Scout: +2 Defaults on: First-Aid, Knot-Tying, Leadership, Survival: Forest) [1]; Dabbler (Kinda Remembers 'Nam: +2 Defaults on Guns: Rifle, Savoir-Faire: Military, Soldier, and Survival: Jungle) [1]; Equipment Bond (Father's Tools) [1]; Honest Face [1];

Disadvantages: Addiction (Tobacco) [-5]; Alcoholism [-15]; Chummy [-5]; Pacifism (Can't Harm Innocents) [-10]; Skinny [-5]; Status -1 [-5]; Wealth (Struggling) [-10];

Quirks: Dull [-1]; Incompetence (Sex Appeal) [-1]; Mild Honesty [-1]; Mild Truthfulness [-1]; Responsive [-1];

Skills: Area Knowledge (E) (Home Town) IQ+1 [2]-11; Armory/TL4 (A) (Melee Weapons) IQa [1]-10; Carpentry/TL8 (E) IQ+1a [1]-11; Diplomacy (H) IQ-2 [1]-8; Expert Skill (H) (Butterflies) IQ-2 [1]-8; First-Aid/TL8 (E) IQ-2d [0]-8; Guns/TL7 (E) (Rifle) DX-2d [0]-8; Hiking (A) HT-1 [1]-9; Housekeeping (E) IQ+2 [4]-12; Knot-Tying (E) DX-2d [0]-8; Leadership (A) IQ-3d [0]-7; Savoir-Faire (E) (Military) IQ-2d [0]-8; Smith/TL4 (A) (Black) IQ+1a [2]-11; Soldier/TL7 (A) IQ-3d [0]-7; Survival (A) (Forest) Per-3d [0]-7, (Jungle) Per-3d [0]-7; Teaching (A) IQ-1 [1]-9;

a = +1 for Artificer

Notes: Real guy; Last name changed to protect the innocent. Easily-adapted to a resilient, handy 25-point low-power modern horror or post-apocalypse campaign protagonist or Ally by adding +1 to HT, +1 to Willpower, and +1 to Talent (Artificer). [armchair shrink] He probably has Asperger's. [/armchair shrink] Likely to be the guy with Weirdness Magnet but also Serendipity in an odd-but-not-overtly-supernatural campaign.

Background: Tom works as the custodian at the local grade school. He's a patient, avuncular older bachelor who doesn't give off a creepy vibe around the kids (despite the mustache), and has a diverse array of hobbies that he's eager to share. In particular, he is very interested in blacksmithing (especially the making of sharp things), and butterfly-collection. He gives a large demonstration on both of those things every year at his school, and takes a special interest in students who respond well, willing to do some extra-curricular tutoring for free with a signed permission slip. As a former Boy Scout with an interest in children but none of his own, he serves as the local counselor for several Merit Badges. He is also very interested in medieval history, dinosaurs, and environmental conservation, but is self-aware enough to know that he's not well-versed enough in those topics to teach more than the very basics of them to anybody over the age of ten outside of extraordinary circumstances.

[Libertine]

Special mike (special Olympics athlete)

ST 16
DX 11
IQ. 6
HT 10

Wrestling: 12
Acrobatics 12
Throwing 13
Lifting. 14
Running 12
Jumping 13


Advantages:
Gifted athlete2: 10pt
Pitiable: 5pt

Disadvantages:
Odious personal habit:picks nose -5
Hidebound -10
Pacifism:self defense only-15


Quirks: likes puppies

He is such an inspiration! Such a big boy competing in the games! So proud of Mike!
He is definitely good for a tank.

[trans]

Marko (not his real name, of course, but a real person)
Polydrug connoisseur and would-be slippery guy

0 points

Age 22 Height: 5'8" Weight: 140 Dark brown hair and eyes

ST 10 [0] HP 10 [0]
DX 10 [0] Will 10 [0]
IQ 10 [0] Per 12 [10]
HT 10 [0] FP 10 [0]
Patron (Employer/provides social benefits while not demanding very much) [5]

Compulsive Carousing [-10]; Compulsive Behavior (recreational prescription drug use) [-10]; Wealth (struggling) [-10]; Pacifism (Reluctant Killer) [-5]
Hints about having Gypsy blood [-1]; Slightly Lazy [-1]; Moderately intense dark eyes, possibly affected [-1]; Slightly Unfit [-1]; Mild Overconfidence [-1]

Area knowledge (home neighborhood)-10 [1]; Connoisseur (recreational prescription drugs)-11 [4]; Dabbler: fortune teller (Body Language-9, Numerology-7, Performance-7, Psychology-8* [1]; Dabbler: slippery guy (Acting-7, Holdout-7, Streetwise-7, Urban Survival-7) [1]; Fast Talk-11 [4]; Housekeeping-10 [1] Professional Skill (Warehouse Logistics)-10 [2] Savoir-Faire (drug culture)-10 [1]

Perks: Can be mysterious about self and no-one minds [1]; Contact (minor) (occasional small-scale supplier) [1]; Filch is Per-based [1]; One-Task Wonder (Filch)-12* [1]; Psychology is Per-based [1]

Cultural Familiarities: Western [0].
German (spoken-native; written-native) [0]
Unspecified Balkan language (spoken-accented; written-broken) [3]
English (spoken-broken; written-broken) [2]

Marko is most likely from the third generation of a family that immigrated from the Balkans to Germany in the 1960s or 1970s, although he prefers to leave his background hazy. Sometimes he hints that he has Gypsy blood, and tries his hand at fortune-telling. He has a job in the warehouse of a large Catholic charity, but his main avocation is to experiment with cocktails of alcohol and various prescription drugs. By his own account, he has been in alcohol detox six times so far.**

Note: Despite having met him in alcohol detox, I didn't stat him with Alcoholism, because:

1) There are already an awful lot of Alcoholic characters in this thread.
2) To my untrained but somewhat practiced eye Marko didn't seem physically addicted to anything (although it is very likely he will become so if he continues this way).
3) I suspect that he exaggerates his alcohol problem in order to get benzodiazepines.

* Per-based via Perk. Filch is for palming medications dispensed to him by medical staff in order to consume them later (the pills, that is, not the medical staff). May actually have full-up Filch skill, who knows?
** My comment to him and a couple of the other patients was that he was set on "rapid career progression".

[Figleaf23]

Mr. Siehn [-1 point]

A small, frail old man, refugee from a vile government of a relatively insignificant state in south east Asia. A one-time leader in a resistance movement, he was captured, tortured and escaped to 'the west'. Although no longer pivotal, he remains hated, (when remembered) by the political adherents of his home government who have moved to the west. Currently he works occasionally in a store operated by remote relatives, and spends the rest of his time hanging around out front, playing chess.

ST9 [-10]
DX11 [20]
IQ11 [20]
Will 12 [5]
HT10
FP 9 [-3]


Disadvantages:

Bad Sight (Glasses -60%) [-10]
One Hand [-15]
Chronic Pain (Severe, 2hr, 9-) [-10]
Nightmares [-5]
Skinny [-5]
Wealth: Struggling [-10]
Disciplines of Faith (Ritualism) [-5]
Enemies (Home-government loyalists, 'Rivals', 6-) [-5]

Quirks:
Characteristic head movement when speaking, in idle moments writes his memoirs in a tiny little notebook he carries, shows karate moves to kids who ask, prefers native clothing to western style, ... [-5].


Advantages:

Reputation +1 (A nice old guy in the neighborhood, Sm Group, Always) [2]
Reputation +2 (A significant national liberation figure in exile, Lg Group (emigres), Sometimes) [3]
Claim to hospitality (Family) [1]

Tribal language Spoken, Native [3]
National state language, written and spoken, Native [0]
English Spoken, Accented [2]

Skills:

Teaching 12 [4]
History 11 [2]
Writing 12 [4]
Public Speaking 11 [2]
Law (Home country) 9 [1]
Merchant 11 [2]
Karate 12 [8]
Games (Chess) 12 [2]
Philosophy 11 [4]

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Phil the Light Man, Local Mentally-Disabled Artist [-25 Points]:

Image: A middle-aged white man of average height and build, clean-shaven with short brown hair and safety glasses. He generally dresses in black jeans, combat boots, and a t-shirt featuring a punk band or a human skeleton (he only has the one, but he wears it a lot).

Culture: TL 8 [0]; Familiarity: Western [0]; Languages: English (Native / Native) [0];

Attributes: ST 9 [-10]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 8 [-40]; HT 10 [0];

Secondary: Speed: 5.0 [0]; Move: 5 [0]; HP: 10 [2]; FP: 10 [0]; Perception: 8 [0]; Willpower: 9 [5];

Advantages: Charisma +1 [5]; Independent Income x10 [10]; Reputation +3 (Local Art, Punk, and Homeless Communities, Always) [5]; Talent x4 (Gifted Artist) [20]; Talent x2 (Musical Ability) [10];

Perks: Honest Face [1];

Disadvantages: Addiction (Tobacco) [-5]; Bad Sight (Nearsighted) (Mitigator: Glasses -60%) [-10]; Chummy [-5]; Gullibility (15-) [-5]; Incurious (15-) [-2]; Pacifism (Can't Harm Innocents) [-10]; Status -1 [-5]; Wealth (Struggling) [-10];

Quirks: Chronic Depression (Only on 9/11 or When it Comes Up) [-1]; Imaginative [-1]; Mild Honesty [-1]; Mild Obsession: Bones/Skeletons [-1]; Mild Truthfulness [-1];

Skills: Area Knowledge (E) (Denver) IQ+2 [4]-10; Artist (H) (Collage) IQ+2g [1]-10, (Lighting Design) IQ+3g [2]-11, (Penciling) IQ+2g [1]-10; Computer Operations/TL8 (E) IQ [1]-8; Current Affairs/TL8 (E) (Local) IQ [1]-8, (People) IQ [1]-8; Diplomacy (H) IQ-1 [2]-7; Electronics Operation/TL8 (A) (Media) IQ+1 [4]-9; Expert Skill (H) (Bones/Skeletons) IQ-2 [1]-6; Musical Instrument/TL8 (H) (Electric Bass) IQ+1m [2]-9; Photography/TL6 (A) IQ+3g [1]-11, Photography/TL8 (A) IQ+3g [1]-11; Streetwise (A) IQ [2]-8;

g = +4 for Gifted Artist
m = +2 for Musical Ability

Notes: Part of our continuing series, "Wacky People from the Streets of Real Life Denver." Kind of especially-suitable as a Contact or other NPC in a Modern Weirdness campaign, where he can just be casually dropped-in as the eccentric-but-plausible guy who believes whatever crazy stuff you want to have turn out to be actually true(!) September 11th is his birthday, and he's had a massive "I'm bad luck and everybody hates me" complex about it whenever it comes up ever since the 9/11 attacks - Treat any mention of that event as a 9- Compulsive Depression check, and the day itself as an auto-fail.

Background: Phil is about Forest Gump-level in his cognitive abilities, but he's a popular local creative figure. He does the lights at several local punk and metal clubs for practically free (admission to all the shows! Score!), allowing himself to more-or-less be exploited for the chance to be around people and do what he loves, but he is also drawn to collage, photography, and other visual arts. Every square inch of his apartment is covered in paper with stuff glued to it, mostly skeletons and posters for punk shows that he has bedazzled with glitter, sequins, bits of foil and other-colored paper, and whatever else he can find for free in his wanderings. He is amateurishly-proficient in both old-style darkroom and modern digital photography, and sometimes shoots performances for small local magazines that pay him a few bucks under the table. He also has a good ear for music, and is the half-decent bass player for a (mostly terrible) punk band that squats in a crusty punk house in Capitol Hill. For somebody who is both deeply-immersed and well-regarded in the local youth and art communities, he displays surprisingly little interest in other people's projects, mostly fixating on his own material and opportunities to share it.

[Keiko]

Originally Posted by trans

* Per-based via Perk..

Which Perk allows you to switch a skill base attribute?