Tommy Dakota’s only real gift he’s ever had has been peddling off other peoples gifts.
There I was, two knocks at the door and a moments silence and I hear “Come back in an hour.” I wandered off and waited in the common room of the dorm. about fifty minutes later Tommy’s roommate walked by and I wandered over to the door. I knocked again this time I hear “In” I walked in and there he is sitting by his desk with a shopping bag next to his chair. “Is that what I asked for?” he nods. He hands me the bag, inside is a tiny wooden box. “And this has the parasite in it.” He nods again. “You put that in your ex’s room and I promise she’ll stop bugging you with that voodoo doll of hers.” I reach into my pockets “How much do I owe you?” he looks at me for a moment and says “You owe me.”
History: Tommy Dakota set out for college with the goal of attending college for the rest of his life. He quickly realized that he would need a pretty hefty cash flow, he invested pretty heavily in some drugs from a guy named Vino Torquez, who gave him a hefty discount, and started selling out of his dorm. The end of the month came round and Vino came to collect on Tommy’s earnings. As Vino walked out of the dorm with all but twenty-eight dollars in change he turned to Tommy who was on the floor with broken rib and a bloody nose and said “You ask for to little for these deals. You’ll never walk away with a profit if you can’t do ask for. I made more on one favor than you did with a hundred deals like your making.” Vino meant that Tommy was asking for to little on his sales but Tommy heard what was important in the advice, maybe I can’t deal in drugs but I can deal in favors.
Tommy spent the next year or so doing good deeds for everyone he met, he spent three semesters dirt poor and struggling and on the first day of the fourth he called in eight favors and bought a car. He became oddly attached to the little book he held his favors in and in a little less than a month not only did everyone know his name but his tuition was payed off and he still had half a notebook of favors to call in. With some careful manipulation you can move mountains, with a little forethought you can get someone else to move the mountain for you.
Tommy is going on his Tenth Year, he’s got almost enough credits for four or five different degrees but he switches his major every few months to make sure he doesn’t qualify for any sort of degree. He is well known and respected on campus for vending everything from cheap drugs to supernatural goodies of all sorts. He knows many adepts and can generally count on getting a multitude of trinkets and magick doohickeys. He does not reveal his sources in order to maintain control over the occult market at his college.
Personality: Terse but pleasant he is always ready to help someone. He doesn’t genuinely care though, every deed is for his own personal gain.
Obsession: Getting his share of the pie, Tommy wants nothing more than to be rich, famous and happy no matter who he hurts (Skill: Avatar: The Merchant)
Wound Points: 30
Passions
Rage: Promise Breakers. Nothing Ticks Tommy off like someone who breaks their word.
Fear: (Helplessness) Drowning. As long as Tommy can remember he’s been afraid of water, he never swims and he never bathes, always showers
Noble: Honest Deals. Tommy makes good on his promises, he never lies to a client though he makes a distinction between work and safety and he will lie to save his life
Stats
Body: 30 (Pasty Nerd Muscles)
Speed: 30 (Pasty Nerd Reflexes)
Mind: 80 (Triple Major Student for Life)
Soul: 80 (Manipulative Bastard)
Skills
Body: Dirty Fighting (Struggle) 25%, Regular Gym Class Attendee (General Athletics) 5%
Speed: Wild Spasms (Dodge) 20%, Drive 20%, Initiative 15%
Mind: 10 Years of College (General Education) 50%, Notice 10%, Hide the Stuff (Conceal) 20%
Soul: You Scratch My Back I’ll Scratch Yours (Charm) 40%, It’s Not Me You Want (Lying) 10%, Avatar The Merchant 50%
Madness Meter
Violence: 0 Hardened >< 1 Failed
Unnatural: 2 Hardened >< 1 Failed
Helplessness: 3 Hardened >< 3 Failed
Isolation: 0 Hardened >< 0 Failed
Self: 1 Hardened >< 1 Failed
Possessions
A Notebook of Debts and Favors, Cell Phone, Car Keys, Wallet with Walkin’ Around Money (Usually about $150), Trench coat, Backpack with Notes and Class Books, Desktop Computer, Key to the Best Dorm Room on
Campus, Mini-Fridge.
I notice that his Athletics and Lying scores are actually lower than the starting 15%. Is that meant to be in addition to the standard starting level?
If so, does that starting 15% also add to other starting skills like Struggle and Charm?
Your right, I did want his General Athletics and Lying to be lower but it screwed up the math on the other skills. I revise it as such:
Body: Regular Gym Class Attendee (General Athletics) 5%, Dirty Fighting (Struggle) 40%
Speed: Wild Spasms (Dodge) 35%, Driving 35%, Initiative 15%
Mind: 10 Years of College (General Education) 65%, Notice 25%, Hide the Stuff (Conceal) 35%
Soul: You Scratch My Back I’ll Scratch Yours (Charm) 55%, It’s Not Me You Want (Lying) 10%, Avatar The Merchant 50%
I think that’s Kosher now, but how about the general idea? Did you like the concept?
Wait, so he attends gym class regularly, to end up worse at General Athletics than the average person? That must be a crappy gym class! It actually makes you worse at running and stuff!
“Class, today we will learn to run. You do it by holding one foot behind you in your hand and hopping on the other!” hehe
And why is he worse at lying than the average person? I understand he respects honesty, but still…
The free 15% is supposed to be, “I have absolutely no training, but I can say things that aren’t true, or try and huck a ball at someone.”
The basic concept is cool. Kind of a merchant who doesn’t want much more than to keep his head down, hang out at school with 19 year old girls forever, and have all the money and stuff he wants while doing it.
If he ever is forces to graduate, I can see his sticking around for post-graduate study, or maybe at the last becoming a professor, just so he doesn’t have to face the outside world.
Well his general athletics score is from having only ever exerted himself in high-school gym class, he has since become lackadaisical and weak. The lower lying is because he has such a strong value for honesty that lying is difficult for himself. It’s a secondary hurdle, most of the time the only reason a lie will fail is because someone doesn’t believe it, he has trouble letting himself lie so he is more likely to fail.
I personally think that succeeding about 1/6 of the time isn’t always the level of a completely incompetent person. I could try to throw a javelin and still not even marginally succeed 1/6 of the time, a simplification I know but I illustrate a wider point. He has atrophied a lot, maybe he was a real athlete in high school but he spends so much time in bars looking for some new merchandise and at parties that he can’t really do what he used to be able to. Similarly with is apprehension to lying, I feel I understated that part of his character, he is honest to a fault. At some point in his past he, early in his career, he was threatened harshly and beaten, and in order to save his life he had to lie. It was a psychologically damaging experience and that is why he has a failed notch in his Self meter., He associates lying with betrayal of the self as well as intense physical pain. That doesn’t mean he can’t lie, nor does it mean he simply doesn’t, more like a little of both. He won’t lie and it’s hard.
I am however glad that the basic idea was dictated well, you seem to know where I wanted him to go. Not really a story in himself, more of a walking, talking plot hook. Not that he couldn’t do amazing things if he wanted, well now he’s open to the public so maybe someday someone will make him.
Bear in mind that throwing a javelin is a more specialized skill. And, 15% will allow you to automatically succeed at all minor skill checks.
Some GMs don’t get that, and will make you roll for every possible skill checks. This is probably so they can laugh and say, “Ha! You fail! Again! You’re stupid!…. Stupid!… I’m smart and you’re stupid!… Stop staring at me!!!”
If you have 15% in a skill, you are competant, and only need to roll when there is some serious stress going on, or at least something at stake.
In other words, 15% will not succeed one sixth of the time, unless you have GM who doesn’t get it.
But yeah, I get that he is weak in some areas. No problem.