Day 28: Bloodhound the Infected Assassin
#CharacterCreationChallenge
For Day 28, I am creating an infected character, specifically a Banshee. Infected are metahumans (and occasionally other sapient beings) that were transformed by the not-entirely-mundane Human-MetaHuman Vampiric Virus (HMHVV) into a cannibalistic monster of sorts - the exact kind depends on the strain of the virus and the original metatype. Banshees are elves who were infected by Strain I, which tends to create particularly powerful beings that also have some serious drawbacks - not only do they have to feed on metahumans in some form (in the Banshee’s case, they drink blood), they also have to feed on the Essence or soul of their victim (so no robbing a blood bank - they need to feed from a living being, and they cause lasting damage to that being). Aside from potentially going dark places, they also have some quirks in the rules that makes them a bit weird - you have to first create them as a normal character of their kind, then apply the infected template which may change a lot. Also, as their Essence fluctuates, so does their Magic attribute (if they have one), which means their power really varies depending on how recently they fed…
Appearance and first impression
An unusually thin elf, with sharp cheekbones and pale, grey-ish skin. He always wears a long, black lined coat, and almost always has two heavy pistols on his hip. He leans into the stereotype of the silent, brooding infected, but it is not just an act - he does his best to avoid getting close to anyone.
Backstory
Bloodhound used to be a respectable man, a bodyguard ready to give his life for his client. What he had not been planning on was to give his soul, but in a way that was what happened when an attacker was not coming with guns or blades, but with fangs and a thirst for blood. After an agonising couple of hours, HMHVV took its toll and the young elf had been turned into a Banshee. He struggled with his need to take human lifes, but found a solution when he encountered a young woman trying to flee from a “recruiter” for a Bunraku parlor. He told her to run, and then he fed. Afterwards, he realised that the sixth world was full of monsters worse than him, and he would not have to go hungry again.
Priorities
The initial priority selection was fairly straightforward - Bloodhound is an Adept, so we need Magic but it can start low, Attributes are the most important and gear is far down the track (although as a gunslinger adept, he needs some gear which means we need to spend Karma):
A: Attributes (24)
B: Skills (24)
C: Metatype (Elf, 9)
D: Magic(Adept, 1)
E: Resources (8,000)
Attributes
We want a little bit of everything here. Agility and Reaction are at the top because of combat speed, Charisma is also important because Bloodhound likes to intimidate his prey and make them understand why he is coming for them, Intuition also affects Initiative, Body and Willpower are the drain resistance stats if he picks up any drain-causing powers at some point, and a little Strength and Intelligence are also needed. Of, and Magic needs to be increased to 6 of course. Overall, at this stage we end up with:
Body 4
Agility 6
Reaction 6
Strength 3
Willpower 4
Logic 2
Intuition 5
Charisma 5
Edge 2
Magic 6
Skills
Firearms goes to the top, but we also want decent Close Combat, Influence, Con, Perception and Stealth. Also a little Athletics and Piloting, but that has to wait for Karma:
Firearms 6
Close Combat 5
Influence 4
Con 4
Perception 2
Stealth 3
Knowledge Skills
English is the native language, and Bloodhound also knows a bit about Gun Brands and Organised Crime.
Qualities
Here’s where the Infected part comes in, but first, let’s go through the “normal” Qualities:
Ambidextrous does what it says on the tin. It doesn’t give extra attacks or anything, but it means the character can attack with either hand (for example, freely choose between the pistol loaded with normal and less-lethal ammo).
Honorbound Bloodhound has a strict code - only kill those who deserve it. If he breaks it, he can’t gain or spend edge for at least 24 hours.
Simsense Vertigo: He has real trouble using VR - no edge gain or spend while using it, and nauseated for an hour afterwards.
Low Pain Tolerance: Damage modifiers are doubled. If/when he has the Karma to get the Regeneration power, this will be much less of a problem, but until then, getting injured is bad news.
As an Elf, he also has Low-light Vision naturally…
And then, we get to the Banshee quality, which costs a whopping 32 Karma and contains a whole lot of Powers and Disadvantages, and also allows him to buy further Powers with Karma later (such as Regeneration or the ability to induce Fear in a target or turn into Mist):
First of all, a Banshee is Dual Natured, which is a mixed blessing - it means he can always see into the Astral plane and affect beings there, but he can also be seen and affected by them… He is also Immune to Age which is unlikely to come up in a game (especially for an Elf whose lifespan was always measured in centuries) and Sapient which he was already (it is listed because technically these are all Critter Powers and not all Critters are). He also has the Essence Drain power that allows him to take Essence from victims to replenish his own, and the Infection power that is used automatically when someone is drained to Essence 0 (and may turn them into another Infected). He has Enhanced Hearing and a Natural Weapon in the form of fangs, and finally is much faster, resulting in +1 Initiative Die and +2 Base movement rate.
On the others side, he has a Severe Allergy to Sunlight, a Vulnerability to Silver and Wood, a Dietary Requirement for Metahuman Blood, and Essence Loss which means his Essence goes down by one per month (more if he uses his powers a lot), and he has to use Essence Drain to recover it.
All in all, the qualities have a net cost of 10 Karma.
Magic
Bloodhound has the following Adept Powers:
Improved Physical Attribute (Agility, 4): Agility is what is used to hit targets in ranged and close combat, so increasing it as far as possible is worth the points, even though it is expensive.
Vocal Control: Perfect pitch, sound like another person, just sound really intimidating - lots of opportunities here, and basically means a bonus edge for social rolls where voice is used.
Wall Running: It’s cheap and lets him run straight up a vertical surface (but only for one turn at a time).
Improved Ability (Influence, 2): Two extra dice for Intimidation and other Influence tests.
Now, it gets a little complicated - at the start of the game, Bloodhound only has one point of Magic, which means only one point of the Improved Agility power is active. Once he has a chance to use his Drain Essence power by “drinking” from a victim, this will change.
Gear
Weapons
Two Nemesis Arms Praetorian II Heavy Pistols - they have an attached combat blade and can therefore be used in close combat or at range. Each has 2 spare clips and a Quick-Draw Holster; one is loaded with regular ammo, the other with Stick-n-Shock which effectively makes it a powerful Taser.
Armor
A regular old Lined Coat - a classic, both for the coolness factor, the protective effect and the potential to conceal some weapons.
Other stuff
Just the usual, there wasn’t much money to spare. As a vehicle, there is a Suzuki Mirage, a fast and elegant racing bike.
Adding it all up
Altogether, the gear costs 33,490 Nuyen - after spending 13 Karma on it, we have 510 Nuyen left to start the game with.
Spending our Karma
After Qualities and Gear, we have 27 Karma left. 15 of that go into specialisations in Firearms (Heavy Pistols), Close Combat (Blades) and Influence (Intimidation).
Another 10 go into a point each of Athletics and Piloting.
And the last 2 are leftover to start the game with.
Finishing it up
Contacts
Aside from some of the usual contacts that can help him get jobs and gear, Bloodhound also knows Sidewinder, a Headhunter that sometimes lets him in on a job when he is too busy, Summer Stewart, a District Attorney who has occasionally sent him after the worst kinds of criminals that the law could somehow not touch, and Guilo Tufo, a Mafia Capo that he has a tense relationship with, but who sometimes sells some information about the various organised crime syndicates in the city (including his own).
Calculations
Attack Rating:
Praetorian II (Gun): 11/10/10/-/-
Praetorian II (Blade): 9
Fangs: 12
Defense Rating
Physical: 7
Initiative
Physical: 11 + 2D6
Notable Dice Pools
These assume all Adept Powers are active, i.e. Essence has been raised to at least 6
Shoot Heavy Pistol: 20
Attack with Blades: 19
Attack with Fangs: 17
Intimidation: 15
Other Influence: 13
Con: 11
Stealth: 15
Condition Monitors
Physical: 10
Stun: 10
And there we are
The final version of the worksheet can be found here .That’s it for Day 28 of the #CharacterCreationChallenge
Published at NZDT