Dresden Files, Part 2: Characters

[eurydicebound]

Our story continues.

So, with the city partially designed (and NPCs will get their own post), we moved on to character creation. Most of the players had some idea of what they wanted to do before they got there, but not all. We went around the table first and worked on coming up with high aspects -- the snapshot idea for their characters. Then we came up with their troubles (the thing that complicates their lives) and then moved on to dialing in a bit more to templates and the idea in general. We didn't look heavily at stats/powers at that point, though. We went ahead and instead ran through the phases, working out history and issues and how they all know one another. The actual stats we saved until the second night, but I'll include them here too.

Oh, and the power level is Chest Deep, which it occurs to me is important to say.

Characters

• Ezekiel "Zeke" Akahuen (Reluctant Angelic Host), played by docelboze (no, I'm not entirely sure I spelled the character's last name right, thank you)
  Zeke's issue in life is that the angel Sauriel has chosen him as a vessel through which to act. The concept was based on the idea of a demonic host, just working for the other side.
  Trouble: My Will, Not Thine, which indicates that whole "reluctant" part. Seems he and Sauriel differ on the specifics of what constitutes a successful conclusion.
  Aspects: Good Clean Southern Boy, I Wanted to Save Her, God's Bloodhound, My Words Mean Things, and It All Comes Around.
  History: Zeke came from Cumberland, KY. He was raised by a Methodist Minister mother and a Police Officer dad. This set him up for a whole passel of trouble, as you can see. He was contacted by Sauriel and agreed to become the instrument of Divine Will in saving a girl who'd gotten into a bit of trouble involving a coin and a demon. The coin was retreived, but she died. Sauriel said "job well done!" because her soul was saved; the body was optional. Zeke disagreed, and thus the stage was set.
  Stunts & Powers: Bless This House, Guide My Hand, Angelic Copilot, Righteousness, Human Form (Inhuman Recovers for Others -- can recover 1 dot of stress track 3 times a session, or one full stress track one time per session.
  Notes: This setup was the furthest from the base templates, but I think it's fairly interesting. The player had a lot of info on Sauriel, so we've got some idea on where the character will end up going from here as things progress. It looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.
  



• Uno Dextler(Changeling Knight of the Summer Lady), played by Glen
  Uno is a changeling, trying to straddle the fence for as long as possible. His alleigance with the Summer Lady makes this somewhat more difficult, but he's not ready to make the choice yet. He likes it fine where he is -- for now.
  Trouble: The Choice. Pretty self-explanatory, really.
  Aspects: Never Fitting In; Hey, I Know What You Are; Choice Will Come When You Least Expect It; Hanging With All the Right People; For Shits and Giggles
  History: Uno's a local boy whose father immigrated here from Germany. He never did fit in... at least not until high school, when he met another changeling named Dolph. They're still friends. Uno really came into his own after that, and now his life is one big kinda-scary party. He takes the odd class at Loyola, more of a continuing ed thing than anything else -- he's not looking for a career, he's looking for a good time. And, you know, service to his Lady too. He's got enough on his plate right now, though he's always there for his friends. Luckily, enough of the other characters number among his friends to keep him tied into everything.
  Stunts and Powers: The Sight, Glamour (seemings only, no veils), Seelie Magic, Marked by Power, Speaks German, Item of Power (Sword of Summer: Inhuman Strength, Speed, and Toughness while weilding it)
  Notes: This reminds me that I need to get more info from Glen on his relationship with his Lady and his history with her. This is probably the closest to any canon character of all of them, thinking namely of Fix. That said, there's certainly precedent, and I'm not huge on hewing slavishly to canon. I won't say there's not Harry, et. al, in my world; I will say, though, that he's not the only fish in this pond, and if the timeline of events ends up running differently, so be it.



• Oscar Morris (Disillusioned Ex-Military Ass Whooper), played by hellgirl5
  Oscar's a pure human with a ton of gun and fighting skills. If bullets and blades can take something down, he'll be the first line of defense against it.
  Trouble: People Get In My Way. He can't stop being the Sarge, protecting those around him. This makes him really, really grouchy, if only as a defensive measure.
  Aspects: Always Wear Your Dog Tags, The Impossible Exists, Never Bring a Knife to a Gunfight, I Know a Guy, To Protect and Serve
  History: Oscar was a orphan in the foster care system, and went straight into the infantry at age 18. He had a good caree, made rank, and was going to stay as long as they'd have him, basically. His unit was stationed in Afghanistan, searching in caves for Taliban leaders and weapons caches. They happened across a Master Black Court Vampire, who made fiarly quick and bloody work of the whole unit. Only Sergeant First Class Morris escaped with his life -- and while he thinks they killed whatever that was in there, he can't be sure after what he saw. Of course, what he saw didn't go along with the official military line, and his refusal to budge got him honorably discharged back to the States, a few years short of his 20. Back here he can't stop questioning what he sees and what he knows -- and he's doing his best to defend the home front, a one-man army with whatever allies he can get.
  Stunts and Powers: Target Rich Environment, Pin Them Down, Tireless, Tough Stuff, Wall of Death, Human Spider, On My Toes.
  Notes: I need to get his rank from Gail and also figure out if he's got any relationships going on. He's also one of only two characters with a refresh of more than 1. Go Oscar!



• Danielle, aka Danny (Warden Wanna-Be), played by hot493
  Danny is a young wizard who wants to take over as the local warden, but the problem is that she's... well, not really cut out for the job.
  Trouble: In Over Her Head. Her desire to prove herself as a warden is throwing her into situations she's not really suited for. She's much more a scholar than a brawler, but her need to avenge her parents pushes her on.
  Aspects: Magical Family Tree, Somebody Needs to Give a Damn, In With the Wrong Crowd, I Keep Getting Sidetracked, Bespelled Cane
  History: Danny comes from a long line of practitioners, the most recent being both her mother and father. She grew up within the wizarding world, for lack of a better term. It wasn't until her parents were both killed, however, that she got any ambition of her own. Now she's trying to track down the thing that killed her parents, but her desires get in the way of her vision of the Laws of Magic -- the very forces that Wardens are sworn to protect.
  Stunts and Powers: Evocation (Spirit* [+1 Power], Air, Water), Thaumaturgy (Crafting [+1 Complexity]), The Sight, Soulgaze, and Wizards Constitution. She's a crafty sort and built herself a Bespelled Cane. I've got all her bonuses and rote spells
  Notes: If she could do nothing but make stuff, she'd be a happy camper. She's determined to pull an Inigo Montoya for now, though. We'll see how well it works out.



• Adia Grier (In-The-Know Ninja Wallflower), played by affectionsedge
  Adia is a minor talent who's had more than one totally undeserved brush with the nastier side of the supernatural world, at least a couple of which were due solely to her poor taste in boyfriends. How unlucky is that?
  Trouble: Demonic Ex of Doom. Her first love decided he loved power and success more than her. This would be fine and dandy, except that he keeps trying to sell her soul to his favorite dealer--I mean, demon. And, like a bad penny, just when you think you've finally managed to get rid of him, he comes back -- and always at the worst possible time.
  Aspects: Lost in the Shuffle, Invisible Friends in Dark Places, Can't Shake the Demon Monkey, Back Alley Free Runner, Oh Josh Where Art Thou?
  History: She was a farm girl from rural Indiana who fell in love in high school, after which she and her boyfriend buggered off to Baltimore to make it in the big city (and escape her abusive, alcoholic family). She had a gift for fading into the background even then, one that she studiously practiced and became... well, something more. She was a sprightly little thing with a gift for athletics and gymnastics, and she became a teacher in the city after she moved. She also got approached by the ghosts in her new apartment building and managed to form a sort of detente with them through trial and error as much as anything, and that skill grew as well. 6 months after they arrived, though, her boyfriend sold his soul to establish his dream of being the owner of a successful, stable tractor dealership. I guess you can take the boy out of the farm.... If only he didn't know her weaknesss, this would be so much easier.
  Stunts and Powers: Cloak of Shadows, Ghost Speaker, Finely Tuned 3rd Eye, Acrobat, Too Fast To Hit, Human Spider
  Notes: Why yes, I AM going to play with Mickie a lot, why do you ask? *grin*



• Dylan C. Shelby, Ph.D. (Kinetomancer Professor), played by innocent_man
  Dylan's a focused practicioner with a specialty in the manipulation of kinetic energy. He might one day become a real wizard, but that remains to be seen. In the meantime, he's lucky he's got tenure.
  Trouble: The Math Doesn't Add Up. He got into this because he found something that made the math not add up. Either he'll figure out why or he'll go completely nuts and blow up the whole world -- we'll see which comes first. He's not able to just let it go, though, and it keeps coming up. It's basically his world in a nutshell.
  Aspects: Southie Boy and Proud, That Damned Book, Crackpot Professor, Ignorance is Fatal, As Above, So Below
  History: Dylan grew up in Boston on the south side of town. He was from a blue collar background, and he and his brother Richard were the first to graduate from college, much less an advanced degree. He worked his way through MIT, got on the tenure track, and ended up a promising young professor at Loyola University in Baltimore. That was before someone sent him a book called "The Music of the Spheres" for amusement while he had the flu. He translated that into modern astrophysics, went nuts, and work up in Johns Hopkins after "making the numbers add up" -- aka discovering magic. His fellow faculty think he's nuts, but he's a good teacher and they're not going to kick him out over his minor "eccentricty." They're hoping he can get better, after all.
  Stunts and Powers: Channeling (Kinetomancy), Ritual (Worldwalking/Transportation) Item of Power (the Damned Book - Divination 4, 1/session), The Sight, Scientist (Physics, Astrophysics), Redirected Force
  Notes: As Oscar's the mundane muscle, Dylan is in many ways the same for the magic side, though that's far from the limit of his abilities. It's all about redirecting force, after all. His goal is to map out the NeverNever and the ways between and make it all add up -- is that a goal I can sink my teeth into or what? :)
  
  
  Next time will be city locations, with NPCs to follow, and possibly a No Players Allowed post to cover the plot stuff I've come up with. Till then!

Comments

[docelboze.livejournal.com]

(no, I'm not entirely sure I spelled the character's last name right, thank you)
Akahaven I was what I was trying to scrawl - damn my handwriting... :)

This setup was the furthest from the base templates
Hehehe. I've told by many a GM that I tend to make the most interesting if PITA characters... good to see I'm sticking w/ the trend...