Author Topic: A villain for your games...  (Read 5257 times)

Offline Richard_Chilton

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A villain for your games...
« on: March 07, 2011, 05:02:12 AM »
Note: this character is designed to be a villain.  A flawed and possibly sympathetic villain, but a villain none the less.  And yes, this was partly inspired by the existence of a very exploitative show - Toddlers & Tiaras, which documents a very ugly facet of American life.


Name: was Monica Childs, but now goes by Monique (no last name)
Template: Focused Practitioner
High Concept Aspect: Tragic Mystic Model Agent (That might need work...Maybe: Mystic Former Toddler Queen? Mystic Reject of the Cult of Beauty? Something along those lines.)
Trouble Aspect: I Used To Be Pretty! (the scars dominate most of her life)

Background:
Most of Monica Childs' early memories are of walking on a stage and shaking her little booty for the judges.  A veteran of the child beauty queen circuit, Monica won her first pageant when she was eight months old and entered her last when she was 10.  During this time her mother taught her that beauty and winning were everything.  Monica sometimes liked to compete and always loved to win, partly because winning meant that she didn't get a sore bum for not doing her all to win.  Losing always meant a hard spanking because someone had to take the blame for the loss and that somebody wasn't going to be Monica's mother (Jennifer Childs).  The spankings never happened where one of the other contestants or mothers might hear it, and Monica always assumed that it was something that happened to all the losers.

All of this motivated her to always do her best - at least for the contests.  Her school work might have been neglected during this time, but she learned how to smile and flirt with the judges - even when her dog had died the night before and all she wanted to do was cry.  She learned that all that mattered was to be perfect for the judges.

Phase Aspect: Is Always Perfect When It Matters


Rising Conflict:
When Monica was ten and "too old" for the child beauty pageant circuit, Jennifer Childs lost interest in her daughter.  The shock of going from "everything we do is to make you pretty so you can win" to "stop bugging me - don't you have homework or something" left a lasting scar.  No longer told how pretty she was, Monica realised that she must be ugly.  She tried makeup, diets, clothes, and everything she could think of, but it slowly dawned on her that it was just that she was no longer "cute".  She might not be the ugliest kid in the world but she would never make it as a tween model or actress.  That being average meant she wasn't one of the "beautiful people", all of which left a deep emotional scar (See Trouble).

As she was accepting that she would never be perfect, Monica stumbled over the fact that most tots didn't get spanked for losing.  This double betrayal (her mother's losing interest in her and realising that she had probably been abused) sent Monica away from Jennifer.  If her mother thought that beauty was everything then Monica would be a brain.  She went from being a C or D student to an A student - excelling in a way that she knew would never win her mother's approval (and it didn't - Jennifer barely noticed Monica's grades), but in some ways it didn't matter.  Monica couldn't shake all those times she had been told 'to be perfect' and if her body couldn't be perfect than her mind would.

As a teen, her fragile self-image, the need to excel academically, and her budding power attracted the wrong sort attention.  She caught the eye of a minor practitioner who was only this side of being a warlock.  The creep was in his mid 20s and called himself Magic Man, after the classic Heart song ("Come on home, girl" he said with a smile / "I cast my spell of love on you, a woman from a child!"), and while Monica's body might not be perfect it was good enough (and young enough) for him.  At first she was with him to get back at her parents, but Monica's parents didn't seem to notice (or care) what she did.  Then she was with him because Magic Man convinced her that only he could unlock the True Power within her.

He enjoyed hitting her, but the physical side of the relationship was the least abusive part.  Soon Monica was accepting consequences anytime the Magic Man's rushed Thaumaturgy spells produced a backlash.  Often these were mental blows but sometimes they were social ones (i.e. social consequences like 'Emotionally Numb' or 'Unfeeling') which served to further isolate her from her peers.

But all the while, Monica was learning.  Learning more than Magic Man knew (he never planned on teaching her everything she needed to know).  The need to be perfect was still there.

Phase Aspect: Mentored Through Pain.


The Story: Monica's New Hope
Things came to ahead on Monica's 18th birthday.  Magic Man used a stick to give Monica her 'birthday spanking' and seemed to think she was in her 30s.  Then he had a good time rolling around on her, snorted some smack (he always told himself if he didn't inject then he wasn't an addict), and passed out.  Looking at her strung out mentor lay there barely able to breathe, it occurred to Monica that she wasn't perfect.  That realisation, more than the beating, caused what happened next.

It took Monica hours to put the rite together, and a while to make it work, but when she was done Monica was looking at the naked body of a beautiful woman.  Perfect face, perfect butt - everything about her looked perfect.  Monica smiled, knowing that even if she couldn't be perfect she could make someone that way.

When Magic Man woke up and found that he had gone from being a slovenly man to a beautiful woman, something snapped inside him.  Snapped hard.  Not that he was all that stable to begin with (let's say he had an extreme mental consequence - which explains why he was such a creep) but this was too much for his brain to deal with.  If he'd been sane then Magic Man would have started working a counter spell, but instead he jumped out the window of his loft.  The spell wasn't permanent - it wouldn't have survived the sunrise - but it lasted for all five floors that he fell.  The paramedics were a bit surprised to discover the "naked hot chick" who reported to have jumped was really a puggy naked dead man, but they put that down to wishful thinking on someone's part.

Armed with Magic Man's books and her occult skills, Monica branched out on her own.  The first thing she needed was money and she knew how to get it - by temporarily turning straw (average looking women) into gold (beautiful ones).  Her first 'clients' were prostitutes, but Monica didn't have the muscle to deal with possessive pimps.  Monica turned her back on her clients, ripped off a couple of pimps, and used the money start up 'Models by Monique'.  Reinventing herself the easy part; Monica ended up bringing someone to help run the business (book the talent, handle the books, make sure that state and federal withholdings happened, and all of the other day to day bits) while Monica (now Monique, no last name) recruited the girls.

Knowing that the magic doesn't really make you beautiful (or she would use it on herself) and hating the insecure girls who flock to her, Monique makes them pretty but not Perfect.  They look good enough for local jobs but will never grace the cover of a fashion magazine.  Monique tells herself that she does that to keep a low profile, but inside she knows that it's from her contempt of the culture of beauty.

After a lifetime of being a pawn, first her mother's then Magic Man's, Monique finally feels that she in charge of her life.

(Note: Yes, I know there's no guest star here - but it could be adjusted to include one.  Maybe her business partner, maybe a criminal type (pimp), maybe one of Magic Man's acquaintances or former students - the links are there to be had.)

Phase Aspect: Now I'm The Boss


Guest Star: Whose Path Have You Crossed?(To be filled out later)
Link her to whatever villains (or other dark forces) you want to.  She could easily link to Red Court or White Court as Monique doesn't really care about the survival of the girls she works with - and sending them there could tie up loose end ('relatives come looking' type loose ends).  The rest of the magical community either doesn't know about her or sees her as Magic Man's jail bait girlfriend (unless you want to link her to them) and she doesn't know much about them.  She doesn't know much about the Council but knows enough to keep away from them.

In one of her guest roles, Monique encountered her family (while aiding the other character) and used the opportunity to take revenge on her mother.  Jennifer Childs permanently became Jenny, a confused three year old.  Between the shock of the change and differences between adult and toddler brain structure, Jenny is viewed as either confused or developmentally delayed (with possible psychiatric issues).  The toddler is currently being bounced around between foster care and group homes.  Monique is keeping an eye on her mother, but isn't sure where to take her vengeance next.  Part of her wants to make Jenny a little beauty queen, but that would mean coming face to face with some old issues so Monique is leaving her mother in the hands of the state.  That story gives Monique a Law Breaker Stunt and the Aspect: I Always Get Revenge



Power Level: Up to Your Waist
Skill Cap: Great
Skill Points: 25
Starting Refresh: 7
Adjusted Refresh: 2

Skills
Discipline: Great (it would be higher if her skill cap was higher - all those years of beauty pageants left her with rock sold control for when she needs it)
Resources: Good (her business partner takes the rest of the money from the agency)
Deceit: Good (from the beauty pageant training)

Lore: Fair
Performance: Fair (took talent, music, and dance lessons until age 10; took belly dancing as a teen; often finds herself playing a role)
Presence: Fair (those comportment lessons were never forgotten)
Scholarship: Fair

Alertness: Average
Athletics: Average (she keeps in shape)
Contacts: Average (mostly connected to the fashion world)
Conviction: Average (representing her problems with her self imagine)
Endurance: Average (represents her stamina)
Intimidation: Average (mostly in social situations; think Alpha Girl, not Bruiser)
Stealth: Average


Stunts & Powers
Channeling (-2) - Air Only
Ritual (-2) - Transformation and Disruption
Lawbreaker (-1) - Second Law.  Only the once (so far...)
Wizard’s Constitution (0) - ironically Monica will keep her looks far longer than most women.


Items:

Channeling:
Diamond Ear Stud (Conviction (Power) +2, offensive, taking both slots)
When Monique tugs this ear stud it increases the power her spells.  Sometimes it makes her feel a bit like something out of Bewitched, but she usually needs the juice it gives her.


Ritual

Focus Item:
Mystic Brazier (Lore +1)
It's not convenient to lug around, but Monique has found that when she burns something (incense, potpourri, leafs, anything) in this brazier it opens her mind and expands her Lore.  It used to Magic Man's, and he generally burnt weed in it, but Monique uses nicer smelling things.


Ring of Monique (enchanted item)
When she reinvented herself, Monica decided that Monique had to look slightly different.  From the back they look mostly the same (and each could wear the other's clothes) but Monique's face and body differs slightly from Monica's.  Monica doesn't realises it but Monique is slightly better looking.  In theory, if things get too hectic, Monica ditches the ring and becomes another average looking girl that was taken advantage of by the Evil Sorceress Monique.

Note: this would be better as a Veil, but Monique doesn't have access to Veils so has to produce subtle changes in her form.
- 1 step for effect (effectively a maneuver giving her the aspect: Looks like Monique), 3 for duration (taking it from 15 minutes to a few hours). Monique is often down a level of mental stress from reactivating this item.


Potion of Jane Doe
Monique's other enchanted item slot is given over to a potion, usually a potion of Jane Doe.  It's more or less the same effect as above, but turns the drinker into someone who doesn't look like Monica or Monique.


Rotes:
Phantom B-Slap
It feels like the air just slapped you.  It's a weapon 1 attack that needs to be targeted.  It's not very effective in combat but it gets her point across to uppity models.


Goose:
Linked to her ear stud, this rote is a Power 3 maneuver that gives the social Aspect 'Goosed' as the air squeezes an inappropriate part of the target's body.  If the target is unaware that he/she is the subject of a magical attack then the target will often blame the person next to them for the inappropriate touching.

Note: Sometimes Monique will change her appearance and pull this one during "Miss Teen" style beauty pageants or while her own girls are modelling - just to throw the victims off when it's their turn to walk across the stage.  She can be nasty that way.  She doesn't use it at child beauty pageants because A) she can't face going to them and B) she can't picture tweaking a child like that (and if you don't believe in what you're doing then you can't do it with magic).


Spells

Monique's Model Maker:
Effectively, this is a Transformation and Disruption maneuver.  Since the change isn't permanent the target doesn't have to be taken out.  That's the good part.  The bad part? To make it last a week it needs 7 shifts for duration.  Added to that is the base effect.  The Aspect of "Looks Good Enough To Model" is probably 2 or 4 shifts.  I'd probably view the increase in looks on the same scale as consequences with "a bit better" being mild, "a lot better" being moderate, and "this woman now owns the cover of every magazine in the world - someone get her an acting role!" as extreme.  That's 9 to 11 shifts for preparation and Monique base is only 3.

That means that a big chunk of the income each model earns goes to buying things and otherwise making preparations for this spell.  Sometimes they'll even take a mild physical consequence to help get the spell going.  (Monica was raised with pain, trained with pain, and now Monique has no problems with sharing a bit of pain with those worthless girls who worship at the alter of beauty.  As long as the bruising fades before the next modelling gig or are somewhere no one can see them then it's all good in Monique's eyes.)

Note that this maneuver doesn't add to Presence or any other social skill and it might cause a bit of a drop in Conviction over prolonged use.  After all, thinking "I only matter when I look good and I only look good because of that spell" isn't good for the old self image.


Additional Notes:
Could Monica / Monique, with the right training, make it to full wizard status? Probably not.  She doesn't have the Sight or Soul Gaze.  Maybe she could upgrade her skills, but not by a lot.

Should the Council take notice of her they will probably be a bit disgusted but leave her (and her business) alone - the changes aren't permanent and the subjects are more than willing.  The more sexist members putting her actions down to 'the vanity of women'.  Training her won't be their top priority.  Of course they discover her mother's fate then Monica would be treated like any other Warlock, but until then they would see her as a distasteful minor sorceress making money in a disreputable way.


Ways to tie her into a game:
A mousy girl that a PC knows is now modelling.  A make over is one thing, but how can she look so different?

A friend or relative of one of the models looks for help.

The PC's discover that some monster (Vampire, ghoul, whatever) was feeding off a model - and it's one of Monique's discards whose beauty fades as the PC rescue her.

Treat it like a new drug - the drug of beauty.  If you want it bad enough you can see the woman, make the deal, then earn her money as you live the life of a beautiful person.  At least until she tires of you.

A model approaches the PCs trying to have them make the effect permanent.

Monique loses it and trashes a "little miss <insert name of your city>" pageant.  There's no real violence but the pageant is ruined.  No, this does not make her a hero.

You don't mention much to the PCs, but every time they pass a store/car dealership/display you mention something about the nice looking model/booth babe working there, until it slowly dawns on them that there is a steady stream of girls who have had that job.

Someone stumbles over Jenny and Sees what was done to her.  If they do research they might be able to see the resemblance between Monica (as a child she made the newspapers a bit) and trace Monica down from the family connection.

Part of her past comes back to haunt her - one of the pimps she ripped off or a hooker she set up comes looking for vengeance and the PCs get dragged in.

The PCs are at a local teen talent show/battle of the bands/beauty contest and notice some of the prettier contestants getting Goosed.  They might be surprises to find a woman doing it and might even buy Monique's explanation that she's trying to teach those girls that beauty is only skin deep.

A PC stumbles over Monique (using any of the means above), learns her story, and tries to redeem Monica Childs.  To turn her from a bitter woman to a slightly better adjusted sorceress.

That magic talent might be in the blood.  A relative shows up and tries (belatedly) to help her - enlisting the PCs in Monica's reformation.

That magic talent and her viciousness might be in the blood.  A big baddy shows ups.  The bad guy is related to her on her mother's side and he/she/it (could be from the Nevernever - making Jennifer a scion) shows up and tries to help enslave or otherwise dominate her.  Will the PCs save a nasty villainess from an evil villain? Alternatively they might not know about her - and the middle of fighting the big bad nasty some models rush in and do kamikaze attacks on it - alerting the PCs to Monique's existence.
« Last Edit: March 07, 2011, 08:18:22 PM by Richard_Chilton »

Offline Cullen

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Re: A villian for your games...
« Reply #1 on: March 07, 2011, 05:19:32 AM »
I have to say, I really like this villain.  Sympathetic, but still incredibly creepy.  Excellent job on her backstory.

Offline Richard_Chilton

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Re: A villian for your games...
« Reply #2 on: March 07, 2011, 06:14:45 AM »
Thanks.

I was trying for a "Um, do we help her or defeat her?" reaction.  At one point I thought the character was getting a bit too sympathetic so I added the "she has lawbreaker for what she did to her mother" bit and changed a few other things so she was clearly a villain.

If she was cleaned up a bit (the Lawbreaker stunt removed, made less bitter, cared more for her models) she could be a grey element in the city.  If she did her best for her girls - kept them away from drugs, encouraged them to save money, etc - then she would be more of a moral dilemma.

Richard

Offline sinker

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Re: A villian for your games...
« Reply #3 on: March 07, 2011, 07:18:09 AM »
I really like the concept. She really is one of those villains where you feel bad for them and want to help them, rather than just blasting them. I don't have the book on me, but is a earring big enough for a +2 focus item? I suppose it doesn't really matter, but I'm nitpicky by nature.

Offline Richard_Chilton

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Re: A villian for your games...
« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2011, 07:29:26 AM »
I was going for feel and flavour with it... Let me check the book...

1 - 2 focus items - ring (ear or finger).

It fits, but barely.  She'll need another item if she ever takes a refinement.

Richard

Offline Ren

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Re: A villian for your games...
« Reply #5 on: March 07, 2011, 03:41:18 PM »
Jeeze...this could be a perfect addition to my Miami game...8)
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Offline Richard_Chilton

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Re: A villian for your games...
« Reply #6 on: March 07, 2011, 05:49:37 PM »
Feel free to use her.

Practically everywhere has models that appear at local events (fashion shows, displays, etc) or on local commercials  - but major cities would have many more of them than a small town.  No one ever went to my hometown to make it as a model but when I checked 411 I found several agencies within 60 clicks.

Miami, Chicago, New York, LA - those centres have hundreds of agencies.   In real life many of those agencies just exploit girls - charging them fee after fee while making no effort to get them work.  This agency might not even be the worse one operating in a major city in the DV - I could see other agencies operating just to find nice looking food for monsters.

Richard

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: A villian for your games...
« Reply #7 on: March 07, 2011, 06:09:11 PM »
I like this a lot. It really fits into the world of the Dresden Files.

Have you considered posting this to the Spare Character Concepts thread?

PS: I think that you need to specify whether her earring adds to offensive or defensive power.

Offline sinker

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Re: A villian for your games...
« Reply #8 on: March 07, 2011, 06:26:10 PM »
It just occurred to me that having this kind of thing would be a great resource. I have thoughts on a similar villain. Would the spare character concepts thread be the best place for them to go? Or is there a specific bad guy thread?

The more I think about it the more I'm thinking we should start a villain thread and move it to the resources section.
« Last Edit: March 07, 2011, 06:32:28 PM by sinker »

Offline devonapple

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Re: A villian for your games...
« Reply #9 on: March 07, 2011, 06:52:56 PM »
I think there are enough villain-compatible types in the existing Spare Character Concepts thread to justify continuing to use it.
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That echoes on like it’s carpet-bombing feverish white jungles of thought
That I’m positive are not even mine"

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Offline Richard_Chilton

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Re: A villian for your games...
« Reply #10 on: March 07, 2011, 06:53:36 PM »
I like this a lot. It really fits into the world of the Dresden Files.

Have you considered posting this to the Spare Character Concepts thread?

PS: I think that you need to specify whether her earring adds to offensive or defensive power.

Fixed, and I added a link on that thread.  It's not really a character concept - but could be with a bit of a clean up, making her more tragic and less nasty.

It just occurred to me that having this kind of thing would be a great resource. I have thoughts on a similar villain. Would the spare character concepts thread be the best place for them to go? Or is there a specific bad guy thread?

The more I think about it the more I'm thinking we should start a villain thread and move it to the resources section.

That might work.  Villains, opponents, and other NPCs are easier to make than spare PCs - at least for this system.  The character creation bit calls for so much background that it's hard to make a good 'spare' character without writing out so much of it that the player would have to work to customise it.

Heck, this thread could be moved.  The subject line is generic enough that other villains could be added.

Richard

Offline Richard_Chilton

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Re: A villain for your games...
« Reply #11 on: March 07, 2011, 11:48:00 PM »
Here's a second - Magic Man (aka A Twisted Mentor)

Note: this character is designed to be a villain.  He first appeared as the mentor to another villain, but maybe he didn't die when she thought he did? And since the DV is so full of grey I'm sure that there is more than creep like this out there.


Name: was Theodore Chambers, but now goes by Magic Man
Template: Focused Practitioner
High Concept Aspect: Predatory Mystic Mentor
Trouble Aspect: I Don't Care About Anyone But Me

Background:
Growing up, Theodore was an outsider.  Part of it started young; in kindergarten he became known for playing doctor with any little girl who would agree to play patient.  One day the class got back from recess and on the blackboard there was a crude drawing of a nude boy - labelled "Teddy Bare".  Since none of the students could read the teacher told them what it said and Theodore was stuck with a hurtful nickname.

With that following him through school (and the fact that he was a bit strange at times) Theodore was quickly labelled as the neighbourhood weirdo.  At first the label was an unfair one, but Theodore found himself growing into it. These early troubles might be why he didn't learn how to form emotional attachments, resulting in his trouble.

His rep for being a sex fiend was a bit ironic because all of the girls avoided him.  In school, the closest he ever got to action was when a girl kneed him the crotch or when an older girl gave him a wedgie.  At least that was the closest he got before he discovered the world of recreational chemistry; no, he didn't trade drugs for sex - he just supplied the drugs and when he got a chance to he gave a girl an extra strong dose.  When she passed out he'd hit a home run...  And that wasn't all he hit, but he tried not to leave bruises.  Most of the girls were either too stoned or too embarrassed to say anything so Theodore was able to get away with his crime.

In short, he became the sexual predator that people thought he was.

Phase Aspect: I Like To Ride On Top.


Rising Conflict:
In mid high school his growing chemical skills brought him into shady circles.  If left alone he would have probably just gone to jail for the drugs or maybe for the rapes, but someone noticed that he had a talent.  That someone trained him in magic (he left high school partway through it to get this better form of education) and tried to reform him, but eventually gave up on him and pronounced him "fully trained".  Before cutting him loose, his mentor took Theodore a gathering of minor talents.  While they were there a Warden showed up and dealt with a Warlock (who resisted and lost his head without trial).  Seeing that happen drove home the importance of not breaking important laws.

From then on, before doing anything he would stop and think "Does this break the laws of magic?" and if so he wouldn't do it.  Sometimes he took things further and asked "Will this get me killed?" or "Will this get me hunted?" and if the answer was yes then he would back off.  Of course, breaking most mundane laws doesn't get you killed or hunted so Theodore decided to ignore them.  He would follow the minimum morality required of him and that was it.

Phase Aspect: Knows Better Than To Get Into That Kind Of Trouble


The Story: The Rise Of Magic Man
Theodore was 20 when he left his mentor.  Looking around, girls his own age intimidate him (not that he would ever admit that) but those who were a bit younger... They were confused, easily impressed, and ripe for the picking.  Wanting to leave "Teddy Bare" behind forever, Theodore took a craft name from a rock classic - Magic Man.  The phrase "Come on home, girl" he said with a smile / "I cast my spell of love on you, a woman from a child!" struck a cord with him.  Not that he goes after young kids, but he doesn't pay attention to mundane laws so "statutory rape" isn't in his vocabulary.  As long a girl has some kind of figure then she's fair game even if she happens to be 14 or 15.

Girls that age are easily impressed by a bit of magic, and can follow instructions enough to help soak up backlash if something goes wrong (like he's too stoned to get things just right).  If they have a bit of talent then that's even better - he can promise to unlock her potential and that's a guaranteed panty peeler.  Sharing drugs (he still uses and sometimes makes them) with the girl only makes it easier.

Magic isn't the only thing he teaches - he always teaches the girls 'their place'.  Maybe it's left over rage against high school beauties who wouldn't give him the time of day or maybe the darkness was always in him - either way any girl he teaches is going to get hurt.  Sometimes he plays light B&D games and sometimes he just leaves bruises - but he has to hurt them so they'll know that he's in charge.

Others in the supernatural community just laughed at his name or thought he was joke - and Magic Man was smart enough not to flaunt his personal life.

Phase Aspect: I Can Teach What What's

(Note - can be tagged in instructional situations or to put someone in his/her 'place'.  Most compels would be for the latter use.)
(Second Note: I know there's no guest star here, but it can be expanded to link to a suitable person in your city.  Maybe that guy who runs an occult bookstore in the back of an adult only store? Drug dealers or users? Some other victimisers?)



Guest Star: Whose Path Have You Crossed?(Details to be filled in later)
In his first guest story, Magic Man played the role of a hero - helping to track down something from the Nevernever that had made its way into an elementary school.  This brought him a lot of slack from the nicer elements of the mystic community.

However, his motivations were less than pure.  Magic Man had tracked down his former kindergarten teacher to that school and used the "defeat the thingie" mission to cover him putting a shotgun slug in her head.  It had taken him years to figure it out, but she had been the only one inside during recess, the only one who could write, and she had read the writing out loud so all the other kids would know what it said.  In many ways she was responsible for the man that he had become - which meant that she had to die for those years of teasing he had endured.

Magic Man had tracked her down and was planning on murdering her when he stumbled across someone who was dealing with a magical threat.  He helped enough that he could the other character's actions as a cover, then 'killed the cultist' when he got the chance.  From that one he got the Aspect: Aids Those Who Are Aiding Him.


The second guest role should link him to something sleazy.  If you've decided to use him with Monica Childs (see http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,24639.0.html) then he'd be guest star in her story.  An Aspect from that story could revolve around faking his own death, questioning his sexuality, or plotting vengeance on his former pupil.  Or it could be him moving on from her and getting a new student to amuse himself with.

(Note: While a drug user, drugs don't dominate his life to the point where he needs an aspect to include them.  If he has to he can go days (or weeks) without using them - but he likes using them and since there's no law of magic against it he does.)


Power Level: Up to Your Waist
Skill Cap: Great
Skill Points: 25
Starting Refresh: 7
Adjusted Refresh: 1

Skills
Deceit: Good
Lore: Good
Scholarship: Good (Chemistry, a bit of botany, and medical info as it applies to drug use)
Rapport: Good

Conviction: Fair
Discipline: Fair
Presence: Fair
Stealth: Fair

Burglary: Average
Contacts: Average (mostly to do with drugs and the shady side of magic)
Endurance: Average
Guns: Average
Resources: Average (could easily be higher but his lifestyle soaks up most of his funds and he's lazy)

Stunts & Powers
Invocation (-3) (Speciality Air (power bonus), Fire, Water)
Thaumaturgy (-3) (Biomancy - mostly to grow the best organic drugs he can)


Items

Invocation:
Rod of Power (Focus for Air (Control, offensive) +1)
A thick rod with mystic symbols on it.  Magic Man has been known to use it to swat his students (and might end up breaking it that way).


Ring of Air Shield (Focus for Air (Power, defensive) +1)
When it comes to defence, Magic Man opted for power over control


Thaumaturgy:
Mystic Brazier (Focus, Lore +1)
It's not convenient to lug around, but when he burns drugs in it Magic Man finds its opens his mind to new knowledge.  He knows that he could burn anything in it, but what was would be the fun of that?


Ring of the Gun (enchanted item)
Magic Man doesn't like to think of himself as paranoid, but he knows that his lifestyle isn't the safest one.  That's why he fashioned this ring - so he would never be unarmed.  When he needs it, this ring conjures a .38 revolver with 6 bullets in it - at least for a short time.

Complexity 4 for the gun, complexity 1 for the bullets, call it a step for them both to work at once, which means that it only lasts for about 15 minutes.  Magic Man figures that he doesn't need a longer duration - that if he needs a gun he'll have to use it fast.


Potion
(a slot he keeps open)


Rotes:

Name: Flip Skirt
Type: Air Evocation, maneuver
Area: One target in a skirt
Most people would just use a minor magic effect for something like this, but most people aren't Magic Man.  The rote does what it says it does - it uses air to flip up a skirt.  Mini skirt, poodle skirt, dress skirt, it doesn't matter.  The affect is similar to standing over an air vent (a la Marilyn Monroe).  It's childish, but that's Magic Man for you.  It has no effect if the target isn't wearing a skirt.  Slacks, shorts, jeans, a tracksuit, you name it and it won't work on it.

Mechanically it's a maneuver with Power 4.  That's more than most maneuvers need, but Magic Man likes putting a little extra in it.

(Note - he'll sometimes use this as a pick up bit, "noticing" how a girl's power has manifested and offering to teach her so things sort of things don't happen in the future.)


Name: Dave Ain't Here Man
Type: Air Evocation, Defensive block
Area: Self
Power: 4 - 3 for the block, 1 for extra duration
Duration: 2 exchanges
When Dave needs to get the hell out of a situation the air bend light away from him.  That makes it a bit hard for him to see but effectively Veils long enough to get a head start.  So far it's worked well enough, and he's need to do it often enough that it's a rote.



Other magic use:
Invocation:
He uses Air to move things, and has been known to use water magic like a supersoaker, but he doesn't have a huge imagination when it comes to his powers.  That, and he's lazy, so most of his spells are air ones done at the spur of the moment.  He has also been known to use fire magic to brand, but he lacks the control for detailed work so it's rare that he risks it.  Magic Man lights his joints (at the other things he smokes) with fire magic (minor effect, no roll needed).

Thaumaturgy:
Magic Man has got a thaumaturgy based veil he uses when has to go unseen.  It's not the best and it's a bitch for him to conjure, but it's good enough for him.

Much of his day to day thaumaturgy revolves around improving the effects of organic drugs (and growing certain plants without a setting up a grow-op), but he doesn't have enough knowledge of botany to get great results (he would have to increase his scholarship for that).  He'll also try to boost existing drugs, stepping them up for resale.

If he doesn't have something handy he'll conjure it rather than going out to buy something.  Yes, it might take him a couple of hours to conjure any but the most basic stuff and those conjured things don't last long, but if was going to the corner store then he'd need to throw on a shirt and find his jacket, then he'd have to look around for the keys and maybe his boots and... It would still be much faster to go out and buy something, but Magic Man finds that conjuring things require less mental effort on his part.

He's not the best at thaumaturgy and he's often careless.  As a result he often walks around with a mild or moderate (or higher) mental consequence - usually backlash from a spell that he didn't really need to cast.


Additional Notes:
No, he'd never make wizard.  It's not just that he lacks some powers or the talent.  Even if he had a great talent. Magic Man lacks the drive to reach greatness.  He's basically a slacker creep with a fondness for teenage girls who has enough magic to fuel his lifestyle.  The main reason he has full Invocation and Thaumaturgy is to show that he could have taught Monica so much more - but didn't.

Whether he knows it or not, Magic Man is walking the razor's edge.  Any lawbreaker stunt and he's out of refresh (not that refresh matters for NPCs, but this is currently a free willed villain).  That, and cops generally don't like it when guys in their mid to late twenties (where Magic Man is now) cruise high schools looking for cute and emotionally vulnerable girls.  His drug use is another red flag for the cops; even if they don't ID him as a minor dealer (which he is - mostly to other dealers) they know Magic Man is part of that lifestyle.

Then there's the magically aware community.  Magic Man doesn't have a lot of admirers among his fellow practitioners - many of whom see him as a parasite whose sole saving grace is that he lacks the ambition to start a cult or otherwise make a nuisance of himself.


Using him in the game:
If Monica's spell resulted with him really dying, then he's dead and this is just background.  If he survived (say did an air spell on the way down that slowed him just enough) then it depends on what sort of shape he's in.  He could easily have taken a severe or extreme physical consequence from the fall (or a mental one from casting the spell that saved him) and be in bad shape.  Further interactions with her are discussed under the Guest Star Redux area.

Or he could just be a creep that lives in your city.  He's what I envision a lowlife drug using creep would become if he had magic and there are a lot of losers out there - so Magic Man can't be the only one with this sort of motif.

Then there's another use for him - a PC could enter play and have him as her mentor.  If that happens the PC's powers should be less than his (he never teaches all he knows) and she should have an aspect that reflects being trained by him.

Maybe the PCs meet in a bar and someone tells them that they don't want to get too close in case some of him rubs off on them.  Maybe they need something plant based and he can provide it.  Maybe a PC happens to know the girl he's currently 'mentoring' and wants to do something about it, or the PCs are approached by a girl's family that want her back home and not living with someone like him.


The big problem is, technically he doesn't break the laws of magic - he's just a creep.  He doesn't use mind control to get teenage girls to follow him home, only social skills.  Any magic that he does use can be put down as explaining "magic is real and you have potential" to a prospective student.


So how do the PCs handle him? Especially if he backs down and kicks out the girl they want to rescue - only to pick up a new one the next night? In theory they could go nuclear get the cops on him, but Magic Man could escape to the Nevernever.  Then he would be facing a warrant as a fugitive drug dealing fuzz buster, but he wouldn't make the city's most wanted list.  If he kept his head down (and face Veiled) it could years before the cops got around to finding him.  And then there's the Biomancy to think about - a minor ritual could get him a new face for a while and maybe even new fingerprints.  Magic Man could mess that sort of ritual up but if he's wanted by the cop then what has he got to lose?

Meanwhile he'll be going around and telling everyone who will listen about how the PCs called the mortal authorities down on him - pointing out that if they'll do that to him then they could do that to you.

Richard

Offline Michael Sandy

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Re: A villain for your games...
« Reply #12 on: May 03, 2011, 07:05:47 AM »
Very nice.  Saw this thread referred to in a different thread, so apologies for the thread necro.

As characters investigate and discover what Monique is doing, consider that what they have discovered, others can too.

The criminal uses of a temporary magical shapechange are pretty significant.  For framing people, or for just committed a crime in broad daylight and then cancelling the shapechange.  Monique could attract attention from criminals who want to commit their crimes with temporary faces.

Offline Richard_Chilton

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Re: A villain for your games...
« Reply #13 on: May 03, 2011, 02:41:21 PM »
I don't think this forum has a policy against bringing back old threads - if there is then I haven't seen it listed in a skicky.

I'm glad you enjoyed this concept.  When it comes to framing people, illusions and veils would be easier, but they are usually short term spells that work best when the caster is on the scene.  If someone wants to commit a crime sometime during a week - or to go on a week long crime spread - and doesn't want the caster around the crime scene then this is the way to go.  It should even be able to handle fingerprints (making them different) but I doubt it would change DNA (unless you were a skilled biomancer).

And if you do get arrested - then when the spell ends the cops have someone in jail who doesn't match the suspect's description, the video surveillance of the crime, whose fingerprints are all wrong, and who none of the cops remember arresting.  Definitely a "get out of jail free" situation - at least for the first time.  If someone keeps doing the same crimes then police would probably believe that there was a gang operating - and be confused that each member of the gang only does a week worth of crime.

As for Monique working for criminals like that, I can't see it happening out of the blue.  She has a good racket going on and her motivations aren't just about getting cash but are also tied to her trouble and those childhood scars.  Change the trouble to "I'll do anything for money" and she'll be great as a random contact for any criminal who has the money to pay her.  Then again, if the crime wave was directed against "Beautiful People" (say a Miss America contest, fashion models, "celebrities" like Paris Hilton was when the Simple Life was on the air, etc) then she might jump on board just to strike at the cult of beauty.

When it comes to "villains" there are basically two flavours.  The "I'm doing bad because this is what I do" types and the "I'm just in it for the cash" types.  There are some crossovers (organised crime comes to mind - they want cash but crime is what they do) but giving a villain one of those motives can really help to make it a believable villain.  'Bad because I'm bad' types will keep doing what they do because that's who they are while if someone is just in it for the cash then they will walk away when things get too hot.  There's a character in Turncoat who is a great example of a "Ummm, how about I just walk away from here?" villain who was just in it for the money.

Monique is doing what she's doing because that's who she is.  It's a shame that she's twisted like she is, but that's how she was written. 

Again, I'm glad you enjoyed this concept and see the potential in this type of character.

Richard

Offline admiralducksauce

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Re: A villain for your games...
« Reply #14 on: May 03, 2011, 03:50:20 PM »
Heh, "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way."  :)

I appreciate this little bit of thread necro (and it's only necro'd by a few months anyhow, it's not too egregious).  Reminded me to check out the resources threads more often.  Monique and Magic Man, however, are exactly at my group's Refresh level and they're just the kind of gray-to-black people that my PCs might let off in exchange for some bigger fish.

Although Magic Man's way more likely to simply eat a few shotgun shells, at least in my group.