Help me with this character concept, denver-based, burned-out shaman.. Options

[silva]

As the title says, the game will be based in Denver. Its the first time my group plays outside of Seattle. We dont know much about Denver except for superficial readings on 3E´Shadows of North America and 4E´Spy Games. I would like your guys to help me filling up this guy´s "empty spaces", conceptually (this is important, I m not caring for the mechanics right now).

So, basicaly, I want to play the old "burned-out mage" archetype (but shaman instead of mage). I havent decided the specifics. I thought about 2 possibilities:

1) an awakening shaman man in his mid 20s. His life was good, he had a promising starting career on some local corp (or gov), but then things went down, and right now his life turned to sh$t - drugs, alcohol, chips, whores, you name it. Then he began having these weird dreams he hasnt had since... his childhood ? The dreams intensify more and more, until one day, when hes at home at night tripping in a crazy BTL chip just after having smoked this new weed his pal gave him yesterday, then he has this f*cking disturbing experience where he sees himself, real time, through the eyes of some beast there with him, on his room, stalking him, smelling him.. until it jumps over him.. and he sees himself in panic, trying to escape the room and... well, you got the idea. Once he gives in to the animal spirit, his life begins to take a turn for better. He awakes as a shaman of some totem, but with the problem of not having learned the way of magic until now (= zero magical skills), and having installed some cyberware for his job/profession (a datajack and a commlink or skillwires) which hinders his magical potential.

or

2) a weak shaman in his late 30s, who grew up as a wiz-kid magician, talented and proud, until some day, after years of putting his hubris above his totem´s spirit, is literally chewed up by a uncontrolled spirit that send him to the local clinic almost dead and in need of a new pair of cyber-arms (and maybe new cyber spleen and lungs and heart, etc). Years later, older, diselusioned, and fallen in oblivion as a magician, he is forced to take the path of shaman again to save his [son ? sister ? friend? father ?] of some mystical menace.


So, what you guys think ? Regardless of which option I go, I thought about making him a Pueblo Corporate Council citizen (I find this nation really exotic and would like to explore ir more), raised by a anglo father and a amerindian mother. Which "hooks" I can use here? Things, conflicts, struggles specific to a Pueblo citizen? What hooks are there in Denver related to Pueblo ? What of the options above would fit better with Pueblo and Denver? What would you guys pick, and what would you change in them ?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,