20 questions!
[ Spoiler ]
We are shaped by out heritage. Facial features, skin tone, hight, build, metatype, even aptitudes are influenced by the genes passed from parent to child. Attitude, too, is taught by parents, informed by their own lives and their cultural hertiage. Where does your character come from, what is her lineage, who were her parents, and what did she inherit from them?
Tall and lanky, Lucky inherited most of his physical features from his mother.Jack, his father, isn't a pushover, but is definitely more deft with his deck than he is in a fist fight. Sully was a fighter though, and constantly pushing the edge of what she could do physically. Lucky inherited some of her enhanced senses, her black hair, and a certain flair for the martial arts that she practiced, as well as her Magic. From Jack he got the blue eyes, a quick grin, and some basic instruction about all things physical, from cars to commlinks.
Parents can be proud of their children or regret ever bringing them into the world. Some are loving, and some are indifferent. All of them are only metahuman and have their own opinions of their children. Assuming they could speak, what would each of your character's parents say about her?
They'd both be proud, despite the lack of normal indicators of success. Lucky continues to practice the martial arts and magical skills his mother taught him, and improves them slowly. He's also got a predilication for dealing harshly with 'monsters'. This is almost in direct conflict with his love of changelings, and the fact that he goes out of his way to spend time and hang out with them. His protective attitude about them and the good that he does protecting them is the main reason that Jack is pround, despite the somewhat shady natures of the gang he hangs out with most of the time.
Many people remember certain historical events for the rest of their lives. For those alive in the first decade of the 21st century, it could be the assassination of John F. Kennedy, or the Tiananmen Square protests, or the fall of the Berlin Wall, or the attack of 11 September 2001. People remember where they were, and what they were doing when they first heard of these events. Shadowrun history has significant events as well, such as the assassination of President Dunkelzahn, the Crash 2.0, and the emergence of technomancers and artifical intelligences. Pick a few events from recent Shadowrun history and ask where the character was at the time, what does he remember about about event, and what was he doing at the time?
The Crash 2.0 was significat. Lucky can remember being at home, only 10 years old, and hearing the frantic cursing and struggles of his father, occasionally surfacing from VR and mumbling about lost friends and destroyed worlds before plunging back in to minimize as much as the damage as he could. He lost many, many friends during the Crash, and wasn't ever the same again. The only thing that affected him more was the death of Sully.
Very few people choose to become shadowrunners. More likley, they are thrown into the life by a chaotic and uncaring world. Even if she made a conscious decision to enter the shadows, her decision is influenced by the world around her. How did your character get into shadowrunning, and why did she take that path?
Jack and Sully were both Shadowrunners, although they both had their own ideas about what that meant. Jack wanted to save the world, and make a bit of a profit on the side. Sully was a monster hunter, through and through. She worked with a secret society to hunt down dangerous paranormal creatures constantly. Between the two of them, there was very little surprise in Lucky's decision to test out of school early and take to the streets.
People have control over their own living arrangements. From the child young enough to use crayons and tape all the way up to the elderly shut-in who plasters her walls with family photos and cat pictures, everyone makes their living spaces more personally pleasing. What is your character's living space like, and what has he added or changed to make it his own?
"Lucky's living space is a chaotic mess of random bits and pieces of clothes and gear, nothing really ever gets put away. It's draped with strings of beads and expended glowlights, evidence of raves at the Looking Glass sometime in the past. Bean bags and mattresses are as much furniture as ones going to find, but there's always somewhere comfortable to flop."
Everyone has beliefs, and many beliefs strong enough to be convictions. Some are religious, some are political, some are socical, and some are just about why people are here. What does your character believe in, what are her convictions (if any), and why does she hold them?
"1. Do good. Jack always believed in doing good while you were doing your job, and never doing anything you
weren't ready to live with. Lucky picked this up and took it along with him. 2. Destroy Monsters. Sully was a monster hunter, and Lucky has followed in her footsteps. Paranormal threats are some of the hardest for mundanes to address
and survive, and often the least reasonable. Lucky always goes after them first. 3. Protect the Changelings. Lucky fell in with the group at the Looking Glass pretty much by coincidence after a job, and he's taken an most unreasonable level of protectiveness towards the minority since then. He won't allow them to be picked on or teased, and most weekends find him at the Looking Glass, a changeling club with strict security and pretty much constant raves."
Everyone has aspects of their personality that grate on someone. Even the best of friends annoy one another from time to time. The flaws in a person’s character are as important as the qualities. What do you dislike most about your character’s personality?
"Lucky's most annoying habit is probably the daredevil attitude he inherited from Sully, his mom. He very rarely checks morale,
and almost never asks if something is a smart idea or how safe it might be when he leaps into the middle of things, or off buildings. His amazing amount of luck just serves to fuel his lack of restraint."
The Sixth World is considered by many to be spinning out of control. If anyone could exert control over it, it would be the “Big Ten” triple-A megacorps. These transnationals exert a lot of influence on everyday life in the 2070s. Which of the Big Ten does your character hold in the highest (or least low) regard, which does he like the least, and why?
Ares (Knight Errant) and Lone Star are vying for spots at the bottom of the totem pole right now, in Lucky's opinion. They haven't done jack to clean up Loveland, and seem too embroiled in their own political conflicts to really try and help anyone.
People make acquaintances and friends; we’re hardwired for it. Humans are social animals. This is especially true in the shadows, where often it is not the power you have, but the power you can borrow, and not who you, are but who you know. There’s a story behind each and every one of these relationships. What is the story with your character and her contacts?
Lucky doesn't have anyone he'd consider contacts at this point. There are a few people he knows at the Looking Glass and then the members of the gang. Not having actually run in the shadows yet, Lucky hasn't really formed anything like a network of friends or associates. The changelings put most people off, and raving e-puddles at the parties don't make for the most useful of associates.
It’s Sunday morning, and your character has no commitments until tomorrow afternoon. What does she do for the day?
Lucky's day starts with ritual practice. It's a little cliché, but that was how his mother showed him to harness the flows of they wield, so it's pretty much the only way Lucky knows how. The rest of the morning and afternoon might be spent tinkering with his battered old van or working in the gangs chop shop. Early evening is food, probably something fast and greasy and fake, and the night is spent at the Looking Glass, hanging out with Widget and Fuzzy Bun-Bun, dancing and tripping or whatever's going around. Mornings are made for hangover recovery.
Your character has a specific skill set, a list of Active and Knowledge skills that define what she knows and her areas of expertise. How did she come to learn those skills, and how did she develop them to those levels?
Most of Lucky's active physical skills came from Sully, his mother. He showed an aptitude for it early, and the blind monster hunter was an utter pragmatist when it came to dealing with the real world. If he could defend himself when he had to, he'd be better off than if he couldn't. Later, the ritual practice served to draw the two of them closer then Lucky manifested his magic at an early age.
Anything technical Lucky knows, however, came from Jack. All the driving and mechanical skill came from time spent with Jack, although admittedly less than with Sully. The basics of being safe on the Matrix came along with that, along with basic security procedures. Unfortunately, Lucky just couldn't really sit still long enough to learn more.
Everyone has their limits. People can be dark, but most people’s instinct is to draw the line at certain actions and thoughts, and they keep to their own moral convictions. Is there a moral limit that your character enforces on the jobs she takes, and in what shadow work would she refuse to engage?
Lucky won't do wet work (unless the targets a monster), and prefers jobs that are more like Robin Hood than bank robbing. He doesn't like to hurt people unless they're assholes or monsters. He won't ever hurt a Changeling unless his life depends on it, and then he probably wouldn't use lethal force. All this goes out the window, however, when dealing with 'monsters'. Ghouls, Sheddim, vampires, spirits...all these are the creatures that prey on normal people, and he won't even hesitate to use lethal force on them.
If you have an Awakened or technomancer character, consider your character’s tradition and streams. Even within the major established magical traditions and the recently emerged technomantic streams, there is room for personalization. Ask yourself what drew her to that particular paradigm, how does it effect the way she views the world and her magic, how does it translate into choice of mentor spirit or paragon, and how does it affect the appearance of the spirits or sprites you conjure or compile? Lucky's magical style is entirely inherited from Sully. She was a blind phys-ad melee combat specialist, basically, and since she taught Lucky, he follows almost directly in her foot steps, right down to the daily kata practice that lets him access so much more of his power. Sully did it that way, and it's never occured to Lucky that he might not have to do exactly what she did. It's become so ingrained that now he actually does have to mimic her kata practices before he can access the full pool. Sully taught him that the magic was another tool, no more or less important than the gear she used or the body that housed it. All had to be maintained through careful discipline. This is part of the reason Lucky is so care free with everything else in his life.
Life as a shadowrunner is by definition outside the bounds of “normal” life. Shadowrunners do not truly fit into the lives of ordinary people, whether they live in slums or mansions. What does your character think of ordinary life, mainstream culture, and those who abide by it?
Lucky has an inherited disdain for people who live by the rules others set for them, and don't excerise their own will and right to fight for those who can't. Hence the monster hunter thing. He doesn't despise them, but he definitely looks down most of the mainstream, and laughs at anyone that seems uncomfortable around oddities like Changelings.
Everyone has nightmares. Sometimes, we forget the dream completely on waking. Sometimes, the nightmare haunts us or even recurs. If your character had a lingering nightmare or a deep-rooted fear, what would it be, and why does he find it so terrifying?
Lucky's nightmares would be around what killed Sully. She was the strongest, fastest, fiercest person Lucky has ever known, but she was brought low by a blustering, petty, narsicistic woman upset that Sully wouldn't accede to her demands. She muddled in Sully's life, trying to embarass the woman, and ended up getting Sully killed because of it, torn apart by a pack of vampires. Lucky lives in horror that that kind of trival pettiness will be his downfall, and that he'll end up dying to the one thing he and his mother struggle to eradicate.
People tend to attach sentimental value to items in their possession or people they are close to. They make an effort to keep these close by and safe. What is your character’s “sacred object” or “close one,” and how did they come to be so important to him?
Lucky's prized possession is the Sully Special. A custom crafted telescoping staff, it actually breaks apart into two batons, each of which conceals a grappling gun in the end. Sully used the staff, and taught him how to used the staff and the batons, and it's pretty much the only thing he has left of her, considering her body was torn apart when she died.
One of metahumanity’s greatest assets is its ability to look toward the future and imagine a better life. Even small children have dreams about what they want to be when they grow up. What did your character want to become when he was a child, and what are his goals now?
In the beginning, Lucky wanted to be just like his Mom and Dad. They were pretty much superhero's in his eyes. While he's definitely grown up some in terms of his perspective, it hasn't diminished his views about his parents worth and the worth of their work. He fully intends at some point to learn as much as Jack knew about Computers, and to follow in his mother's footsteps as a monster-hunter full time. However, at the moment he's left with the more pressing matters of eating and surviving.
A person’s appearance can say volumes about him. From fashion sense, to the colors he prefers, to the way he walks and speaks. Sometimes, his personality determines his appearance, and, sometimes, the appearance he chooses to present the world effects his personality. What does your character look like, and what inspired his choices?
Thin and lanky, with muscle definition born more from a lack of food then a lot of exercise, Lucky is pretty much a club kid all the time. His usual attire is tight leather pants or jeans, along with an armored jacket. It's pretty much the minimal he can get away with and still be prepared enough to satisfy Sully, who believed that you should always be ready to fight or run.
Everyone has a name, but a runner’s street name is a representation of his connection to the shadows. Sometimes runners choose their own moniker, but more often it is given to them as a nickname or earned through some (mis)adventure. How did your character come to be known by his street name?
Lucky's handle is purely based on his exceptional luck. Jumps he shouldn't have been able to make, opponents he shouldn't have been able to take, all this and more with a cocky grin on his face. It's not infalliable, he's not invincible, but he sure acts like he is. Some say his name is just an omen, as in he's lucky someone de-rezzed his meat bod yet.
Background with the gang to follow.
Low-Down in Loveland, Recruiting Phase
Jun 30 2010, 05:23 PM
