Caracas: Hole in the Heart, Recruitment Thread Options

[Abschalten]

Caracas: Hole in the Heart

"Hole in the Heart" is a PbP game I intend to start that takes place in the dangerous urban hell known as Caracas. The game will be done in a gritty, street level, film noir style, but with a distinctive South American flair. Fans of hard-boiled fiction and those who enjoy themes of hopelessness, cynicism, and depravity will find themselves right at home.

Details on Caracas itself can be found in Runner Havens, pages 124-127; and in Ghost Cartels, pages 134 and 135. I will be using this material as a reference, since I think the setting is magnificent for the style of game I want to run. However, whatever is not laid out on the page is within my domain to invent and create as I see fit. Since Caracas is more or less a bare-bones city as of right now, this minimal description gives me great leeway to come up with a living, vibrant backdrop. Characters may leave Caracas at some point, but the game will be based there primarily.

The game will start towards the end of the Ghost Cartels arc, when Tempo is still on the streets but starting to slowly fade as distribution channels are disrupted. Political tensions are high between Aztlan and Amazonia, with Caracas as the tainted, black prize in between them. The city is already on the verge of anarchy and complete collapse. It’s a scary time to be alive in Caracas.

This campaign will be VERY roleplay-oriented. There will be dice rolls for situational resolution, but I am looking for dedicated posters who really want to explore not only my twisted version of Caracas but also plumb the inner depths of their own tortured PCs. As stated previously, this is going to be a game done in a very film noir style. Your characters should be built to survive in such a world and mesh up thematically. Caracas is very dangerous, and only the toughest and hardest runners can make it, though doing so may come at a very heavy cost.

We will be using the optional Severe Wounds rules as described on pages 120-122 of Augmentation, for that extra gritty and dangerous feel. If you take enough damage, you will feel it in the morning. While I am not out to capriciously kill off characters, I do intend to create high tension, dramatic scenarios. If you’re twisted like me, you think it’s awesome when your PC is suffering from grievous bodily injury, because it adds to the story.

Characters will be built with the standard 400 BP character generation. All of the core books (SR4A, Augmentation, Arsenal, Street Magic, Unwired, and Runners Companion) will be allowed and used. There is a twist, however. The standard limit on Qualities applies, in that you can take 35 BP worth of Positive and 35 BP worth of negative. However, there is a list of negative Qualities from which you MUST choose AT LEAST ONE for your character, though you can take as many as you’d like from the list, up to the limit. Any negative qualities from this list are worth x1.5 (round up) their standard value. So for example if you take Bad Luck (20 BP), you would instead have 30 extra BP to use for your characters. This incentivizes making flawed, imperfect, tormented characters and also makes them slightly stronger than standard 400 BP PCs, meaning you have more points to spend on skills, special attributes, spells, etc.

This list of Negative Qualities is:
Addiction (Moderate or higher), Bad Luck, Scorched, Uncouth, Uneducated, Enemy, Bad Rep, Bi-Polar, Big Regret, Borrowed Time, Lost Loved One, Hung Out To Dry, Paranoia, Poor Self Control (any), Prejudiced, Amnesia (10 BP only), and SINner (Criminal), Cyberpsychosis

Allowed: Any of the standard metatypes and the metavariants in Runners Companion.

Disallowed: Drakes, AIs, Changelings, Infected, Sapient Critters, Free Spirits.

Requirements to be in this game:
• Must be a dedicated poster (RL circumstances are understandable)
• Must be willing to play an imperfect, tormented character in a harsh world
• Must be willing to play in a game with adult themes
• Must have an affinity for film noir and hard-boiled fiction

I Will:
• Engage you all as a team
• Help you explore your individual storylines
• Work with you if foresee an extended absence
• Do my damn best to create an enjoyable gaming experience for you all

Do not apply to play if you are not willing to stick around for the long term. I am not even fucking kidding about this. I want a handful (five or six at most) of dedicated, enthusiastic posters, and I really don’t want to have to write somebody out of an engaging story and fill that spot back in. I want to get to know your characters and see into their souls. I want to challenge them, and force them to confront their personal demons.

Now that I’m done with the pitch, all I can ask is: anyone interested? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Edit:
Players:
1. Combat Mage - "Amnesiac Sam" (Street Samurai)
2. Rastus - Smiley (Rigger/Smuggler)
3. Doc Chase - Kennedy "Sonora" Rojas (Social Adept)
4. DrZaius - Stephen Jacobs (Ork Magician/Investigator)
5. Mister Juan - Dexter Pope (ex-Special Forces)
6. MDI - Esteban Moreno (Troll Pitfighter)
7. Lamhslea - Chaske Mato (Technomancer)
8. Rystefn - Raul Blanca (Athletics Adept)

That's It Folks! - Recruitment is Over!

[Abschalten]

House Rules

1.) Ammo Faucet - All regular ammo is free, virtue of the Caracas Municipal Water System. All sinks have three nozzles: one for hot water, one for cold water, and one for bullets. (Yes, this is a joke... or is it? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ) You don't have to make tests for regular ammunition, nor do you have to buy it in character generation. Of course, you still have to buy other stuff - no free stick-and-shock, anti-aircraft missles, or panther cannon rounds.

2.) Wardrobe - We're here to play Shadowrun, not Barbie Shopping Simulator. I assume you have a reasonable wardrobe representative of your overall character and Lifestyle. You have jackets, coats, shoes, cosmetics, underwear, etc. You will not have to go to the store to buy a nice suit, nor will you have to spend money on it in character generation. I will not expect a Squatter or Street level character to have a 5,000 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) suit and tons of golden jewelry, though. There are limits. Just look at the Lifestyle for your character and assume you have something in the closet that fits that level or lower.

3.)Scatter - I hate the new, "improved" scatter rules in SR4A. I have no idea what they were trying to "fix" but they failed miserably. For scatter we will use the older rules in SR4, the non-anniversary edition. I'd like to think that grenades have uses aside from blowing up the user and not the intended recipient.

[Combat Mage]

This sounds really awesome. I've been looking for the opportunity to play a character with amnesia and that film noir flair is just the thing for me.

I'm thinking of a guy that wakes up in a dark alley under a black sky, heavy rain is falling and he realizes that he has no idea where he is or even who he is. His body is aching with half-healed bullet wounds and a gun is lying next to him. Before he has time to think his situation over, he sees people appear on the streets pointing at him and raising weapons. He grabs the gun and stumbles out of the alley as the first shots barely miss him.

Mechanically it would be a street sam. I'm thinking of letting him start with amnesia, enemies and either big regret or lost love ones (or both) all tieing into the background story. Maybe an addiction too.

Of course with amnesia it's more fun to not know the exact background as a player but I don't know how you want to handle that. I can think up the background myself and seperate player from character knowledge or I can drum up a rough concept and let you do the details (which would be fun for me but more work for you). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Probably a guy who started as an idealist but made a big mistake that cost him everything, his work, his girlfriend, his friends and family and led to him being hunted.

i have to think about this a little bit more, this kind of game needs a really fleshed out concept.

[Abschalten]

My idea for the Amnesia quality is that I would come up with the background and have you retracing your steps and trying to rediscover what you've lost. You can come up with a very rough outline but I'd need that giant "hole," so to speak, so I can come up with a good story. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I actually waffled on Amnesia, but the deciding factor in its favor was this old NES game I played years ago, Deja Vu. Did you ever play that? You start off in a bathroom stall, waking up from unconsciousness, with no idea what your name is or who you are. There's a trenchcoat hanging off the door and a gun underneath it, and you have absolutely no idea why you are there. It's done in a film noir style and it provides a compelling narrative, so that's what made me allow Amnesia. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Martin_DeVries_I...]

There's an island in Oceania called Narau, on which Aztechnology runs a penal colony. They use the prisoners as a workforce--putting goods together, or doing deep sea mining nearby. But there's another facet of Narau: the pit fights. After lights out, select prisoners are forced to fight while the guards watch and gamble. The more blood is spilled, the more fun the guards have. Lots of blood gets spilled.
Word has it, last year there was a riot. In the confusion a few of the prisoners stole a boat and got away. I hear a couple of them are hiding in Argentina, but one of them? A big troll named Coatl. One of their pit fighters. Word is, he's in Caracas, looking for some payback on the people who sold him out to the Big A...


EDIT: I remember Deja Vu! I rented that damn game a bunch of times from the place down the street. Never did get very far in it but it stuck with me, for sure.

[Abschalten]

You're quite in luck, Martin. In my version of Caracas underground pit fights abound, since life is cheap. Lots of skilled fighters come from Aztlan to take part in the circuit, especially fighters skilled in Sangre y Acero. The cyberimplant fights tend to be the bloodiest and have the highest stakes.

[Combat Mage]

My idea for the Amnesia quality is that I would come up with the background and have you retracing your steps and trying to rediscover what you've lost. You can come up with a very rough outline but I'd need that giant "hole," so to speak, so I can come up with a good story. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I actually waffled on Amnesia, but the deciding factor in its favor was this old NES game I played years ago, Deja Vu. Did you ever play that? You start off in a bathroom stall, waking up from unconsciousness, with no idea what your name is or who you are. There's a trenchcoat hanging off the door and a gun underneath it, and you have absolutely no idea why you are there. It's done in a film noir style and it provides a compelling narrative, so that's what made me allow Amnesia. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I never played that game but the funny thing is I totally imagined my character waking up in that alley wearing a trenchcoat with a gun lying on the ground. It's just so film noir. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) But I think the Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines game had a very film noir style too, that's what came to my mind when I read your intro.

I'd love it if you do the background, that means I can discover it as a player not just as a character. Would I still choose the qualities (like big regret and such) and you would decide what exactly it was?

[Abschalten]

@Combat Mage: You most certainly can choose them. However, expect the impact to be exacerbated due to the Amnesia quality. Of course, if you're posting in this thread that won't deter you. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Martin_DeVries_I...]

You're quite in luck, Martin. In my version of Caracas underground pit fights abound, since life is cheap. Lots of skilled fighters come from Aztlan to take part in the circuit, especially fighters skilled in Sangre y Acero. The cyberimplant fights tend to be the bloodiest and have the highest stakes.

I don't know if I'd call it luck, exactly. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif) Although I guess bad luck counts, too.
I'm definitely going to take SINner. I was thinking of taking Enemy and pumping it up to represent AZT, but given the noirish feel it would probably be more appropriate to ignore Aztechnology and instead take Hung Out To Dry and a smaller Enemy to represent the folks that set Coatl up. (Not sure yet what he was set up for, but I'll figure that out tonight while I try to fall asleep.)

[Digital Heroin]

Oh the agony of so many threads starting at once, while I'm still getting the last bits of starting my own game off done... and such a promising bit of gritty this looks to be.

[Rastus]

Well it's about time you got around to this, been waiting forever. Without further ado, my rigger/smuggler, because it just ain't noir unless you got a glorifed taxi with fancy gadgets(or maybe that's more pulp noir).

Cesar de'Silva aka "Smiley"

Background

[ Spoiler ]

Born in San Francisco, California Free State, to a lower-middle class family consisting of a white UCASian father, Aztlaner mother, and two brothers. He grew up in the shadow of the Imperial Japanese Marines, a military force ment to protect CalFree but cared little for a non-japanese people and assets such as him and even less for any non-human citizen within California. Like any decent youth, he returned such disdain in kind and became a bit of a troublemaker, defying any japanese authority when he could.

For the most part it was rather uneventful up until the year 2061 when the Ring Of Fire came to pass and the Japanese Diet decided to recall all troops deployed into foreign areas, which led to the day General Saito refused this order and decide annex California for himself. While Cesar was mostly overlooked by this regime due to being human, even he felt the oppression by strict curfews and constant raids within once peaceful neighborhoods. In little time, Cesar had joined one of the small resistance cells within The Bay area, doing small things such as sabotage and stealing supplies until Ares Macrotechnology, Mothers Of Metahumans, along with various freelance pirates and shadowrunners gave the needed muscle to take the fight to the Imperial Marines.

With General Saito more or less brought down by the late 2060's and things starting to wind down, Cesar was not exactly given free food and home alongside the liberation of his city. Life was moving on just as sure as the former regime and he needed to make ends meet, but wasn't exactly corp material. The choices narrowed down to one of the few locale non-union occupations: Smuggling and piracy. After only a couple years however, Cesar was caught and arrested transporting drugs by some newly emplaced security corporation who had been tightening up the old blind spots within The Bay area.

During his incarceration, Cesar met and befriended an orkish hacker and sometime identity forger named Dan Levitan whom authorities had managed to bring in on a technicality. After some time the two devised a plan to get out of prison; using some friends on the outside Dan would have some false paperwork sent to the prison office that would pardon the two, meanwhile Cesar would drive them both far away using a car Dan hacked. In 2069 the plan went into action and, perhaps unbelievably, it all actually worked and they were almost at the border of the Pueblo Corporate Council before the authorities realized their mistake.

The two made haste to get as far away from California Free State as they could, before stumbling upon the upcoming Tempo trade coming out of Caracas. It wasn't long until they had relocated to the city to set up shop, with Dan doing freelance matrix work while Cesar went back to his old trade of smuggling. However, that was when it was going strong. Now, with crackdowns bearing down on the Olaya Cartel, things are once again looking uncertain for Cesar.

Character Sheet

[ Spoiler ]

Attributes

[ Spoiler ]

Metatype: Human | Age: 27 | Sex: Male | Nuyen: 500 | Lifestyle: Low
Current Karma: 0 |Street Cred: 0 | Notoriety: 2 | Public Awareness: 0
Total Karma: 0

Essence: 2.55

--Physical----------------------------------------------------------
Body 4
Agility 3(4)
Reaction 5(6)
Strength 3
--Mental------------
Charisma 3
Intuition 4
Logic 3
Willpower 3
--Special-----------
Initiative 9(10)
Initiative Passes 1(2)
Matrix Init 9(10)
Matrix IPs 1(3)
Edge 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Skills

[ Spoiler ]

Active Skills

[ Spoiler ]

(Cracking Skill Group) 3
Cybercombat
Electronic Warfare
Hacking

(Mechanic Skill Group) 1
Automotive Mechanic
Aeronautics Mechanic
Industrial Mechanic
Nautical Mechanic

Automatics 3
Pistols 1
Computer 2
Con(Fast Talk) 3(+2)
Dodge 3
Gunnery(Ballistic) 4(+2)
Infiltration(Urban) 3(+2)
Navigation 1
Perception 3
Pilot Aircraft 3
Pilot Ground Craft(Cars) 4(+2)
Pilot Watercraft 3

Knowledge Skills

[ Spoiler ]

Street : Smuggling Routes 5(+1)
Street : Radical Groups 3(+1)
Academic : Drone Design 3
Interest : Sci-Fi Movies 3
Street : Safe Houses 3(+1)
Street : Border Patrol Tactics 4(+1)

Language Skills

[ Spoiler ]

Aztlaner Spanish N
English N

Qualities

[ Spoiler ]

Addiction, Moderate(Hot-Sim) +10(15)
Bilingual 5
Poor Self Control(Thrill Seeker) +5(8 )
Prejudice(Biased, Japanese) +10(15)
School Of Hard Knocks 5
SINner(Calfree/Criminal) +10(15)

Contacts

[ Spoiler ]

Dan Levitin | Hacker (3 Connection/4 Loyalty)
Description: Dan and Smiley are old friends from back in California, having helped eachother escape prison and get all the way to Caracas. While Dan has dabbled in forging identities and official documents(which helped him get out of jail), his primary expertese lies in good ol' fashioned cracking, and hence Smiley comes to him for technical issues of that sort.

Damon "DevilBwoy" Hughes | Rastafarian Pirate (4 Connection/3 Loyalty)
Description: Originally, DB and Smiley were rivals that frequently overstepped eachothers turf. After a few nasty confrontations, they eventually stopped fueding and became a bit more respectful of eachother, although the tendancy of the two to fling insults at eachother upon first meeting can cause others t othink otherwise. DevilBwoy tends to know who's interesting in buying what and where, due to a pirates tendancy to steal anything not nailed down and disassemble whatever is nailed down.

Resources

[ Spoiler ]

<<<Weapons>>>
Colt Government 2066 [5P/-1AP, SA, 14©, 1RC]
-Electronic Firing
+Internal Smartlink mod
+Concealable Shoulder Holster
+Silencer accessory
[1/6 Capacity]
x70 Ex-Ex bullets

AK-97 AR[6P/-1AP, SA/BF/FA, 38©, 4(7)RC]
+Internal Smartlink mod
+Gasvent 3 mod
+Personalized Grip mod
+Shock Pad accessory
+Bipod accessory
[4/6 Capacity]
x114 Ex-Ex bullets

Defiance EX Shocker [8S(e)/-half impact, SS, 4(m)]
+Internal Smartlink
x50 Taser darts

Ingram White Knight[6P/-1AP, BF/FA, 50©/belt, 5(6)RC]
-Custom Gasvent
-Shock Pad
+External Smartlink
x258 Ex-Ex bullets

<<<Armor & Clothing>>>
Armor Vest(6B/4I)
+Nonconductivity 6

Form-Fitting Armor Half-suit(4B/1I)

<<<Electronics>>>
Novatech Airware(Response 5/Signal 5)
+Reponse Upgrade(R:5)
+Signal Upgrade(R:5)
+Sim Module/w Hot-Sim
+Customized Interface
Isis Orb OS(Firewall 3/System 3)
+Firewall Upgrade(R:5)
+System Upgrade(R:5)
Subvocal Microphone

Attack(R:5)[Cracked]
Armor(R:5)[Cracked, Ergonomic]
Analyze(R:5)
Browse(R:5)
Biofeedback Filter(R:5)[Cracked, Ergonomic]
Command(R:5)
Decrypt(R:5)[Cracked]
ECCM(R:5)[Cracked, Ergonimic]
Edit(R:5)
Encrypt(R:5)
Exploit(R:5)[Cracked]
Stealth(R:5)[Cracked, Ergonomic]
Sniffer(R:5)[Cracked]
Spoof(R:5)[Cracked]
Track(R:5)[Cracked]

Clearsight(R:3) autosoft
Covert Ops(R:3) autosoft
Chaser(R:3) autosoft
Targetting: Heavy Weapons(R:3) autosoft
Targetting: Pistols(R:3) autosoft

Caracas City(R:5) mapsoft

Directional Jammer(R:6)


<<<Vehicles & Drones>>>
Aztechnology Crawler
Handling: 0 |Speed: 50 |Accel: 5/20 |
Body: 2 |Armor: 0 |Pilot: 3 |Sensor: 6
Standard Upgrades:
Rigger Adaption
Misc. Upgrades:
Radar R:6 sensor
Autosofts:
Clearsight(R:3)
Covert Ops(R:3)
Modifications:
+Chameleon Coating
+Gecko Tips
+External Fixed Remote mount
(/w Defiance EX Shocker)
[4/4 Capacity]

GMC Commodore (Sedan)
Handling: +2 |Speed: 192 |Accel: 20/45 |
Body: 10 |Armor: 10 |Pilot: 1 |Sensor: 6
Standard Upgrades:
None
Misc. Upgrades:
Morphing License Plate
Spoof Chip
Radar R:6 sensor
Modifications:
+Anti-Theft System
+Chameleon Coating
+Concealed Armor R:10
+Engine Customization(Speed)
+Nitrous Injector
+Oil Slick Sprayer
[10/14 Capacity]

Ford LEBD-1
Handling: 0 |Speed: 80 |Accel: 5/20 |
Body: 3 |Armor: 9 |Pilot: 3 |Sensor: 4
Standard Upgrades:
External Fixed Remote mount
(/w Ingram White Knight)
Improved Takeoff & Landing 2
Mechanical Arm
Special Machinery(2 handcuffs)
Misc. Upgrades:
Radar R:4 sensor
Modifications:
+Armor R:9
+Ammo Bin
+Assembly Time Improvement
[3/4 Capacity]

<<<Other Stuff>>>
Low Lifestyle(1 month)
Automotive Mechanic Shop
Fake SIN(R:3)
Certified Credstick

Sunglasses(R:2)
+Vision Enhancement 3
+Vision Magnification

Aerosol can(/w 10 doses of NoPaint)
Respirator(R:6)
Backpack
Medkit(R:6)
Survival Kit
x10 Light sticks
Water Purification Tablets


<<<Cyberware/Bioware>>>
Cybereyes(R:2) (0.30E)
-Eye Recording Unit
-Image Link
+Low-Light
+Flare compensation
+Smartlink
+Thermographic
[8/8]

Control Rig (0.50E)
Datajack(0.10E)

Tailored Pheromones(R:1)(0.20E)
Maths SPU(0.15E)
Muscle Toner(R:1)(0.20E)
Orientation System(0.20E)
Wired Reflexes(R:1)(2.00E)

And for everyone else, here's a little extra dose of noir.

[BlackHat]

My interest is certainly piqued, and I am usually a very avid poster. I'll see what I can get put together tonight.

[crizh]

I recently had a few ideas for darker characters that I would love to explore and Caracas sounds like just the place to really let your hair down.

[Abschalten]

After rereading my pitch I wanted to post and clarify something. Caracas is a dangerous place and runners needs to be equipped to deal with it, but I don't necessarily mean that you need to all play cyborgs with max armor ratings layering the FFBA, or cybertrolls or anything. While some bullets may fly, I'm mostly speaking in terms of emotionally and psychologically. The kind of armor that will serve you best is not the kind you buy down at WeaponsWorld, but rather the kind that keeps you somewhat sane and functional in a world that seeks to tear you down. I'd still like to get a nice blend of characters and roles, so not everyone has to build sams.

[Doc Chase]

Been more than a few years, Abs.

I'll have to see what I can put together tonight post-workthing.

[DrZaius]

I'm interested. I think this time I'll try a character outside of my comfort zone a bit, to try and spice things up. I'll noodle on it for a while and get back to you.

-DrZaius

[Abschalten]

Take your time. I'll have this thread up a week or more. That should be enough time for everyone to come up with character ideas.

[Renard]

I'm definitively interested.

I think about playing a medic, does this suit you ?

[Martin_DeVries_I...]

Lord knows we're probably going to need one.

[Rastus]

Yeah, a medic is definately a talent to have around just in case.

... Unless we face off against a special ops team, right Abschalten? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Mister Juan]

Burnt out, on the edge ex Force Recon Marine, reporting in.
When do you want a character sheet in by?

Dexter Pope

[ Spoiler ]

DOB: 2021



Dexter is old. Or at least, he is getting old. Had his life being that of your average corporate Joe, he would either currently be at the very prime of his time, or contemplating early retirement with a fat pension.



But it isn't the case.



Dexter might not exactly be old, but he is surely feeling so. By the time they reach his age, those that thrive in his line of work are usually one of two things: retired on some tropical island with more money then they'd ever need, or dead. Either by some incredible turn of luck, or because he literally has been cursed, Dexter is neither of those. He hasn't gloriously died for his country. He hasn't made the very last stand for freedom, holding back the odds until his last clip was dry. He hasn't caught some random stray bullet. He hasn't given his life for a noble cause or any of the ideals he believes in. No. Dexter has survived. His friends. His comrades. His brothers in arms. His squad mates. Every single one of them is dead now.



The screaming Drill Sergeant at Paris Island.

His bunk mate during basic.

All the Commanding Officers.

All the NCOs.

Every single last on of them.

Everyone is dead.



Dexter might be old, and he also might be tired. But not matter how tired and old he'll ever be, the man will always be a soldier. Even when most of what make him a human being will be gone, he will remain a soldier.



It would be a rather obvious cliché to state that Dexter started his life when he joined the CAS Marine Corps at 18. Like every single human being, he started his life by being born. Contrary to a lot of people you'll find out there, creeping around in the shadows, Dexter wasn't born in the UCAS, or CAS, or in any of those “new” country. Dexter Pope was born in a place that doesn't exist anymore, beside inside his head. He was born in 2021, in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America. Actually, he was born a little outside of New Orleans, in a small farming community. By the time he was old enough to get beatings from his drunken old man, the USA was in shambles, the family business wasn't fairing quite well, and redskins were causing all sorts of havoc. As much as the First Crash barely hit them, in 2029, the formation of the CAS was a whole other story.



One thing Dexter had a lot of, beside beatings from his dad, were brothers; all older. And all of them had escaped the family life, as soon as they had been able to, by joining the armed forces. When what was left of the different branches had to pick which side they would stay on, most of Dexter's brothers left for the UCAS. The others ended up fighting in Texas, and all laid their life down to defend their newly formed country. For a whole summer, working with his dad and having dropped out of school, young Dexter contemplated what he would do with his life. He sure as hell couldn't stay on the farm much longer, or he'd end up killing his father in a fit of rage. As soon as he was old enough, Dexter enlisted in the Marine Corp. That was in 2038; over 30 years ago.



Fresh out of boot camp, the young Dexter was placed, like about 90% of the country's military assets, near the Aztlan/CAS border. For the first two years, Dexter saw very little action, until things started to flare up along the border. Nothing was ever publicly disclosed, but by 2040, skirmishes with the Azzies became almost daily occurrences. They would test them, and in return, they'd try to sneak in as far into Texas as they could. But it still wasn't much. At least, it wasn't what Dexter had envisioned when he had enlisted. He wanted action. He wanted adventure. He wanted to make a difference and to take the fight to the enemy’s door.



His time to shine finally came through when he was hand picked to be part of a multi-branch unit. Along with Special Forces soldiers, Dexter was sent deep inside Azzie occupied Texas to train militias and provide a little more firepower than they had. And he did exactly that; he covertly tagged and bagged a lot of Azzie troopers, up until his unit was called back to CAS soil.



Back in New Orleans, in early 2046, Dexter met a then student and waitress at a local bar; Sue Morgan. Cute, smart and most of all single. When Dexter's extended leave was over, and his unit redeployed, Sergeant Pope was not only married, but also had a baby girl; Catherine. From the swaps of Louisiana, Dexter found himself waist deep in jungle mud, as he became quite personally acquainted with Colombia... and how he could help their guerrilla fighters push back both Aztlan and Amazonian's forces. Dexter's unit, now “officially” disbanded, stayed in South America for three years, hopping from one covert assignment to the next, taking part in missions that still wake Dexter at night; doings things to people that still plague his nightmares. Dexter's last mission, as part of that covert unit, took place in 52, when a shard from a mortar shell ripped about three quarter of his right arm off, knocking him unconscious and, apparently to his squad mates, dead and gone. What did bring Dexter back to his senses, a few days later, were the rats gnawing at him. They had eaten through most of what was left of his arm, and taken a good bits of his right eye. Miraculously, Dexter survived and when the fighting died off a bit, was rescued and extracted back to mainland CAS. It took Dexter a long time to heal, and not just physically. Most of the scars from his trip down in South America are still quite there. Most of the ghosts still haunt him to this day.



In 2053, the Pope family grew faster than expected: Sue gave birth to twins: Emma and Arthur. Sue had now been out of college for quite some time, and taken up a job with mid size law firm in New Orleans. She was making more than enough money to support the now growing Pope family. For the next two years, Dexter did very little but heal; taking extended leaves, going fishing, training new Marine Recruits. He also spent his time at home, taking care of his son and two daughters, getting acquainted with the new chromed part of his body.



By 2058 all was well with the Pope family. Catherine was on her way to high school, and the twins were just starting 1^st grade. Dexter had just come back from a 8 months stints doing black ops in the Caribbean League, mostly Haiti, when he decided to take the twins to the local mall. A good friend he had met in Port Au Prince, Maurice Raine, was due in town the next day and the twins had nothing fancy to wear. Sue had been working late every single day of the week. Giving his wife some well deserved rest, Dexter took Emma and Arthur with him. Until today, Dexter doesn’t know what happened, or how.



To this day, Sue hasn’t forgiven him. To this day, neither has he.



As Emma, energetic and giddy as usual, pulled him toward a store, Arthur’s hand slipped from his father’s. It lasted barely a few seconds, but it was all it took. His back turned to his son for the briefest of moment, and he was gone. Footage from security cameras revealed nothing. One second, Arthur Pope was standing right there, and then he wasn’t.



From that day forward, something died inside Dexter. Something died inside Sue. After months spent in anxiety, fear and anger, the police finally gave up. Told the Pope they should grieve and put it behind them. From that day forward, there was nowhere to go for Dexter but down. He began to drink. He began to take unwarranted risks on the job. He became an unreliable loose canon of a soldier; the sort of operator no one wanted on their op.



When the summer of 2060 swung around, Sue had filed assault charges on Dexter, and the divorced procedures had started. Taking the girls with her, Sue moved to Seattle and remarried within the year. Dexter disappeared in Yucatan, doing his best to die as a mercenary on some forgotten battlefield. By 2062, Dexter Pope was already making himself a name as a reliable gun for hire… who wasn’t afraid of death.



In the grueling heat of the summer of 2064, down on his luck, with no money left and nothing holding him together, Dexter was approached by a man called Morris. No first name. No origin. No reason for being in Aztlan. Dexter knew nothing about him, but Morris knew everything about Dexter. Details about missions he’d been on; missions that had never occurred. He knew about his comrades in arms, the people he had served with… people who didn’t exist anymore, people who had been zeroed out of the systems 15 years ago. He came to Dexter with information no one was supposed to have. Hung over, with nothing but the desire to put a bullet in his brain, Dexter considered breaking Morris neck right then and there. But Morris played his cards well, and he still does. He said “Sergeant Major Pope, we need you.”



Today, Dexter’s self destructive streak is still there. Although he hasn’t truly been able to put any of his past behind him, be it his actions or the disappearance of Arthur, he has decided to keep on living. If not for him, for his daughters at least. For the past 5 years, Dexter has been living in Caracas, making a grim living as a mercenary and a local “agency asset”.




Daughters


Catherine Pope (DOB 2047): 23

Emma Pope (DOB 2053): 17

[Abschalten]

Yeah, a medic is definately a talent to have around just in case.

... Unless we face off against a special ops team, right Abschalten? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

Oh man, fuck you for even bringing that up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)

[Abschalten]

@Mister Juan: Holy shitballs, that is exactly what I'm looking for. Good job!

Edit: As for when character sheets are due, let's try to get them all in in about a week. Say July 1st? I'll make the pick of who gets in based on who I think would work in the game. I really like the driblets I'm seeing so far, though. I'm getting all excited and coming up with some cool ideas. If I get carried away I might allow more than I originally planned in and weave you guys in and out of the main arc. But you guys will never be without events going on. There will essentially be as many plotlines as there are players, not including whatever overall plot arc I've got cooking at the time.

[Mister Juan]

@Mister Juan: Holy shitballs, that is exactly what I'm looking for. Good job!

I actually created this character a long time ago, in the hopes that a dark gritty game would someday come along (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) Somehow... it seemed appropriate to submit him (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

I was wondering, are you using any special house rules for contacts?

[Abschalten]

I actually created this character a long time ago, in the hopes that a dark gritty game would someday come along (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) Somehow... it seemed appropriate to submit him (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

I think you've found that game. Oh, and Paris Island! You know I live in SC, right? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I was wondering, are you using any special house rules for contacts?

I sometimes use Cha*2 in free points. But considering you guys will be able to get extra points by loading up on those special negative qualities, I think it might be a bit much to allow that in this case.