Note: This character was inspired by the "is using a veil when killing breaking the first law" discussion. When I started this I was using the name "Doomkiller" as a placeholder - and never thought of a better one. It probably should be replaced... then again, since the entity is petty and small minded, a melodramatic name like "Doomkiller" could work.
Name: Nelson Gordon (Silent Night)
Template: Scion
High Concept Aspect: A Made Bastard Of the Nevernever
Trouble: Hi, My Name is Nelson and I'm An Addict
Background:
Nelson Gordon grew up without a home. He was dropped off at an orphanage in 1946 when he was about a year old; more or less. Papers left with him provided his name but not his age. It was assumed that Nelson was either abandoned by his parents (perhaps by a war widow) or was illegitimate and thus an object of shame. Maybe it the possible stain of illegitimacy or just the abundance of younger babies but he was never selected for adoption. Then again, maybe it was the ... it was hard to put words to it, but there was a kind of shadow over the boy's life.
Not that this taint was always a bad thing. Back in those days orphanages often attracted predators and at Nelson's orphanage there was a janitor who liked taking kids down to the boiler room. One day that janitor invited Nelson down there but before the man was able to make an issue of it that janitor disappeared. As did any who presented a real threat to Nelson. No one made anything of it at time but they might have it things were more pronounced. Nelson suffered the normal traumas of youth (schoolyard fights, the usual types of beatings from the staff) without any sort of guardian angel intervention but threats that were more serious than those were neutralised.
Background Aspect: Touched by Shadows
Rising Conflict:
Nelson was strange boy growing up, but things became stranger as he began to mature. Like that time when he hit his early teens and looked across the orphanage yard. He had seen Mary countless times growing up, but this time he noticed how nice her dress looked. How shapely it was. His mind was filled with the idea of walking over to her, of getting her some place alone, of running his hands over her dress - working their way to her lovely neck and squeezing it and squeezing it until her face her turned blue and purple and...
The other boys talked enough for Nelson to know that it was normal to want to touch Mary but not normal to want to kill her. Very not normal. Then the dreams started, dreams were filled with darkness, blood, and death. That and a majestic figure cheering it all on. Nelson began to fear night, to fear his dreams, to fear the feelings that girls were awakening in him.
One night things got too much to bear and Nelson ran from the orphanage. Not that he was leaving all that early; it wouldn't have been long before he was kicked out to do farm work or otherwise forced into gainful employment. Because of that no one really looked for him. Well, no one but his father and his father was the being in the dreams.
Many dreams and some experiments later, Nelson was standing bodily in the hall of Doomkiller. Soon after meeting him, Nelson concluded that his father was a mortal who had somehow achieved power - that no real god or godling could be such a petty being. Doomkiller might be all-powerful in his hall but Nelson soon learned that Doomkiller never left that hall. Never dared to face other powers that might equal or surpass him.
The more Nelson learned about the being that had sired him the less respect Nelson had for it. Doomkiller wasn't just a murderer, he was a rapist who murdered. No woman survived him. Either they died in his bed or months later, when they gave birth. The child swelling within them would leach their life energy, taking the last of it at birth. Doomkiller bragged that no woman was ever with him twice or with another man after him and that he had dozens of sons scattered around the world, each of them killing and raping in his name. All of them armed with Doomkillers 'gifts'. What gifts? That depended on the son. Some were given physical powers and others mystic one while all received the darkness.
When he asked about his mother, Doomkiller was frank - he didn't remember the woman's name or what she looked like.
Nelson chose the mystic path. Powers were granted to him by this father, through blood and deed. As he claimed them Nelson felt a part of himself changing and ... Something happened to his eyes. Since then some people had said that they caught glimpses of his eyes when they looked like cat's eyes, or solid black, or red, or... Whatever the case, Nelson now wears sunglasses all the time. [Note - this change to his eyes isn't constant enough to be an aspect on its own but is part of his Scion high concept for compells.]
It was only after he returned to the real world that Nelson learned of the other powers that existed in the world. Of the White Council, their Laws of Magic, and their Wardens. Nelson decided that since he wasn't human those laws didn't apply to him - but was quick to realise that if he went around killing people the Wardens would probably track him down and kill him. That he might have power, but they had more and if he went mad dog then they would kill him - as they had killed countless of his half-brothers over the years.
Aspect: Inhuman Sorcerer
First Story:
Nelson had a need to kill and inflict pain, he had the means to do it, but he also had the brains not to. He was smart enough to recognise that if he was a mad dog killer someone bigger would come along and put him down. The White Council, another predator, or that the cops could get lucky. That he needed to control his urges before they got him killed.
He stumbled on part of the answer while sleeping in a park. While he was staying there he ran into a man who smoked constantly - smoking so he wouldn't start drinking again - and another who chewed gum to keep from smoking. Later he met another man who drank to control his heroin cravings. From them he learned the concept of sublimation of addictions, support systems, and 12 step programs. Of course there was no group called "Killers Anonymous" but Nelson found that if he kept his wording vague he could fit in with the drug addicts. Especially if he focused on the RUSH of feelings and energy and pleasure and...
After he started to attend meetings on an irregular bases, Nelson searched out ways to dull his needs, to sublimate them into something vaguely more acceptable. Nelson had grown up hearing about mob hit men and that seemed like a good place to start in his quest to find a way to kill without becoming a mad dog. As he began to move in criminal circles, Nelson found a place where his creepiness was more of an asset than an hindrance. Joining the fringes of that world, Nelson was shocked to learn that (with very rare exceptions) bruisers and hit men didn't enbjoy inflicting pain or killing people - that it was generally just about the money. Sometimes it was about money and respect but mostly it was the money. A man didn't pay you what he owed you? Then you threaten him with a beating. Sometimes you have to beat someone, just so the rest of the people who owe know that you're serious, but most times you just threatened because, well, how is the guy going to pay you back if he's in the hospital? Someone owes a hell of a lot and won't pay? Threaten to kill him but he can't pay if he's dead now can he?
Of course examples needed to be made and problems "dealt with", but there was far less violence in the criminal underworld than Nelson had been led to believe. Luckily there was friction between various groups; Nelson got his start as hit man dealing with various ethnic groups whose gangs didn't "respect" the Don. Even then it was often about money - whether it was a drug debt or protection money, the victim could have bought his way out.
The first time that Nelson was trusted to deal with a "make him pay or make him go" situation on his own he knew this might be his one chance to impress people. Using his powers to veil himself, Nelson ramped the spell up to the point where it could survive passing uninvited through a threshold. Then he snuck into the man's house and took pictures, lots of pictures. Pictures of the man sleeping, of the man's wife sleeping, pictures of the man's children sleeping, and (just to avoid confusion) a picture that showed a gun and a hand-written note. The note said simply "Pay your debts" because Nelson couldn't think of an "or else" he could add that wouldn't subtract from the impact that the pictures would make.
The man paid and Nelson was noticed. He was given other work.
A few mouths later the job was a man named Maritti and that man ignored the photos. Maritti had buried a couple of corpses in shallow graves and decided he was tough enough that no one could force him to pay what he owed on a 10 kilo shipment of smack. Nelson took another set of pictures, this time including photos of the Maritti's wife as she ran errands and Maritti's kids as they played in their schoolyard. He gathered the photos, added a note reading "Three Day Grace Period", and left it by Maritti's pillow. The morning of the fourth day, the Maritti's wife awoke to discover that she was sleeping with a corpse - that someone had used a silenced pistol to put two bullets in the back of her husband's head while he slept.
That got him noticed more. Getting in, not making a fuss, getting out - that impressed the people who mattered. As for Maritti's family, there had never been a serious threat against them. You threaten to kill a man's children and he pays but if you actually kill a kid, that's when things fall apart. That was when the target either tries to kill you or talks to the cops or otherwise doesn't pay you - and getting payment is what matters.
Becoming a trusted enforcer for the mob was good for him. Nelson knew that he would never be a made guy, that he didn't have the right ethnic background for that, but now he had someone deciding who he should kill. As a bonus, the mob rarely involved civilians in its business - meaning that the bulk of the people Nelson killed were murderers and virtually all of them were criminals who even other criminals agreed needed killing.
Killing with a gun didn't feed his cravings, but it dulled them enough to keep Nelson from killing with his bare hands. He now had rules and there was a structure to his life that he could use to fight his urges. He wasn't some mad dog killer but the enforcement arm of a business - and that's was what counted.
Aspect: It's Always About The Money
(Note: there's no guest star here. This part of his story happens in the 60s so unless you have long lived characters it's a bit early for a guest star. If you do then you can work in a character running into Nelson while he's working.)
Guest Star roles should be fairly recent ones and based off his normal activities, which have changed a bit over the years. He has worked for decades for the Palladino family but over those years the world has changed in ways that no one could have expected. The 60s involved a struggle with other ethnic groups, but after that came the bikers and more ethnic competition. The Haitians, the Vietnamese, the Triads, and an endless supply of bikers have tried moving in on the Palladino family's operations. When possible Palladino family work out a profit sharing arrangement, when that wasn't possible, well it was always about the money. That and respect, which meant that Nelson has had quite a bit of work over the years. Always striking at night, always using a silenced weapon, Nelson has become the legend known to organised crime experts as Silent Night.
Of course, he's never been made a full member of the group so he can't work on Made Guys, but there are few people who remember that. Old Man Palladino knows, him and a few other Old Timers, but most assume that Silent Night is a Made Guy. That or a crew that all uses the same methods. The local version of Murder Incorporate.
As Nelson grew into the role of a mob extortionist and murderer, he developed other skills. Photography, stalking targets, following people. Sometime in the 70s he developed another source of income - working as professional dominant brings in money while sating part of his appetite for pain. He has also gone a number of monster hunts, protecting his boss' territory from other predators - during which time he may have crossed paths of PCs. Not that he hunts monsters for idealist reasons, he does it to protect his boss. Nelson needs someone else to decide when to kill, someone to pick his targets, and that someone can't tell Nelson what to do if some Red Court vampire has its claws into his boss.
His boss, Old Man Palladino, makes the decisions for Nelson. Who lives, who dies, when, and how. Old Man Palladino knows who and what Nelson is, about Nelson's urges to murder with his bare hands, and how tightly Nelson keeps those desires under control. That he's the one who gives Nelson the permission Nelson needs to kill.
Sample Aspects could include "Hungry for Pain", "Just Doing My Job", "The Old Ways Are The Best", "Family Comes First"
Power Level: Submerged
Skill Cap: Superb
Skill Points: 35
Starting Refresh: 10
Adjusted Refresh: 2
Skills:
Guns: Superb - he kills with a gun; it's not how he wants to kill but it's how he allows himself to do it.
Discipline: Great - he needs this keep himself from killing without orders.
Lore: Great - he's studied what he is and what else is out there.
Burglary: Good - he routinely breaks into homes.
Conviction: Good - years of self-examination has left him in the position where he knows who he is.
Stealth: Good - he knows how to sneak even when he's not veiled.
Alertness: Fair
Deceit: Fair
Fists: Fair - he's ready to kill with his bare hands, but doesn't.
Resources: Fair - his job pays well he spends enough to indulge in every vice except the one he wants most.
Contacts: Average - organised crime.
Craftsmanship: Average - makes his own silencers.
Endurance: Average
Investigation: Average - finding information about his targets,
Performance: Average - photography (including developing the photos).
Oddly enough, he lacks Intimidation. His methods speak for themselves and he rarely gets in close and personal with his targets.
Stunts and powers
Lore: Finely Tuned Third Eye
Stealth: Swift and Silent
Wizard’s Constitution [-0]
Cloak of Shadows [-1]
Sponsored Magic: Doomkiller Kin [-4] - magic dealing darkness, death, deception, illusions, veils, and things of that nature. Sunlight is anathema to Doomkiller's power - washing away a step every 30 minutes the spell is in direct sunlight.
Item of Power: Doomkiller's Amulet
Description: A metal amulet that "glows" with a faint darkness.
Musts: This is one of several amulets forged by Doomkiller for his by-blows. To date they have only been used by his descendants. Perhaps they can be used by others, perhaps not. In either case Doomkiller might send agents to deal with any non-relative who tries to use this. Or he might not.
Effects:
[-0] It Is What It Is.
[-0] Unbreakable. Doomkiller's Amulet cannot be destroyed save by an impressive ritual of the Light.
[+1] One-Time Discount. Doomkiller's Amulet is easily concealed.
[–6] Mythic Recovery
[+4] Catch Sunlight (common, easy to discover). Sunlight is the antithesis of Doomkiller's power. Injuries suffered under the light of the sun can not be healed by the amulet. Exposure to sunlight renders the amulet useless for up to five minutes.
Net Cost [-1].
During the late 70s, Nelson was involved in a "misunderstanding" involving a debate over whether a couple of kids should die gruesome deaths because their father gave state's evidence. His disagreement over that happening (and refusal to do the job) resulted in Nelson being shot in both kneecaps. Crawling away, Nelson was forced to return to his father for aid. Doomkiller offered aid but not until Nelson "proved" that he truly wanted it. Seventeen kills was the task that Doomkiller deemed an appropriate show of devotion. Shattered kneecaps didn't make it easy and no one was giving him orders (or permission) but 17 killers died under Nelson's gun to show that he really wanted to be able to walk without crutches. Now he generally wears the amulet under his shirt.
Note: since he can lose the IoP it doesn't replace his Wizard’s Constitution.
Second Note: This only really has to grant Inhuman Recovery but the gamer in me couldn't help but notice that it would only cost -1 regardless of whether it was Inhuman Recovery, Supernatural Recovery, or Mythic Recovery so went with the most powerful option. Feel free to downgrade it in your games.
Items
Thaumaturgy:
Ring of Veils (Focus, Lore +1)
Nelson's standard methods depend on his Veils. He's become very good with them.
Six "potion" slots:
Nelson likes to keep his options open. True, he can cast a limited form of Thaumaturgy at the speed of Evocation, but sometimes he doesn't have time to manage that so prepares tricks ahead of time. Some of them are actual potions while others are disposal charms. He generally has two backup veils prepared and something to open a way to the Nevernever. Lore rolls can determine the others.
Magic:
In addition to veils, Nelson does what he calls "EMP". He claims to have a series of small devices that generate powerful EMP fields, the perfect way of foiling bugs and other surveillance devices, but in fact he just casts powerful hexes (destroying tech is destroying, so it's something his magic can do). Powerful enough that they fry the listening devices that have taken down so many in his profession. Of course the "EMP" also destroys the electronics of his allies (including digital watches, smart phones, etc) but Nelson views that as an acceptable loss.
Using him in play:
He's not a hero but not really a villain. The mob never sends him out to deal with civilians so Nelson knows that he "deals" only with criminals. Criminals who have come up short either in respect or cash (and cash is a sign of respect) when dealing with the Palladino family. He thinks that a few of his targets might not have been killers but knows that few men have the balls to stand up to the Palladinos without first having made their bones. He's a killer killing killers, nothing more.
Nelson and his controller follow the old code. No killing cops, no killing civilians, no killing Made Guys, and no killing without the boss' say so. At least that's how Old Man Palladino sees thing. Occasionally Nelson will allow something to become personal (i.e. terrifies or kills without orders) but even when something's personal Nelson won't allow himself to kill anyone he considers an innocent. Doing so might be the thin edge of the wedge that turns him into a mad dog and he doesn't dare risk that.
But Nelson's way of life is shifting, introducing chaos where Nelson needs order. The main problem is that Old Man Palladino is now an old man. His sons, well, in that business the end is usually prison or death and the Palladino boys didn't end up in jail. The good news is they left him with grandkids.
The bad news? Those grandkids.
(continued next message)
