Acerbic and possessed of a mouth even fouler than her temper, Paradys Rathburn is a young investigator for hire. Her natural curiosity made this an obvious career path, though she retains few repeat clients. If not for her poor social skills and predisposition to seeing the law as flexible, even malleable, she might have made an excellent constable. Instead, she walks a fine line between citizen and criminal, with neither side being particularly quick to claim her as their own.Of average appearance and build, she blends well into the city crowds. She dresses plainly, for function over style, and does little to draw undue attention to herself. However, when backed into a corner, Paradys Rathburn has demonstrated time and again that she is a competent combatant with both her rapier and her tongue.
Paradys Rathburn (WC)
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Rank: Novice
Attributes:
Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills:
Fighting d6, Investigation d8, Knowledge (Law) d4, Lockpicking d6, Notice d8, Stealth d6, Streetwise d6, Taunt d6
Derived Stats:
Pace: 6+1d6
Parry: 5 (6 w/ Rapier)
Charisma: -2
Toughness: 6 (Base 5; Armor 1)
Edges:
Alertness
Hindrances:
Mean (m), Quirk – Foul Mouthed (m), Curious (M)
Gear:
Leather Coat (Armor +1), Rapier (STR+1d4; +1 Parry), Lockpicks, 100 Coins
Notes:
Paradys Rathburn is a both an attempt to build a hard boiled detective at the start of her career, and an attempt to do so for a fantasy setting. Relatively inexperienced, she is clever and canny, holding the promise of greater things to come. At this stage, she is her own worst enemy, quick to offend and even quicker to place herself in situations way over her head.
She is a character well suited for an urban setting, probably a port city. Her foul mouth and mean spirit could mean she grew up as a wharf rat – one of the many poor youth that clamor among the docks, forming gangs or shipping to sea at too early an age. Her parents likely were sailors, gone for long periods of time which left young Paradys an orphan of circumstance if not by fact. The only thing her parents ever gave her was her colorful vocabulary and the harsh lesson that she can only rely on herself in this world. As Paradys became a young woman, she grew callous and disconnected from others, the differences from her peers growing more and more pronounced. And yet, she watched them, studied them, and learned their patterns, habits, where they go, and how to hurt them.
Of course, this is all speculation. Paradys Rathburn certainly is not telling anyone what really happened.
2 comments:
Interesting character. Are you currently running an adventure with her?
Actually, I originally had an idea for a Veteran version of the character -- more skilled, more grizzled, more jaded, and very reminiscent of Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op. A level of moral ambiguity on her part would serve as a counterpoint to the primarily heroic player characters, and could even lead to a kind of rivalry.
Instead, I decided to see where this character had come from, and figure I might post a Seasoned and Verteran version of her in the future.
But no, I am not yet running a game with her. My group is playing something different right now, but i just convinced everyone to buy the new rules edition so I think we will be playing SW again soon.
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