Miedvied/JackBones
Jack Bones
Caste: Zenith
Concept: Justice of the Road
Nature: Judge
Anima: Golden pheonix with a black noose hanging from it's neck
History:
There are lots of little towns in the Scavenger Lands with no real god or monarch to protect them and keep them in order; rulers change, laws change, the world can change all in a day and again the next. People still farm, still work, still try to survive - no matter how many giant feet land in the anthill, the ants keep building.
Jack's family was just one more set of farmers among many; a little luckier than some, maybe, since they'd found a nice little gold mine in the land just north of their grazing land (on the northern shore of the Yellow River, opposite Great Forks.) It didn't bring too much money, they hadn't the manpower or the funds to mine it, but little quantities would make their way to Nexus, and kept the family living well.
Well, at least, until some hotshot with a god's mark on his forehead and some sword-wielding hotheads decided that they'd take what they wanted; whatever cattle, whatever land, whatever women they wanted were theirs. Jack's nameless little town was ravaged, his parents slaughtered, his sister taken as one more nameless and shameless slave and concubine to service the high-and-mighty Exalt.
Well, Jack gathered up his pappy's prized firewand, and his own trusty longbow, saddled up a steed and went to town. He wasn't thinking straight enough to know that he'd die - or didn't care, anyway.
Jack rode right into town, into what he didn't know at the time was a ride of the Wyld Hunt; into the clutches of a dozen elite troops and their Dragon-Blooded commander, out to have themselves a good old time.
Jack would've died that day, if not for the Gallows, who dragged his half-dead body away from the carnage. Jack managed to ambush and kill two elite soldiers before he was brought down - he never made it into sight of the Dragon-Blood.
It was the following dawn, when the sun broke the horizon, that Jack felt the shimmering warmth. He rode into town as the sun crested into high noon, and he brought with him justice and flame.
The Dragon-Blood, unfortunately, escaped to Great Forks, and thence to Nexus. The Wyld Hunt is now quite aware of Jack Bones and his steed, and an urgent warrant has been put out for his capture - and destruction, if possible.
Jack now travels the roads, silently dispensing justice and enforcing the common land's laws - he might not know the little legal loopholes from town to town, but if yer lookin' to take a man's property by dint of the fact that yer bigger and stronger than 'e is, well, you don't know Jack.
Attributes:
Strength 2 - Dexterity 5 - Stamina 2
Charisma 3 - Manipulation 2 - Appearance 2
Perception 4 - Intelligence 3 - Wits 4
Abilities:
Archery 2 [F]
Martial Arts 4 [F]
Awareness 2 [F]
Dodge 2 [F]
Ride 2 [F]
Craft 2 (Firearms)
Occult 2
Endurance 2 [F]
Performance 2 [F]
Presence 2 [F]
Resistance 2 [F]
Survival 2 [F]
Backgrounds:
- Contacts 2
- Followers 2
- Ally 3 - The Gallows
Jack's followers and contacts are local folk spread throughout the Scavenger Lands who will pass word to the vigilante, and hide him on occasion, in thanks for the good he's done them in the past.
Charms:
Kiss of the Sun Concentration
Blossom of Demise
Lightening Draw Stance
Blessing of Righteous Medit.
Cloud of Ebon Devils
Righteous Devil Form
Sensory Acuity Prana
Reed in the Wind
Master Horseman's Eye
Ox-Body
Willpower: 6
Compassion: 2
Conviction: 3 (Heart of Flint)
Temperance: 3
Valor: 2
Perm Ess: 3
Personal: 15
Peripheral: 37
Merits / Flaws:
Ambidextrous (1 pt.)
Legendary Attribute (3 pt. Dex)
Vice - Temperance - Alcohol - 1 pt.
Addiction - Alcohol - 1 pt.
Known Anathema - 3 pt.
Heir Apparent (Resources 4) - 2 pt. - To be reclaimed when he drives the occupying forces out of his parents' farm and mine.
HL's: -0 x 1, -1 x 3, -2 x 3, -4 x 1, Inc
General Combat Strategy: First, the blessing of Righteous Meditation should always be used ahead of time to boost the damage on *all* of Jack's firearms.
In one-on-one combat, if Jack Bones is facing a melee combatant, your goal should be retreating *on every round*, and keeping your one charm /turn reserved for your dodge charm; your firewand has enough of a range to keep the other guy crispy from afar, and with a Dexterity of 5 (potentially 6), the chances of the other guy catching up with you as you back away are slim to none.
If facing a ranged combatant, you should be seeking out partial cover, splitting pool to attack and dodge, and using Lightening Stance to try and bring down the other guy before he can respond. The retreat-and-shoot style obviously does not work here.
When facing a crowd, you need to stay mounted. The Gallows' principle of motion charm will let it contribute more than its fair share of damage to the extras mobbing you, while reed in the wind and some creative stunting will let you dodge the incoming attacks (which take a penalty against you because you're mounted.) If the attackers' pool is only 4-6 dice, don't bother with reed in the wind, and instead buy up on Kiss of the Sun - your pool will be penalized by your Ride, as well as because you're splitting your pool between attacks and dodges; you'll need the bonus dice. Because of the Gallows, you'll also be able to do the retreat-and-shoot; the difficulty penalty will need to be offset by Kiss of the Sun, but you'll be able to stay out of reach of most attackers - worse comes to worst, Gallows' principle of motion used for move-actions will quickly let you withdraw from combat entirely.
