So, here's one for a start, inspired by the protagonist from
The Shawshank Redemption. It originally started out life as an exercise in finding plausible motivations for a bureaucrat to become a skilled adventurer. This character might also be used as an NPC, perhaps a contact or a patron. This was done with Megatraveller, although it could be trivially ported to other editions. Some rules mashup was used to do service hopping.
Bureaucrat/Rogue
Retired Bureaucrat/Rogue 698DCA Age 46, 7 terms Cr100,000
Admin-5, Legal-3, Bribery-3, Streetwise-3, Broker-2, Leader-2, Carousing-2, Tactics-1, Revolver
Medical-1, Wheeled Vehicle-1, Jack-o-T-1, Brawling-1, Handgun-2, Small Blade-1 High Passage
Marius Duquesne was a successful banker until falsely convicted for a murder (or at least claims falsely convicted). Spending 10 years in prison and a further six years on the run he has established a new identity.
After a while you get philosophical. When the appeal failed we knew the case wasn’t going anywhere. They had their scalp and we had no alibi. I’m sure there’s a famous pre-stellar vid about this – I had to go to prison to learn to be a crook.
I was a banker, corporate finance and treasury – and pretty good at it. To be honest, I don’t much care who stitched me up now. That life is behind me and I can’t ever go back to it.
I got out. I’d like to say it was some sort of clever escape, but it was just watching where they screwed up. In the end I just walked out right under their noses. 99 times out of 100 a uniform and a clipboard will just merge you into the background. It’s like a bloody invisibility cloak.
They didn’t miss me for nearly 18 hours. By then I was on a shuttle across the border.
Something of a fish out of water on the street, he has nevertheless set himself up as a fixer, able to grease the wheels of bureaucracy through legitimate or other means.
People are people, on the street or in the boardroom. I fix things now. I can get you just about anything, or get the system to do just about anything. I lubricate wheels; most of the time you can make them turn by looking like you’re meant to be there. The right suit, the right haircut, the right accent and the right schtick with the paperwork all in order. Mostly they don’t even bother to check.
My identity is completely made-up, so I’ve had to avoid professional certs or anything where they do a real background check. I can’t be a lawyer or an accountant but I can be a consultant, so I consult. My card says ‘facilitator’. If you know me through certain contacts I can facilitate all manner of things.
He learned to handle himself in prison and has acquired a compact TL9 revolver since he got outside. This weapon is made from light, high-tech alloys; it has a short 5cm barrel, an integrated laser sight and a 5 round cylinder. It is not much larger than a body pistol and can be drawn and fired very quickly. A weighted generator in the handle recharges the battery that powers the laser sight through movement in day to day carry of the gun. The weapon fires as a revolver.
Inside it’s about how you take it, not how you dish it out. That will get you a long stint in the hole. So, I learned to take it. I can handle myself. I've got a little protection now; everything can be had on the street if you know where to look. It’s a light, compact 5-shot with a titanium frame, not much bigger than a body pistol. You’d never know I was carrying it.
Motivation: Marius would like to clear his name, although he is realistic enough to realise that he will never get his old life back. He is limited in what investigation he can do due to his assumed identity. Ideally he would like to be able to make discreet enquiries (either in person or through a suitable proxy) and investigate the circumstances of his accusation and conviction and the murder of his wife.
