Forging a Fated: Michael Robert Brown

[Wakshaani]

So, I wanted to spin something a tad different than what I've been working on, and while several PCs are in the mix, I thought it might be nice to add some NPC-ish people as well, someone that a PC group might seek out and hire, that might ask the PCs for help, or that could very well be a PC themselves. Looking ove rthe handful of Fated here, I noticed a hole that needed filling. As such... meet Michael.

 

STATION: Academic

PURSUIT: Academic

 

MIGHT: 0

GRACE: 1

SPEED: 1

RESILIENCE: -2

 

INTELLECT: 3

CHARM: -2

CUNNING: 1

TENACITY: 0

 

CORE SKILLS

History: 3 (6)

Alchemistry: 2 (5)

Mathematics: 2 (5)

Engineering: 1 (4)

Art: 1 (2)

Teach: 1 (4)

 

ENDEAVOR SKILLS

Literacy: 3 (4)

Bureacracy: 2 (3)

Athletics: 1 (1)

Doctor: 1 (4)

Pistol: 1 (2)

WIlderness: 1(2)

 

TALENTS

Shrug off

 

Defense: 3

Willpower: 2

Walk: 5

Charge: 5

Wounds: 4

Height: 2

 

If the Autumn bridge shakes in your bellows,

You will be the uninvited

As the gathering mocks your gift.

Poison will be the cure,

And the motion stutters and shudders.

 

BACKGROUND

Michael Robert Brown was born in upstate New York to a simple family... his father was a mill worker, his mother a schoolteacher, who buried his nose in his books from a very young age. Often bullied, he came home many a day with mud on his face and tears in his clothes, but it never really phased him. He was far too interested in reading the classics, living a life of adventure that he'd never experience in person. He earned himself a scholarship to university, an edge his family could never have afforded on its own, and graduated with ablumb. His father's employer decided to send him on for further studies, footing the bill in exchange for a work agreement, and made sure thats ome practical accounting was included with all that "Bookish nonsense".

 

Much to his surprise, Michael soon found himself not being sent to the mill, as expected, but through the Breach, on to do some book keeping and accounting for a friend of his dad's boss, who needed someone honest who could be trusted with some figures. Here, Michael found himself fascinated. This world isn't that far removed from hsi books ... oh, terribly dangerous, to be certain, but *fascinating* at the same time. There's any number of new tomes in  The Library, and hundreds of secrets left unread around every curve. When his book keeping turn was completed, he decided to stay, opening a tiny shop in the slums west of Downtown. Brownbooks doesn't sell books, nor does it print them, but he does have a small linguistics library and rents his services as a translator and historian, as well as an accountant. Work is slow and his income poor, but he's managing to stay ahead of the rent... for the most part.

 

PERSONALITY

Michael is the classic bookish introvert, speaking only when spoken to, and often missing even that due to being focused on whatever he's reading. He's utterly flumoxxed by women, having no idea how to talk to them, and generally comes off as meek, despite having a fairly strong backbone when time calls for it. There's an adventuring streak in him and, at heart, he's a true romantic, lost in the stories of his youth and replacing the leads with himself... too bad real life isn't quite so glamorous. Unlike the older historians of Malifaux, Michael is quite willing to shoulder a pack, strap on hiking boots, and go out into the field for research, ever-curious about this new land and what it entails.

 

APPEARANCE

Of average height and slender build, Michael's clothes are quite common and off-the-rack, his hair often mussed, and he only keeps his glasses clean because, without them, reading would be too much of a chore. It isn't that he wants to look disheveled, it's just that he usually dresses, eats, and walks about town with a book open, not really paying attention to anything else. He's stronger than he looks, and has quick feet, but the poor lad's always had a glass jaw and has yet to convert from bookish intellectual to adventurer... long marches leave his feet blistered, his back sore, and his voice whiney, but as soon as he catches a glimpse of something new, it all washes away before his fascination.

 

CAMPAIGN USE

Michael's easiest use is as an academic-for-hire. In particular, he's handy to have around when a group explores old ruins, where he can try to translate the ancient runes, explain the history of the area, and generally serve as walking exposition. He's got a good head for numbers and acocunting, is familiar with the law (especially tax code), and can even do a bit of flora research and chemistry, should it be needed. In short, he's filled with a wide array of little skills that a team often needs but no one rememberes to pick up until it's too late, and he's able to teach some of what he knows as well. As a rookie adventurer, he's begun to learn the more hands-on aspects of the trade, from finding potable water to climbing to tending to other's scrapes and cuts, but he's no first-class hero. Not yet, at any rate. On the plus side, he knows which end of a gun to point at someone! Not that he's ever shot anyone, but hey.

 

Michael can also srve as an adorkable romance sideplot for a PC that's more aggressive than he is. Someone with a goood gun hand, can through a mean hook, and will wince when the poor kid's obviously dealing with saddle-sores but doesn't want to bother anyone by mentioning it. He's not -helpless-, just a bit behind in the physical development side, and he certainly has a good heart. He's just, you know. Shy.

 

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