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Table of Contents
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Johan VanHalen
aka "Junior", scoundrel, seaman, ruffian, he-man woman-hater, adventurer, aquanaut, scourge of the sea hag, blessed by Neptune
Age: 27
Current Date: Winter 1234
Chronology: Born in 1207, sailed Devil's Teeth with father in 1216 at age 9, first sails with pirates ate age 11 in 1218, encountered Sea Hag in 1220 at age 13, came to Bibracte with Roberto in 1227 at age 20, Alabaster Lioness//Heracleion, Ibiza; currently 1234 and age 27
Statistics
Characteristics: Int +0, Per +1, Com +0, Pre +1, Str +2, Sta +1, Dex +2, Quik +1
Size: 0
Decrepitude: 0
Warping: 1 (9)
Confidence: 2 (5)
Personality Traits: Loves his Mother +4, Daredevil +3, Optimist +3, Distrusts women who are not his mother +2, Troublemaker +1, Congenial -3
Reputations: Uncouth 2 (local)
Virtues & Flaws
Virtues: +0 Covenfolk, +1 Affinity with Brawl, +1 Affinity with Profession-Seaman, +1 Arcane Lore, +1 Hermetic Experience, +1 Improved Characteristics, +1 Puissant Brawl, +1 Reserves of Strength, +1 Second Sight, +1 Self Confident, +1 True Love (his mom :) ); +1 Variable Power1, +2 Lesser Powers (x2)1
Flaws: -1 Baneful Circumstances (in the presence of women), -1 Reckless, -1 Social Handicap (uncouth), -1 Warped by Magic (Minor Malediction-Prohibition), -3 Optimistic, -3 Plagued by Supernatural Entity (the Sea Hag); -3 Curse of Venus1
1from Transformation; blessed by Neptune and cursed by the Sea Hag
Minor Malediction : Prohibition against riding on a ship when a woman is aboard. Junior was exposed to the magic of the sea hag when he was a child, afflicting him with warping. Gaining a Warping Score of 1, he acquired the Minor Flaw of Prohibition (or call it Minor Malediction). He cannot sail on a ship or ride a boat that has a woman on board, or it will sink (or crash or something else). It has happened several times. This does not apply to animals or supernatural beings with a might score, only human women, and the ship will sink regardless of any known precaution. The only human woman exempt from this is his mother. Because of his early childhood exposure to magic, Junior may spend experience points in Magic Lore.
Plagued by Supernatural Entity: The Sea Hag. The Sea Hag has been a plague upon Johan since he was a youth. She warped him with magic playing shapeshifting tricks upon him, curses him in all relations to women (other than his mother), and just generally likes to mess with him whenever she can. There are rules to her games though. She will not do anything that will kill or cripple him, she cannot affect his relationship with his mother, and she must obey the Laws of the Sea. Concerning this third one, she can interpret and use wording to prevaricate the rules somewhat. For example, after her schemes in King Neptune's court were exposed (Johan got the credit and the blame, though it was actually Cidito), she was banished from the Middle Sea (Mediterranean) for ninety-nine years. However, she takes this to mean the actual waters, not inland or on shore.
True Love: His mother. Johan loves his mom, Betty VanHalen, and none of the curses or maledictions concerning women have any affect on her or the pureness of the mother-son relationship. Betty is a kleptomaniac, a pirates wife, a tavern mistress, a crime boss, and a killer. In Johan's eyes, she is the sweetest most best-est mommy ever, and he even has a "Mom" heart tattoo on his bicep. Johan is a drunk, a ruffian, a bully, and all around coarse and uncouth. In Betty's eyes, hers is the sweetest and most talented and special little boy in the whole world.
Combat
Weapon Statistics
Dodge/Wrestle: Init +1, Atk na/+11, Def +10, Dmg na/+2
Fistfight: Init +1, Atk +11, Def +10, Dmg +2
Bludgeon: Init +1, Atk +13, Def +10, Dmg +4
(add +1 attack/defense if in a bar fight)
Soak: +1
Fatigue: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, ko
Wound Penalties: -1 Lt (1-5), -3 Med (6-10), -5 Hvy (11-15), Incap (16-20), Dead (21+)
Abilities
Flemish 5 (slang), Netherlands Lore 3 (coast); Animal Handling 2 (chickens), Athletics 2 (climb), Awareness 2 (in a fight), Bargain 2 (shady deals), Brawl* 7+2 (1xp) (bar fights), Carouse 3 (games of chance), Charm 1 (wit), Concentration 2 (sailing), Faerie Lore 3 (sea folk), Folk Ken 2 (rabble), Guile 3 (play ignorant), Latin 3 (Hermetic), Leadership 2 (intimidation), Magic Lore 3 (the sea), Mediterranean Lore 2 (underwater), Order of Hermes Lore 2 (habits that annoy magi), Profession-Seaman* 6 (dangerous situations), Profession-Soldier 1 (patrol), Ride 0 (1xp) (mare), Second Sight 3 (regio boundaries), Spanish 1 (mocking Carlos & Roberto), Survival 2 (at sea), Swim 3 (underwater)
Magical Powers
The Flying Dutchman
1 Fatigue, Init -5, Herbam
R: Touch, D: Constant, T: Ind
Johan can move a ship he is on any direction he pleases as he wills (using his Profession-Seaman score); effortlessly against the wind, upon the wind in the sky, over dry land, or under water. It doesn't plow through land, he hovers over it. And submerging a ship will sink it unless he also surrounds it with his Airy Sphere power. But he can make the ship fly, and it will stay in the sky indefinitely as long as he is aboard it. If he disembarks, the power fades at sunrise/sunset but the ship softly descends slowly.
This is a Restricted Power, and will not function as long as a woman is aboard the ship (as per his Malediction). This is also a Variable Power ties to Johan's skill in Profession-Seaman. At Base, the power allows him to carry a Tiny ship up to speeds of up to 15 knots. With a score of 6, he wields this power with six magnitudes of improved effectiveness, which are as follow:
- Increased Size (x2): From a base of Tiny, Johan is also able to affect a Small or Medium ship.
- Increased Speed (x2): From a base of 15 knots, adding another 15 per magnitude, Johan can manage speeds of up to 45 knots.
- Increased Stability (x2): Johan can fly the ship in wide arc and even rolls with successful ability checks. Passengers and cargo may shift with sudden shifts of momentum, but the "center of gravity" is always towards the keel of the ship. This stability applies in air, at sea, and underwater. It doesn't apply to land or bumping into or over solid objects.
ReHe15 (Base 3, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +1 Constant); Lesser Power (15 levels); Variable Power, Restricted Power
Airy Sphere of the Submerged Vessel
2 Fatigue, Init -12, Aquam/Auram
R: Touch, D: Constant, T: Structure
If aboard a ship submerged under the sea, this power transforms the water immediately surrounding the vessel into breathable air. This bubble is a sphere with a diameter equal to the length (or longest dimension) of the vessel. This isn't a ward against water and the bubble is just a cosmetic effect. The sphere is perpetuated indefinitely, but if he disembarks the ship it will slowly fade at sunrise/sunset (cosmetic fluff, the bubble begins to fill with water).
MuAq(Au)35 (Base 4, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +1 Constant, +3 Structure); Lesser Power (35 levels)
Equipment
Equipment: bludgeon, knife, clothing, bad attitude
Encumbrance: 0
Background
Johan VanHalen Junior is uncultured, uncouth, and uncautious. But the lad can fight! His bravado and brawn caught Roberto's interest. That and because of his family's association with his covenant at the time, he took Junior on as a grog to keep him out of trouble. Roberto often pairs him up with Carlos, who often gets him in trouble, but usually manages to get him out of it again.
Junior's father is an alcoholic and a notorious pirate. His mother operates a tavern/clandestine outlaw haven and trafficked stolen goods (and was a compulsive thief). They were the best parents a kid like Junior could have ever wished for. Johan VanHalen Senior was (and still is) a sailor of legendary skill (Junior will brag about how he rode along clinging to the mast, while his pop successfully sailed through the Devil's Teeth during a raging storm while completely drunk).
Junior's freewheeling outlaw father and permissive bawdy mother are the biggest, if not the best, influences in his life. He started drinking at an early age, got into bar brawls with adults twice his size, sailed with his father unheeded in dangerous waters, and more. But he is nigh fearless, and he is a gifted brawler. He is also a skilled sailor, though not yet to the degree of his father (and there is the prohibition to be mindful of).
Junior's encounter with the Sea Hag occurred when he was thirteen, the same night in which a great storm had struck his little harbor town (Novus Mane) and capsized the ship. Heedless of the storm's danger, Junior was the first on the scene and saw the hag dancing in the winds over the ship. She saw him too, and whisked him off into the winds to toy with him. Tossing him around in the air for awhile, then dropped him in the water to watch him struggle in storm driven waves that tossed him around and slapped him. Then she turned him into a little fish while she chased him around as a big fish. Then she flung him from the sea as a wet dog (it was winter), leaving him to scamper off and whimper until the transformation wore off at sunrise. Since that night, Junior decided that women and ships should have nothing to do with each other.
The old band of pirates disbanded, some sailing off their own way and others finding legitimate employment as fishermen (that is to say actually, they changed their racket and operated under the cover of fishermen working for a local covenant of magi). This begins his family's association with Roberto's covenant, and his habit of getting into brawls at his mom's tavern. His youthful encounter with magic marked him (with warping points), and magical myths (especially of the sea) have piqued his interest ever since. Living amongst magi has fueled that curiosity and enabled him to pursue it. At the tavern, junior has associated with all manner of ornery and shady folk (he often hung out with Carlos there). As for bar-brawling, he had gone undefeated for seven fights in a row (including one against a huge Englishmen thick as an oak tree partnered with a French guy just as big but twice as mean). But after he lost three times to the weasely Twiggberry (a disguise magi specializing in Corpus magic), Johan lost his taste for bar brawls and took up arm wrestling and chicken fights.
Junior has been in three ship disasters caused (he feels) by the presence of a woman on the same ship he is on, and will tolorate no more of it. The last time it happened, he was drawn under the sea to the court of King Neptune, and there ran afoul of the Sea Hag again and foiled her plot. Though she cursed him, Neptune rewarded him with the power to sail ships in the air and below the sea.
