A slow day
Today my creativity isn't really at its peak, so I leave you with the intro/flavor text to a pbp I've started.
International Falls is located on the Rainy River directly across from Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada.
It's January, and if a well-digger's ass got this cold, he'd have to be dead. They don't call the town the 'ice-box of the nation' for nothing.
People hurry home in the darkness that seems all-encompassing at this time of year.
Down on Riverside Drive, Frankie Jansson swore a blue streak. Had there ever in the history of mankind been a worse time to have a flat tire? They had company over tonight, and Janine would see his being late at some kind of truancy.
Cars swooshed by, like they belonged to another, more perfect world. Frankie got out, swore at the cold and gasped.
In the bushes by the side of the road sat a man, with his mouth wide open in a silent scream. He had been stiff-frozen in a sitting position. He was an old man, but neatly dressed in a suit and tie. Frankie felt even colder when he looked into those dead eyes that seemed to retain the final horror they had witnessed. He already had his cellphone out.
The next day, the body had been identified. Herman J. McNaughton. Captain of local industry. Philantropist. Hermit. Seemingly dead from a single stab wound to the throat.
There would be an investigation, a funeral, and a reading of his will. Everyone would be surprised to learn how Old Man McNaughton had died, and what sort of people he had known...
Felicity-May
Felicity-May is barely 16 years old and is a stroppy, slightly goth-y juvenile delinquent with a nose for trouble and an inquisitive nature. Her father never stuck around and her mother died young, so she’s been raised by a succession of aunts and uncles who have failed entirely to stop her running wild. It is entirely possible that Isabella has defended her in court.
Defining Trait:
If Her Poor Mother Was Alive To See… (3 dice)
Cussing, smoking, drinking, fighting, stealing, lying - Felicity-May is a problem child.
Side Traits:
Takes A Licking And Keeps On Ticking (4 dice)
Felicity-May is a scrapper, but she wins her battles not by being better at fighting than anyone else but by not caring whether or not she gets hurts. Punch her, kick her, push her out of a window, she’ll just keep right on until you cry “Uncle!”
Angel With A Dirty Face (3 dice)
And just when you think she’s made of nothing but trouble, she smiles sweetly and does something that makes you think you got her all wrong.
Flaw:
That Girl Just Doesn’t Have The Sense She Was Born With
Felicity-May is impulsive and rarely thinks about the consequences of her actions. Worse, everyone in town knows it and expects trouble from her.
Hit Points: 21
Sanity: 14
Robert Terrence O'Reilly, Homicide Detective
Robert is a 36 year old Irish-American homicide cop from New York, working closely with the Crime Scene Investigation department. He is officially sick of The Who-themed jokes, to the point where he'd rather be staring into the blazing sun with a raging hangover than put on sunglasses in public. He also vastly prefers "Terry" to "Bubba".
(Defining Trait: 4D) "Undoubtedly it is blood. This alone puts the lady's story out of court."
Robert is a good detective. A very good detective in fact. This is mostly down to a keen eye for detail and a penchant for putting the facts in order and proper sequence in his mind. He likes to tell others (and himself) that this is down to "instinct", but the reality is that he's quite methodical and gives it a whole lot of thought. He just likes it to seem effortless.
(3D) "Rape, murder, pillage. Just another day at the office, then"
Robert is hard to faze. He cynically asserts as much with some regularity.
Working in NYC has made him pretty certain that he's seen the worst humanity has to offer and more. It's also made him somewhat jaded and bitter -at least his sense of humor, which rarely concerns itself with traditionally "funny" stuff. On the positive side, his cynical approach to human nature and the world at large makes him very hard to truly shock. It also makes him able to shrug off most setbacks -at least as long as he doesn't get to see the human consequences "up close and personal". He's not quite as easily able to ignore bad stuff happening to living, breathing people though -especially not ones he's acquainted with.
(This might or might not translate over into "supernatural" events, depending on the circumstances -and of course at your discretion, Haf)
(3D) "He may be a bastard, but he's also kinda nice"
While Robert might often come off as what most people would describe as "a wanker", he still seems oddly likable. It might be due to some weird boyish charm or the sensation that his at times annoying demeanor isn't really "him", but the fact remains that Robert gets along with most people better than you'd think probable.
This is strictly in a personal sense though, and while it might make people more inclined to help him in his professional capacity it's not necessarily so.
(Flaw) "Just a slick city boy"
Robert is quite obviously "not from around here". This might make local authorities (and perhaps local people in general) react less than favorably to his presence. It might potentially make a few people react favorably towards him too, if they're sick of the local scene I guess (although I don't know if flaws can do that?).
Also, he'll quite obviously be at a loss regarding a lot of stuff; local geography, customs, "public secrets" and the like.
HP:14
Sanity: 21
Robert is in town as a sort of expert-aide to the investigation, so while it's by no means his jurisdiction he's still here in a professional capacity. This is not something he's done of his own volition and frankly, he feels like a fish out of water -but someone's called in a favor and requested him for the job.
Isabella Larsen, Lawyer
Isabella Larsen recently took over the Larsen Law Office from her father Lydon F. Larsen and is related to the guys from Green Larsen Mortuary. She grew up in International Falls as a late arrival to her family and second child to her elder brother Michael, who is a doctor at Nortwestern Memorial in Chicago. Aside from an early and shameful infatuation with Masters of the Universe toys deemed very inappropriate by her mother and the usual kerruffles with her parents during teenage years regarding boys, too-short skirts and the necessity of appearing as respectable members of the community, her upbringing was a happy one and she has taken reputation spiel to heart, keeping any exploits more daring, experimental and amorous than horsey rides in the countryside to places outside of International Falls. There are some men in Dulath and the Twin Cities, however, who know an Isabella very different from the mild-mannered girl next door one in her hometown; she is just a woman, after all. Regardless of the face she presents, she is a living embodiment of the famous Minnesota Nice.
When her father decided to retire from legal advice as a full-time profession due to a bad heart and an intense passion for golf a year ago, Isabella was glad to follow in his footsteps.
Larsen Law Firm - defining special trait, 2D
Showing 1-12 of 6,703 friends - common trait, 3D. Isabella is embedded in the community of International Falls on a fundamental level and is on equally well terms with the Boise Cascade Corporation CEO and the teenagers who meet to quaff an ill-gotten can of Anheuser after hours at Smokey Bear Park. She is proud of having met about everyone at least once before.
As to the right of custody for your half extraterrestrial-god grandson, Mr. Whateley ... common trait, 3D (?). Having battled the horrors of precedent-based law and being victorious, there is little in this world or any other that would cause Isabella to do so much as raise an eyebrow at. Be it the comparatively understandable depredations of a murderous cultist or a shocking act of devilish betrayal such as Ms. Choi wearing the same summer dress as the hostess at the Green's garden party, she will remain unfazed and keep an air of grave professionality at all times.
Do no evil Disadvantage, -1D. Being loyal to her clients and the rule of law in an old-fashioned way, Isabella loathes the thought of committing a felony herself. She gets -1D on rolls when willfully engaging in an illegal act.
HP: 14
SAN: 21
Ross Englund
Investigator, International Falls Police Department
Defining trait (3D): Police officer
Side trait (4D): Marksman
Side trait (3D): Hunter
Flaw: Burned-out loner
Hit points: 21
Sanity: 14
Age: 34
Ross Englund was born in International Falls. His parents died in a car accident when he was young, and he was raised by his grandparents, who steered him through his troubled teenage years.
He served in the Minneapolis Police Department for several years as a detective. Two years ago, his partner died in a gang shootout; Ross felt responsible and fell into depression. Soon he left the MPD and moved back to International Falls, joining local police department as their only investigator.*
He is tolerated but not well-liked by most of the department. Several of his fellow officers think he took the job as a sinecure; one of the sergeants resents him for taking the position the sergeant was angling for. He privately thinks they're right; he works to the clock but has little passion for what he does any more. He is in some respects over-qualified for the job, but his failure to develop good relationships with the community handicaps him in others. He is a loner, spending much of his personal time and vacations on camping trips in the woods.
His grandfather died a few years ago, and he lives with his grandmother on the edge of town.
His job mainly involves the investigation of burglaries and assaults; International Falls has not had a murder case for several years. He is annoyed at McNaughton for dying, annoyed at this New York cop for showing up, annoyed at the Chief of Police for foisting this New York cop on him, and particularly annoyed at whoever killed McNaughton for causing the whole drama. He thinks he should feel more than annoyance, somehow, and it worries him that he doesn't.
Annika Hansen
Annikas grandfather was Frank Hansen ( http://www.weird-encyclopedia.com/Minnesota-iceman.php ) and she has never really lived it down.
She still lives in the family home and runs a small museum out of it featuring one of the latex fakes still frozen in its enormous block of ice that her grandfather used to fool gullible crowds and scientists.
Her mother and father met abroad and took over the family home when her grandfather was 'taken away to rest'.
She gets her colouration from her mother and once described herself as the blackest swede in Minnesota.
Shes a dab hand in the garden and though happy has lately heard her biological clock ticking a little louder than it used to......sometimes when she's asleep in the house the ticking becomes a deep thumping like a heartbeat. And then she thinks about her grandfathers stories, and the frozen form in the basement and maybe its not one of his fakes.........
Central Trait: Gardner. 2D
SIde Trait: Good Listener. 3d
Superior Side Trait: Tough As Nails. 4d
Flaw: Soft Hearted. 1D.
Hit points. 14
Sanity. 21.
Tom Dashell, Trauma Surgeon
A former US Air Force surgeon, Dashell retired as a Lieutenant Colonel to pursue a private practice. Fairly short, Dashell runs several miles a day to keep in shape. At 40 he can still probably pass the Air Force PT test if he had to. He's no Olympic athlete, though.
Defining Trait - Medical Training. Dashell knows his medical textbooks like the back of his hand. 3D
Secondary Trait - Combat Training. Dashell is accustomed to the high stress, high tension environment associated with combat and works best under pressure. 4D
Side Trait - Well-read. Former LtCol Dashell has a passion for all things quirky and weird. If you can name some 'fringe' science or off-the-wall scientific theory, he's probably heard of it. 2D
Sanity 21
Hit points 14
Flaw - Pride. Dashell thinks he can take on the world by himself, if need be. He has no concept of failure and refuses to believe that he isn't supremely awesome at whatever he needs to be awesome at. He recognizes the value of having friends to help him, but he still thinks he can go at it alone. 1D
What did I say? They rock!
International Falls is located on the Rainy River directly across from Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada.
It's January, and if a well-digger's ass got this cold, he'd have to be dead. They don't call the town the 'ice-box of the nation' for nothing.
People hurry home in the darkness that seems all-encompassing at this time of year.
Down on Riverside Drive, Frankie Jansson swore a blue streak. Had there ever in the history of mankind been a worse time to have a flat tire? They had company over tonight, and Janine would see his being late at some kind of truancy.
Cars swooshed by, like they belonged to another, more perfect world. Frankie got out, swore at the cold and gasped.
In the bushes by the side of the road sat a man, with his mouth wide open in a silent scream. He had been stiff-frozen in a sitting position. He was an old man, but neatly dressed in a suit and tie. Frankie felt even colder when he looked into those dead eyes that seemed to retain the final horror they had witnessed. He already had his cellphone out.
The next day, the body had been identified. Herman J. McNaughton. Captain of local industry. Philantropist. Hermit. Seemingly dead from a single stab wound to the throat.
There would be an investigation, a funeral, and a reading of his will. Everyone would be surprised to learn how Old Man McNaughton had died, and what sort of people he had known...
Felicity-May
Felicity-May is barely 16 years old and is a stroppy, slightly goth-y juvenile delinquent with a nose for trouble and an inquisitive nature. Her father never stuck around and her mother died young, so she’s been raised by a succession of aunts and uncles who have failed entirely to stop her running wild. It is entirely possible that Isabella has defended her in court.
Defining Trait:
If Her Poor Mother Was Alive To See… (3 dice)
Cussing, smoking, drinking, fighting, stealing, lying - Felicity-May is a problem child.
Side Traits:
Takes A Licking And Keeps On Ticking (4 dice)
Felicity-May is a scrapper, but she wins her battles not by being better at fighting than anyone else but by not caring whether or not she gets hurts. Punch her, kick her, push her out of a window, she’ll just keep right on until you cry “Uncle!”
Angel With A Dirty Face (3 dice)
And just when you think she’s made of nothing but trouble, she smiles sweetly and does something that makes you think you got her all wrong.
Flaw:
That Girl Just Doesn’t Have The Sense She Was Born With
Felicity-May is impulsive and rarely thinks about the consequences of her actions. Worse, everyone in town knows it and expects trouble from her.
Hit Points: 21
Sanity: 14
Robert Terrence O'Reilly, Homicide Detective
Robert is a 36 year old Irish-American homicide cop from New York, working closely with the Crime Scene Investigation department. He is officially sick of The Who-themed jokes, to the point where he'd rather be staring into the blazing sun with a raging hangover than put on sunglasses in public. He also vastly prefers "Terry" to "Bubba".
(Defining Trait: 4D) "Undoubtedly it is blood. This alone puts the lady's story out of court."
Robert is a good detective. A very good detective in fact. This is mostly down to a keen eye for detail and a penchant for putting the facts in order and proper sequence in his mind. He likes to tell others (and himself) that this is down to "instinct", but the reality is that he's quite methodical and gives it a whole lot of thought. He just likes it to seem effortless.
(3D) "Rape, murder, pillage. Just another day at the office, then"
Robert is hard to faze. He cynically asserts as much with some regularity.
Working in NYC has made him pretty certain that he's seen the worst humanity has to offer and more. It's also made him somewhat jaded and bitter -at least his sense of humor, which rarely concerns itself with traditionally "funny" stuff. On the positive side, his cynical approach to human nature and the world at large makes him very hard to truly shock. It also makes him able to shrug off most setbacks -at least as long as he doesn't get to see the human consequences "up close and personal". He's not quite as easily able to ignore bad stuff happening to living, breathing people though -especially not ones he's acquainted with.
(This might or might not translate over into "supernatural" events, depending on the circumstances -and of course at your discretion, Haf)
(3D) "He may be a bastard, but he's also kinda nice"
While Robert might often come off as what most people would describe as "a wanker", he still seems oddly likable. It might be due to some weird boyish charm or the sensation that his at times annoying demeanor isn't really "him", but the fact remains that Robert gets along with most people better than you'd think probable.
This is strictly in a personal sense though, and while it might make people more inclined to help him in his professional capacity it's not necessarily so.
(Flaw) "Just a slick city boy"
Robert is quite obviously "not from around here". This might make local authorities (and perhaps local people in general) react less than favorably to his presence. It might potentially make a few people react favorably towards him too, if they're sick of the local scene I guess (although I don't know if flaws can do that?).
Also, he'll quite obviously be at a loss regarding a lot of stuff; local geography, customs, "public secrets" and the like.
HP:14
Sanity: 21
Robert is in town as a sort of expert-aide to the investigation, so while it's by no means his jurisdiction he's still here in a professional capacity. This is not something he's done of his own volition and frankly, he feels like a fish out of water -but someone's called in a favor and requested him for the job.
Isabella Larsen, Lawyer
Isabella Larsen recently took over the Larsen Law Office from her father Lydon F. Larsen and is related to the guys from Green Larsen Mortuary. She grew up in International Falls as a late arrival to her family and second child to her elder brother Michael, who is a doctor at Nortwestern Memorial in Chicago. Aside from an early and shameful infatuation with Masters of the Universe toys deemed very inappropriate by her mother and the usual kerruffles with her parents during teenage years regarding boys, too-short skirts and the necessity of appearing as respectable members of the community, her upbringing was a happy one and she has taken reputation spiel to heart, keeping any exploits more daring, experimental and amorous than horsey rides in the countryside to places outside of International Falls. There are some men in Dulath and the Twin Cities, however, who know an Isabella very different from the mild-mannered girl next door one in her hometown; she is just a woman, after all. Regardless of the face she presents, she is a living embodiment of the famous Minnesota Nice.
When her father decided to retire from legal advice as a full-time profession due to a bad heart and an intense passion for golf a year ago, Isabella was glad to follow in his footsteps.
Larsen Law Firm - defining special trait, 2D
Showing 1-12 of 6,703 friends - common trait, 3D. Isabella is embedded in the community of International Falls on a fundamental level and is on equally well terms with the Boise Cascade Corporation CEO and the teenagers who meet to quaff an ill-gotten can of Anheuser after hours at Smokey Bear Park. She is proud of having met about everyone at least once before.
As to the right of custody for your half extraterrestrial-god grandson, Mr. Whateley ... common trait, 3D (?). Having battled the horrors of precedent-based law and being victorious, there is little in this world or any other that would cause Isabella to do so much as raise an eyebrow at. Be it the comparatively understandable depredations of a murderous cultist or a shocking act of devilish betrayal such as Ms. Choi wearing the same summer dress as the hostess at the Green's garden party, she will remain unfazed and keep an air of grave professionality at all times.
Do no evil Disadvantage, -1D. Being loyal to her clients and the rule of law in an old-fashioned way, Isabella loathes the thought of committing a felony herself. She gets -1D on rolls when willfully engaging in an illegal act.
HP: 14
SAN: 21
Ross Englund
Investigator, International Falls Police Department
Defining trait (3D): Police officer
Side trait (4D): Marksman
Side trait (3D): Hunter
Flaw: Burned-out loner
Hit points: 21
Sanity: 14
Age: 34
Ross Englund was born in International Falls. His parents died in a car accident when he was young, and he was raised by his grandparents, who steered him through his troubled teenage years.
He served in the Minneapolis Police Department for several years as a detective. Two years ago, his partner died in a gang shootout; Ross felt responsible and fell into depression. Soon he left the MPD and moved back to International Falls, joining local police department as their only investigator.*
He is tolerated but not well-liked by most of the department. Several of his fellow officers think he took the job as a sinecure; one of the sergeants resents him for taking the position the sergeant was angling for. He privately thinks they're right; he works to the clock but has little passion for what he does any more. He is in some respects over-qualified for the job, but his failure to develop good relationships with the community handicaps him in others. He is a loner, spending much of his personal time and vacations on camping trips in the woods.
His grandfather died a few years ago, and he lives with his grandmother on the edge of town.
His job mainly involves the investigation of burglaries and assaults; International Falls has not had a murder case for several years. He is annoyed at McNaughton for dying, annoyed at this New York cop for showing up, annoyed at the Chief of Police for foisting this New York cop on him, and particularly annoyed at whoever killed McNaughton for causing the whole drama. He thinks he should feel more than annoyance, somehow, and it worries him that he doesn't.
Annika Hansen
Annikas grandfather was Frank Hansen ( http://www.weird-encyclopedia.com/Minnesota-iceman.php ) and she has never really lived it down.
She still lives in the family home and runs a small museum out of it featuring one of the latex fakes still frozen in its enormous block of ice that her grandfather used to fool gullible crowds and scientists.
Her mother and father met abroad and took over the family home when her grandfather was 'taken away to rest'.
She gets her colouration from her mother and once described herself as the blackest swede in Minnesota.
Shes a dab hand in the garden and though happy has lately heard her biological clock ticking a little louder than it used to......sometimes when she's asleep in the house the ticking becomes a deep thumping like a heartbeat. And then she thinks about her grandfathers stories, and the frozen form in the basement and maybe its not one of his fakes.........
Central Trait: Gardner. 2D
SIde Trait: Good Listener. 3d
Superior Side Trait: Tough As Nails. 4d
Flaw: Soft Hearted. 1D.
Hit points. 14
Sanity. 21.
Tom Dashell, Trauma Surgeon
A former US Air Force surgeon, Dashell retired as a Lieutenant Colonel to pursue a private practice. Fairly short, Dashell runs several miles a day to keep in shape. At 40 he can still probably pass the Air Force PT test if he had to. He's no Olympic athlete, though.
Defining Trait - Medical Training. Dashell knows his medical textbooks like the back of his hand. 3D
Secondary Trait - Combat Training. Dashell is accustomed to the high stress, high tension environment associated with combat and works best under pressure. 4D
Side Trait - Well-read. Former LtCol Dashell has a passion for all things quirky and weird. If you can name some 'fringe' science or off-the-wall scientific theory, he's probably heard of it. 2D
Sanity 21
Hit points 14
Flaw - Pride. Dashell thinks he can take on the world by himself, if need be. He has no concept of failure and refuses to believe that he isn't supremely awesome at whatever he needs to be awesome at. He recognizes the value of having friends to help him, but he still thinks he can go at it alone. 1D
What did I say? They rock!