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T H E M A N O U T O F T I M E

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_{► A L I A S
► G E N D E R
► A G E
► B L O O D T Y P E
► H E I G H T / W E I G H T
► O C C U P A T I O N
► D O O M C O U N T E R R E A D I N G}

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Roland is a man predominantly driven by a deep-seated anger and a profound sense of resentment, primarily toward criminals but also the state of the world at large. Having lost friends and loved ones as a result of either rampant crime or the dreaded DOOM counter, Roland has grown jaded and bitter over the years; becoming even somewhat of a misanthrope. He takes an old-fashioned, cavalier approach to law enforcement, coming dangerously close to muddying the line between lawman and criminal. He is blunt and direct when it comes to confronting criminal suspects. He'll ask questions, but if he doesn't like your answers, he'll most likely shoot you.

Despite an apparent, underlying anger, Roland hides it well beneath an effortlessly cool and confident demeanor. He has a matter-of-fact way of speaking and is typically level-headed even under pressure or in the line of fire. He can usually be seen wearing either a scowl or a sly smile on his face. He will occasionally throw in a sardonic joke or remark here and there when speaking. He speaks with a measured, Southern drawl that can come off as being very unusual to the average citizen of New Babel, having never heard of such an accent before. His Western-style attire—namely his signature Stetson—also sets off a similar reaction in people. Some refer to Roland as the "Marlboro Man" after a historic piece of advertisement that can been seen in old magazines.

Despite being an Agent of the state, Roland seems to hold little to no loyalty to the Ministry itself. He even goes as far as to question the legitimacy of their existence. To him, it seems the Agency holds the real power as they are the ones who uphold the laws and doles out the punishment. Even if the higher-ups in the Agency all have DOOM Counters, it could easily just be a front. However, Roland is sensible enough to keep these thoughts to himself for questioning the Ministry is a crime in and of itself.

_{► O C E A N}
In the Big Five personality test, Roland scored 35% in Openness, 65% in Conscientiousness, 54% in Extraversion, 31% in Agreeableness, and 40% in Neuroticism.

_{► M B T I}
In the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Roland tested ESTP-A. He leans 53% Extroverted, 79% Observant, 85% Thinking, 51% Prospecting, and 88% Assertive.


Roland arrived at New Babel at the age of 18 and quickly took up part-time jobs in construction and at a cybernetics manufacturing plant. Like with every new arrival of the city, Roland had no one and had to learn to depend on himself for survival. He quickly left the public housing unit he was assigned to and got a small apartment complex in one of the industrial sectors of the city. Despite his short time there, Roland's natural charms made him a number of friends and associates at the public housing unit, all of whom he would lose contact with over the years.

His first real friend, who Roland met at his construction job, was a young man named Deacon—Roland never did learned his real name. Deacon was similar to Roland in a lot of ways, especially in his views on the world which allowed them to become fast friends. See, Roland was always a bit of a cynic but it had only really become a problem later in his life. The difference between Roland and Deacon was that Roland channeled his resentment into combating the criminal elements of New Babel while Deacon would use his to enable his selfish nature and propensity for illegal activity.

Their friendship came to an abrupt end when Roland decided to join the Agency, hoping to get a desk job to get closer to a young woman he fancied who worked there. Deacon saw this move as a betrayal of their shared world views, "working for the enemy," as Deacon puts it. He wouldn't see Deacon until years later. Despite his original goals, Roland was put through the paces in the recruitment process for the Agency and was deemed fit for "field work". He especially excelled at firearms training. Roland accepted his new role seeing as it paid better and allotted him more time on his DOOM counter; plus he never gave much thought to his own personal safety. Everyone's walking around with a ticking time bomb anyways.

Working as a field agent for five years, he gradually got closer to the young woman he was interested in: a gal by the name of Olivia Spetsmann. Roland would find himself tying the knot with Olivia some years down the line. Olivia, concerned for her husband's well-being, coerced him into leaving field work. Roland spent the next two years as a firearms instructor with the Agency. In some sense, he actually enjoyed his new job. I guess you could say he was a happy man during those times. But happiness is as short-lived as the people of New Babel. Roland would finally reunite with Deacon but, instead of a happy reunion, they found themselves in the position of being enemies. Roland—temporarily assigned field work—and a team of agents had put a stop to a guns and drugs operation perpetrated by a gang that just so happens to have Deacon as one of its members. The gang members including Deacon was imprisoned and sentenced to be executed via their DOOM counters.

Deacon and two other gang members managed to escape and, some time later, the former party kidnapped Roland's wife. Deacon filmed her death as her counter ran out and sent the footage to Roland. You can imagined the man's reaction. Long story short, Roland hunted Deacon down during one stormy night and, although he was asked to bring in Deacon alive, Roland wanted him to suffer the same fate as his wife. But, just seconds before Deacon's counter ran down, Roland drew his firearm and shot the man multiple times in his chest, killing him.

In the years leading to the present day, Roland has seen many of his friends and loved ones die at the hands of criminals or their own counters, embittering him further and further; creating the man you see today. He took an interest in old Western memorabilia which he saw at a museum once and that further influenced his character. Now, working exclusively as a field agent, Roland takes to the streets of New Babel each day to deliver his old-fashioned sense of justice to would-be criminals.

► C Y B E R N E T I C E N H A N C E M E N T S

"I never quite got that. Cutting yourself up like that. So you can... download some illegal music to your face?"

Due to his old-fashioned sensibilities, Roland has no interest in cybernetic enhancements and thus has none.

► P O S S E S S I O N S

• 9mm Standard-Issued Agency Pistol: A standard-issued, semi-auto sidearm popular with Agency members. It's design is based off of the long-abandoned Glock 17. It is primarily composed of carbon and polymer material, making it light-weight and quick on the draw. Like all guns of today's age, it generates an electromagnetic field within its chamber to propel its projectile, very much in the fashion of a railgun. As a result of this, it is more damaging and accurate than firearms of the past; as well as being jam-free. However, it can be rendered useless with a sufficiently powerful EMP burst.
• .22 Double-Action Pistol: A small and discreet recoil-operation pistol that is meant to be used as a backup gun to a primary sidearm. This one is unique in that it uses the antiquated combustion chamber design of the past. So while it is only effective in short-range and against non-armored targets, it cannot be rendered useless by an EMP burst; it is, however, susceptible to jamming.
• 12 Gauge Standard-Issued Tactical Shotgun: A standard for Agency members, this 12 gauge shotgun operates using the same electromagnetic rail principal as most guns. It is semi-auto and comes equipped with a breaching mechanism. Roland keeps it in the trunk of his car and only uses it if a situation calls for more firepower than usual.
• Agency Badge: A metal and carbon-material badge in the shape of the Ministry's emblem (an inverse pyramid of three concentric triangles with a dot at the center). It is touch-activated, bringing up a hologram display of Roland's agent information.
• Agency Cruiser: A single-operative vehicle for those a bit higher-up in the Agency pole. It comes equipped with an AI-operated computer system used to access the Agency's criminal database among other handy things.

► S K I L L S

• Proficient Marksman: Although far from the best, Roland is in his own right a highly proficient marksman, possessing a natural affinity for firearms and having taught it at the Agency for a span of two years. He's at his deadliest in short and medium range, but is no slouch at longer ranges either.
• Quickdraw Expert: Where he lacks in accuracy and fancy aim, Roland more than makes up for in his specialty—the quickdraw. Having spent years emulating the quickdraw seen in old Western films, he has made it into an art rarely even heard of by others, let alone practiced. Roland prefers five in the chest than one in the head any day.
• Skilled Investigator: Despite an itchy trigger finger, Roland is, himself, a worthwhile investigator. He's proficiently persuasive enough to get information out of someone most of the time, typically by painting a grim picture of the target's situation or getting them to act stupidly confident. And if that doesn't work, he can always threaten them.
• Skilled Hand-to-Hand: He has fair knowledge of boxing and street-brawling; combined with an excellent physique, Roland makes for a skilled physical combatant, although he can certainly get his ass kicked if overwhelmed or against cybernetically-enhanced individuals. As always, he prefers to let his gun do the talking in these sorts of situations.

Citizen Registration: 6987541
Name: Susan Kelby
Alias: BAMBI
Gender: Female
Age: 35
Blood Type: B-
Height/Weight: 5’6/110lbs
Occupation: Actress/Movie Star/Dancer
DOOM Counter Reading: 98yrs 10months 33weeks 6days 12hrs 34mins 19secs

Physical Description:
As if you need a description of BAMBI. Her face is plastered literally everywhere - anything with a price tag on it, anything that could be and would be sold, has her modelling it with a smile. Her porcelain features and proportions are just too good to be true, her hair is always flawless and her outfits perpetually revealing. She’s slim, athletic, pale, with almond shaped eyes, smooth skin and pink hair that slips into blue curls. Her profile is vaguely asian, but it’s been perfectly manufactured to be a default and statistically appealing for the largest range of demographics. This isn’t the only face she ever wears, though - an intense array of cybernetics have allowed her extensive control over her appearance to better suit her career and role (see History and Enhancements).

Personality:
If we’re looking at Susan instead of her stage persona, then she can briefly be described as defeated. She’s bitter, resentful of her life, but sees no better alternative nor any easy escape, so she suppresses her own thoughts and opinions whilst regurgitating whatever her managers tell her to. She suffers from an identity crisis, meaning she often feels disassociated from her surroundings, lost, or apathetic after years upon years of being someone you really aren’t. Susan teeters on the edge, obsessed with any brief glimpses of privacy or freedom. She’s observant, quick-witted and paranoid - as anyone would be after an extended period of captivity.

BAMBI on the other hand is the epitome of pop idol. She’s sweet but sultry, playful and provocative - she adapts according to the situation and the mood to a different flavour of attractive, according to the wishes of her superiors. She meticulously organises her life to portray it as fantastical and sweet because the cameras are always watching. Contrary to popular belief, it’s been proven that BAMBI directs most of her day-to-day activities from the plating of her meals to the uniforms of her staff. She’s a people pleaser at heart.

Summary:
When Susan (then Susie) Kelby was chipped, she did what many other starving, vaguely pretty teenage girl would unfortunately turn to in order to make a bit of cash. This was the start - and the end - of her life as she knew it; moving from mediocre pornography to networking her way into television, she took on the alias of BAMBI to protect her anonymity. Work absorbed her life; it was too dangerous for young girls to be walking the streets during Happy Hour so she used her free time in a dingy apartment practicing, and practicing, and perfecting her acting abilities in front of the tarnished mirror. She would study and use the internet for references whilst becoming a bit of a shut-in, ordering most of her things to be delivered to her door. Her only interaction with people came through the job, and all those pent up emotions were translated beautifully onto the screen. She made friends, and made connections. She went out a bit more - but only to particular social events with particular people in it. From the very start, Susan knew exactly what she needed to do to survive. She had a plan.

With nothing to her name, Susan profited from her body. Anything that involved showing a bit of skin became an option; people still needed waitresses and bar staff for Happy Hour and she took it willingly. She devoted hours on end to practicing make-up, working out and carefully choosing her outfits. There were no other hobbies and she didn’t have any ‘free time’. Susan never transitioned out of that feeling of being a captive and she did not integrate with the society she was thrust into beyond showing herself off for them. All the while, the figures in her bank account increased and people started to take notice. As Susan diversified her acting abilities and took audition after audition, bribing and negotiating her way into larger gigs, she started to wade into the celebrity status and her income swelled significantly.

This was Susan’s first foray into cybernetics. It was the plastic surgery of the future - changing her eye colour at will was the first augmentation, then it was skin that’ll heal over at surface level to remove acne, wrinkles, scars...all of them were subtle and discreet. They didn’t go too far into her body and were almost entirely cosmetic. This helped her qualify for different roles, because she could make herself appear older and younger without CGI or extensive make-up. The voice became her trademark feature but the rest of her body was malleable and she broke into film because of it.

This is when BAMBI started to take over her life. Susan’s second (leading) role in “Download Diaries”, an action thriller where she played the busty no-nonsense Lieutenant Kyomi hunting down her lost memories from her time in the hands of the enemy, was the one that really kickstarted her life of fame and fortune. She bought herself bodyguards, she had her own entourage. Her life became as staged as the sets she worked on. Gone were the days of isolation in her apartment, and with it came a new influx of intrigue in the more explicit forms of media.

Susan never wasted anything. She could sell discarded lingerie, locks of hair, even the spoons she used for her cereal - at this point she had the money to replace them anyway. She had the regulars of her staff wearing masks to preserve anonymity. Instead of waiting for someone to inevitably hack her surveillance, she just put it behind a subscription paywall. Her privacy disappeared; even in the bedroom she would take requests from her fans. She never got into any committed relationship for fear of breaking the fantasy of her more ‘dedicated’ fanbase. The few channels of communication that she kept private were encrypted and protected a thousand times over, thanks to a few ‘favours’ she did for the Ministry. Tiered subscriptions kept cycling her audiences through her day to day life - as the hours got late, the family-friendly tier swapped into something a bit more adult. There were no guarantees of any performances unless she took back to her roots, which she did from time to time to keep people’s interest.

And behind all of this, Susan pulled the strings and dictated what went where alongside teams of designers. She was the star of her own perpetual performance, and whatever was left of her personality now had a pricetag. Somewhere deep down, buried under layers of silicone smiles and haute couture, laid a hollow shell of a very lonely girl. The allure and the varnish faded, but with nowhere else to go but up, BAMBI continued to thrive off the attention and Susan withered because of it. She became paranoid to the extreme, knowing full well that her private shows for the Ministry have put her DOOM counter up to an obscene level. More than anything, she wanted to send her business empire crashing down; destroy it all and go back to being a nobody. These days she knows the blind spots in all her usual routes and indulges herself in a game of cat and mouse, using her cybernetics to turn into a plain, slightly ugly stranger to give herself a fresh breeze of anonymity. This is where she finds her thrills these days. This is how she will escape - one day.

Cybernetic Enhancements: As stated in her backstory, Susan/BAMBI have delicate, high-end cybernetic enhancements that allow her to significantly change her physical appearance. The only dead giveaway is her DNA these days; she’s continued to modify, specify and intensify the level to which she can customise herself so she’s capable of evading security systems all over New Babel with the sole intent of getting some alone time. Some of the augmentations are Hyperion-approved - some of them are not. She keeps a mix and often switches between official and unofficial providers to avoid any hacking or interference from either end.

Possessions:
At this point, it’d be easier to list what BAMBI doesn’t have. Assuming that we were to list what she will always be seen carrying on her person regardless of circumstance, she has:

Ultrasmart Phone: A communication device with internet access, state of the art encryption and guaranteed privacy. One cannot have enough discretion these days...It is equipped with a flashlight, scanner (which then researches the scanned object to bring up information) and a camera with an impressive amount of zoom. Solar powered, too!

EMP Lipstick: A short-range EMP mine disguised as a woman’s essential. Functions as lipstick too, it’s merely the base that contains the machinery. Susan had this nifty tool commissioned after a paparazzi leak; it is reusable, but requires recharging for half a day to get back to the right intensity. Good to use when you want to get rid of all the cameras and microphones.

Holomirror: Exactly one second after opening this compact mirror, it produces a fullbody hologram of whatever Susan happens to be wearing. These things aren’t exactly state of the art technology, and you could find them in almost any sort of drugstore, but they’re just good to have around to check for wardrobe malfunctions. They also record the clothing you’ve worn, provided you use the same mirror each time.

Pocket Knife: No amount of technology can surpass the efficiency of poking a six-inch hole into somebody’s torso.

Skills:
Entourage: BAMBI isn’t just a pretty face; she’s a brand, and any good brand needs employees to maintain it. Provided she has access to the internet, BAMBI can ask trusted members of her entourage for help. (To balance this ability, the NPCs should be GM controlled so that their usefulness is not decided by the player, conforms to the limitations of the setting and doesn’t derail the plot. Limited 3 uses per in-game day.)

Chameleon: Susan didn’t spend all that money on Cybernetics just for show; she is capable of changing her physical appearance, from facial features to skintone. The only limitations are her physique (Aka skeletal structure and muscle/fat ratio) and her voice.

Actress: Susan lies for a living. It only makes sense that her acting abilities justify her fame. Whilst she has a range of accents and voices under her belt, it’s probably her achilles heel.

Get Me Out Of Here: Susan’s acute obsession with escape has affected the way she sees things. At the cost of paranoia and anxiety, Susan is very observant about her surroundings. She picks up on things like the subtleties of body language to the position of surveillance cameras faster than the average joe.

Deficits:
Since my character has a lot of money and connections that might overpower her in the RP, I have decided to make a list of weaknesses that should bring her down to a reasonable level. Let me know if I should add any more, these are all I could think of.

Celebrity: The first, and biggest, is that everybody knows BAMBI. If she’s too sloppy with her disguises she risks detection. There are paparazzi on her heels almost constantly. It’s harder to pass through surveillance unnoticed. Not to mention the stalkers and particularly violent perverts that lurk the darker corners of New Babel...

Bullseye: BAMBI’s DOOM counter is so high that she’s on a wanted list for every man who wants a longer life.

Civilian: It would have ruined BAMBI’s innocent persona to gain any meaningful combat training or appropriate means of self defence. Strip her of her bodyguards, her fancy cars and her connections, and she’s pretty much dead meat.

Pampered: BAMBI hasn’t had to deal with hardship in a long, long time. She’s used to free internet, copious amounts of electricity, central heating and three meals a day. Taking away her luxuries throws her off at best, and can make her more prone to illness. She’s quite useless living ‘rough’.

Citizen Registration:
8728641

Name:
Vincent Bloom

Alias:
Punchy

Gender:
Male

Age:
33

Blood Type:
A+

Height/Weight:
5.9

Occupation:
‘Bodyguard’

DOOM Counter Reading:
285 days, 11 months, 45 days, 12hrs, 44sec

Physical Description:
His attire is ever only constant when working as a bodyguard to BAMBI; a practical motorcycle helmet, and a pink neon vest that shows off his muscular arms. Due to lack of stature he uses them as intimidation instead. His body is littered in scars and it isn't too uncommon for him to show up with a fresh bruise or a bandage. Vincent rarely takes off the helmet in order to preserve his anonymity.

Personality:
Meticulous, serious, quick to the point and seemingly indifferent to the world around him, Punchy’s streamlined with an unrevealing personality. Forever moving forward with no fear or anxiety of what’s in front of him, as if he has no concept of what it would mean to stop. Underneath a sometimes docile exterior he’s hardwired for violence, constantly chewing and scraping his tongue against his teeth as if ready to remove the flesh of victims of his heinous crimes from his maw.

Never complaining or allowing morality to impede his actions helped him thrive in New Babel. Drifting through an almost dream-like trance in between work as a bodyguard to “jobs” he performs for people who want no questions asked. It wasn’t always like this, no one turns into what Vincent has become overnight, but whatever he used to be doesn’t matter in the city of DOOM. Ever since the installation of his own counter, his psyche has involuntarily altered itself to better survive in the hive of degeneracy a criminal had to endure in New Babel.
Summary:
Vincent, without a memory of his past, was thrust into new and harsh environment. He was previously nothing, and was now worth even less. Without any form of support aside from the credits he was given and the roof put over his head by his generous government he became a follower, latching onto what the majority of people around him swarmed towards. This just so happened to be working at a production facility, operating heavy press machinery for products he would never use or see. With a lack of any former education, the only experience he gathered was from watching and learning from his older and more experienced co-workers; this was enough to at least not lose his head from working amongst deadly and seemingly ancient machinery he interacted with.

Life wasn’t easy, and Vincent grew frustrated at the constant problems that kept springing up. Wages stolen by a superior, falling into credit scams only a naive boy would and simply the cost of living in a place packed with people with the same living standards as him. It was almost destined for him to begin steering towards crime, the constant ticking of his DOOM clock giving him the necessary push into a life of depriving people of their own time and money.

It started off small, simple. Delivering packages, standing watch, pickpocketing. Then the reality of the life he had entered began hitting and one petty crime began turning into a crime scene. The added history of betrayal he had suffered amongst his co-workers within the factories he spent his time in caused him to push anyone - even his accomplices - away from him. As he delved deeper and deeper into committing atrocities he became disconnected, he couldn’t stand or work with others anymore so he began to work alone. This proved more difficult, but at least this way he had only himself to blame if anything went awry.

It wasn’t long before Vincent had become completely desensitised to the world around him, helping him continue doing his work with more precision and apathy, utilising ultra-violence to achieve his given tasks and jobs. Debt collecting, murders, torture, stalking; these had all become a commonality. However this had also put him on the radar, building himself somewhat of a reputation and it wasn’t just amongst fellow criminals...
He was well aware that dealing with rival gangs of drug dealers or families of the mafia was different from dealing with the minds and force utilised by the government, and he wasn’t dumb or smart enough to take them on. He needed to change pace, he needed to slow down, until he could figure out something cohesive.

That was where BAMBI came in. Back then she wasn't anything more than a barmaid in one of Vincent's local haunts. He was just curious enough to start following her home one night when she was jumped by a group of addicts, hoping to tear the chip clean out of her neck and siphon whatever time she had left. Frustrated that they got in his way, Vincent responded in kind; he dealt with the scumbags without having to kill them. The girl was tearfully grateful, said she'd never forget him, probably didn't mean it, and ran the length of the street all the way home. Vincent watched.

After that, he just couldn't stop thinking about her - primarily because her face started popping up everywhere he looked as her career skyrocketed. What was once a hesitation to plan his next move became a stasis and he gradually dropped off the map, only taking jobs when he needed the credits and never putting in as much enthusiasm as he used to. What surprised him the most was BAMBI'S honesty; an associate of BAMBI Ltd came up to him with a short term proposal, suggesting that he look into the administrators of a particular online forum that was sexualising their main product to lengths that far surpassed any common decency and threatened their star's safety. He did as he was told, was paid generously, and left alone again. Then he was called back in. Then he was left alone. The contracts increased in frequency until he landed a spot in BAMBI'S personal entourage, becoming one of her 24/7 bodyguards, given the Alias he currently wore, and dressed up to suit her aesthetic.

If BAMBI was the product, Punchy because the terms and conditions. He was seemingly insignificant when stood next to her, but to get to her you had to agree to his rules and many people did - partially in eagerness to get to the star of the show, and partially because they were too intimidated by him to bother arguing.

Cybernetic Enhancements:
Vincent's one cybernetic is as haphazardly created as you can imagine a low life criminal to have. It needs constant tuning and can break down when utilised carelessly. Low level cell regeneration is the name of its game. It can’t mend torn limbs, bring your heart to beat again, or reattach a blown chunk of your brain back together- all that it’s used for is to allow Vincent to slug through less downtime between contracts he finds himself receiving serious injuries in. Aches, cuts, slashes, broken bones are all accelerated to prevent him from remaining bed bound for months for recovery.

Possessions:
A toolbox packed with various types of conventional melee weaponry that he specialises in, prefering to stick to personally tried and tested forms of fighting over being adaptive. A butchers knife, a hatchet, knives.

A shopping bag full of cleaning supplies, spare rags, brushes, rubber gloves and other janitorial material.

His sports bike, because he can't afford a car and commutes are expensive. Probably one of the few machines left that doesn't run on electricity or fuel.

9mm pistol and spare ammo clip (2), for the situations where a knife just won't cut it.

Skills:

Close Quarters Combat: The asphyxiating jungle of buildings, alleyways, warehouses, and ghettos that Vincent carried out his contracts in caused him to excel in moving and fighting in that form of environment.

Interrogation: Vincent isn’t particularly good at utilising technology, especially when it comes to computers and utilising the internet for his job; after all, the ministry is watching. Instead he’s had to rely on more interpersonal forms of information gathering. Bribes, threats and other forms of terror is the name of his game..

Tracking/Stalking: Following groups or individuals and camping outside their apartment or office for hours, sometimes even days, is something Vincent found himself doing many nights. He knows when to back away from being under risk of detection or worse, and patience has become an old friend and ally.

Cover-up: the ability to clean up after a crime is essential. Vincent knows how and where to get rid of a body and remove evidence from a crime scene, but it's dependent on time and materials; if he's short on either, the job will get sloppy.