Aaron "Ron" Gato, Zwerg, Alligatorschamane
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Time line
Age 26: Today, owning Attic busters with [DIRKS CHAR], quite well going company, 3 employees.
Age 23: Engagement of Vance
Age 22: Almost full development of magical abilities, "the critter event" at Ares compound and founding of Attic Busters
Age 20: Quitting high school without graduation, successful drug withdrawal
Age 19: Meeting Ivan
Age 18: Drug abuse, drug addiction
Age 17: Joining one of the first study years of hermetics
Biography
Ron was born in an Area con areal in Seattle. His parent worked there and where quite successful in their jobs, although they are no high management. He was raised in con facilities and had a comfortable childhood. While visiting the con's high school, goblinisation came. He stopped growing and became more sturdy. Since he was - and is- a bright an charismatic guy, he was not much bullied by his classmates. They all usually picked more on those pupils from lower levels of the con. He parents had a good standing in the con and some money to spend so he was mostly spared, even though not totally.
During high-school he developed an interest for the strange things of live. beginning with mysticism and esoteric but mainly the part after that where the human mind was not able to understand. When they opened studies on hermetic magic, Ron was among the first to join in. He thought he could find some answers to the questions looming in his mind there. But the more he learned, the more questions arose. It seemed like those professors followed the wrong idea of magic. He tried to get along with his ideas, but the only things he got were sneer and taunts. It seems like he was the only one not being able to cope with the hermetic ideas. His parents pushed him harder, the more problems he got, so he'd become successful like they are. His ambition also pushed himself. To be able to learn more and get better he used some light esoteric relaxing drugs, but that didn't do the trick. In fact he started to have strange dreams and hallucinations. He then moved on to stimulant drugs to boost his learning abilities and to get rid of those dreams. But the dreams did not stop, although they came more seldom. But even with the drugs he was not able to withstand the pressure and complete his studies successful. Instead he became physically addicted. He began to spend more time in shady corners, searching for the next fix and in dubious company.
One day while roaming the streets outside the Ares compound a man stepped up to him and convinced him to follow him. He said to have some drugs at home. This guy was Ivan Krostovksi, a dog shaman. He had seen the light of shaman magic and the dark of the drugs inside Ron. Being one of the helping kind he wanted to show him the ways of shaman magic. Ron followed him home and was quite upset about not getting any drugs. But Ivan talked to him smoothly and eventually persuaded him after meeting him several times to do a withdrawal and learn the ways of his magic, the natural magic; not the edgy cold ways of the hermeticians. Ron began to learn and found that this kind of magic was more suitable to his own world. He learned quickly and eventually quit visiting the Ares college to spend more time learning the shaman ways. He also learned the meaning of his dreams. They were messages of his totem and so he became a gator shaman. His parents were very upset with him not finishing the studies and leaving the compound, but they could not stop him. He took a cheap flat and worked wherever he could find a job. Ivan and he continued his training, roaming the streets of Seattle and learning what there was to learn. Because they visited also dangerous areas of Seattle, Ron some day bought a license and a shotgun, to protect himself, because he had not learned combat spells yet.
Ron learned about magic roughly a year and then an event happened that would influence his life drastically. He was going to visit his parents. Despite the fact that the relationship already was taking a bad twist, he visited them every once in a while. But when he was entering the Ares compound a great uproar started. Some strange magical animal can running out of an alley and attacked. Being next to the alley's exit, it came directly for Ron. The Ares guards tried to fight it off, but their weapons were of no great effect against the critter. Ron instinctively used what Ivan had taught him and did a great deal in driving it off, but the attack of the animal injured him and an Ares guard severely. Both were brought to the Ares hospital and were kept there for some days. On the second day, when Ron was begin to feeling better an Ares guard entered his room. Ron already expected to be in some sort of trouble, but the guard said he visited as a private person, not as a guard and introduced himself, his name was DIRKS CHARNAME HIER. He had just visited his colleague down the hall and wanted to have a look at Ron, too. Ron was a still a little bit skeptical and after some talk, the guard came up with what sounded like the major intend of his visit. When Ron defended himself against the critter, the guard was noticing some odd things about what Ron was doing. Something he had never seen before and could neither judge nor really describe. Ron knew he was talking about his magic, but objected that there had been such things. He claimed just to have been lucky, but the guard didn't concede and finally Ron agreed to meet him again after he was out of hospital in a bar for a drink or two. So two weeks later they met and had a nice evening. Ron noticed that the guard had an open mind and so he began to tell about the magic in the world carefully. First just some rough hints and nothing personal, but as the guard seemed to understand instead of refuse, he told more and so the guard came to know the full truth about the event in question. After some more beers the two got deeper into conversation and eventually the guard told about planning to open an own security company some day. The idea developed and they finally came up with a company that is specialized on dealing with magical threads. The guard would be leading the company and care about the "official" stuff while Ron would be the expert in the field of magic and critters and be able to deal with all these strange things happening due to what was officially called "mutation", "optical illusion", "lies" and so on. The two of them spend some more time in the bar without thinking about really realizing their idea.
When Ron some days later talked to his mentor Ivan again, he also told about the guard and the fact that he was open towards the idea of magic being real and made a joke about the funny idea of funding the company. But Ivan was fond of the idea. He himself was unable to do such a thing, because he was too much involved in helping people and following his totem. Also he already had enough possibilities to earn money for a living, but he proposed to Ron that this might be a great opportunity to earn some money and to help people, to pass on what Ivan had done for him. Ron was not really enthused about the idea, but Ivan didn't let go and finally he convinced Ron (again). Ron called the Ares guard and the two met again the bar. Ron told him about what Ivan had said and soon they delved into a brainstorming about really putting up the company. After some weeks of learning about founding a company, visiting a great variety of governmental agencies and discussing ideas, the "Attic Busters" were founded. A small two-men-company that was specialized on dealing with all the strange happening that appeared after some people began turning into trolls, orcs, elves or - last but not least - dwarfs. The Ares guard still worked for Ares and even Ron hat do take some other jobs to survive because the company had a bad start and didn't earn much money. Even after some month the income didn't increase that much and Ron and the guard were on the edge of quitting. But once started a gator shaman didn't give up easily and the guard wasn't ready for that too. So they got into action. The guard tried to get in contact with some Lone Star guys so that they might be able to give a business card of the "Attic Busters" to some people having strange things happening in their houses, with which Lone Star was unable to deal with (either because of being not equipped to or because of work overload of their "special forces"). Ron spend time traveling through bars, reading news, listening to peoples stories to catch a clue about any event that might be related to magic. That turned the luck of the company. Lone Star did hand out some business cards and officially being named as vermin exterminator or pretend to do some esoteric stuff the Attic Busters earned some money. Some customers even believed in the idea of magic, but Ron took care not to put his abilities to public attention. He also manged to learn about some events that happened to people. They offered their help (surely not for free) to these people and were able to solve some problems for them. The word-of-mouth spread and the Attic Busters began to earn money. Realizing this, Ron was quite fond of the idea of making a real living with that money and they began to charge more of their customers. This allowed both of them to live of the earnings of the company but on the other hand it gave some problems with Ivan. Ivan was the guy for helping people and not the one to earn much money. He disliked the tendency the Attic Busters or especially Ron had taken and the contacts between Ron and Ivan grew more seldom, but haven't totally stopped, since Ivan is able to understand to some degree that Ron simply follows the ideas of his totem.
Some time after the Attic Busters began to earn money, Ron did hear of a some events that might be connected to magic: The "Blazing Jack Fire Series". Blazing Jack was an arsonist that burned several buildings. Some information about the events seemed strange. Lone Star never found any fire accelerants and the fire seemed to have started at many locations at the same time. So the Attic Busters began investigating. They couldn't find much useful witnesses but after an attempted arson in a bar, this changed. Blazing Jack tried to burn the bar, but he had no success. The bar received some heavy damage, but didn't burn down. Luckily no one was killed. Some people that fled from the bar told about a troll bodyguard who attacked the fire with bare hands! So maybe it was more than luck, because the troll seemed to have had success. This would exactly the right guy to question. Maybe he knew about magic, too? Ron found out the troll was living in the same block as he did and visited him. The visit was a success and a failure at the same time. Vance, as the troll was named, was able to tell many things about what happened but he did not know anything about magic. Ron ascened him and saw that Vance was a ki-adept. But he decided not to tell him about that and talked first to the Ares guard. The two agreed to offer Vance a part-time job and maybe tell him about magic after some jobs. The company was growing and they needed some support anyway. So Ron and the guard visited Vance again and offered the job. Vance agreed and was the first employee of the Attic Busters. The three agreed to pay Vance an equal share (one for the company, one for the guard, one for Ron and one for Vance) for each job. Vance proved to be very reliable and a great support for the work. Having developed some confidence in Vance's abilities and knowing he was open to the idea of magic, he began to tell him the full truth, as he knew it. Vance now is a full member of the company and has taken the idea of magic being really into his everyday work. Who "blazing Jack" was was never known, since the arson series stopped after that incident, so it is even unknown whether it was one person that committed those crimes.
Questions
BACKGROUND:
1) Where's your character from?
Seattle, Ares con-territory
2) Does your character have a family?
Both parents work for Ares in middle tier management positions. They live inside an Ares settlement in Seattle. Ron has no contact to them. They disagreed with his decision to leave college and it went downhill from there, though there isn't exactly bad blood between them, just a vague feeling of disappointment. They know he started the company Attic Busters but they don't understand what it is about or what his role is. They certainly thing it is a silly endeavor, believing a small company has no chance in the current environment and a waste of the education they offered him. He could have become very successful with Ares. Ron is not happy with the current state of the relationship, but not bothered enough to change something about it, accepting his parents estrangement from him.
3) Does your character have an ethic background?
His family is proud to be American. They have no ancestors from other ethnics. Both are dwarfs.
APPEARANCE
4) What does your character look like?
Ron is 1.15m tall and weights 60 kg. Thereby he has developed a little belly, since he is a bit of the lazy kind. He more the guy for eying the telephone if no job is in schedule than working in these spare times. He has black hair and brown eyes. His hair is cut short and a little bit curly. He wears it as geled spikes. His beard is a more or less thin line around his enormous chin that looks like you can crack coconuts with it. He looks not very sportive, although he is no real couch potato (but maybe he would be, if he hadn't decided to put the company).
5) What does your character dress like?
In his leisure times he wears bulky comfortable pants and loose t-shirts or sweaters. On the job he is wearing his "Actioneer" armor clothing, if vising some (upper class or) con areal. This is a set of armored business clothing with high collars and neckline. It has no revers and hidden buttons. It symbolizes a smooth straight-forwardness. The dress comes in summer time with a jacket and otherwise with a long coat. For other jobs he is wearing normal clothes, like casual style pants, a shirt and his armored jacket. He usually carried a sawed-off shotgun in a concealed holster (Conceal 7).
6) Does your character have physical quirks?
Apart form his really enormous chin, he looks like a dwarf just looks.
SKILLS, ATTRIBUTES, AND RESOURCES
7) Where did your character learn their Active Skills?
Etiquette was simply necessary when living ad studying in a con-areal. Later on he also adopted the habits of the middle-class living outside of con-controlled territory. Conjuring and Sorcery were a fruit of the mentorship with Ivan Krostovski, who taught him the basics. Through further practice, especially inside the company, he managed these skills really good. At the same time he developed some skill in negotiation, especially with twisting the truth. By that he is able to convince people that his magic actions may be just some illusion, trick or just esoteric stuff. First while being at school he and some friends acquired a bobby gun and did some shooting practice in a remote corner of the con-areal. While being taught by Ivan, he also came to buy a license and a shotgun to defend himself, because their studies led them sometimes to really nasty places next to some barren quarters. He practiced his melee skills during his time with the company to be able to defend himself in melee combat with critters.
8) Where did your character learn their Knowledge Skills?
Magic theory, critter knowledge and talismongering started while he was trained in magical skills and deepened after founding the company. Before that, while at school he gained quite some basic knowledge, because he is quite a bright guy. Economics are a matter of fact when leading a company. But Ron has only basic knowledge. The real business stuff is done by his partner. Spell design basics are a leftover from his studies of hermetics at the college. Maybe this will come handy some day. Also during his study times, when realizing that he was unable to understand the strange ways of hermetic magic, he delved a little into mysticism and esoteric to find some better idea of what the hermeticians called magic. Today he has deepened this knowledge a little because it comes in handy when disguising his magic as something else. And he also has some knowledge left over from his time of drug abuse about drug dealers in Seattle.
9) Where did your character get his goodies?
Most of the stuff was bought after founding the company as necessary equipment for doing the jobs. Only the not sawed-off T-250 was bought in former times while learning from Ivan. He needed it for self defense when the two of them went to some dangerous places, e.g. to find magical supplies. Also his fetishes have been gathered and infested with the needed magic during this time.
10) Where does your character live?
He lives in cheap flat in a semi-secured areal. Basically law enforcement is the local gang which is paid as part of the rent. When he first moved in the gang paid a visit to his flat, trying to bully him and maybe get some extra payment. But Ron pulled of some magic tricks like seeing through walls, reading ones thoughts and gaining insight while running around unseen (which was not noticed naturally) to make it seems he knows very many things about the gangs ideas. After that point they stopped bullying him and became at least a little friendly, so he can pass by unharmed. Before hiring Vance, Ron discovered that he was living in the same building. After the two them began to appear together, the gang became really friendly. Vance and Ron seem to be able to handle a lot of trouble.
11) Who are your character's contacts?
Ivan Krostovski is a dog shaman that lives in a middle class area near the Ares compound. He has a flat there and is trying to help people getting by. He has an eye open for all things magical that happen to spot any threats or help awakened people to get on their feet. Juan Rodrigez is the janitor of the building where the office of the company is located. Ron established contact with him to gain access to the tunnels beneath the building (water, severs and so on) to find a place to build hit shaman hut. The two of them go along well and Ron is doing Juan a favor every now and then or pays a restaurant dinner for him and his family. Ron has gotten a key to a barred tunnel. Right next to the barred gate he found a unused maintenance room in which he build his hut. He is mostly left alone down there.
12) Who are your character's enemies?
None yet.
13) How did your character learn magic
After finishing high school, he felt somehow drawn to the mystics and strange things in life. He was among the first years of hermetic studies. He studied at the college of the Ares compound his parents live in. But the hermetic ideas about magic didn't suit him. He was unable to get their clues and rejected those ideas. Being pushed by his parents and his own ambition, he pushed to hard. His fellow students also began nitpicking on him, because of his strange ideas about magic. He started to have strange dreams and hallucination and eventually fled all the trouble by drub abuse. First he tried only some esoteric stuff (he also approached that topic in search for some models that suit his understanding of magic) but than began using stimulants to learn harder and finally became physically addicted. His life began degenerating and he began to spend more time in dark corners searching for or using drugs. While being on the search for another fix one day, he met Ivan. Ivan knew what was happening to Ron and pursued him to follow him home by pretending to have some drugs. He talked to Ron and finally came through all the mist of drugs in his head. Ivan told him about his ideas of magic and Ron learned that he was not the only one having different opinions than the hermeticians. Eventually he started to get rid of his drug addiction. He visited Ivan regularly and learned how magic worked for him. By that he neglected his studies and finally totally quited them, much to the displeasure of his parents. His moved to a cheap flat in some under class area and learned his magic fully.
PERSONALITY
14) What are your character's likes and dislikes?
He likes hanging around, doing not much but spending the day. He likes a good beer or a nice evening at the bar with some friends or his colleagues (which is somehow the same). He doesn't like getting up (also from bed early) or changing his mind or ideas. But if he has found a goal, he follows it with all his ambition. Somehow he's like an elephant. Quit and slow, but once you got him moving, no one can stop him.
15) What is your character's moral code?
Basically he is good guy. He has no interest in harming people. That harming people produces many problems surely is one of the reasons. He has adopted the idea of the company and fights for it's survival. But if everything goes well, he is doing the job more or less for money.
16) Does your character have goals?
He wants the company to be a success story. He is not eager to get the most money, but he wants it to work well, earn enough money to live comfortably and it shall have a good standing in the public, as far as they the company. He dowsn't want to leave back unsatisfied customers. He dreams of his company becoming a official security company, so they can work eye to eye with Lone Star and don't have to hide the fact that they practice magic.
17) Does your character have personal beliefs?
Ron believes in the equality of humans and metahumans, although he is not actually doing much about it. He has no religious believes. He also beliefs that people should know more about magic so it can be practiced in the open, but yet he has no idea how to come closer to that.
18) Does your character have personality quirks?
Laziness and bullheadedness when he has overcome is laziness. All of his beliefs and goals, except for the company, are more or less weak. He had a easy childhood and was raised in the security and comfortableness of a mega-con and later magic made his life much easier. He didn't have to suffer until today, so he has not developed any fundamental moral ideas about the world. One might say he is a spoiled child, although is he not touchy.
RUNNING THE SHADOWS
19) Why does your character hunt ghosts and critters?
It pays the bills. Surely there some degree of helping in that with a topic that is publicly not known so not much people can provide this help. He is glad to help but only as a second feeling after being paid.
20) How does your character view his/her role as a ghostbuster?
He is the knowledge giver. He knows most about the creatures and magic of the whole team. He is the leader in the field. His magic and knowledge is the primary weapon of the team. All those boring stuff of shifting papers he gladly leaves to his partner. The other people are on the team because the company needed more firepower to do their jobs and someone who can engage critters and ghosts in close combat so they can't approach Ron (which would make him to vulnerable while doing his magic). But after some jobs he noticed that they were pretty nice, so a friendship has established and Ron won't risk their lives more than his own.
