ADVENTURE
Aviation Captain James Lawton, a barnstormer with the Air Circus.
He was raised in London town in a large and poverty stricken family in the heart of London.
Life in the Lawton family offered few prospects but more of his father’s hard drudge that was a working man’s lot in the early 1900s, so the teen-aged Lawton decided to join the newly formed Royal Flying Corps of the army with hopes of flying a kite balloon or even in a biplane.
Life in the RFC was no less physically demanding than the factory-work that was his previous destiny, but the security of a military job was a blessing that just couldn’t be found in the civilian world.
Flying machines of the time were all used as short range reconnaissance, so as part of the unskilled (non- engineer) ground crew he was expected to fight as any jack-squaddie. That training was tough, but by the winter of ’14 James was glad of it. The Great War was like nothing the British Army had faced before. As truly mechanical warfare began to emerge, James found himself reminded of his father’s factory work, but now the decision to leave of a military career began to look less wise. All around him men were being extinguished by the force of shell blasts or the yellow mustard suffocation, but when James looked into the air, at the balloons he was helping to guide, or at the heavy flying machines, he was a little freedom.
In the October of 1917, an order came that he never really believed would happen. His unit was being transferred to the front for a last push at the German lines before the winter would place a temporary stalemate on the war. ‘One big advance and then time to bolster the new British line before spring’ they said. Nobody believed that, not even the generals.
Of his part of the line, only James and a Royal Engineer’s Corps kid named Ginger survived but they made it over the German barricades and into the enemy trenches. From there they had no relevant orders. A hand full of British made it and they had no stomach to try to hold a position, even if such a thing was possible, no-man’s-land was a grave yard behind them so they took advantage of the chaos to make an escape into the occupied territories of France.
Luck held true, for James and Ginger at any rate. They made their way from the warring front to safer isolation in the woodlands and farm buildings that could shelter them. Stealing food and clothes as they could, the pair stuck close to the fighting for three weeks. By the beginning of November starvation was driving them forward and they were willing to take any risk to return to England, which is why they hatched a plan to steal a ride from the enemy.
There was an air field two miles away from where they were hiding out so at dusk they set out and slipped into the base. Ginger’s engineering skill and James’s theoretical knowledge of flying gave them a chance to at least die in a stupid, inexperienced accident striking a real blow at the enemy. And there was just a glimmering hope that they could survive.
There was a plane waiting, half fuelled, and guards were only alerted when Ginger hand-cranked the propellers. By the time German rifles had fired, they were taking off to freedom.
Flying high over the lines was easy enough, stay steady and don’t stall the engine. Landing in friendly territory was something they hadn’t bothered to plan for since they never thought that they could get their alive. The roads were too dark to see and many had barricades, hidden in the darkness. Only an air field would do, but they had to be sure not to be shot down by their own side. Ginger provided the only stupid idea the had time for. While James flew, he climbed out and over the plane and tied his ripped uniform on to the tail with the calm assurance of an idiot about to die he the set it alight and returned to the passenger seat just as they were about to land.
This audacious coup in the midst of the horrors was enough to bring a smile to every soldier on the line and the intelligence reports made the generals grin. It transpired that James and Ginger had stolen non other than the Red Barron’s air craft, and that he vowed some bloody revenge on ‘..this pilot “Lawton”.’
Ginger never recovered his nerves from their adventure and was honourably invalided out of the army rather than being given a ‘lack of moral fibre’ label. James was sent to be trained as a full pilot back in England and missed the rest of the war, which he never complained about.
In 1920, James and Ginger met up in the Flying Circus, but Ginger never took to the air again.
STATS
Instirpation: Dynamic
Allegiance: Air Circus Virtue: Hot Shot
Concept: Low class Vice: Jester
Physical
STRENGTH [2]
Brawl 2 [4]
DEXTERITY [5]
Athletics 1 [6] Fire Arms 3 [8] Melee 1 [6] Stealth 2 [7]
STAMINA [4]
Endurance 3 [7] Resistance 2 [6]
Mental
PERCEPTION [5]
Navigation 3 [8]
INTELLIGENCE [3]
WITS [5]
Pilot 5 [10]
Social
APPEARENCE [1]
Style 2 [3]
MANIPULATION [2]
Savvy 3 [5]
CHARISMA [3]
Raport 1 [4]
KNACKS;
Cool Hands: The character still suffers injury From detrimental effects to his body -wounds, drugs, illness, temperature extremes, stress- but is completely immune to Dexterity-based dice pool penalties resulting From these conditions. He gains one bonus die
For all physical tasks involving ultra-fine manipulation, such as lockpicking or surgery (but never combat). He rock-steady grip also doubles the effective range of all ranged weapons (fire-arms, bows, fire hoses, disintegrator rays…) he wields.
As a side effect of this Knack, the character never suffers any physical effects from being intoxicated. He can still get drunk, but the only outward reflection of this condition is slurred speech. He’s perfectly poised right up until the point at which he passes out.
Sun Tzu’s Blessing: The character has an innate sense of strategy and tactics that surpasses those of many trained generals. When analyzing a battle’s progress, developing a plan for an assault, finding the best way out of an ambush or performing any other military- or tactics-related analysis, the player rolls the relevant Trait dice pool normally. In addition to the successes from the roll, your character gains a number of automatic successes equal to her Reflective facet rating (no Inspiration expenditure is needed).
This Knack gives no bonus to actually issuing orders, only on figuring out what orders to give.
Backgrounds:
Cipher [3]
Nemisis [2]
Allies [2]
Gadgets [3]
Resources [2]
Sanctum [3]
Mentor [2]
Willpower 6/6 (used – )
Inspiration 5/5 Intuitive [3] Reflective [2]
Initiative [10]
Vehicle: Amphibious Passenger Plane
Safe Speed: 300mph, the nomal safe speed being 200mph
Maximum Speed: 420mph, the notmal maximum speed being 280mph
Manoeuvre: Maximum Dice Pool 7*D10
Passengers: 10
Armour: 3[8]
Innovations:
Personnel Scale Weapon Mount (Sub Machine Gun) on the roof of the plane.
Improved Fuel Efficiency, twice normal limit.
Theoretically submersable for one scene.
weapon: heavy automatic pistol 4 lethal damage
Damage =
GAMING TALES 