Another character from LISA the Pointless, this time adapted for Unknown Armies. Portable version here.
By Edvinas Kandrotas
Joel is a fulminaturge with a Major Charge burning a hole in his pocket. He’s got a custom pistol and a single custom .476 caliber bullet, both of which he forged with his own hands from materials scavenged out of the trash. He doesn’t know what he’s going to spend it on, just that it needs to be something… big.
Joel could make good money with a square job as a machinist, or spend his Major Charge on something that would make him a powerful underworld figure. Truth is, he’s addicted to life as a vagabond. Rolling into town, getting stuck in the nightlife, making friends and enemies, then moving on to his next adventure. The unspent magick potential flowing through him makes him a magnet for weird shit.
Joel has never personally killed anyone, but has helped his friends do so. He has never fired a shot in anger, and a couple times he has paid the price for not doing so.
Personality: Viewed from outside, Joel is friendly without
being a doormat, backed up by supernatural power that makes him an
unwise man to antagonize. Truth is, Joel is a follower. He needs a gang
to run with. An objective to keep him occupied, so he doesn’t have to
grapple with what he wants or who he is. He secretly likes being a
lightning rod for supernatural activity. Being chased around is better
than being ignored.
Rage: Being denied entry to or exit from a place. He goes where he pleases.
Noble: Helping the underdog. He believes it’s lucky.
Fear: After losing a good friend to a “fire cultist”, Joel fears being burned alive. (Violence)
Obsession: Being a wandering vagabond who evens the odds, like in a Kurosawa or Leone film. If he knew the first thing about anime, he’d pick Vash the Stampede as an even better example.
Wound Threshold: 50
Fulminaturge* 75%: (Gains Charges, Casts Rituals, Gutter Magick)
Drifter 50%: Of course I can find my way around a new town, identify the important people, find a posse to adventure with (Coerces Violence, Subs Struggle, Evaluates Unnatural)
Rag Picking Machinist 50%: Of course I can find what I need in the trash, create things from junk, scavenge without getting caught (Subs Notice, Protects Isolation, Subs Knowledge)
Rage: Being denied entry to or exit from a place. He goes where he pleases.
Noble: Helping the underdog. He believes it’s lucky.
Fear: After losing a good friend to a “fire cultist”, Joel fears being burned alive. (Violence)
Obsession: Being a wandering vagabond who evens the odds, like in a Kurosawa or Leone film. If he knew the first thing about anime, he’d pick Vash the Stampede as an even better example.
Wound Threshold: 50
Fulminaturge* 75%: (Gains Charges, Casts Rituals, Gutter Magick)
Drifter 50%: Of course I can find my way around a new town, identify the important people, find a posse to adventure with (Coerces Violence, Subs Struggle, Evaluates Unnatural)
Rag Picking Machinist 50%: Of course I can find what I need in the trash, create things from junk, scavenge without getting caught (Subs Notice, Protects Isolation, Subs Knowledge)
Possessions: A handmade .476 caliber pistol, bolt action, single shot. A custom tooled, lathe turned .476 copper bullet. A holster. A coat so black it looks blue. A big hat to match. Enough cash for a couple drinks at the nearest dive bar.
Cool art by sa-sako (blog deactivated)
NEW FULMINATURGY SPELLS
As a mystic of trash and violence, Joel has stumbled into a couple new Fulminaturgy rituals. Mostly useless by themselves, but powerful as part of a team.GUN TOSS - 3-4 Minor Charges
You’re Revolver Ocelot. Spin your weapon, toss and catch it, whatever, just make it obvious that you’re showing off. It’s ok if you fuck up. In fact, it’s better. It costs 4 Charges, but you can reduce the cost to 3 if you drop your gun in the process.
In combat, anyone foe who attacks one of your allies must pass a Self test, rank equal to the tens digit of your casting roll. On a failure, they must attack you instead. They may repeat the save on subsequent turns. Once they pass, they don’t need to test again.
Outside combat, you can use this ability to command the attention of a crowd. This can distract people while your friends get away with something, or get them to look at you for some other reason. In a riot in progress, it’s the opposite of firing a gun into the air - everyone converges on you instead of scattering.
GUN REVEAL - 2 Minor Charges
Pull up your coat, your pant leg, or your shirt to show everyone you’re armed. Your weapon must be concealed to use this ability. It doesn’t have to be well hidden, it can “print” against your clothing, but it has to be covered up, so that you can meaningfully un-cover it.
In combat, revealing your gun automatically intimidates a single target into going last in the initiative order. It also cancels out any extra actions the target gets, reducing them to one action per turn for the duration of the fight. Outside combat, it can slow down someone chasing you, but not someone you’re chasing.
PASSIONATE THREAT - 4 Minor Charges
Draw your gun. Don’t shoot anyone, but wave it around and swear to God you’ll do it.
In combat, anyone who tries to attack you after you’ve cast this must pass a Violence check, level equal to the tens digit of the casting roll. Failure indicates they are unable to attack you this round. They may try again on subsequent rounds. Outside combat, this prevents your foes from initiating combat until they pass the test, giving you a chance to escape or prepare yourself. The spell is broken if you attack anyone.
People who pass the Violence test are immune to subsequent use of this ability, until you do something to re-establish yourself as a threat.
Pull up your coat, your pant leg, or your shirt to show everyone you’re armed. Your weapon must be concealed to use this ability. It doesn’t have to be well hidden, it can “print” against your clothing, but it has to be covered up, so that you can meaningfully un-cover it.
In combat, revealing your gun automatically intimidates a single target into going last in the initiative order. It also cancels out any extra actions the target gets, reducing them to one action per turn for the duration of the fight. Outside combat, it can slow down someone chasing you, but not someone you’re chasing.
PASSIONATE THREAT - 4 Minor Charges
Draw your gun. Don’t shoot anyone, but wave it around and swear to God you’ll do it.
In combat, anyone who tries to attack you after you’ve cast this must pass a Violence check, level equal to the tens digit of the casting roll. Failure indicates they are unable to attack you this round. They may try again on subsequent rounds. Outside combat, this prevents your foes from initiating combat until they pass the test, giving you a chance to escape or prepare yourself. The spell is broken if you attack anyone.
People who pass the Violence test are immune to subsequent use of this ability, until you do something to re-establish yourself as a threat.
By Edvinas Kandrotas
USING JOEL
Joel can be dropped into a game as a background character, or someone more central to the group’s Objective.AS A ONE OFF
Joel could be convinced to help the players take on a serious threat, lending his support from the back-line in a dangerous encounter. He’s more likely to help if
- The Cabal convinces him that they’re doing the right thing
- It’s a genuinely dangerous opponent
- The player characters are underpowered and will get themselves killed without his help
Joel could also do the same for the players’ rivals, lending a hand to bully or intimidate them. He does this because the opposition convinces him that the players are the villains. This is especially likely if the Cabal is unpopular and everyone already thinks they’re bad people. He’s easily manipulated when people know how to push his buttons. Joel wants to feel like a cool protagonist righting wrongs, and if he’s obviously kicking a defenseless opponent when they’re down he’ll back off.
Joel could teach a player Adept his custom spells. This is the recommended way to use him if you have a Fulminaturge in the group. It’s better to have an NPC give the players cool powers (in exchange for a plot relevant favor) than completely overshadow them by just being better than them at magic.
AS A GAME CHANGER
Just having someone in town with a Major Charge is going to send ripples through the underworld.
- Anti-Occult conspiracies like Sleepers and Blue Line want to depower him, run him out of town, or if worst comes to worst, kill him before he blows his load and unleashes hell on their turf.
- Power-mongers like The New Inquisition, the Court of the Burger Queen or the Orthodox Church of the Naked Goddess take the opposite stance on a clueless old man wandering around with a Major Charge. Is it possible to siphon it out of him, or convince him to use it for their benefit? Coerce him? At very least, stop him from using it against them?
The Cabal may face a threat that requires a vast amount of supernatural power to dissipate. You can get a lot farther with a kind word and a Major Charge than you can with just a kind word. Persuading Joel to spend his Major Charge is hard. He’s not a decisive man and he’s afraid he’ll regret whatever he uses it for. He’s afraid that after, he’ll just be a nobody again. Or a big shot, but the kind who can’t drop everything and go get in street fights with his friends. The Cabal will really have to break him down, push on all his soft spots, and fight dirty to convince him.
If you want to literally start with a bang, open a game after Joel spends his Major Charge. Mass destruction, animated weapons, universal armament or disarmament, an old man’s deluded fantasies made reality. Why did he do it? Did he figure out what he wanted, or did something scare him bad enough to shoot in self defense? Figure out what happened, try to reverse the catastrophic effects, or just escape the ensuing pogrom as the fun police scour the underworld for any sorcerer they can get their hands on.
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