Duchess
 | |
| Ancient's Face | |
|---|---|
| Disgraced Tir Noble | |
| Combat Biker | |
| Wheelwoman | |
| Discord | Mursey |
| Mursey40k | |
| Metatype | Elf |
| Street Cred | 2 |
| Notoriety | 2 |
| Public Awareness | 1 |
| CDP | 10 |
| D.O.B. | 03/04/2050 |
| Age | 35 |
| Folder | Duchess |
| Priority | Metatype - C Attributes - D Magic/Resonance - E Skills - B Resources - A |
Character Information
Summary
Duchess is a face who's comfortable dealing with the lowest of the low and the highest of the high. She's learned to handle herself well enough in a fire-fight to stand shoulder to shoulder with the razors. She's a biker at heart, but she'll take the wheel of any team vehicle in a run and make damn sure the getaway is a clean one. Alas, she doesn't always think through the long-term consequences of her actions.
A disgraced Tir noble with a Criminal SIN, Duchess survived the rigours of prison life by the simple expedient of accepting the protection of the Ancients. Recently released from prison in the Tir, she burnt the last Platinum Cred-stick she'll ever own preparing for her new life in the Shadows.
Goals
- Survive.
- Reclaim at least some degree of the comforts she is accustomed too.
- Repay the Ancients for everything they have done.
- Protect Terislar from outside threats.
- Frag-up the Cutters, the Halloweeners, and anyone and everyone who tries to take what the Ancient's claim as theirs.
Background
Duchess wasn't born into the life of a Ganger. Far from it. She's the third daughter, and sixth child, of a human-elf partnership that has survived the pressure cooker and treacheries of Tir Society for nearly fifty years. A child of privilege, she had everything and anything she wanted. But it still wasn't enough. She cut school at her private, 100k a year educational facility and spent her time shopping, stealing, and riding bikes. She found herself involved in the illegal street racing circuit long before she could even legally drive.
And it wasn't long after she -could- legally drive that she killed three people on her bike and lost her freedom and her arms in the process. Prison, even a Tir prison, was not a good place for a young, rich elf to find herself. She pleaded with her parents to get her out, but aside from paying for her new limbs, her biological family wanted nothing else to do with her. She was on her own.
Or would have been, had not the Laesa and the Ancients intervened. On her very. First. Day. Duchess knows she'd never have survived the first day of her incarceration, let alone the first week, were it not for the protection, guidance and instruction provided by the gangs and the gangers she fell in with. She got the on her left cheek that first day too, cut by a broken commlink screen that left iridescent particles embedded in her cheek. But she survived. Adjusting to gang life -especially gang-life in prison- wasn't easy. It certainly wasn't the life she'd have chosen, but it was the life she needed to survive. Everything she learned about violence, and self-defence, and protecting herself and others she learned behind bars in the darkest decade of her life. But she learned what she needed too. And she never forgot who had her back.
After ten years, she got out. She collected her bike and her ware at the prison gate; and removed last Platinum cred-stick she would most likely ever own from her safe deposit box. She knew a quarter million would never be enough to live on in the style she was accustomed, and knew she'd never be able to escape the gang life she'd embraced to save her life. Wisely, she burned through the money quickly. Spending it before anyone in the gang though to demand she hand over a cut. She had her old ware re-installed and upgraded her arms from the pieces of crap they'd given her in prison to the pieces of art she wears now. That wasn't all she bought with the cash she had left. She paid off an Ancients hacker for a new SIN and a new life, and made arrangements to cross the border into Seattle. She's neither the brightest, nor the smartest face in the Seattle ancients, and far from the most respected. But that said, she's certainly one of the most socially versatile, able to move in circles few other Ancients would ever dream of. She's one of the few foot solders the ancients have who are comfortable moving in all layers of society, from squatters and criminals to the new, nobility of the mega-corps and the old nobility of the landed classes.
As of April 2082, she's been in Seattle a month. Just settling in, and getting to know the members of her squad. Soon, it'll be time for her to earn her keep.
Narrative Significant Qualities
Positive
First Impression, Good Looking and Knows It: No matter what the social situation, no matter what she's wearing, Duchess' smile and striking good looks make a great impression of those whom she meets. She has a way of glancing down at her feet while brushing her hair back behind her left ear that has been know to produce audible gasps from those who witness it. People seem to forget just how much they value social propriety and proper appearances when Duchess walks into the room.
Made (Wo)Man: Voltage is a member of the same Ancients charter, or "squad", as Babylon and Voltage. Though she'd been a patched member of the Ancient's since her time in prison, she had to work hard to prove to the Seattle Chapter that she deserved that patch, especially after the events of The Most Urban Brawl 2. But in Patched In she proved her mettle, and was patched over from the Nomad chapter to Ancient's Seattle.
Too Pretty to Hit: It's sometimes hard to believe someone with such an enchantingly beuatiful smile can ever be a threat. That moment of hesitation is all Duchess needs to put some cover -and some speeding bullets- between herself and a potential enemy.
Steely-Eyed Wheelman, Stunt Driver, Vehicle Empathy: Riding Bikes has been Duchess' thing since she had her first motorised children's bike at four years old. She can make any vehicle dance and perform incredible, incredible things.
Caromellag: Duchess only started learning this stuff because she wanted to flirt with her instructor, but even though she is objectively terrible in close combat, she at least knows the theory behind how to defend herself.
Negative
Allergy, Uncommon, Severe: Duchess is very, very allergic to nuts. Something she keeps secret from everyone around her.
Addiction (Mild) Betameth: Voltage persuaded Duchess to try betameth just one time, and got her addicted. Duchess doesn't mind to much though, since it makes her a better rigger and she's fastidious enough about her appearance not to let it rot her teeth.
Criminal SIN: Ygraine Damas is a registered criminal in the Tir, with recorded convictions for speeding, dangerous driving, reckless endangerment, driving without a license, petty theft and three counts of vehicular manslaughter.
Records on File: Aztechnology Duchess should never, ever, ever be allowed to make decisions or enter into negotiations when she's 3/4 of the way into a bottle of vodka.
Run History
| Name | GM | Metaplot | Threat | Date of Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut to the Chase | Sarcarian | High | 28 August 2082 | |
| Ain't Afraid Of No Ghost | Asmodeus | High | 14 May 2082 | |
| Throwing Shade | Sarcarian | Medium | 12 May 2082 | |
| Hell or High Water | Asmodeus | High | 4 May 2082 | |
| Patched In | Aurora | 27 April 2082 | ||
| The Most Urban Brawl 2: The Metagame | OrionsRequiem | Cross Flight Love Fight | High | 21 April 2082 |
| Look how they massacred my boy! | Asmodeus | Hail to the Pumpking | Medium | 17 April 2082 |
Affiliations
Contacts
| Contact | Connection | Loyalty | Archetype | Profession | Aspects | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander-James Brodrick Johnson III | 4 | 3 | Networking | CorpKid | Party all Night... What time is it?, Everybody's Friend., Did Someone say Drugs?, Brodie J IN THE HOUSE!, Ride Wrecked? Brodie J's got it!, Oh yeah! I have a job!, Good looks, Money, and a savant-level understanding of rocket physics | Even |
| Asahiro Kunitoshi | 6 | 1 | Fixer | Vice-President of Imperial Kami Services | For The Corporation, Blademaster, Scholar, Vashionable, Authorization, Spywork, Corpo Gear, Shintoist | Even |
| Edmond Beaulieu | 4 | 2 | Gear | Boutique Owner | Boutique Owner, Clothing Design, It'll Keep You Safe, It'll Look Good, Too!, Yeah, I can add that on for you. | Even |
| Ether | 5 | 2 | Fixer | Fixer | Smuggler, Armorer, Vehicles, Elven Blood, Ganger Network, Seattle Underworld | Even |
| Freya | 5 | 2 | Custom(G,A,K,N) | Hacker Extraordinaire | Master SIN Maker, Burner ID, FAKE is my Middle Name!, My Search Function is Powered by Nuyen, Hacking is my other middle name, I eat Hosts for lunch. | Even |
| Jacqueline Grant | 1 | 1 | Networking | Bartender | Elven Blood, Pointy Ears to the Ground | Even |
| Nina Gniewek | 6 | 1 | Gear | Ancients Lieutenant/Smuggler | Coyote Wild, Bring the Squad, Always labelled Machine Parts, Drug Runner, New and Used Bikes, Boats and Submersibles, Cyberware | Even |
| Woedica Kryptman | 5 | 2 | Generalist | Rider of the Wild Hunt | Magical Inventory, Astral Expertise, Spellslinger Sensei, Psychometrist, Rider of the Hunt, Astral Rider, Seelie Savvy, Blood Magic | Even |
| Wusan | 5 | 2 | Service | Overlord of the Seas | Ocean Bound, Master of the Sea, Purifier, Trick or Treat, Caller of Tides, Ocean Awareness, Sense of Humor, Spirit Bound, Sense of Duty, Sense of Honor | Even |
Organizations
| Contact | Position | Connection | Faction Rep | Archetype | Health | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancients | Member | 3 | 33 | Gang | Maintaining | North America & Western Europe |
Allies
Federated-Boeing +5 Rep.
Laesa +2 Rep.
Shiawase: +5 Rep.
Enemies
StarScreamers -5 Rep.
In Character Information
Symbols and Signatures
Duchess favours metallic leather Biker armour and rides a black Mirage with neon purple and neon green highlights. Except, when she's on a run. In which case her bike looks anything but it's regular appearance.
Astral Perception Table
| Threshold | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Hit: Fit and well, Emotional State, Mundane. 2 Hits: Two cyberarms, Datajack. |
| 3 | 3 Hits: No alphaware or betaware. Sense if Essence and Magic is higher or lower than your own. 4 Hits: Magic 0, Essence 2.25. Synapses, brain and sweat glands modified by bioware. |
| 6 | No genetech present. |
Matrix Search Table
| Threshold | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | It's an ancient title for European nobility. Who cares? |
| 3 | Duchess is the handle of a Tir noble who disappeared from the street racing scene a decade ago. She was arrested after wiping out three bystanders during a race. |
| 6 | Her parents had plenty of other kids to carry on the family name. Maybe that's why they'd had enough and let her hang for it. She's still getting used to seeing the sun without bars in the way, if you take my meaning, omae. |
Shadow Community Table
| Threshold | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Duchess? What the frag? Is that what you called your cat, chummer? |
| 3 | Duchess? She's that out-of-towner running with the Ancients. She's a looker too, a real head-turner. Hard to keep your eyes on her face, if you follow me, omae, but her voice does a fine job of keeping your attention focused when she speaks. |
| 5 | Duchess? She's just got out of the penitentiary out in Tir. Ancients smuggled her into Seattle for a new start. She used to be one of the high-and-mighty, if you can believe that? Fell on hard times. Doesn't seem to stick her nose up at the thought of being in the dirt with the rest of us, though. |
SINs
CRIMINAL SIN:
Ygraine Dumas (Tir Tairngire).
FAKE SINS:
Nimue Gower (UCAS R4 , Self-Employed Motorcycle Courier Rating) R4 Licenses: Concealed Carry, Driving, Firearms, Restricted Augmentations.
Yvonne Clark (Shiawase citizen R4, Imperial Kami Services Personal Assistant Pool) R4 Licenses: Drivers, Firearms, Restricted Augmentations.
Chloe Locke (Aztechnology Citizen R6: Aztechnology Seattle Executive Personal Assistant Pool) R6 Licenses: Concealed Carry Drivers, Firearms, Pilot, Restricted Augmentations.
Appearance
A ridiculously attractive female elf with shoulder-length, crudely cropped blonde hair and a penchant for wearing armoured biker outfits even to the most inappropriate of locations. Duchess has near-perfect symmetry to her features. The exception being a long, almost iridescent scar down her left cheek which does absolutely nothing to detract from her beauty. If anything, the scar only serves to draw the eye to her appearance all the more and presents a slight imperfection that magnifies the rest of her beauty.
Unlike most go-gangers, she doesn't have a single visible tattoo or piercing (nor, for that matter, does she have a single tattoo anywhere on her body). She knows her value as a face for the Ancients, and knows how easily tattoos of any kind might blow her cover or make her stand-out even more than her striking scar and uncommon beauty already do.
Clothing
Duchess favours a plate-grey armoured combat biker jumpsuit. She wears a black leather biker "cut" over the top, emblazoned with the neon green and black "Ancient's" patch upon the back, with both upper and bottom rockers. The left front chest of her cut bears a black patch with the word "Nomad" embroidered in neon green thread (note: as of April 2082 this has been replaced by a "Seattle" patch). The right side has a second patch embroidered with the word "Full Patch". She often carries a machine pistol slung openly over one shoulder. Being a patched member of the Ancients, she tends to wear her cut day in and day out except when working on a Shadowrun or in other situations where her actions might bring down heat on the Ancients.
She also has the beginnings of a small wardrobe of high fashion items that she can use to blend into the corporate and high society scenes. She's working out how to wear them under her leathers without getting them sweaty or crumpled through experimentation and trial-and-error.
Matrix Persona
Duchess' matrix personality is an armoured, elven knight in Milanese Plate Armour. The weapons on her person are represented variously by hand crossbows, repeating crossbows and various blades and polearms A fluttering pennant in Ancient's colours hangs from her lance. When she's mounted on her Mirage, she appears to be riding an unruly black stallion, foaming at the mouth and with blood upon it's hooves.
Media Mentions
21 APRIL 2082: Duchess is a player on the winning team, the Bullettrains, in Most Urban Brawl II: The Metagame.
28 AUGUST 2082: Duchess is recorded on the deck of a fishing vessel, her jade green cocktail dress torn to pieces, her high heels broken, wielding an Ares Alpha assault rifle while battling a Kraken in the process of attacking an Aztechnology cruise ship.