Summary: Christopher Shade is a cheery, upbeat eccentric. He's given to odd outbursts and habits. He always attempts to startle people the first time he meets them. He refers to his employees with such endearments as "Mr. Figgis, how are you doing, you old shaving brush?" or "Mooney, old teacup, leave Mr. Figgis and me alone for two shakes, will you?"
He is the head of Nightshade Associates, a firm that handles a number of needs for their clients, ranging from dispute mediation to private investigation to bodyguarding to less savory types of endeavors. A select division of Nightshade Associates is clued-in, and handles the occult needs of clients.
Mr. Shade has a habit of accepting "favors" as payment or as half of a trade.
Since he is an avatar of the merchant, he can
decide when he's calling in his favor, and essentially dictate a single action
of the person, much as if he had arranged a Devils Deal (see the Plutomancy
spell of that name) with them. He hands a marker (usually his business card
or a plastic chit much like a poker chip) to the person who owes him a favor.
This marker has no intristic power, but generally tends to "cling" to the favor-owing
person by syncronicity.
For instance, if Bob owes Mr, Shade a favor, the marker will keep turning up--
in his wallet, on his night stand, in his
Filofax, etc.-- to remind him that he owes Mr. Shade a favor.
Personality: Picture the Shadow crossed with Gomez Addams...
Obsession: (Avatar: Merchant) Bringing people with complimentary needs together-- for a profit!
Passions
Rage: Wasting a resource that may be valuable. Polluting the environment
fits under this; seeing people through away
something that could be useful later drives him up a tree. This, of course,
makes Mr. Shade a terrific pack-rat.
Fear: (Helplessness) He's afraid of having a deal go sour through coincidence, an Act of God, anything outside of his control. This makes him cautious and circumspect, but once he feels he's covered all the bases, he'll strike quickly.
Noble: Mr. Shade is a sucker for happy endings, and with go to great
lengths to assure those for his clients, his employees,
and himself.
Wound Points: 45
Stats
Body: 45 (Squishy)
Speed: 45 (Sluggish)
Mind: 60 (Keen Mind)
Soul: 90 (Oddly Magnetic)
Skills
Body Skills: Gen. Ath. 20%, Struggle 25%, Fencing 30%
Speed Skills: Drive 20%, Dodge 25%, Throwing Knives 25%, Juggling 20%
Mind Skills: Gen. Ed. 25%, Notice 20%, Contract Law 30%, Occult Lore 15%, (Aura
Sight 15%)
Soul Skills: Charm 30%, Lie 15%, *Avatar: the Merchant 75%*
ALSO:
* Mr. Shade has the ability to "always land on his feet"; he traded a cat a lifetime of milk for half of it's ability to land on all fours when falling. Whether this ability is literal or metaphorical or both has yet to be seen.
* Mr. Shade has also received (as a cut of another deal) the ability of Aura
Sight. This is limited to the level at which the
previous owner had given it up; Mr. Shade may not improve it through the use
of experience.
Madness Meter (H/F)
Violence = 2H/0F
The Unnatural = 5H/1F
Helplessness = 1H/1F
Isolation = 1H/1F
Self = 2H/1F
Pick One:
A) High Road: Mr. Shade is a charming, eccentric old do-gooder, out to enjoy
life and help people out when he can.
B) Middle Road: Mr. Shade is a remarkably astute businessman who is feared by his business rivals and loved by his business allies.
C) Low Road: Mr. Shade is a captain of industry whose climb to the heights of business has left his enemies broken and maimed, their carcasses trampled in the dust.
Possessions: Always carries a Swiss army knife, 4 throwing knives in a billfold
sheath, a slim voice-activated palmtop
computer, a nice wad of cash, business cards, and several poker chip markers.
Connections: He's done services for or holds favors due from a small
number of officials in his city. One or two local adepts have deal with him
or owe him. He's performed a service for Dirk Allen on one occasion, but no
one's sure what it was. He's spoken to, but never deal professionally with,
Alex Abel.