LWaSH character: Abraham Hale

Okay, it's about time I started posting character bios for the PCs from my Lost Worlds and Secret Histories game.


Abraham Hale
Gun-Slinging Scourge of the Supernatural
(played by Gerry)

ASPECTS
• Enemy of the Devil
• His Own Brand of Religion
• Gun Nut
• Wisdom of the West
• Finding the Weak Spot
• Rube Goldberg Shot
• The Harder They Fall
• Speak American, Damnit
• I Hate Nazzys!
• ...Woulda Given Us Wings

SKILLS
+5: Guns
+4: Alertness, Intimidation
+3: Endurance, Fists, Survival
+2: Athletics, Might, Stealth, Resolve
+1: Drive, Investigation, Mysteries, Rapport, Weapons

STUNTS
• Danger Sense
• Iron Determination
• Tracker
• Trick Shot
• Two Gun Joe

Originally conceived as sort of a 1930s gunslinger version of Solomon Kane, Abraham Hale has quickly developed into an extremely distinctive character. His background is a story about how his sister was possessed by a demon, and killed by their preacher father in his attempt to exorcise the thing, leading Abraham to conclude that the supernatural should be fought with guns rather than faith. (In fact, that "His Own Brand of Religion" aspect actually refers to the fact that he believes that God has abandoned the world, which is really interesting.) He then went on to fight cultists and other occult evils, including--just before the beginning of this campaign--a trip to Africa that involved pterodactyls. As Abraham's player says, every pulp hero has to go to Africa at some point.

He also likes a drink, now and again, a trait which was used to such great humorous effect ("Hell yeah, I'm drunk!") that I wish it had made it into his aspects.

His "Speak American, Damnit" and "I Hate Nazzys!" aspects have already been great for fueling intra-party conflict, as one of the other PCs actually used to be Adolf freaking Hitler. That "...Woulda Given Us Wings" aspect, representing his fear of flying, is also bound to be fun, since another PC is primarily a pilot. And the game's plot is already pointing back towards Africa...

Variant rule alert!
Abe's been making good use of his Trick Shot stunt in a way which might not be completely okay with the Spirit of the Century rules. The description of the stunt states that it gives a bonus to attacks against inanimate objects, and cannot be used to attack other characters. However, I'm letting him use it to attack characters indirectly by shooting down suspended objects and such. The way I'm handling it, the player has to come up with the details of the shot, set the target number himself, and make a Guns roll (with the +2 from Trick Shot). If the roll misses that target, the shot fails and nothing happens. If the roll meets or exceeds it, though, that target number (and no more, regardless of how high the player rolled) is treated as an attack roll against the hapless sucker standing under the chandelier. (Maybe shifts past that target number might let the indirect attack hit multiple opponents? Not sure.)

Speaking of variant rules, I'm really looking for a chance to use Mike Olson's badass showdown rules with this character. I've just gotta come up with the right opponent for him...