By quarkstomper
The tall, lanky stranger dismounted his horse and tied it to the hitching post in front of the Sherrif's office. He removed his hat to wipe a bit of sweat from his brow, but his pommaded hair seemed as neat as if he'd just stepped out of the barbershop, and his tightly-tailored trousers betrayed little hint of trail dust despite his having obviously ridden far.
He strode into the office, where a slovenly, unshaven man sat at the Sherrif's desk. A flicker of something — disapproval — passed through the stranger's steely eyes, but he simply said, "I'm looking for the Sherrif. I'm from the Pinkertons Agency. I believe you're holding a prisoner for me?"
A shrewd look came over the other's face. "Yeah," he said slowly rising. "He's back here. Come with me." He gestured towards the back of the room where an open door led to the holding cells.
Through the door, the stranger saw a man tied and gagged in the cell, with a badge pinned to his shirt, at the same time he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of the unshaven man reaching for a gun.
Almost instictively, the stranger whirled to face the fake sherrif. As if by magic, a small Derringer pistol shot out of his coat sleeve and into his hand before the man could aim. "I'd put down that gun if I were you," the stranger said.
Joshua Holt - 242 points
ST 12 [20]; DX 12 [40]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 13 [30]
HP 12 [0]; Will 12 [0]; Per 13 [5]; FP 13 [0].
Basic Speed 6.25 [0]; Basic Move 6 [0]; Dodge 9.
Base Thr/Sw Damage: 1d-1/1d+2; BL 29 lbs.;
Social Background
TL: 6 [0].
CF: 19th Century American [0]; Plains Indian [5]
Languages: English (native) [0]; Lakota (accented; spoken only) [2]
Advantages
Appearance: Attractive [4]; Danger Sense [15]; Fearlessness 2 [4]; Very Fit [15]; Gizmos 2 [10]; Patron: Pinkerton Agency [20]; Talent: Smooth Operator 1 [15]
Perks: Detective License [1]; Perfect Hair [1]
Notes:
Perk: Not sure if his Detective License should be a 1 pt. Perk, or a low level Legal Enforcement Powers.
Disadvantages
Duty to Agency (Hazardous, quite often) [-15]; No Sense of Humor [-10]; Overconfidence [-5]; Workaholic [-5]
Quirks: Always on Duty; Incompetence: Cannot Sing; Wears Tight Pants; (2 more Quirks TBD) [-5].
Skills
Brawling (E) DX+2 [4]-14; Carousing (E) HT [1]-13; Climbing (A) DX [2]-12; Criminology/TL6 (A) IQ [2]-12; Electronics Ops: Communication/TL6 (A) IQ [2]-12; Fast-Draw, Derringer (E) DX [1]-12; First Aid (E) IQ [1]-12; Forced Entry (E) DX [1]-12; Gambling (A) IQ+1 [4]-13; Guns: Pistol (E) DX+2 [4]-14; Guns: Rifle (E) DX+1 [2]-13; Intimidation (A) Will+1 [4]-13; Law: Criminal, USA (H) IQ [4]-12; Lockpicking (A) DX [2]-12; Observation (A) Per [2]-13; Photography/TL6 (A) IQ-1 [1]-11; Research/TL6 (A) IQ [2]-12; Riding: Horse (A) DX [2]-12; Search (A) Per [2]-13; Sex Appeal (A) HT [2]-14; Shadowing (A) IQ+1 [4]-13; Soldier/TL6 (A) IQ+1 [4]-13; Stealth (A) DX [2]-12; Streetwise (A) IQ+1 [4]-13; Survival: Prairie (A) Per [2]-13; Swimming (E) HT [1]-13; Teamster (A) IQ [2]-12; Thrown Weapon: Knife (E) DX+1 [2]-13
Techniques: Elbow Strike (Brawling) (A) [1]-11; Kicking (Brawling) (H) [3]-12
Notes:
Fast-Draw skill is specifically for using the the trick spring-loaded derringer up his sleeve. See Equipment
Electronic Ops: Communication skill is pretty much telegraphy and knowledge of Morse Code. And he knows how to use a telephone if they have been invented.
Guns: Pistol skill covers both his revolver and his Derringer
Law: Criminal, USA skill might be too broad, as different states and territories will have variations in their laws. This can be reflected by giving him a penalty to the skill if he's in an unfamiliar territory.
Sex Appeal skill includes +1 from Attractive.
Survival: Prairie skill — I chose "prairie" to go with his cultural familiarity with Plains Indian tribes. Desert would fit better with a Hollywood Wild West setting, but the West includes a lot of different terrains.
Equipment and Damage
Punch (1d-1 cr)
Kick (1d+1 cr)
Pistol: .36 Revolver (2d-1 pi)
Pistol: .41 Derringer (1d p1+)
Throwing Knife (1d-2 imp)
2 Gizmos — ideally some kind of Steampunk gadgetry, but the player can decide at need.
Note:
Derringer is hidden in sleeve in a spring device that will pop it into his hand when activated.
Variants
- Although I've called him a Pinkerton Agent, Josh Holt is based on James West from The Wild, Wild West and can be made into a U.S. Secret Service Agent with very few changes. Replace Detective License with a Medium-Level Legal Enforcement Powers, Security Clearance, and a fancy railroad car.
- By beefing up some of his outdoors skills he could also make a good Texas Ranger.
Adventure Ideas
- The players are accused of a crime they did not commit and now there's this Pinkerton agent on their trail
- Holt might also make a possible NPC Ally, provided the players aren't too dishonest.
- Perhaps he is working on a case and finds that he needs support. He can't telegraph for backup in time, so he recruits the PCs.
- He could make a good romantic foil for an interested PC.