Quentin "Tavaris" Todd

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NAME: Quentin Todd
SHADOW NAME: "Tavaris" (Arabic for "Misfortune", he found it in a book)
CONCEPT: ?
VIRTUE: Faith
VICE: Pride
ORDER: Acanthus
PATH: Mysterium (Reclaimants)

Personal Details

APPEARANCE

"Dean Corso" (Johnny Depp), The Ninth Gate Tavaris’ brown hair is slightly too long to be clean cut, but is usually pushed back on his head, giving him the appearance of propriety. He has a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee, sharp angular features, and a slight build. He is usually wearing his reading glasses (more an affectation than a necessity), a brown or black button down shirt, and black pants, with nicely-polished shoes. On cooler or rainy days, he is usually wearing an older black trenchcoat, as well. He perpetually carries an old leather messenger bag over his shoulder, which he uses to transport books and other fragile items. He stands at an unimpressive 5’9, and looks to weigh about 140 pounds.

HISTORY

Quentin Todd had never been an extraordinarily likeable fellow, even as a child. He had few friends, despite his parents constant attempts to insinuate him with the other neighborhood children. No, Quentin was quite content to sit in his room and read – a stroke of good luck that was not lost on the neighborhood children, who disliked Quentin’s dismissive stare and derisive commentary. As a result, he spent much of his formative years lost in books, of all kinds. His parents did not have a modern selection, of course, so Quentin grew up on older books, literary classics, biographies, and the like. It was no surprise, then, when as a teenager he obtained a position at a small Used Bookstore in the city. At least, his parents said, he’d made friends there. What they didn’t realize, of course, was that it was Quentin’s job to “obtain” rare books or editions. He was moderately successful at auctions – he always had a habit of piping up at just the right moment…but his real success came from “private acquisitions”, some of a more dubious legal nature. As he grew up, he eventually left the bookstore behind to go into business for himself, and became a well-known name among Rare Book Dealers and Collectors. He wasn’t well-liked…but they respected his ability to complete his assignments. In his late twenties, a contact introduced him to rich client, who specialized in books of the Occult. Quentin took the jobs with little question – he had no set religious beliefs, and did not balk at the money being offered – and continued to work part-time for this collector for a number of years. When he was twenty-nine, Quentin made a mistake. While on his way to deliver his latest acquisition to his collector, he found himself…drawn to the book. He wasn’t sure if it was the satyr-like “demons” etched into the cover, the strange writing along the edges of the pages, or something else, but he couldn’t contain his curiousity. He casually flipped through the book while riding the train, and something…happened. It was then that Quentin experienced his own “Mystery Play”. His fellow passengers, and the other people he passed on his way, became fanciful “faeries” and “demons”, the roads seemed lined in black rose petals. When he finally arrived at his client’s penthouse apartment and signed in the guestbook…Quentin Awakened as an Acanthus, and finally understood the strange writing on the book – High Speech, the language of the Awakened. Quentin’s delivery of the book brought more than just a check, however. Quentin’s patron, the “occult scholar” he had worked for, on-and-off, for the better part of three years, was a member of the Reclaimants faction of the Mysterium, and took the new mage under his wing immediately. So began Quentin’s induction into the Mysteries.

NOTES

-Quentin currently functions as an Acquisitor for the Mysterium, though the darker side of him is aspiring to become a Censor (perhaps like his Mentor?). -Aside from his patron, Quentin delivered a lot of other “occult tomes” to private collectors throughout his years, and the guilt of what he might have given over to Sleepers weighs heavily on him. Outside of his Order Duties to reclaim items like that, he has sworn an Oath to himself to retrieve every Occult book, no matter how insignificant, he ever delivered into the hands of a Sleeper. -Quentin sees himself, and his place in the Mysterium, as not unlike that of the Archeomancers. He simply states that instead of sneaking into musty old ruins where nothing living lurks, he must sneak right under the noses of the unwary for his treasures. -I'm thinking, if we end up being Consilium-based, that he might become interested in "re-collecting" the texts that the Free Council are publishing on the 'net. Don't know if/how that would play out, but it's a first thought. -I'm also thinking that my character would likely have one or two regular "competitors" from his time as a Sleeper collector. He may continue to encounter them as he pursues other mystical artifacts. -He most likely had dealings in both St. Paul and Minneapolis before his Awakening (and possibly after?), so that may be a hook to move us back and forth in-game, if that's needed...

Game Stats

ATTRIBUTES

MENTAL: Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 2
PHYSICAL: Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2
SOCIAL: Presence 2, Manipulation 4, Composure 2

SKILLS

Mental Skills: Academics: Literary History 3, Crafts 1, Computer 1, Investigation 3, Occult 3
Physical Skills: Athletics 2, Firearms 1, Larceny 2, Stealth 2
Social Skills: Persuasion 2, Subterfuge 2

• Rote Specialties

DERIVED STATS

Health: 7
Willpower: 4
Wisdom: 5

Size: 5
Speed: 9
Initiative: 5
Defense: 3

MAGIC STATS

Gnosis: 2
Mana: 7 (max: 11, 2/turn)
Innate: Pattern Restoration (1/day), Pattern Scouring (1/day), Unseen Sense
Nimbus: ?

Arcana

Fate 3, Time 2, Space 2, Matter 2

Rotes

-Flight of Birds (The Sybil’s Sight, Fate 1, Wits + Occult + Fate)
-Everything’s Zen (The Perfect Moment, Fate 2, Wits + Occult + Fate)
-Missed It By That Much! (Fortune’s Protection, Fate 2, Wits + Athletics + Fate)
-Mapping The Tomb (Find The Hidden Hoard, Matter 1, Wits + Crafts + Matter)
-Glass Houses (Steel Windows, Matter 2, Intelligence + Occult + Matter)
-Eyes on the Prize (Finder, Space 1, Intelligence + Investigation + Space)
-Rings of the Oak (Time’s Mark, Time 1, Intelligence + Investigation + Time) (from TotM)
-Gazing Through The Sands (Postcognition, Time 2, Intelligence + Investigation + Time)

Dedicated Magical Tools

Path Tool: Silver Pentacle Pendant (Worn beneath shirt)
Order Tool: Horn-Rimmed Reading Glasses
Arcana Tools: Bad Penny (kept in pocket, Fate), Wristwatch/Stopwatch (Time), Leather Messenger Bag (Space)

MERITS

Contacts 2 (Rare Book Dealers, Local City Government (Zoning Office))
-Eidetic Memory 2
-Mysterium Status (Acquisitor) 1
-Mentor 2 (Higher Ranking Mysterium...possibly Censor?)