Sam Curtis (Urban Shadows)

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Sam Curtis - Urban Shadows.jpg

Name: Sam Curtis


Look: Ambiguous, White, Business Casual/Leather (depending on whether he's presenting as more male/female)


Demeanor: Charming


Starting Character Stats: (Added +1 to Mind) Blood -1, Heart 1, Mind 2, Spirit 0


Starting Factions: (Added +1 to Night) Mortality 1, Night 1, Power 1, Wild -1


Intro Questions:

Who are you? Wouldn't you like to know? I am Sam. Samantha, Samuel, whichever I want or need to be on any given day. I'm the guy or the girl in the background. I know stuff.

How long have you been in this city? I was born here, as was half my family. The other half? Well, they're from all over. Every wave of immigration has left its mark, and, if you believe some family history, we go all the way back to the Native tribes. I’m the fifth of six children, with both parents and Dad’s dad (Pops) still alive. We kids are a mixed bunch – I’ve an older brother in prison, but my younger sis (the baby of the bunch) is in college, majoring in ‘postmodern philosophy’, whatever that is. She showed me a movie once, ‘The Pervert’s Guide to Movies’, or 'Cinema', with a hairy guy whose name sounded like shish kebab. It was actually pretty good, though I still didn’t understand it. She’s the only redhead of the family, and I don’t think Dad quite trusts Mom on that one. But if anyone outside the family says anything, they better have good health insurance, or funeral insurance if sis gets to them first. Dad used to be a union man at the docks like Pops was, but that went with the power of the unions. Mario got him a security guard gig there for a fraction of the salary. Mom, meanwhile, used to reheat food in a public school, then she found religion in the shape of a cute English TV chef and started to lobby for healthier food in schools. She was on the local news and everything. The school authority hated her. She eventually got offered a job boiling organic, non-gluten vegetable balls at some private school where rich idiot parents throw measles parties instead of, you know, getting their kids vaccinated. Meanwhile, in between berating his own son for being useless, Pops has decided we’re Jewish.

How did you learn about the supernatural? Pete went on the rampage. ’99 was a big year. I was just a kid at the time, running errands for Mario Castellucio and his men. I got recruited because I was new, so the police didn’t yet have me on their radar (although I knew that’d change pretty quick) and because Mario’s son, Toni, had been like an older brother to me in school. ("It'll keep you on the streets!", Big Man Mario had laughed, "And out of school!", and I jumped at the offer.) I’d always been pretty sharp, so I noticed that Mario would occasionally be seen with some really strange people and obviously didn’t enjoy it one bit. Then Pete arrived, tipped off, I think, by Mario himself. I’d already seen violence – Mario’s men working over some punk; I even heard a guy being executed in a back street once. But this was something else. It was spectacular. All those creepy puppet-masters were simply annihilated. It was at that moment that I knew I wanted to be more like Pete and less like Mario or Toni, not because of the violence, but because of the freedom he represented from these things I could now see everywhere.

Why is this city worth saving? It’s my home. I don’t need another reason.

What mystery are you currently investigating? I'm looking into some middle-class suburban kids who've starting hanging out in my, seedier parts of town and yet seem immune to any danger. Everything seems to go well for them: they’re the queen bees of the night scene. I suspect there’s some supernatural influence there, that they’ve cut a deal with someone, and I think Ashja is well placed to help.


Gear

A simple apartment, a decent car, a smartphone

Snub-nosed revolver (2-harm close loud reload concealable)


Debts

Ashja entrusted me with a dangerous task. I succeeded, and he owes me a Debt.

I am leveraging dirt I have on Ashja to get his help with the Wild. I owe him a Debt.

Pete thinks he's protecting me, but it’s really more like I'm protecting him. We owe each other a Debt.


Aware Moves

Snoop

When you keep an eye out for trouble, roll with Mind. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 1. While you’re there, spend your hold to ask the MC questions, 1 for 1:

What’s my best way in/out? Who or what here is not what they seem? What happened here recently? What here is the greatest danger to me? Whose turf is this?

On a miss, you find yourself in over your head. The MC will tell you why this is a bad spot.

Did Your Homework

When you put a face to a name with someone politically important (your call), roll with Mind instead of Faction. On a hit, you know a dangerous secret about them or their political machinations. On a 10+, you know how to leverage that information; take a Debt on them as well. On a miss, your snooping has already landed you in hot water with your target; they know you’ve been looking into their business.

Hard-Boiled

When you get into trouble while chasing down a lead, gain armor+1.


Drama Moves

Corruption Move: When you ignore your mortal responsibilities to deal with the supernatural, mark corruption.

Intimacy Move: When you share a moment of intimacy – physical or emotiona – with someone who isn’t mortal, mark corruption.

End Move: When you die, each character chooses whether your death inspires or corrupts a part of their being. If it inspires, they erase a corruption advance they’ve taken (if any). If it corrupts, they immediately take a corruption advance.