[sblock=Rory Shanahan]Rory Shanahan, White Hat
STRength: 2 (2)
DEXterity: 4 (2; 2+fae)
CONstitution: 2 (2)
INTelligence: 4 (3; +1 Artist)
PERception: 3 (3)
WILlpower: 4 (3; +1 Artist)
Qualities and Drawback (19Q - 9D)
Half-Fae (6Q): Immortal (0), Acute Senses: Keen Hearing (2), Attractiveness (1),
Vulnerable to Cold Iron (-3), Occult skill +1 (1), Dexterity +2 (2), Fae Magics (3): +5 to rolls involving illusion/charms
Artist (2Q): +1 to two mental stats, +1 Art skill, -1 WIL to fear or emotions rolls: Rory's been gifted with an Artist's heart. Mom wanted him to preach; he chose to sing.
Empathy (2Q): It's important for Fae to know how mortals feel so that they may prey upon their desires
Sorcery +1 (5Q): He's got the touch, he's got the Power. Yeah!
The Sight (3Q): being a magical creature himself, Rory can see others like him.
Contact: Local Entertainment Circuit (1Q): Rory's just starting to get connected with the local industry. Though his band's a current hit, they're not quite ready to lay anything on the line for him.
Adversary (2D): Donovan. After being ousted from his own band and losing his girl to Rory, Donovan's the type who wants revenge. Now he's 'stronger' than yesterday; now it's nothing but his way.
Bad Luck (2D): Just because he's one of them doesn't mean the Fey have forgiven his parent's trespasses. Faerie gold is Faerie gold, and until he gets it all back, the Fae won't let him forget about it.
Recurring Nightmares (1D): More of the same Fae love.
Covetous: Fame/Glory (1D): Craziness aside, he's still a Rocker at heart and wants to be famous. Canadian singers can be great, too!
Below Average Wealth (2D): His parents paid for college, but once Rory found out about the Faerie gold, that was it. He's on his own, now. Making his way in the world today takes everything he's got.
Honorable (1D): Rory's a great guy. He'll stick with you through thick and thin once you're in his good books.
Skills:
Art: 3 (2+1 Artist) (singing, composing, playing front man to Celtic rock band)
Doctor: 1 (he knows first aid, which comes in handy...)
Driving: 2 (He's got a motorbike to get around)
Getting Medieval: 1 (Drunken brawls turn nasty sometimes)
Influence: 3 (he's a people person)
Knowledge: 2 (Religion) (Catholicism and Wicca and Shamanism, oh my)
Kung Fu: 1 (he's been in a few drunken brawls)
Mr. Fix-it: 1 (his bike isn't always reliable)
Occultism: 3 (2+ 1 Half-Fae) (his passion for esoteric knowledge)[/sblock][sblock=Character history]Rory Shanahan was born to Deirdre and Finn Shanahan in South Boston, Massachusetts. Rory’s official birth name is Ruaidhri O Seanachain; his mother wanted to keep ties with her Gaelic roots.
Rory grew up well-to-do in a decent Irish neighborhood. Deirdre was an attentive and lovingly strict stay-at-home mom, and Finn worked at a public relations firm. His mother had high hopes that Rory might become a Catholic priest. As soon as he was of age, his mother enrolled him in the South Boston Catholic Academy, then to Boston College High School and Boston College itself.
At first, Rory wanted to please his mother and embraced the Catholic lifestyle. He became a member of the school choir and dedicated his time and energy to his studies. As he progressed into his teens, he began to question the universe and his place in it. By the time he reached university, he grew tired of the Catholic “programming” and wanted to experience life outside of school walls. He began to spend more time in the local pubs than in school. During his nightly forays, he encountered a local Celtic Rock band who called themselves “Primal”. Celtic bands were a dime a dozen around Boston, but this band had a rainbow-haired bassist named Twilight who looked like a Gypsy on-stage. Rory was immediately smitten, and like a school boy with a crush, followed the band around the city. Each night, he would try to strike up a drunken conversation with Twilight, but the lead singer Donovan would always intervene and turn him away.
One night, Rory noticed some tension between Donovan and Twilight, tension that carried over into the band’s performance. Midway through their set, Donovan surprised everyone by angrily throwing his microphone on the stage floor and storming out of the pub, uttering a string of expletives as he left. The band looked confused. With a rush of adrenaline, Rory hopped up from his bar stool, jumped on stage, and picked up the mic. Before anyone could stop him, he began to sing one of the band’s songs a capella. The band looked at each other, shrugged, and one by one began to accompany Rory’s singing. By the end of the show, the bar was cheering and chanting for an encore. Later that evening, the band thanked Rory and asked if he wanted to come on full-time.
Twilight warmed up to Rory, and in short order they became an item. Twilight soon revealed to Rory that she was a Wiccan, which provided Rory some insight into a new (yet very old) religion that refreshed his mind and rekindled his interest in learning.
Donovan appeared one afternoon during a rehearsal with a chip on his shoulder. He “thanked” Rory for holding his place and shoved a fistful of bills in his chest. He then took his usual place on stage and commanded the band to start playing. Twilight confronted Donovan and told him that he was no longer welcome in the band. Donovan threw a fit, then cautioned Rory to “watch out for dark alleys” before leaving in a huff.
As the band toured the city’s drinking establishments, Rory began to start noticing odd things happening around him. He would often see a flicker of movement, or a twinkle of light, or hear soft, unintelligible voices out of nowhere. He asked Twilight about it, hoping that he wasn’t going crazy. Twilight suggested that it was possible that faeries may be trying to communicate with him. Although he himself did not believe in faeries, Rory knew that Twilight took her craft seriously. Together, they delved into the college library and the Internet for whatever they could find regarding faeries.
During her research, Twilight discovered that the Shanahan family had a legacy of wealth passed down from generation to generation, presumably from Irish royalty. The wealth was recorded as being a gift of the Fey folk, but there were no factual references to the source, or in what form the wealth existed. Rory knew nothing of this legacy. He approached his parents with the story and received the shock of his life. His father's form appeared to ripple and waver. Rory blinked his eyes, and when next he looked upon his father, he did not see the man that raised him, but a tall, slender creature with pointed ears!
The creature talked with Finn’s voice, but it was clearly not human. Finn explained that he was, in fact, an Elf. He did not originally come from this world. There existed, somewhere, a whole other realm full of fantastic creatures and races and magic. Finn used to live there, or at least, he believed he did. He explained that Elves had an unusually long lifespan and the event recorded in the library’s journals happened some four hundred years ago. He originally appeared in Ireland with a large chest of gold coins that he “liberated” from a faerie wood. His voice became grim as he noted that the gold was cursed somehow; he had no way of returning the chest to the original wood, and the Fey had long memories. Rory shared his odd experiences with Finn, who confirmed that Rory’s Elven blood made him sensitive to Fey Folk, among other possible gifts. Finn did not know for certain how said gifts would manifest in a largely non-magical world, but hinted at feats of magic. Deirdre added that she hoped, by becoming a priest, Rory might find a way to break the curse once he became wise and educated enough to understand it.
Rory renewed his studies with a fervor unseen since his younger years. With the guidance of his father, Rory found that he could in fact manifest a few simple tricks in short quantity. Rory shared all of this new information with Twilight.
Twilight confirmed that she already knew of his Half-Elven heritage because she could see the same world to which he had previously been blind. She added that she knew of a group of people who dedicated their lives to ensure that which is hidden remains hidden. Perhaps there, she advised, he could further his magical arts, or learn more about the cursed gold. She gave him directions to a contact with the group. With sad farewells (and apologies to his mother), Rory jumped on the first bus out of town and made his way towards his destiny.[/sblock]
