NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8184415" data-attributes="member: 30538">Deschaines<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-H4sNpfK/0/d43301f4/S/westworld.0-S.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Born in 1920, Charles-Roger Deschaines despised the invaders of his homeland for many reasons, but one reason more than any other stood out -- they were the reason that there were no more cowboy movies in the theatres. He'd grown up watching them, and was emulating the style of their characters even in his teens, but as he entered adulthood, there were more important things to concern him. Still, his anger at the situation drove him into the Resistance, putting him in a situation where he was constantly risking death like a cowboy hero. Whenever he shot one of the Boche, he'd murmur 'Yippee-kay-ay' to himself, at least.After the war ended, Deschaines found himself uncomfortable and unhappy with the peace, perhaps because his was not a peaceful soul by nature. He traveled to America with ambitions of finding work in Hollywood, ideally in his beloved westerns. Unfortunately, his acting ability was minimal, and he appeared in only a handful of films as a black-hatted extra who went down to the white-hatted hero. To pay the bills, he drifted into crime, and it was here that his genuine talents became apparent. They had never seen anyone who could use a pistol like him.Superheroes provided him with his first genuine challenges, and he relished the opportunity that they presented him to demonstrate his fast draw. His first confrontation with the Futurian ended with him in jail, true, as the other man demonstrated that he was every bit as fast as him and could close the distance entirely too easily, but the lessons learned were useful ones, and when he got out of jail thanks to some convenient bribes paid by his employer, Deschaines took the time to implement them into his practice. He might never be able to beat any of them, but he could fight them effectively, and gained notoriety for doing so, even being recruited for the Agents of Destruction at one point.Yet the flower that was the superhuman community withered on the vine, and Deschaines found himself one of the last survivors, regretting that he hadn't taken the amnesty offer and gone to Vietnam. Ah well. His work increasingly took him all over the world, and if he couldn't claim to enjoy the practical aspects any more, he was able to take pleasure in the perks of the job.It was in 1976 that he finally met his match. Hired by one of the Triads -- he didn't really bother to keep the names straight -- to eliminate a clever criminal who'd been messing about in their territory, he hunted the fellow -- who claimed to be descended from the Lupin, but that seemed unlikely -- and had him dead to rights. And then that damned Hazard showed up and took out all of his backup, before disarming the two of them! Apparently he'd been after the same target, but he was just as happy to take out Deschaines, as well.But then Hazard's strange sense of humor manifested itself. Picking up the guns of the two fallen men, he emptied them of all but one bullet each and tossed them to the two combatants. "You're always claiming to be the fastest draw in the world," Hazard said to Deschaines. "Let's see about that. Let's have a good, old-fashioned showdown. On three, you'll both turn and shoot, and the one left standing gets to walk away."On the count of one, it occurred to Deschaines that the best way out of this situation would be to shoot at Hazard, since he was clearly much more of a threat that that pathetic thief was. On the count of two, it occurred to him that Hazard was probably expecting him that, and would be ready to return fire. And even if he managed to shoot Hazard before he fired back -- Hazard, whose gun was out and ready -- the thief would still be shooting at him, and he'd be wide open. So he took the safe choice and fired at the thief on the count of three, and watched him drop. He'd won. In a good, old-fashioned showdown, he'd won!It was then that he realized that something was dreadfully wrong, for he felt a deep burning pain in his chest, while watching the thief rise unsteadily to his feet. With a frightening moment of clarity, he realized what had happened; momentarily vacillating between the two targets, his aim had been thrown off enough that his shot had only creased the thief, and, in the process, diverted the thief's aim enough that it had struck him where it might otherwise have missed. The irony was terrible, and Deschaines knew, as his legs gave way under him, that he would never be so foolish as to take part in a showdown agDeschaines -- PL 9Abilities:STR 2 | STA 2 | AGL 6 | DEX 7 | FGT 6 | INT 0 | AWE 0 | PRE 0Powers:Fastest Gun: Enhanced Trait 3 (Improved Initiative 3) - 3 pointsGunplay: Array (1 points)<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Training: Enhanced Skill 1 (Ranged Combat: Guns 2) - 1 points</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Independent Aim: May fire two guns of Damage 4 or less at once (Feature 1) - 1 point</li> </ul>Advantages:Benefit (Ambidexterity), Daze (Intimidation), Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 6, Evasion, Improved Initiative 3, Language (English, [French is native]), Precise Attack 2 (Ranged; Cover & Concealment), Quick Draw, Uncanny Dodge.Equipment:Twin Colt .45 Automatics (Ranged Damage 4) and 14 points of equipment as needed.Skills:Acrobatics 4 (+10), Athletics 7 (+9), Close Combat: Unarmed 6 (+12), Expertise: Streetwise 7 (+7), Intimidation 8 (+8), Perception 8 (+8), Ranged Combat: Guns 7/5 (+14/+12), Sleight of Hand 4 (+11), Stealth 5 (+11), Vehicles 4 (+11).Offense:Initiative +18Unarmed +12 (Close Damage 2)Pistols +12 (Ranged Damage 4)Pistol +14 (Ranged Damage 4)Defense:Dodge 9, Parry 8, Fortitude 5, Toughness 7/2, Will 6Totals:Abilities 46 + Powers 2 + Advantages 17 + Skills 32 + Defenses 14 = 111 pointsComplications:Mercenary--Motivation. Honor (no civilians.) Obsession (fastest gun in the world).</blockquote>

Verification