Scoundrel: Sean Nittner
System: Gentleman Scoundrel by Allison Arth
I was playtesting Gentleman Scoundrel and this is what I came up with:
Blood is my language and my meaning. My family, chosen and blood, are mine to protect. The rest of this city can burn.
Julian, you cowardly bastard. You love your life of luxury more than your life with me. I built an empire that crumbles beneath your gaze.
I went to the edge of the void sea and saw immortality beneath it. The only cost is everything you’ve ever known or loved. A keel steadies my hull. A Keel is the name I will keep.
Hope is defiance. My ambition, my rebellion. A mindless machine discarded me but I will break the gears with my rage and climb the cogs to my desire.
Faith in the power of this black blood was my undoing. Washed up from the shore I still yearn for the sea. Now I see the void it has left in me.
The Crow’s Foot is broken, the tower crumbled. The gunpowder spent, only rubble remains. Broken and battered, I’ll keep climbing up and out. The depths will not claim me yet.
Tangletown was our shot. The Lampblacks, the Grinders, the Billhooks, they were all in our grasp. I reached too far, I trusted too much. The gears twisted again.
Bazso is under that rubble too. I wanted to break the world, but I only broke my bond. I can’t help you now old man. You’d never take me back. I wish it had gone another way.
That foul blood seeping in our veins and in our needles. The one poison the crown cannot quit. I must drink it again and keep the devil hunters at bay.
I washed up on that shore in the frozen Elisar of 47. I carried void water and truth in my lungs. I shouted them both back at my captain. He could not hear me, he did not know my name.
Not my crew. Not my loves. Not the demons from above. I trust what I hold. I trust what I can take. I bite the eel and I’m not surprised when it writhes.
That Scion of Scurlock is a kid with promise, but he doesn’t know the deal he’s made. From the outside I watch the sea fatten the souls for the slaughter.
The only thaw in this frozen voyage comes from the warmth of flesh with hearts still beating, breath still heaving, and bodies still yearning. Mercy, my yearning continues.
The Blood has been let. The tattoos drawn. The lair raided. The crew is gone. My grip too hard. The rudder snapped. Afloat on the void sea I am again.
Here’s the process and my notes:
Gentleman Scoundrel – Arcy Keel
Revisiting a character I haven’t played in years.
- Crew: Bloodletters
- Are they powerful? Downtrodden? Ambitious? Yes.
- What else? Protective. Cold. Vigorous. Craves physical touch. Tough
- Who does she know. Marlane, a pugilist. Mercy, a cold killer. Setarra, a demon.
- Vice: Pleasure
- Aspirations. The syndicate of crews on Crows’s Foot. Fucked. To win back her husband Julian Keel. Fucked. To have her children in her life. Fucked. To make Strangford see her as worthy. Fucked. To use the stolen imperial arms to build something real. Fucked.
- Dark Deals: Powers that come from leviathan blood. Incredible strength. Ghost fighter.
Ace of Crowns – What do you stand for?
Blood is my language and my meaning. My family, chosen and blood, are mine to protect. The rest of this city can burn.
2 of Blades – What hollows you out?
Julian, you cowardly bastard. You love your life of luxury more than your life with me. I built an empire that crumbles beneath your gaze.
3 of Flames – How far will you go?
I went to the edge of the void sea and saw immortality beneath it. The only cost is everything you’ve ever known or loved. A keel steadies my hull. A Keel is the name I will keep.
9 of Blades – What do you hope for?
Hope is defiance. My ambition, my rebellion. A mindless machine discarded me but I will break the gears with my rage and climb the cogs to my desire.
4 of Devils – Who or what betrayed you?
Faith in the power of this black blood was my undoing. Washed up from the shore I still yearn for the sea. Now I see the void it has left in me.
King of Crowns – What’s next?
The Crow’s Foot is broken, the tower crumbled. The gunpowder spent, only rubble remains. Broken and battered, I’ll keep climbing up and out. The depths will not claim me yet.
2 of Crowns- What hollows you out?
Tangletown was our shot. The Lampblacks, the Grinders, the Billhooks, they were all in our grasp. I reached too far, I trusted too much. The gears twisted again.
6 of Blades – What remains unspoken?
Bazso is under that rubble too. I wanted to break the world, but I only broke my bond. I can’t help you now old man. You’d never take me back. I wish it had gone another way.
5 of Crowns – Who or what must you shield?
That foul blood seeping in our veins and in our needles. The one poison the crown cannot quit. I must drink it again and keep the devil hunters at bay.
2 of Flames – What hollows you out?
I washed up on that shore in the frozen Elisar of 47. I carried void water and truth in my lungs. I shouted them both back at my captain. He could not hear me, he did not know my name.
10 of Blades – Who or what can you trust?
Not my crew. Not my loves. Not the demons from above. I trust what I hold. I trust what I can take. I bite the eel and I’m not surprised when it writhes.
6 of Crowns – What remains unspoken?
That Scion of Scurlock is a kid with promise, but he doesn’t know the deal he’s made. From the outside I watch the sea fatten the souls for the slaughter.
Jack of Blades – What is your basest need?
The only thaw in this frozen voyage comes from the warmth of flesh with hearts still beating, breath still heaving, and bodies still yearning. Mercy, my yearning continues.
7 of Crowns – What harrows you?
The Blood has been let. The tattoos drawn. The lair raided. The crew is gone. My grip too hard. The rudder snapped. Afloat on the void sea I am again.
