Roq – Disgraced Shockboxer
Species: Human
Career: Hired Gun
Specialization: Marauder
Obligation: Debt (+5 magnitude)
Motivation: Family
Characteristics
Brawn 4
Agility 2
Intellect 2
Cunning 2
Willpower 3
Presence 2
Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl 2, Coercion 1, Cool 1, Coordination 1, Discipline 1, Resilience 1, Vigilance 1
Talents: Toughened
Wound Threshold: 16
Strain Threshold: 13
Soak Value: 5
Defense: 0|0
Equipment: shock gloves (Brawl; Damage 4; Crit 5; Range [Engaged]; Stun 3, brass knuckles (Brawl; Damage 5; Crit 4; Range [Engaged]; Disorient 3), heavy clothes (+1 soak value), 4 stim packs, hand held comlink, 2 doses of synthskin, memento of his wife and child, 46 credits
Background: Roq finally had it all. He was a contender and he was living the high life. The cuts and bruises, the concussions, the broken bones had all been worth it. People knew his name, they recognized him on the streets from his fights and his family was cared for with what he was bringing in. His days were spent at the gym, his evenings in the shock boxing ring, and his nights at home with his wife and their newborn son. He loved every minute of it.
It didn’t last. His lifestyle caught up to him. The fights began to take a toll. The medical bills begin to pile up, and Roq began to drink more and more to help with the pain. He began to spend more than he was bringing in, and both he and his manager saw that his star was beginning to descend. He began to get desperate, and did something that he would never forgive himself for. He agreed to take a fall in the second round for a big payout and put a new, young shock boxer on the map. But the kid wasn’t cut out for it. He never should have been in the ring in the first place, and he ended up getting put down in the first round. Rumors say the kid still hasn’t come out of the coma. The syndicate head that wanted him to throw the fight lost a lot of money on the fight, and decided to take it out in blood. Roq returned home to the sight of a massacre. Several armed thugs were in his apartment, the bodies of his wife and son laid out on the ground. They put a gun to Roq’s head and he closed his eyes, accepting his death. And then the man with the gun said these words:
“You get to live. But we’ll be watching you. When you least expect it, we’ll be watching. If you try to connect with anyone, get any closer than paying a street vendor for a meal, and they will die. But it won’t be us killing them. It will be you. And we won’t stop until you stop. Until you end things, we will not rest. You screwed with the wrong people. Your neighbors are next. You have until tomorrow.”
And then they were gone. Roq took what few possessions he could carry on his back and left. He’s since fallen off the grid. He hears his name every now and then, sees a story referencing that fateful night in the ring. And it’s those times he considers stepping in front of a train to be with his wife and child. But he doesn’t. He knows that he needs to take revenge on the bastards that did this to him, did this to his family. He’s not sure how, but he knows why.
Design Notes: Roq’s obligation is a little twist on the debt. Even though he cost the crime lord a lot of money when he didn’t throw the fight like he was supposed to, his debtee isn’t interested in taking his credits. Instead, this is a debt that can only be paid in blood, and when his Obligation gets triggered, you can be sure there will be some goons looking to make good on their promise of killing those he gets close to. Paying down this Obligation can run the gamut of taking down high ranking members of the organization to taking steps to protect himself and his friends by changing his identity. And should he forget why he puts up with it, there is always the memory of his wife and child who were violently taken away by these thugs to remind him.
Roq is designed to be an up close and in your face fighter. He’s not afraid to mix it up when blasters are drawn, and he’s confident of his ability to put down most foes before they can put up much of a fight. He can withstand quite a beating in combat, with a higher than average Wound Threshold and Soak. His main strength is his physical strength. Keeping along the Marauder tree will only help him put out more damage in combat through several picks of the Feral Strength and Lethal Blows talents. The many instances of Toughened and a few picks of Enduring on the same tree will continue to help him absorb more and more punishment to last a few more rounds in the ring. But he’s no slouch in the Willpower department either. This helps him keep an eye out for danger, keep a level head when danger does rear its ugly head, and also makes him an intimidating son of a bitch, all of which will help him stay alive. For further development, Roq could easily flow into the Commando specialization from Age of Rebellion, which would bolster his already high levels of damage resistance and melee prowess into nearly unstoppable levels. He could also benefit from some of the talents in the Bodyguard talent tree, and his high Wound Threshold and Soak make him a natural protector for squishier party members.
Ben Erickson
