Boss

"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall." - William Shakespeare

Biography

The Boss

Mastigos; Guardians of the Veil; Ipseity Legacy; Lamplighters Cabal (Violet)

Boss (born Serendipity Charlemagne Boss); Charity/Lust; The Big Brother

My birth on November 24th, 1969 was a happy surprise for my Mom and she knew I was destined for greatness, so she chose a name that reflects this. I'm proud of my name, it's awesome, and no crusty old dude that desperately needs to get laid is going to convince me to set it aside.

"I urged him to take a shadowname. Not only is it tradition, but it is practical armor to protect a mage against hostile magics. He refused, so I ordered him as his mentor and superior amongst the order." /sighs/ "He chose Batman."
- Boss' mentor, who prefers to remain unnamed

Mom gave birth to me while following the Grateful Dead around the country with a bunch of hippies in a van. Never knew my father. Mom isn't really sure who he was; she was a bit of a wild child back then. My childhood was fantastic. She adored me, I was her little prince. We would travel and have all sorts of adventures back then. Then she met The Republican and became respectable. He's a senator or something. They eventually got married after I'd moved out to attend college (and by attend I mean live on my friends couch in a drug induced haze after flunking out first semester). Now she's an editor for a fashion magazine in New York. We exchange birthday cards every year and I'm expected to show up with the wife and kid each year at Christmas. I brought Carl with us last year; she was not amused. The Republican looked like he was about to rupture a vein in his temple. I'll be sure to bring more boyfriends with me next time, maybe his head will explode.

I have a hot, fierce wife, Bethany Boss. I call her "BB". She hates it, but lets me. She runs our business from HQ in San Diego. We met at a Burning Man orgy years ago and became immediately inseparable friends. Our daughter, Kate, is attending college in London. She's studying philosophy or history or some heady shit, but she also plays bass and sings with an indie band that I hear is doing pretty well in the local scene. My adorable boyfriend is Carl Hill, he generally works in security or as a bouncer from time to time. He moved with me to Portland and Veles helped us out by getting him a nice cushy position as CEO of Faust Securities here in Portland. I have two dogs, Big and Tiny and my ride, a big fuck off hummer I named Calliope. Kate tells me the name is inappropriate given the classical Greek goddess or something. I never paid attention during history class. I named her after the quirky, weird chick I liked as a kid from Days of Our Lives.

I've done a variety of jobs in the past. I wasn't ever very good at holding down normal scheduled-hours-to-wages type jobs. I sold drugs in college from my friends dorm where I lived on his couch and I would rent myself out as a boy whore to bored housewives and then to their closeted husbands. Funny story; once that actually happened and it ended up saving their marriage, like in the Parent Trap - Disney should make a movie about me. The money was pretty damn sweet and I moved off the couch and into my own place. I became associated with a number of local organizations, though remained an outside asset, like a contractor for hire. I dealt less with drug trade, messy business really, and started hiring others to take care of those wives and husbands' needs in my place and I began focusing on other talents I had discovered myself to possess.

"I believe that Mr. Boss' jovial nature and personable "buddy-like" qualities are in fact a natural camouflage for his deeply flawed psyche. While he's around, you may find yourself taken off guard, or even swept up into the moment, never realizing that you are in fact being subtly manipulated. In the time that he has been my patient, Mr. Boss has demonstrated antisocial behavior, a diminished capacity for remorse, and poor behavioral controls, all of which are characteristics of a text book psychopath. The fact that my report on this matter was absolutely ignored by the parole board, all of them grinning like idiots at his inappropriate jokes during the parole hearing only confirms my findings."
- Ben Ward, Parole Board Appointed Psychiatrist of Columbus, OH (Resigned)

My mom always hated guns. I'd never even held one in my hands until college, but I was a natural. My guns are an extension of myself, they are my will manifest; sexy, powerful and deadly. People were willing to pay me lots of money to remove problems or clean up messes for them. I was really good at getting the job done. And I loved finding that orderly solace amidst the torrent of excitement, lust and fear within me every time it came down to that moment before concluding someones story. Aye, I admit to being a bit of a thug, but I don't consider myself to be a villain. I don't kick puppies, I love puppies! I'm good to kids, I donate to cancer research, I help old ladies cross streets, take care of my crew, even do volunteer work sometimes, that sort of stuff. But, work is work. I'm good at it, I enjoy it and it pays well. They're going to get someone to do the job, it may as well be me. And I DO research my marks; all the guys I take out; bad guys...or rude...or unfortunate bystanders. So, really I'm making the world a better place. I'm a fucking super hero. Also, I don't kill chicks. That's just weak. Women are amazing. They make babies. That's hard core awesome. If you kill a mom, or future mom, then you're just a dick and I fucking hate you.

Funny coincidence - I didn't know it at the time, but I was already working for the Guardians back then. A number of my contracts were from the order. The fact that I was already on their radar explains how they were so quick to swoop in to claim me upon my awakening.

"My Father is an imbecile with little bearing on reality. I love him, but he's a thug with the relative IQ of a deck chair and believes that his comic books are real. But there have been times where he has dredged up nuggets of hidden brilliance from that murk he calls a brain; such as when he helped me build a high powered linear electromagnetic accelerator for my fourth grade science project...much to the dismay of the faculty and local authorities and when he composed an entire concerto that he dedicated to my Mother and I on their twentieth anniversary. It's during such moments that he proves me wrong, that there truly are super heroes."
- Katherine Boss

I awoke into my super powers - hey, you can call it magic and yourself a mage or wizard, faerie princess or whatever you want - I call 'em super powers, because I'm a super hero. Well I got my powers while tripping balls on a bad batch of acid at a rave. It was...pretty intense. I can still recall the duality of the entire experience, on one hand I can vaguely recall the rave, the police raid, a car chase and shoot out, arrest and being tossed into jail. And at the same time, I clearly remember simultaneously being in Hell, devils, pursuit and an epic battle with Sepultura playing in the background...or was that from my flipped car? and then imprisonment. Crazy shit. I was apparently babbling incoherently towards the end, scrawling my name on the prison cell wall. It was a Tower.

The Guardians wasted no time snatching me up, as I had already been in their sights for a while. It was my future mentor who showed up to bail me out. I watched in awe as he Jedi mind tricked the cops, judge and jury into letting me go. He hates it when I call it that. Actually I'm pretty sure he hates me in general. He doesn't even send me a birthday cards. They kept me sequestered with them for a while for training, dogma regurgitation, drink the kool-aid, etc. It was during this time that I met Veles in person. I knew of him, even outside of his Portland scene he's pretty well known. Awesome dude, dresses really slick. My wife has been starstruck with him every since she met him at a charity party we attended a couple of years ago, but I think I'm more likely to get a piece of him than she is. He's been very helpful in getting us set up in Portland.

Who am I today? I'm a respectable business owner with a hot wife, smart daughter with a funky British accent, sexy boyfriend, two dogs and a fucking awesome ride. I work in acquisition and resale of collectibles; primarily comics and other nerdy shit. I own a number of comic stores in San Diego, another in LA, Phoenix and one in Dayton, Ohio. I just opened up a shop here in Portland. I also offer other services to those with the money to pay for it, bringing those geeky fantasies of spandex clad ladies and dudes in capes to life for them. Comic themed prostitution was a dream of mine since adolescence. My wife seized upon the idea and helped make it a reality. We've expanded since then to include mainstream non-nerd audiences as well, but really - if you had a choice, would you rather be cuffed by a hot cop chick or tied up with sexy Wonder Woman's lasso? I've also been supplying a number of conventions with professional booth babes for years. As for the other sort of work I do, I'm no longer for hire to the general public. I primarily perform contracts for the Guardians, occasionally for others in the "industry" and when necessary to protect my crew. They are my family as well and anyone who treats them poorly will answer to me. Because I'm the Boss. Also Batman.

The Boss' Family

The Boss' Sweet Ride

The Boss' Cute Dogs

The Boss' Sexy Boyfriend

The Boss' Smart Kid

The Boss' Hot Wife

The Boss

Stats

• Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 3, Resolve 3, Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2, Presence 2, Manipulation 2, Composure 3 (effectively 7)
• Abilities: Computer 1, Investigation 2(R), Politics 1, Athletics 2, Brawl 1, Firearms 5 (SP: pistols, rifles), Larceny 2, Stealth 1(R), Persuasion 2, Socialize 1, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 2(R; SP: misdirection)
• Merits: High Speech, Status 2 (Guardians), Ritual Improv., Quick Draw, Fighting Style: Combat Marksmanship 5, Supernal Tolerance (Composure) 2, Resources 4, Allies 2 (criminals), Contacts 4 (police, media, hospitality, hackers), Status 2 (underworld), Sanctuary 1, Status 1 (Consilium), Masques 3
• Flaws: Wards (family & crew), No Shadowname, Prefers not to kill women
• Advantages: Health 7, Willpower 6 (effectively 10), Wisdom 5, Size 5, Speed 11, Defense 3* (Armor x+4+4=8), Initiative 11 or 16
• Masques: Weaver of Whispers, Eye of Mars, Good Death

• Nimbus: Words go here.

• Magic: Gnosis 4; Mind 4, Fate 2, Forces 2, Space 2, Time 1
• Spell Tolerance: 3/3; Spell Control: 3/7

Active Spells

Active Spells, Self

• Augment the Spirit + Diplomat's Protection (Mind••• + Mind•••): Potency 11/11, Duration 4/4. This spell is cast on Boss personally, and renewed once a month. (Average Casting Time: 7 hours)
• Misperception + Mental Shield (Mind•• + Mind••): Potency 11/11, Duration 4/4. These spells are cast on Boss personally, and renewed once a month. (Average Casting Time: 7 hours)
• Third Eye (Mind•): Potency 18, Duration 4. These spells are cast on Boss personally, and renewed once a month. (Average Casting Time: 5 hours)

Active Spells, Other

Rotes

Equilibrium: "Exceptional Luck", Fate••, Composure+Firearms+Fate; (optional phantom dice for factors) +1 for spending a full turn performing the kata before casting the spell, +1 if performed with an inscribed weapon.

• Hey, go watch Equilibrium. Those Graviton Clerics were lucky bitches. When I focus and perform my gun kata, I'm able to draw luck down from the supernal and into me. And I look way cool doing it.

Moment out of Time: "Perfect Timing", Time•, Composure+Subterfuge+Time+1r

• By placing myself in the right frame of mind, I can manage small fractions of a second far more efficiently than time would normally allow.

Plucking Talent: "Gain Skill", Mind••, Dexterity+Larceny+Mind; (optional phantom dice for factors) +2 if cast within an hour of picking the pocket of someone skilled in the skill being gained

• I reach out and pluck what talents I require from the grand pool of human consciousness. Or I can just literally rub some of it off of you and onto me from crap I snag from your pocket.

Flaws in the Weave: "Counterspell (Mind)", Mind•, Wits+Investigation+Mind+1r

• I can see the tiny flaws and frayed ends in the weaves of your shitty mental spellwork, making it easier for me to rip them apart.

Legacy: The Ipseity

• First Attainment: X

Merits

Fighting Style: Combat Marksmanship

• Shoot First (•): Your character’s trained reflexes give her a split-second edge in a gunfight. Whenever she begins a combat with a firearm already in her hand, she gains a bonus to her Initiative roll equal to her Firearms Skill. If she also has the Quick Draw Merit for firearms (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 113) and draws a firearm during the first turn of combat, this bonus is added retroactively, starting at the beginning of the second turn of combat.
• Tactical Reload (••): Your character’s muscle memory enables her to reload without conscious thought. Once per turn, she may reload a firearm that feeds from a detachable magazine or use a speedloader to reload a revolver, as a reflexive action.
• Double Tap (•••): When using a lever-action, pump-action or semi-automatic firearm, your character may make short burst attacks as if her gun were capable of autofire.
• Bayonet Range (••••):Your character can maintain accuracy and control even when facing an opponent at arm’s length. The target’s Defense does not apply to firearm attacks your character makes within close-combat range (see p. 155, the World of Darkness Rulebook).
• Rapid Fire (•••••): Your character’s concentration is such that she can unleash a hail of bullets. In a single action, she may make one extra Firearms attack for each point by which her Composure exceeds 2. Each extra attack is made at a cumulative –1 modifier. Thus, she can perform a total of two attacks at Composure 3 (the second of which is at –1), three attacks at Composure 4 (the third of which is at –2) and four at Composure 5 (the fourth of which is at –3). She must declare the targets of all attacks before rolling the first one. Each attack not directed against her initial target suffers an additional –1 penalty. All attacks made with this maneuver must be single shots. Drawback: Your character cannot use her Defense against any attack in the same turn in which she intends to use this maneuver. If she uses Defense against attacks that occur earlier in the Initiative roster, before she can perform this maneuver, she cannot use Rapid Fire this turn. In addition, your character may not use this maneuver with bolt-action or break-action firearms.

Ownership & Possession

• Possessions: Boss typically carries his personal phone (magical tool), work-phone, a disposable-phone, knife, wallet & keys w/ heavy chain, gun, back-up gun, spare ammo, sunglasses, magi-tools, duct tape, industrial zip-ties & a few zip-lock bags. His weapons, phone, wallet, keys & of course Calliope are treated with the Loyal Possession spell. When he carries his "work bag" he also has: laptop, H&K Mk.23 suppressor & laser modules, sniper rifle, backup H&K Mk.23, more ammo, hacksaw, handaxe, small tool kit, goggles, coveralls w/ randomly generated faux cleaning company logo, gloves, mask, rope, trash bags, rolls of plastic, industrial acid, cleaning supplies and all the other little odds & ends necessary for cleaning up messes.
  • Magical Items:
  • Magical Tools: mirrored iron & brass bound w/ leather bracelet (path), smart phone(mind), silver dollar (fate), tape measure (space), wrist watch (time)
  • Weapons:
    • Bowie Knife (Damage 2(L), Size 1/J, Durability 4, Notes: +1 to some Crafts rolls); hip sheath
    • Chain (Damage 1(B), Size 1/S, Durability 3); arranged between belt, keys & wallet (requires prior detachment for use as a weapon)
    • Milla: H&K Mk.23 (Damage 3, Range 30/60/120, Capacity 12+1, Str 2, Size 1*/J); hip holster (and a spare in his work bag)
    • Cindy: Glock 26 (Damage 2, Range 10/20/40, Capacity 10+1, Str 2, Size 1/P); hidden in leg holster
    • Naomi: Sniper Rifle (Damage 4 (9 again), Range 250/500/1000, Capacity 10+1, Str 2, Size 3); in work bag
• Sympathy Bag:
• Residence: Nice house with a pool in the West Hills. Pretty chill neighbors, including an old recluse who mows his lawn in his bathrobe every other day, a rich bored housewife who's children are away at college and husband is always overseas and a the modern equivalent of the Brady Bunch that seem to be competing for some sort of American poster family award.
• Business: Opening up the newest branch of our comics and collectible stores, this one called Capes, down on the east side of the river, just a few doors down from Guardian Games. The other locations are as follows: The Comic Strip and The Comic Strip: Alternate Cover in San Diego, Hero Comics in LA, My Mom Threw 'em Away in Phoenix, Epic Loot Games & Comics in Dayton and Capes in Portland. Headquarters, generally referred to as the Bat Cave is located in the basement beneath their flagship store, The Comic Strip and is operated by his wife Bethany.

Experience Points

Earned: 150+55a (arcane) Starting Total: 108 (98+10 from loss of Wisdom) Session 8.14.13: 8xp+1axp Session 11.6.13: 6xp+3axp Holiday: 3xp Session 12.29.13: 19xp+19axp Session 2.5.14: 6xp

Spent: 143+32a; Unspent: 7+23a Purchased: Combat Marksmanship 5 (2+4+6+8+10=30) Purchased: Rank: Guardians 2 (4) Purchased: Supernal Tolerance-Composure (4) Purchased: Ritual Improv (2) Purchased: Resources 4 (2+4+6+8=20) Purchased: Allies-Criminals 2 (4) Purchased: Contacts 4 (10 w/ Guardian discount) Purchased: Status-Underworld 2 (3 w/ Guardian discount) Purchased: Mind 4 (24) Purchased: Time 1 (7) Purchased: Gnosis 4 (32a) Purchased: Sanctum 1 (2) Purchased: Space 2 (12) Purchased: Forces 1 (7) Purchased: Forces 2 (14)