Casual Encounter - Vincent Poul

Senior Chief Petty Officer Poul at the start of term seven.

Vincent Poul
Ex-Navy Starman     961797     Age 50   8 Terms   Cr 1300
Admin-1, Computer-1, Dagger-4, JoT-1, Navigation-1, Ship's Boat-1

This character appears in one of CT's Short Adventures, as a pregenerated character in  The Argon Gambit. Everything you read from here is my own creation, to show again that the CT character generation system can, with two lines of text, create an interesting and multifaceted character.

Vincent Poul served over 30 years in the Dothan Alliance Navy. He enlisted as a Starman Recruit, and over his career worked his way up to Senior Chief Petty Officer. His most common assignment was as Bosun (or Boatswain) aboard Heavy Cruisers, but for two years he was attached to an Admiral's staff as his shuttle pilot. As Bosun he also had a wide range of administrative duties, and picked up a knack for lots of tasks (JoT) In other assignments he repaired computers, and served as Navigator's mate. 

 There is almost nothing in his service record about his impressive skill with short blades. If Medical-3 indicates an M.D., Dagger-4 means postdoctoral work in Stab-ology, with a degree from Pokeaholein U. According to the CT combat charts, Vincent gets a whopping +6 DM with his blade, meaning he's at only a slight disadvantage when stabbing someone in Battle Dress. With an Endurance of 1, he's only going to get one full-strength attack, but it will probably be all he needs.

Vincent spent a lot of years at the Naval Base, Sutter's Belt. For many reasons, firearms are not legal or available in the belter's space stations. So everyone fights with knives and clubs. Vincent learned out of self-defense.

Eight years ago, while taking part in a raid on a pirate base in the Kassiran Defense League, Vincent was caught in a trap and gassed with something that burned his lungs. He barely survived, and spent a long time in hospital recovering. He could have mustered out, but decided to stay on, with several officers pulling strings on his behalf. To this day he typically wears a filter/respirator, and even so is very short-winded. He almost never moves faster than a walk. 

He can't stand to be around smokers, doesn't sing, and his voice is raspy at the best of times. When he is on a dense atmo planet, the respirator acts as a decompressor to make the air thin enough for his fragile lungs. He is on a medication regimen which he cannot go more than two days without. The meds are legal and commonly available, so keeping up his prescription is rarely a problem. Any PC with Medical-2 or better will know of the medication, and can help him locate a legal vendor.

After retiring from the Navy with 32 years, Vincent has taken a few jobs with merchant liners and private starships, as bosun and ship's boat pilot. Through long habit, he dresses smartly and prefers jobs where he gets a uniform, which he keeps professionally clean. He gets his jobs based on his record and proven space skills, while he neglects to mention his knife fighting skill. He does not carry knives with him, unless he knows his employer is expecting trouble. 

PCs might encounter Vincent aboard a liner or he might present himself for employment if the PCs need a small craft pilot. He could also be found working ground-to-orbit shuttles for Navy bases or civilian starports. He's very friendly, especially with former Navy personnel, and will be open to taking an adventuring 'job' on the side if it is offered - as long as the 'job' is for his piloting and space skills. He will not work as 'muscle'. He shares the typical Dothan's mistrust of Talaverans, he thinks both the Kassirans and Stedhards are trigger-happy lunatics, and refuses to deal with the Lycosky Trade Protectorate at all. He will never knowingly become involved in piracy or theft, and God help you if he thinks you've gotten him into something like that. He's a crusty old space-hand who isn't scared of much, and wouldn't mind going out with a bang, if he thought the cause was right.