Playground of the Damned: Characters, Part 5

Today's somewhat belated entry is Steve Hicks, the poor kid, and his buddy Rufus.


Steve Hicks, poor kid

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d8
Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d6, Guts d6, Notice d6, Survival d4, Tracking d4
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6

Edges:
•Beast Friend: You’re good with animals, possibly because your family has a lot of dogs. Animals won’t willingly attack you, and if you can get off school grounds, your dog is waiting for you nearby. Rufus will be a big help in tough spots.
•Nerves of Steel: You’ve been spanked more than the other kids, so you’re good at not minding so much when it hurts. You ignore 1 point of Wound penalties.

Hindrances:
•Loyal: Being poor has taught you the value of staying true to your friends and sticking up for them. You’d die (well, maybe get hurt a lot) before betraying your classmates, and you never leave someone behind if there’s any chance of survival at all.
•Poverty: Your family is poor and you don’t have much in the way of possessions because of it. You start play with less equipment than the other kids and no pocket cash.
•Young: You are only 10 years old. While you have lower attributes and less skills than an adult, you are also somewhat luckier and start with one extra benny.

Gear:
•Pocket lint and not much else.
•Rufus: If you can get off school grounds, Rufus is always waiting for you just around the corner. He’s a big, dumb mutt, but he’s loyal and he’s willing to fight for you.


Rufus, the dog
If the kids manage to get off school grounds, Rufus is waiting to join up with Steve. Rufus is intensely loyal to Steve and obeys his commands without question, even to the point of dying for his master. He’s not perfect, though, and he might spook if thrown into too many bad situations—-afterwards, he’ll come crawling back... if anyone’s alive, that is.
Unlike his master, Rufus is an extra, not a Wild Card, so he does not get the benefit of the Wild Die and has only 1 Wound.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Guts d6, Notice d10
Pace: 8; Parry: 5; Toughness: 4

Special Abilities:
•Bite: Str+d4 damage.
•Fleet Footed: Rufus rolls a d10 when running instead of a d6.
•Go for the Throat: Dogs instinctively go for an opponent’s soft spots. With a raise on his attack roll, Rufus hits his target’s most weakly-armored location (in addition to dealing +d6 damage).
•Size –1: Dogs are smaller than kids, even a big dog like Rufus.