India Weston

Status: Game Ended
System: GURPS 4e (with translations of Maneuvers from GURPS Martial Arts for 3e into 4e Techniques; this was prior to the release of 4e Martial Arts)

India was designed for a modern-day vampire-hunting game. I was going through a major Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel fix at the time the game was announced, and asked the GM if I could play "a Slayer". To my surprise, he agreed. But then the game's setting came out, and I found myself playing a Slayer who was set during the third season of Buffy, long before the spell which triggered all of the Slayers all at once, so I had to do some creative searching. Funny thing about shows like Buffy, though: you can usually find something which would help explain it.

India was named after the semi-official predecessor to Buffy herself. Some time ago, perusing the shelves at Waldenbooks, I came across a "teen novel" which tied the movie into the series by having Pike, Buffy's boyfriend from the movie, show up in Sunnydale. That novel also delved into "who came before Buffy?", and gave the name "India" to the Slayer before Buffy. I "borrowed" that name; I'm not sure where "Weston" came from, but I think it was either mentioned as being Faith's last name (never given in the series, to my knowledge), or India's. I could also have been, at least subconsciously, influenced by the name "Whedon".

I built India with a few assumptions. First: she was from an inner-city neighborhood. Second: she was without a Watcher. Finally: her activation was an "accident". Also, the game world was set in a world that had more in line with White Wolf's World of Darkness than with the Whedon-verse.

I did end up in a bit of a "power struggle" with one of the other players over methodology. India was a Slayer, "Rodger" was an ex-Army special forces type of guy. Swords vs guns, always an interesting mix. Rodger was the cautious type, India was impulsive. Rodger was used to being "in-charge", India scoffed at authority and did her own thing. She operated on a bit of a primal level, compared to the others in the group, which also affected how she interacted with the other PCs and the NPCs.

The game India was in has just recently come to an end, and I haven't yet spent the GM's parting gift of 25 CP. I may play India again, should another game pop up which calls for a "vampire slayer", but I think I'll take a break from vampire hunting games for a while.

Gender: Female
From: Harlem, Manhattan Island
Age: 18
Height: 5' 9"
Weight: 150 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black, worn down to mid-back
Skin: African-Korean mix

Physical Description:

India is an athletic young woman of African and Korean descent, with long black hair worn down to her mid-back. She dresses in the casual fashions of the day, but with an ever-present black leather jacket.

Personality:

India's personality is a strange dichotamy. One the one hand, she appears to be a typical modern eighteen-year-old, with all the whimsical sensibilities that entails. On the other, she is very dedicated to her role as the Slayer. Somehow she manages to balance the two. She is often brash and impulsive, yet at the same time able to curb those impulses until she is in a position to act on them.

In combat, India manages to always keep a smile on her face and a taunt in her mouth. She does this partially to keep her enemies off-balance; what she refuses to acknowledge is that she also does it to hide her own insecurity when fighting.

One interesting quirk of hers, which seems to be rubbing off on some of the other vampire hunters in the group, is her tendency to name her weapons.

History:

In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.

This time it is India Weston, a native of Harlem. Her father was stationed in Korea during his time in the US Army, where he married a native Korean woman. After his time in the Army was over, they settled in the Harlem NCZ.

Unlike most Slayers, India never received training from a Watcher. It is not known whether the Watchers are looking for her or whether they even know she has been "Chosen". India herself does not know of the Slayers or Watchers. Despite that, India gravitated towards both criminology and martial arts while growing up, often reading up on the former and enrolling at a young age in a Jeet Kun Do dojo (the Jeet Kun Dojo) for the latter. She also learned the basics of knife fighting from a local street gang.

Only recently have her Slayer powers been awakened. She has found herself increasing in strength, and she has developed a sixth sense which allows her to detect vampires as well as a seventh which lets her sense when she or someone nearby is in danger. Also, she has suddenly become aware of more vampire lore than she should realistically know. Her dreams turned dark, bordering on nightmares, which showed her glimpses of the deaths of other Slayers, including one who had been turned into a vampire.

Unbeknownst to India and the Watchers Council, her "activation" is actually a mistake and should never have happened. One Slayer, Buffy Summers, died by drowning and was subsequently revived; her death activated another Slayer, Kendra, resulting in two active Slayers for the first time ever. That second Slayer died, activating another, named Faith. Both of these other Slayers were known to the Watchers Council. India was called when a temporal shift in California resulted in Buffy not dying the first time. In that altered reality, Buffy Summers died at the exact moment that reality shifted back into place; because the next two Slayers had already been called, India was activated.

India inherited her jiann, a Chinese longsword, from her mother, who claimed the sword had been in her family for generations. According to her mother's tales, the sword was brought to Korea during the 15th Century, and was taken as a trophy by a Korean warrior. Her mother's tales seem to indicate the sword has some magical properties, but India never believed them. These abilities, however, have come to light with the recent examination of the sword by a local albino dwarf mage, Jeb Smith.

India has recently fallen in with an informal group of vampire hunters in Harlem.

Points Spent: 393
Unspent Points: 32

Defenses:

Dodge: 11

Parry: 10 (Knife); 11 (Judo); 12 (Broadsword, Karate, Saber), 13 (Staff)

Encumbrance:

None (0): 80 lbs

Light (-1): 160 lbs

Medium (-2): 240 lbs

Heavy (-3): 480 lbs

X-Heavy (-4): 800 lbs

Languages:

English (Native) [0]

Cultural Familiarities:

Western [0]

Money: $465

Advantages:

Acute Vamp-Sense 2 [4]

Combat Reflexes [15]

Danger Sense (ESP, -10%) [14]

Detect (Vampires) (Occasional; ESP, -10%) [9]

Disadvantages:

Duty (As the Slayer; 15 or less, almost always; extremely hazardous) [-20]

Impulsiveness (12) [-10]

Overconfidence (12) [-5]

Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents) [-10]

Social Stigma (Non-Citizen) [-5]

Quirks:

Always wears her "lucky" jacket [-1]

Laughs in combat [-1]

Names her weapons [-1]

Sleeps with a teddy bear [-1]

Taunts foes [-1]

Skills:

Acrobatics (H) DX-2 [1] - 13

Area Knowledge (Harlem) (E) IQ+0 [1] - 10

Body Language (A) Per+0 [2] - 12

Boxing (A) DX+1 [4] - 16

Parry: 12

Broadsword (A) DX+1 [4] - 16

Parry: 12

Computer Operation/TL8 (E) IQ+0 [1] - 10

Criminology (A) IQ+0 [2] - 10

Dancing (A) DX+0 [2] - 15

Escape (H) DX+0 [4] - 15

Fast-Draw (Knife) (E) DX+1 [1] - 16

(includes +1 from Combat Reflexes)

Guns/TL8 (Pistol) (E) DX+0 [1] - 15

Holdout (A) IQ+0 [2] - 10

Judo (H) DX+0 [4] - 15

Parry: 11

Karate (H) DX+1 [8] - 16

Parry: 12

Knife (E) DX+0 [1] - 15

Parry: 10

Occultism (Vampire) (E) IQ+2 [8] - 13

Running (A) HT+0 [2] - 14

Saber (A) DX+1 [4] - 16

Parry: 12

Staff (A) DX+0 [2] - 15

Parry: 13

Stealth (A) DX+0 [2] - 15

Streetwise (A) IQ+3 [12] - 13

Teaching (A) IQ+1 [4] - 11

Thrown Weapons (Knife) (E) DX+0 [1] - 15

Tracking (A) Per+3 [12] - 15

Urban Survival (A) Per+2 [8] - 14

Techniques:

Arm Lock (Judo) (A) def+1 [1] - 16

Axe Kick (Kicking) (H) def+2 [3] - 16

Back Kick (Kicking) (H) def+2 [3] - 16

Breakfall (Judo) (A) def+1 [1] - 16

Disarming (Judo) (H) def+1 [2] - 16

Ear Clap (Karate) (A) def+3 [6] - 13

Elbow Strike (Karate) (A) def+3 [3] - 17

Feint (Karate) (H) def+4 [5] - 20

Hit Location (Karate) (H) def+3 [4] - 16; +3 to offset to-hit penalties

Hit Location (Knife) (H) def+3 [4] - 15; +3 to offset to-hit penalties

Hook Kick (Kicking) (H) def+1 [2] - 16

Jab (Boxing) (A) def+3 [3] - 16

Jump Kick (Kicking) (H) def+2 [3] - 16

Kicking (Karate) (H) def+2 [3] - 16

Knee Strike (Karate) (A) def+1 [1] - 16

Lunge (Saber) (A) def+2 [2] - 16

Riposte (Karate) (H) def+1 [2] - 13

Riposte (Saber) (H) def+1 [2] - 14

Roundhouse Punch (Boxing) (A) def+3 [3] - 16

Shin Kick (Kicking) (H) def+1 [2] - 16

Slip (Boxing) (H) def+0 [0] - 8

Spin Kick (Kicking) (H) def+1 [2] - 16

Spinning Punch (Karate) (H) def+2 [3] - 16

Stamp Kick (Kicking) (A) def+1 [1] - 16

Sweeping Kick (Kicking) (H) def+1 [2] - 16

Equipment:

Cell Phone ($250)

First aid kit ($50)

Flashlight, mini ($10)

iPod ($30)

Home computer ($900)

Mini-camera, digital ($500)

Purse ($10)

Studio apartment (Cost of living: $300/mo)

Whetstone ($5)

Wooden cross

Wristwatch ($20)

Zippo lighter ($10)

Armor:

Leather Jacket

Covers: torso, arms

DR: 1*

Cost: $50

Wt: 4 lbs

Boots

Covers: feet

DR: 2*

Cost: $80

Wt: 3 lbs

* flexible, can be worn as or under clothing

Unarmed Damages:

Dmg: 2d-1 thr, 3d+2 sw

Boxing: 2d cr (+2 per die)

Karate (+2 per die)

Punch: 2d+2 cr

Kick: 2d+3 cr (2d+4 w/ boots)

Arm Lock: 1 for every point by which she wins a Quick Contest of Arm Lock vs the opponent's HT

Axe Kick: 2d+5 cr (2d+6 cr if jumping, -1 to strike)

Back Kick: 2d+3 cr (2d+4 w/ boots); -2 to active defenses that round

Bite: 2d-2 cr

Ear Clap: physical stun, DX-2, and deaf for 2d seconds

Elbow Strike: 2d+2 cr

Hook Kick: 2d+5 cr

Jab: 2d cr

Judo Throw: 1d-2 cr

Jump Kick: 2d+2 cr, Reach 2; Defender is -2 to Parry

Knee Strike: 2d+2 cr, Reach C

Roundhouse Punch: 3d+8 cr

Shin Kick: 2d+3 cr

Stomp Kick: 2d+2 cr

Weapons:

Wooden Stake, "Mr. Pointy"

Damage: 1d-1 (0.5) imp

Reach: C

Parry: 10

Range: 9/19

Shots: T(1)

Bulk: -2

Weight: 0.5

Cost: $4

Min ST: 5

Skill: Knife-15 or Thrown Weapons (Knife)-15

Jiann, "Slicer"

Damage: 2d+4 imp; 3d+6 cut

Reach: 1, 2

Parry: 17

Weight: 3

Min ST: 8

Cost: priceless heirloom; $700 w/out enchantments ($99.7K with)

Magic Features:

Accuracy +2

Puissance +2

Defending Weapon +2

Skill: Broadsword-18 or Saber-18

Lunge: +1 damage, +1 Reach, -2 Active Defenses

Quarterstaff, "Tuck"

Damage:

Staff Swing: 3d+4 cr

Staff Thrust: 2d+1 cr

Sword Swing: 3d+4 cr

Sword Thrust: 2d cr

Reach: 1, 2

Parry: +2

Cost: $10

Weight: 4

Min ST: 7

Ruger Super Redhawk, .454 Casull, "Dirty Harry"

TL: 8

Damage: 3d+2 pi+

Acc: 2

Range: 100/1,200

Weight: 3.3/0.3

RoF: 3

Shots: 6(3i)

ST: 12

Bulk: -3

Rcl: 4

Cost: $745

Ammo: 20 rounds

Wish List:

Acute Detection Sense - 2 pts/level

Enhanced Dodge - 15 pts/level, max 3 levels

Enhanced Parry (all) - 10 pts/level, max 3 levels

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