The Stonecutter Cartel
06-10-16, 02:32 AM
Name: Bugsy Stonecutter
Age: 120
Race: Dwarf
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 4’2”
Weight: 190lbs
Occupation: Aspiring Mob-Boss
Personality: Entirely without couth, Bugsy represents all the negative, crass stereotypes of the dwarven people with none of the redeeming qualities. His demeanor is tempered in the underworld philosophy of “kindness is weakness,” and he has taken great pains over a century of violence and survival to stamp out any good-nature in himself. Bugsy is criminal in intention, and ruthless in battle, business, and treatment of underlings. Never really trusting anyone except his brother (and only known surviving clan-member), Bugsy lives a life of constant paranoia.
Appearance: Average in height among dwarves but rarely reaching a human's shoulder, Bugsy is short and well-muscled, with a pronounced gut earned over the course of a hundred years of cheap rye and fattening tavern food. Despite his paunch, he has a nimbleness usually reserved roguish-types. A shock of thick, black, wiry hair covers his squared head like a lion's mane. His beard, black as soot, covers the bottom half of his face, woven in a stylized braid usually reserved for noble dwarves. His thick moustache cascades around his mouth, joining the long, carpeting beard which ends near the dwarf's groin. His nose is bulbous and crooked, obviously broken and broken again over time. His small, dark eyes are almost hidden under a pair of bushy eyebrows, dark as the rest of his hair. Cold and menacing, Bugsy rarely blinks, his blood-shot eyes a testament to this fact. He is homely, and scars of varying severity cover his body from head to toe.
Bugsy's taste in clothing is as a man who is new to wealth. He seeks out garish fineries such as fur hats, precious metal rings, and forever lusts after gemstone jewellery (a symbol of status among his people). Such fine things do not last long, however, and are often ruined over the course of Bugsy's misadventures, and as a result, the murderer spends as much time pulling new things to wear off the bodies of his marks as he does coins out of their pockets.
History: Human children rarely remember their formative years. For the dwarves who live hundreds of years longer than an average human, many more early childhood years are lost to the failings of memory. Bugsy's earliest memories were of his second or third decade of life, already cast into a world of violence, raised in the back allies of major surface cities across the world, always moving or sold away. As a dwarfling, he and his brother were prized for their constitution and ability to do hard labour for long periods of time, usually even more than their adult human counterparts. Hauling loads of counterfeit merchandise or goods destined to be fenced in the back room of a seemingly derelict building, Bugsy and his fraternal twin Broski were as ghosts among thieves, smugglers, and worse. Seeing first-hand, the cruelty and terror employed by these evil humans and dwarves, the Stonecutter brothers learned quickly that strength is the key to survival.
Making a name for themselves early on as reliable smugglers, the Stonecutters attracted other dwarves to their cause, usually orphans who were used expendably as mules to transport narcotics like Opium and Black Lotus across kingdom borders. Although the business was lucrative, after paying the black-market overbosses who's shadow's stretched across empires, the Stonecutters had very little gold left to line their own coffers and pay their help.
Bugsy has toiled for a century, patiently watching control of criminal enterprises change hands dozens of times, seemingly content with his station in life. Bugsy and Brosky have attracted a handful of young dwarves into their service. For now, the two and their half-score of underlings serve as a mercenary company for those evil-doers wealthy enough to pay them, and spend much of their time evading the numerous guilds and their "join us or die" creeds. This often involves moving from city to city whenever a particular party takes too much interest in the Stonecutter's activities, be they law-enforcement, or something less savory.
In recent years, Bugsy is finding it increasingly more difficult to pay his own employees and searches for jobs in broader strokes, taking on dangerous and foolhardy tasks and bounties in hopes that at the end of the day, there will be a few less workers to pay and mouths to feed. With nary more than a handful of gold remaining, he and his brother face mutiny among their own men, and worse still, lack the funds to bribe officials, and pay the dues entitled to the overbosses, who will no doubt come collecting when the Stonecutters find themselves in claimed territory.
Skills
Leadership: Charisma is not the only way to coerce people. Through bullying and intimidation, Bugsy often finds it easy to get what he wants out of more cowardly and easily manipulated people. Weaker thugs and ruffians often find the hardened dwarf good company and find his threats difficult to ignore.
Well-Travelled: Bugsy has made his way though many major cities and urban centers over his life, and has a knack for navigating to and through cities. He catches on quick to an area's geography, and the workings of its occupants (usually pertaining to its criminal underbelly)
Hardened: Over one-hundred years of being kicked, beaten, punched, stabbed, and robbed, Bugsy has become hardened. He now wins brawls with his peers more often than he loses. He swings a hatchet accurately but with more power than finesse, preferring to attack unwary prey from the shadows.
Schemer: Although seemingly dimwitted because of his fondness for being crude, Bugsy excels at hatching schemes and setting ambushes. He also has the ability to think long-term and the patience to see a plan through, often laying groundwork for years before acting.
Flaws
Language Barrier: Bugsy speaks a bastardized version of the common tongue and dwarven, which is often grating and off-putting to any non-dwarves, and very difficult to understand.
Quick to Anger: Always on a short fuse, the dwarf is easily baited into a fight.
Lecherous: Both Stonecutter brothers are lusty and chauvinistic. They have little respect for women and always underestimate their abilities.
Sadistic: Bugsy is cruel by both nature and nurture. He toys with injured victims instead of finishing his kills quickly, and often loses his composure and attention to detail when swept up in bloodlust. He's lost more than one fight for taunting when he should have been executing a finishing blow.
Abilities
Constitution: Like a boxer who refuses to go down after being pummelled, or a bleeding villain who clings to consciousness long enough to make his escape, Bugsy Stonecutter is notoriously difficult to kill. His fortitude stands out as noteworthy, being twice as hardy as the average human
Larceny: An accomplished thug, Bugsy can move quietly when he is calm and also knows how to pick simple locks. He can palm coins and small objects, and can perform amateur acts of slight of hand.
Dwarven Traits: Like most other dwarves, Bugsy can see in the dark (in grey-scale) and has an almost supernatural ability to deduce how far he is beneath the surface of the world. He can also recognize the scent of gemstones and precious ore in the air, having sixth sense for locating treasure.
Equipment
A many-notched hatchet made of iron, decorative (fake) jewellery, and a thick hide of tanned leather covering his chest, hips, and thighs. He also carries a set of lock picks rolled in felt, concealed in his left boot.
Age: 120
Race: Dwarf
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 4’2”
Weight: 190lbs
Occupation: Aspiring Mob-Boss
Personality: Entirely without couth, Bugsy represents all the negative, crass stereotypes of the dwarven people with none of the redeeming qualities. His demeanor is tempered in the underworld philosophy of “kindness is weakness,” and he has taken great pains over a century of violence and survival to stamp out any good-nature in himself. Bugsy is criminal in intention, and ruthless in battle, business, and treatment of underlings. Never really trusting anyone except his brother (and only known surviving clan-member), Bugsy lives a life of constant paranoia.
Appearance: Average in height among dwarves but rarely reaching a human's shoulder, Bugsy is short and well-muscled, with a pronounced gut earned over the course of a hundred years of cheap rye and fattening tavern food. Despite his paunch, he has a nimbleness usually reserved roguish-types. A shock of thick, black, wiry hair covers his squared head like a lion's mane. His beard, black as soot, covers the bottom half of his face, woven in a stylized braid usually reserved for noble dwarves. His thick moustache cascades around his mouth, joining the long, carpeting beard which ends near the dwarf's groin. His nose is bulbous and crooked, obviously broken and broken again over time. His small, dark eyes are almost hidden under a pair of bushy eyebrows, dark as the rest of his hair. Cold and menacing, Bugsy rarely blinks, his blood-shot eyes a testament to this fact. He is homely, and scars of varying severity cover his body from head to toe.
Bugsy's taste in clothing is as a man who is new to wealth. He seeks out garish fineries such as fur hats, precious metal rings, and forever lusts after gemstone jewellery (a symbol of status among his people). Such fine things do not last long, however, and are often ruined over the course of Bugsy's misadventures, and as a result, the murderer spends as much time pulling new things to wear off the bodies of his marks as he does coins out of their pockets.
History: Human children rarely remember their formative years. For the dwarves who live hundreds of years longer than an average human, many more early childhood years are lost to the failings of memory. Bugsy's earliest memories were of his second or third decade of life, already cast into a world of violence, raised in the back allies of major surface cities across the world, always moving or sold away. As a dwarfling, he and his brother were prized for their constitution and ability to do hard labour for long periods of time, usually even more than their adult human counterparts. Hauling loads of counterfeit merchandise or goods destined to be fenced in the back room of a seemingly derelict building, Bugsy and his fraternal twin Broski were as ghosts among thieves, smugglers, and worse. Seeing first-hand, the cruelty and terror employed by these evil humans and dwarves, the Stonecutter brothers learned quickly that strength is the key to survival.
Making a name for themselves early on as reliable smugglers, the Stonecutters attracted other dwarves to their cause, usually orphans who were used expendably as mules to transport narcotics like Opium and Black Lotus across kingdom borders. Although the business was lucrative, after paying the black-market overbosses who's shadow's stretched across empires, the Stonecutters had very little gold left to line their own coffers and pay their help.
Bugsy has toiled for a century, patiently watching control of criminal enterprises change hands dozens of times, seemingly content with his station in life. Bugsy and Brosky have attracted a handful of young dwarves into their service. For now, the two and their half-score of underlings serve as a mercenary company for those evil-doers wealthy enough to pay them, and spend much of their time evading the numerous guilds and their "join us or die" creeds. This often involves moving from city to city whenever a particular party takes too much interest in the Stonecutter's activities, be they law-enforcement, or something less savory.
In recent years, Bugsy is finding it increasingly more difficult to pay his own employees and searches for jobs in broader strokes, taking on dangerous and foolhardy tasks and bounties in hopes that at the end of the day, there will be a few less workers to pay and mouths to feed. With nary more than a handful of gold remaining, he and his brother face mutiny among their own men, and worse still, lack the funds to bribe officials, and pay the dues entitled to the overbosses, who will no doubt come collecting when the Stonecutters find themselves in claimed territory.
Skills
Leadership: Charisma is not the only way to coerce people. Through bullying and intimidation, Bugsy often finds it easy to get what he wants out of more cowardly and easily manipulated people. Weaker thugs and ruffians often find the hardened dwarf good company and find his threats difficult to ignore.
Well-Travelled: Bugsy has made his way though many major cities and urban centers over his life, and has a knack for navigating to and through cities. He catches on quick to an area's geography, and the workings of its occupants (usually pertaining to its criminal underbelly)
Hardened: Over one-hundred years of being kicked, beaten, punched, stabbed, and robbed, Bugsy has become hardened. He now wins brawls with his peers more often than he loses. He swings a hatchet accurately but with more power than finesse, preferring to attack unwary prey from the shadows.
Schemer: Although seemingly dimwitted because of his fondness for being crude, Bugsy excels at hatching schemes and setting ambushes. He also has the ability to think long-term and the patience to see a plan through, often laying groundwork for years before acting.
Flaws
Language Barrier: Bugsy speaks a bastardized version of the common tongue and dwarven, which is often grating and off-putting to any non-dwarves, and very difficult to understand.
Quick to Anger: Always on a short fuse, the dwarf is easily baited into a fight.
Lecherous: Both Stonecutter brothers are lusty and chauvinistic. They have little respect for women and always underestimate their abilities.
Sadistic: Bugsy is cruel by both nature and nurture. He toys with injured victims instead of finishing his kills quickly, and often loses his composure and attention to detail when swept up in bloodlust. He's lost more than one fight for taunting when he should have been executing a finishing blow.
Abilities
Constitution: Like a boxer who refuses to go down after being pummelled, or a bleeding villain who clings to consciousness long enough to make his escape, Bugsy Stonecutter is notoriously difficult to kill. His fortitude stands out as noteworthy, being twice as hardy as the average human
Larceny: An accomplished thug, Bugsy can move quietly when he is calm and also knows how to pick simple locks. He can palm coins and small objects, and can perform amateur acts of slight of hand.
Dwarven Traits: Like most other dwarves, Bugsy can see in the dark (in grey-scale) and has an almost supernatural ability to deduce how far he is beneath the surface of the world. He can also recognize the scent of gemstones and precious ore in the air, having sixth sense for locating treasure.
Equipment
A many-notched hatchet made of iron, decorative (fake) jewellery, and a thick hide of tanned leather covering his chest, hips, and thighs. He also carries a set of lock picks rolled in felt, concealed in his left boot.