From: Rob
Subject: Krewe of Night (LONG!!)

Krewe of Night

The following is an excerpt from a possible book project I hope to be doing. I hope you all enjoy it

(The following description, while remaining true to New Orleans in physical facts of position, history, and landmarks, is described with an artistic license. The description of the city and its officials is not meant to offend nor is it meant to be true. It is meant to provide players with a gritty, dark environment in which to play role-playing games. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.)

Introduction

The Krewe of Night is a Campaign setting for Dark Champions intended for a typical 250 point characters. It is VERY dark and intended for a gritty, realistic feel. It deals with some extrememly mature content and unless your players can deal with some of these factors it is advised that the GM tone down some of the more startling or grotesque elements to better create a more enjoyable game for all. Bear in mind, though that the campaigns gritty realism is meant to stir emotionally and enlighten to some degree. To pull a punch or soften the blow for fear of offending might cause some of the flavor of the campaign setting to be lost.
The setting is New Orleans and the conflict is based around a dark mysterious figure known as High Step and his dangerous henchman which run the black market, dark trades, and criminal activities in the fair land known as the Crescent City. The characters will need to be resourceful and tough to stay alive and fight for what they know in their hearts is not a lost cause, the city of New Orleans.

New Orleans

New Orleans is the largest city in Louisiana and one of the great ports of the world. It lies on the Mississippi river, near the Gulf of Mexico. For more than 200 years, the city has served as an important commercial link between the Mississippi and the Atlantic Ocean. Much of America's trade with Latin America flows through New Orleans, both legal and otherwise.
New Orleans is famous for its Old World architecture, restaurants and for being the birthplace of Jazz. New Orleans is infamous for her political corruption, violently abusive police, and a lax attitude towards moral standards. The whole city is like a hauntingly beautiful call girl with a heart of gold but a switchblade in her boot.
The Mississippi river sweeps past New Orleans in easterly direction, forming a giant curve and giving New Orleans the name Crescent City. To swim in the river would probably mean you were suicidal. With all the industrial pollutants from all the many cities along her banks which choose to dump their waste into her, she's poisonous but then its always best if its someone else's problem.
Part of the land on which the city was built lies below sea level. Several levies and dams keep New Orleans dry but heavy storms always make the residents nervous. The pumps that keep the city above water pump 19 billion gallons of water a day. Since the city is below sea level, few houses have basements, there is no subway system, and the sewers remain almost constantly flooded. It also means that you do not bury your dead as water lies just a few feet below the surface of the ground. This is why New Orlean's graveyards are famous for being filled with crypts and above-ground tombs whose fantastical and gothic artistry are a breath-taking sight.
The French Quarter is the oldest and most famous section of New Orleans. It is also known as the Veiux Carre' (vyuh kah RAY), or the Old Square. The area still looks a great deal like it did in the 1700's and 1800's. Building crowd the edges of narrow sidewalks called banquettes. A person strolling through the French Quarter passes under graceful balconies of ornate and intricate iron grill work.. From the street, you can look through shady passageways to the patios which the French Quarter Houses is famous for. These patios provide fountains and leafy shade which gives relief from the humid Louisiana heat which is prevalent about 7 to 9 months out of the year.
Jackson Square lies in the heart of the old French Quarter and is one of the chief tourist attractions. The grey spires of St. Louis Cathedral, built in 1794, raise high into the sky on one side of the Square. Flanking the cathedral are the Cabildo, the old Spanish courthouse; and the Presbytere, another old Spanish building. The Louisiana State Museum is housed in the Cabildo. Jackson Square itself lies in front of the cathedral lined with a fence made of iron spears jutting upward. Inside is grassy and pleasant and a statue of Andrew Jackson (for whom the Square is named) astride a rearing horse can be seen. Surrounding the square during tourist season are various artists selling their crafts and street performers.
Bourbon Street, not far from Jackson Square, is where alcoholics and sex addicts go when they die if they've been good. The street is lined with liquor stores, strip clubs, bars, and drunkards. You cannot literally walk more than 10 yards without running into one of the aforementioned establishments.
Many famous Jazz clubs can be found in the area as well including the Settlement House famous for its jazz band. Pat O'Briens, home of the world-famous Hurricane ( a tasty alcoholic drink), is also in the area.
Canal Street is the cities main street on which rests the business district. It is over 171-feet wide and runs northward from the river. On Canal rest also the cities largest department stores and finest hotels.

History of Louisiana and New Orleans

When Europeans first set foot in what is today known as Louisiana, there were about 12,000 indians living there. They belonged to about 30 tribes including the Atakapa, Caddo, and Chitimacha. The indians lived in huts of poles thatched with palmetto leaves and mud on the banks of the rivers and bayous. The women tended the fields mostly while the men hunted and fished.
In 1541, a group of Spanish explorers was led by Hernando de Soto into the lower Mississippi on a vain and fruitless search for gold. The Spanish made no further explorations there after 1542 when de Soto dies there.
In 1682, the French explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, led 50 more explorers into the area. They came down the Mississippi river from the Great lakes and on April 9, la Salle claimed the entire Mississippi in the name of France. He erected a cross and column bearing the French coat of arms near the mouth of the river and named the area Louisiana in honor of Louis XIV, the king of France.
Louisiana became a French royal colony (a colony controlled by the king) in 1699. Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville founded a French colony in what is now Ocean Springs, Mississippi which served as the capitol of Louisiana until 1702. Later that same year, the capitol was moved to Fort Louis de la Mobile, where present day Mobile, Alabama. Iberville was the governor of the colony until his death in 1706 but he was absent from Louisiana after 1702 while fighting in the war of Spanish Succession.
In 1712, Louisiana became a proprietary colony and gave exclusive trading rights to a merchant named Antoine Crozat. In 1717, Crozat's trading rights were transferred to John Law, a Scottish financial promoter in Paris. Law started an investment scheme to colonize Louisiana.
In 1718, the governor of Louisiana began to build what is now New Orleans. He was Jean-Baptiste le Moyne, brother of Iberville. New Orleans became the capitol in 1722.
Law's scheme collapsed in 1720 and Louisiana became a royal colony again in 1731. The French were disappointed in the small profits coming from the colony and secretly ceded to Spain the Isle of Orleans which included New Orleans and the area of Louisiana west of the Mississippi. In 1764, French colonists learned of the transfer and became angry which led to the band of Frenchman that drove the Spanish governor out in 1768 but Spain took firm control over its new possession in 1769.
Thousands of Acadians from Nova Scotia settled in Louisiana between 1765 and 1790. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow described their journey in his poem Evangeline. They settled mainly in the Bayous Teche and Lafourche and their descendants became the Cajuns.
During the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), Spain allowed agents of the Continental Congress to use New Orleans as a base. These agents shipped supplies up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to American colonies struggling to get by. Spain flourished under Spanish Rule yet in spite of this, France managed to persuade Spain to return Louisiana to them. The transfer was not complete until 1803.
The dreaded pirate Jean Lafitte (or Laffitte) terrorized the entire Louisiana coast in the early 1800's. His descendants live on Grand Isle, an island south of New Orleans at the entrance of Bataria Bay, in a village to this day.
The Louisiana Purchase was signed in Paris in 1803 on April 30 by James Monroe and Robert Livingston. The $15,000,000 purchase added over three times the land area of the original 13 colonies.
The Steamboat New Orleans completed its first trip down the Mississippi in 1812, from Cincinnati to New Orleans in 82 days. By 1846, nearly 1200 steamboats chugged up and down the Mississippi on a regular schedule.
On April 30, 1812, The Territory of Orleans was renamed Louisiana and not soon after started the War of 1812. In 1815 on January 8, Andrew Jackson led his army of pirates and frontiersman to a victory against the British at the Battle of New Orleans. The battle took place after the peace treaty of the War of 1812 had been signed but niether side had recieved news yet.
Between 1815 and 1860, settlers came from all over to fill Louisiana with prosperous trade but then in 1861, the Civil War broke out. In 1861 on January 26, Louisiana seceded from the Union and prepared for war and joined the Confederacy on March 21 of the same year. They could not afford at the time to give up the social institution of slavery. Louisiana was untouched by the war until 1862. That year the Mississippi river forts gaurding New Orleans were bombarded by Union naval squadrons and Union forces later occupied the city without a battle. Throughout the war there was little fighting but great property destruction which left Louisiana bankrupt after the war. Only Georgia, Virginia, and South Carolina had suffered more casualties and destruction. Newly elected government officials (elected due to the new policies for Southern states which allowed African-Americans to vote but denied many white voters that same right) levied huge taxes on the people. Carpetbaggers and Scalawags plundered the state.
In 1879, commerce finally revived in New Orleans as engineers managed to open the mouth of the Mississippi river allowing ocean-going boats to dock in New Orleans. Major mineral deposits were found statewide in the early 1900's. Railroads were built and in 1914, when the Panama Canal was built, this opened up trade to New Orleans and it became a major hub in world trade.
A disastrous flood on the Mississippi struck northern ans south central Louisiana in 1927. As a result the federal government joined with Louisiana in instituting great flood control projects.
In the 1920's, Huey P. Long (the "Kingfish") built a vast political empire and he was elected governor in 1928. He became practically a dictator but the public works programs he institued helped Louisiana survive the Depression. He built a new capitol in Baton Rouge and enlarged the universities. He built roads and bridges and gave free textbooks to school children. He was elected U.S. Senator in 1930. He was assassinated in 1935. Many of his political henchman were convicted of fraud and other crimes by the federal government. A reform group took control of Louisiana in 1940 but the Long group survived and remains in Louisiana to this day.
Louisiana survived the World Wars well being a major contributor to the war effort with its shipyards and chemical refineries. They both came and went with the political machines at work in the state still going strong.
The 1950's and 60's were times of racial disharmony as it was for many southern cities across this nation. Violence was played out in smaller towns around the state but no major riots blessed the Crescent City with their presence. In the 70's and 80's, scandoulous waste dumping in the bayous threatened many of the animals and plants of the bayou and federal laws were instituted to prevent this but the dumping still goes on.
Today, corrupt police and politicians run amock in the halls of power. Impropriety runs amock. Prostitutes and "titty joints" line her streets. The fast buck is made and spent faster than the eye can follow. Drugs flow freely if you know the select few. This city is Hell for a good cop. Imagine what its like for a vigilante.

(Warning: What follows is mostly non-game relevant information. It is provided so that a GM unfamiliar with the New Orleans culture, city and style can run a campaign with some feel for the city. More info is forthcoming in future mailings and it will be a lot more game relevant but this background material I consider rudimentary to anyone running a Krewe of Night scenario.

A majority of what you are reading has been clipped and reeditted a bit from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia. It is almost verbatim what was taken out of the book but I think gives a good over view of New Orleans if you are trying to get into the heart and atmosphere of the city. The piece on Mardi Gras, though, is mostly mine. For more Mardi Gras info and experiences, check out http://www.frenchquarter.com/)

New Orleans Populace

New Orleans' population in the mid-1980s was about 558,000, a decrease of 50,000 since 1970. Of that number about 237,000 were white, 309,000 black, and 12,000 of other races. Whereas whites made up more than half of the population in 1970, their number decreased considerably in the decade ending in 1980.
Conversely, the parishes surrounding the city showed an increase of nearly 200,000 in ten years. Because these parishes have a very limited black population, these numbers indicate a white move out of the urban area similar to that in other major cities of the United States. Population of the New Orleans metropolitan area comprising Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany parishes totaled 1,187,000.

Economy

The economy of New Orleans has historically been regulated by its location on one of the most productive river systems in the world. Its key location on the Mississippi and its close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico encourage an economy based largely on shipping and port-related industry.
Exports include grain, petroleum, petrochemicals, and agricultural products. North of New Orleans the Mississippi provides the resources necessary for extensive petrochemical refineries, while the small community of Avondale is the site of a large shipbuilding plant.
Following the sudden increase in the cost of foreign oil in the early 1970s, the demand for domestic petroleum products allowed New Orleans to regain its status as the largest port in the United States. In 1983 New Orleans transported in excess of 61 million tons of cargo, composed largely of petroleum products. In conjunction with the port of Baton Rouge, which handles in excess of 19 million tons annually, New Orleans ranks among the largest ports in the world. It is the hub of the nation's largest inland waterway system for barge transportation and the only offshore facility in the country capable of unloading large tankers. The port and its related industry produce 100,000 jobs annually with a payroll of $1.3 billion.
The metropolitan area expanded its industrial production in the 1970s and 1980s to provide a much needed stable economic base. Fortune 500 companies representing industries as diverse as food processing, oil and gas production, the manufacture of fabricated metals and machinery, aerospace facilities, and printing and publishing have located offices and production facilities in the New Orleans area.
In 1982 petroleum and petrochemical production in the eight-parish region surrounding New Orleans provided more than 160,000 jobs totalling 2.9 billion dollars of income annually. In addition to shipbuilding, New Orleans is also a major supplier of fresh seafood for the continental United States. The 5 1/2-mile (9-kilometer) intracoastal waterway joins Lake Ponchartrain to the port, providing local fishermen with a convenient means of transporting seafood to the larger national market.
The Michoud assembly facility of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), established in 1961, produces external tank assemblies for the space shuttle. The region is also becoming an employer in the service sector. The fields of health, education, entertainment, business, and convention and hotel services are growing rapidly. In 1983 the central business district ranked among the top ten of the nation's metropolitan area downtowns in market strength and the highest in the South.
New Orleans' wealth of historical buildings, museums, theaters, and nightspots draws visitors from all over the world. The Vieux Carre, or "old quarter," with its street-front Creole houses, iron balconies, and sizzling nightlife is probably New Orleans' main attraction. The city has also cultivated the largest retailing market in a 300-mile (500-kilometer) radius, drawing consumers from throughout the gulf states. The building and refurbishing of major hotels in the central business district has placed New Orleans among the top five convention centers in the United States. The New Orleans Convention Center is more than 50 percent booked through the year 2005. In 1986 the city's hospitality industry employed more than 46,000 people roughly 10 percent of the total work force. Tourism totals $3 billion annually.
Although New Orleans enjoyed phenomenal prosperity for almost two centuries, new problems emerged in the 1980s. The influx of wealth from the petroleum industry diminished to a trickle with no signs of returning. The once thriving port of New Orleans fell victim to the oil-depressed economy and the decline of the steel industry. Economic diversification is virtually nonexistent.
Public education ranks in the bottom percentile of the country. Unemployment is widespread. The city's 57 percent black population resides largely in the many federal housing projects with seemingly little hope of escape.

Government

The smallest in area but most densely populated of Louisiana's parishes, or counties, is Orleans, comprising New Orleans and its suburbs. A dual political system consists of both a city council and a board of parish officers.
The city of New Orleans is governed by a mayor, his chief administrative officer, and a seven- member city council. The mayor is administrator of 13 municipal departments and oversees the affairs of the council. The administrative officer prepares budgets and coordinates city relations with the state and federal governments. Five council members are elected from districts and two at large. They serve a four-year term.
Parish officials include such elected officers as the district attorney and members of the Board of Assessors and the parish school board. They make up the legal body of the parish. Prior to 1870 the mayor and council presided over the city, while parish officials handled the affairs of the parish as a whole. A legislative act of 1870 consolidated Orleans Parish into the city's legal system, but parish officers are under no obligation to obey the demands of the city government. Although often criticized, this dual system provides a positive system of checks and balances.

Culture

New Orleans is home to an enviable number of cultural entities for a city of its size. The New Orleans Symphony, based at the restored historic Orpheum Theatre in the central business district, was founded in 1935. The city was the first in the United States to establish a resident opera company. Opera has been supported since the early 1800s, when productions were staged four nights a week in English, Italian, and French. The New Orleans Opera presents a full season of opera productions each year.
Ballet is also enjoyed by patrons of the arts. In the face of financial difficulties, the New Orleans City Ballet and the Cincinnati (Ohio) Ballet joined forces. Both cities support the professional company, which provides full seasons in both cities. In addition to supporting the performing arts, New Orleans boasts a nationally recognized art museum. The New Orleans Museum of Art is located in City Park a few minutes from the downtown area and is acquiring a large collection of French art.

Education

New Orleans is home to 13 institutions of higher learning. The forerunner of higher education in the city is Tulane University, founded in 1834 as the Medical College of Louisiana. In 1889 it expanded to include programs in the humanities, architecture, engineering, and law. Tulane's Newcomb College for women set high standards in the South for women's studies from 1887, when its doors first opened. Loyola University, a Roman Catholic coeducational school, was established in 1912.
The University of New Orleans opened in 1958 and is now the state's second largest university. Programs outside the usual academic fields were developed to support the local business community. Founded in 1915, Xavier University is the only Roman Catholic university in the United States that has a predominantly black student enrollment. Delgado Community College opened in 1921 as a vocational school. In 1958 it began programs for technicians at the junior college level. It now offers eight academic areas including business, humanities, science and allied health, engineering, and industrial technology.
New Orleans' Charity Hospital, with nearly 2,500 beds, provides a teaching facility for the Tulane and Louisiana State University medical schools. The metropolitan area boasts 21 hospitals with 6,300 beds.

Recreation

With New Orleans' temperate climate, outdoor recreation is a significant part of the city's daily life. City Park, the fifth largest in the country, has a golf course, stables, and tennis courts as well as the New Orleans Museum of Art. Uptown, across St. Charles Avenue from Tulane University, is Audubon Park and Zoological Gardens. Originally the site of the ill-fated World's Cotton Centennial in 1884, the area was renamed Audubon Park in 1886 in honor of John James Audubon, the famous painter of birds. The New Orleans Zoological Society was founded after World War I, and in 1924 the zoo's first elephants arrived and an aquarium was donated.
As the birthplace of jazz, the city offers much musical entertainment in the tradition of such jazz greats as Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Wynton Marsalis. The annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival features hundreds of local and national musicians performing everything from gospel to Dixieland to bop. The event also showcases New Orleans food and arts and crafts.
It should also be noted that many black performers from the New Orleans area created rock and roll's dominant styles. Among the leaders were the loud and energetic Little Richard and the warm-voiced Fats Domino, who sold 65 million 45-rpm records (only Presley and the Beatles sold more), both of whom recorded in New Orleans.
No picture of New Orleans culture is complete without mentioning the city's cuisine. From informal backyard crawfish boils to elegant six-course meals, dining in New Orleans is more than a daily routine for sustenance. It is a way of life as well as major entertainment. People do not ask one another how they spent an evening but rather where they dined. This passion, combined with the bountiful local seafood, spawned one of the special cuisines of the United States.
It resulted in a wide variety of restaurants that draw visitors from around the world. From casual neighborhood cafes to elegant hotel eateries, New Orleans restaurants offer some of the finest cuisine and warmest hospitality to be found.
When New Orleanians are not thinking or talking about food, they are most likely watching the Saints play football. After an intense effort by civic leaders and private businessmen, a National Football League franchise was brought to the city in 1967. Efforts to bring the Super Bowl to the city were rewarded in 1970 and five times in following years.
In August 1975 New Orleans' 273- foot- (83-meter-) high domed stadium, christened the Superdome, staged its grand opening. It is home to the New Orleans Saints as well as to a multitude of conventions, meetings, and sports events, including the New Year's Day Sugar Bowl.

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras is the grand New Orleans festival for which the city is most widely known. Its roots are very different from what the festival has become. Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") preceeds the Catholic observance of Ash Wednesday and Lenten, the one day fast and 40 day (not including Sundays) time of abstinance (i.e. I gave it up for Lent). The penitent say "Farewell to the Flesh" in observance of the Cathlic faith. The date of Ash Wednesday (and hence the date of Fat Tuesday) is determined by the date of Easter, coming 46 days before the holiday.
The day of Mardi Gras is always on a Tuesday, hence the term "Fat Tuesday", between the dates of February 3 to March 9. Carnival, the celebrated European and Brazilean festival stretches traditionally from Twelfth Night (January 6) through Fat Tuesday. It was a tradition to have one last romp before the fasting and abstinance.
For some reason (sarcasm intended), the festival has become more popular than the fast. Every year millions of tourists crowd the New Orleans area to see elaborate floats, dancing in the streets, and the colorful crowning of a queen by Rex, the Lord of Misrule.
Mardi Gras is as much a part of life in New Orleans as politics, weather, and economics. Families spend the entire year and thousands of dollars preparing for the Mardi Gras season. In many ways the krewes, or social clubs that stage the Mardi Gras extravaganzas are the backbone of the city's society. The celebration also attracts millions of tourists to the city, generating millions of dollars in business.
Although Mardi Gras, or Carnival, has been celebrated in the city since 1766, parading is a tradition that did not begin until 1857. The extravagant balls and parades are produced by the socially exclusive men's clubs and a few women's clubs. Each organization chooses a king, queen, and court from the families of its more prominent members. The choice is a carefully guarded secret until Fat Tuesday or the day the krewe parades and stages its ball. The elaborate costumes, crowns, and rounds of parties associated with the honor of being chosen "royalty" cost huge sums. It is said that some families sacrifice and save all year in order to afford the honor.
During Mardi Gras, people mostly drink and flirt and various sorts of debauchery can be seen along Royale and Bourbon street. The parades are usually a family affair if they are early in the day but the later it becomes, the more lewd and fantastic they become. Ladies have been known to bare their bodies for trinkets. "Hey Mister! Throw me something!" These trinkets include doubloons (plastic coins), plastic beads, Moon Pies, candy, and other little knick-knacks. The street is rife with pickpockets who don't even have to be that good. They just have to know a drunk when they see one.
The New Orleans Police are noticeably more permissive allowing public debauchery and drunkeness but they are still out in force. Thousands stream through the Veiux Carre' and frequent Jackson square and the famous Bourbon Street during this time waiting between parades and letting it "all hang out." The drug trade, prostitution rings, and vice scams are in full swing and making millions.

(Sorry this took so long, I had to go through a time consuming training at work recently. SPECIAL WARNING: This material is not for kids and has some material which might cause problems with some players. Please read it carefully and take into consideration the feelings and views of your players BEFORE you use it. A role-playing game is just a game. I have made an effort to put forth a sourcebook with people who could stir the type of hatred necessary for a vigilante to act in a Dark Champions game. As such, some of the adventure information below may offend and even encite harsh feelings among players and GM alike. Again, its meant to stir the characters into action, not stir the players into having a horrible evening. REMEMBER YOUR AUDIENCE! If it won't be exhilarating for them to kick the crap out of these bad guys and just stir up bad feelings, don't use it or modify it to suit your needs. Thanks!)

Super-Heroes in the Big Easy

In this campaign, there haven't been any vigilantes in New Orleans for while, the environment is not conducive to them. The Krewe have snuffed out any attempts so far in the past decade. The police are anti-vigilante because many are on the wrong side of the law and the good cops know it to be against the law. Street contacts are hard to find because everyone in the know fears the Krewe and with good reason. Its a hard nut to crack but all the more rewarding when a character does.

The Krewe of Night

The Krewe of Night refers to the silent parade of illegal trade orchestrated from the hidden lair of the one known only in whispers as High Step. His henchmen run most of the trade for him and run it well.
Whispers are all that can be heard of the Krewe and a hold of terror is what they have on even the most seemingly brave of their lackeys. The closer you get to the inner circle, the more dedicated and even blindly faithful you will find its members.

Crimes of the Krewe of Night

The list of crimes perpetrated by the Krewe of Night start with illegal death matches. These gladitorials are held for the rich and the bodies of the defeated provide nourishment for a pit full of hungry alligators. Martial artists from the the U.S. and Mexico are kidnapped and placed in these deathmatch gladitorials against a stable of trained and bio-chemically altered combatants kept by High Step.
Of course The Krewe of Night's main money interest is in the flourishing drug trade. The geological location and the fact New Orleans is a port city close to the Gulf of Mexico add millions of dollars worth of drug trade money lining the Krewe's pockets. Millions of dollars of "product" makes its way by boat, train or truck through the Crescent city every week.
Prostitution is a tightly held franchise for the Krewe of Night as is white slavery. Pimps answer to the Krewe and provide a percentage of their profits, in return they get the protection of the Krewe of Night and they also have the pleasure of continued breathing.
Young girls and boys kidnapped, bought and sold for the perverse enjoyment for the rich and powerful make this a lucrative business from two fronts. The selling of the prostitutes and slaves and the filming of the rich and powerful doing their cruel and sick deeds provide blackmail money to sweeten the pot for the Krewe.
One of the newer markets the Krewe has entered is that of black market body parts. The aging rich have an ever-present need for such things and pay extrememly handsomely for it. Hundreds of people disappear from the New Orleans area every year, some find themselves to their agonizing horror at the end of knife with more being removed than they can live with.
VERY little records of business are kept on paper but computer. Most of the records for the Krewe are kept in code and never on a computer in any way connected to a modem. Most of the records look like common household items if a character is even able to access them as each computer that these records are kept in are either booby trapped to destroy the records or even the one trying to break in himself.

Locations

The docks and abandoned warehouses provide ample space for gladitorials, drug processing and storage for the white slavery ring. Some finer houses in the more expensive sections of town provide establishments for high class prostitution, auctions for the slavery ring, parties for the rich and decadent, and private homes for the upper echelon of the Krewe. Bourbon Street, Royal Street, and the Veiux Carre in General provide an ample playing field for the drug and prostitution trade as well as a harvesting area for the "volunteer organ donor program" run by the Krewe.

Cast of Characters

King Size is the name of one of High Step's main enforcers. He is a leviathan of a Brazilian man standing well over 7'0". He is also responsible for running the illegal bloodsport games that are held in the dark arenas of the Crescent City. Hundreds of the richest spectators in the U.S. not willing to leave the country for this, the deadliest of sports, flock to ringside when King Size hosts his fights. King Size has a stable of brutal fighters who act as muscle and bodyguards for the other upper echelon members of the Krewe of Night.
Deadpan is the name of a psychotic killer with a surgeon's delicate touch. He is new to the Krewe and directly provides them with "material" to sell on the black market for those interested in body parts. His victims are usually tortured to death for his own sick delight before their organs are harvested. The Krewe relies on this man to also dispose of their human "debris" so that no trace can ever be found.
Snow is a pale but resourcefully vicious woman shrouded in mystery. She runs the drug trade for High Step and is reputed to be as cold as her namesake. She is reputed to have a phenominal stamina and be deadly with a razor. She is also reputed to be High Step's lover. This fact is as speculative as High Step's existence.
Willow is a hauntingly beautiful and apparently frail flower of Chinese heritage but her facade is just that for beneath this mask lies the heart of a woman who freely trades in the flesh of others. She runs the prostitution and white slavery racket for High Step and is reputed to also be one of High Step's lovers.
Sawed-Off is High Steps second and is only rarely seen in public. This dimunitive and psychotic killer is totally devoted to High Step and to carrying out High Step's word as if he was a zealot carrying out the word of God. He is a thickly muscled dwarf with an affinity for dirty fighting and bending others into compromising positions, often deadly ones. He is a cold, efficient killer whose preferred weapon is his namesake.
High Step's name is kept quiet and spoken with frightened reverence if at all, his henchmen having killed before for the mention of his name in public as High Step values his privacy. Some have made speculation that he doesn't even exist. Some have disappeared without a trace.
One factor among all of High Step's followers is pervasive, their absolute devotion to this man. All are willing to die for this man that few have ever seen and survived to speak of.
King Size 

Race: Hispanic
Sex: Male
Age: 29
Hieght: 7'2"
Weight: 497 lbs.
Hair: none, bald
Eyes: black
Skin Color: Dark olive

Value   Char    Cost    Points  
35*     STR     x1      25
21      DEX     X3      33
25      CON     x2      30
25      BDY     x2      30
17      INT     x1       7
23      EGO     x2      26
25      PRE     x1      15
8       COM     x1/2    -1
25      PD      x1      18
25      ED      x1      20
5       SPD     x10     19
15      REC     x2       6
50      END     x1/2
60      STN     x1       4
---------------------------
                       233

Powers:

0 END on STR (Only with injection (-1/2))       8
Damage Resistance 5PD/5ED                       5
Knockback Resistance:-2"                        4 
+2 DC w/ Pitfighting maneuvers                  8
+5 OCV w/ Pit Fighting                         15

Skills:

Breakfall:15-                                   7 
Lang:   English (fluent w/ accent)              2
        Portuguese (native)             
Streetwise:13-                                  3
Survival:13-                                    7
Tactics:14-                                     7

Pit Fighting
Basic Strike (+1/0;11d6)                        3
Crush (0/0;13d6; must follow Grab)              4
Def. Strike (+1/+3;9d6)                         5
Joint Break (-1/-2;1 limb;2d6K;Disable)         5
Killing Strike (-2/0;2d6K)                      4
Martial Block (+2/+2; Abort)                    4
Martial Grab (-1/-1;55 STR;2 limbs)             3
---------------------------------------------------
                                               94
_______________________________
Chars                   233
Pwrs & Sklls             94
----------------------------
                        327
_______________________________

Disadvantages:

Berserk:Taunted by woman, 11-, 14-             10
Dependence:Steroids and drugs, 3d6 day         10
Dist Features:Scarred leviathan                25
Phys Lim: Huge size                             5
Psy Lim:Driven to challenge Martial Artists    
                common, total                  20
Psy Lim:Devout follower of High Step
                common, total                  20
Psy Lim:Woman-Hater (thinks they are toys)
                Very common, ego roll          20
Psy Lim:Must torture downed opponent
                Common, Ego Roll                -
Rep:Cruel killer, anong Martial artists        10
Secret ID                                      10
Vulnerability:Damage to Knees, x2 STUN         10
Vulnerability:Damage to Knees, x2 BDY          10
-------------------------------------------------
                                             -150

Background

King Size is a huge Brazilian formerly known as Andreas Jesus Ramirez. He was a famous participant in the Brazilian Vale Tudo (Anything Goes) fighting events in Brazil but he was banned from them for cruelty. His name is spoken there now in disgust but reverent fear. He began participating in death matches around the world, using steroids and biochemical stimulants to give him an edge.
His physical condition is intense and some say almost masochistic but when you see him in the ring, you know him for the sadist he is. He eventually made his way to New Orleans where he defeated a fighter that had been backed by High Step.
High Step hired him to train his fighters and bodyguards, gave him a renovated warehouse to train in and a small harem of women. High Step does not truly care about the gladatorial ring as it does not provide as huge amount of cash as his other endeavors provide but it keeps King Size happy and High Step is more interested in having King Size around as an enforcer and trainer to his enforcers.
King Size is like a prize bull for High Step and High Step would be very put out if someone were to take the Brazilian man-mountain down.

Quote:

"You think you can beat me? I will first break you like a doll, then I break your woman... my favorite way."

Personality:

King Size is a sick individual, a twisted child allowed to grow in power and physical strength far beyond the responsibility to use it properly. He doesn't care for the martial artists that he destroys in the ring nor the women who he hurts horribly in his bed. He is a spoiled perverted child that High Step tolerates for his ability and the fear that he strikes in those threatened with his presence.
King Size speaks of High Step with great respect and manages to consider Snow and Willow not as the women that he believes are tools for pleasure but equals of respectful power. When he goes out, he dresses well and quietly stays with his entourage of fighters.
He finds a woman sometimes that he "must have" and has her kidnapped. If she does not acquiess to his desires, she is taken and often thrown to his pet alligators. In a phrase... NOT A NICE MAN!

Powers/Tactics:

GM WARNING: Starting characters going against this guy are asking for it. PLEASE put across the fact this guy is a killer and DAMN good at what he does BEFORE the player-characters decide to engage him. LET THEM KNOW WHAT THEY ARE IN FOR.
King Size will attempt to call out the martial artist of the group and destroy them utterly. He will take on two opponents gladly believing himself up to the task (he usually is) but if he is greatly outnumbered or his combatants show a high degree of skill, he will retreat and try to deliever one last huge parting blow before he does. He will NEVER back out of a one on one fight, his ego won't let him. He will laugh at any woman who challenges him and threaten them with rape after he has beaten them.
GM WARNING: I know I can count on the GM's to have a crowd show up BEFORE such an atrocity happens to any female player/character thus ruining King Size's sickening plans. Please also remember your audience and do not use this if it makes a female member uncomfortable or might bring up painful or awkward memories or ideas.
It is meant to be a threat that will frighten the character and encite emotion but as a GM you might want to make the question of "do you mind if I have this character say this because he would and he is a sick person" to the female player quietly and discreetly for approval as its nothing to joke about or dismiss.
Typically it is not an issue among men but please be sensitive to this as well as several of us have had loved ones subjected to that horror. It will greatly instill a hatred for that character in me, make sure everyone knows the anger should be placed on that character and not the GM. I realize some people think I may be overly cautious but it is a touchy subject and should be handled with care.

Appearance:

King Size is a huge, bald Brazilian man seemingly covered in scars and a thick hide of skin. He dresses well but in clothes that he could easily move around in and he dresses primarily in black. He is very stylish if he goes Club hopping.

Lair:

King Size lives at his abandoned warehouse with his stable of fighters and enforcers in training. Behind the main gym behind a secret door is a passage which leads to his large apartment, a private arena, and alligator pit.

Adventure Seeds:

If the characer is a martial artist, they could be kidnapped and thrown into the ring fighting stable fighter after stable fighter until they escaped, worked their way up to King Size, or both.
The martial artist character could have had a student, friend, relative, or peer kidnapped and have to investigate to find what happened to them.
If the character is female, King Size could have seen her and "had to make her his". This scenario should be treated delicately as written above.
The characters could be at a club and run into King Size and his entourage. Seeing King Size had a woman on his arm who keeps quiet and flinches whenever King Size moves suddenly. Being gentlemen or women of valor, the characters would of course try to rescue her.
At a club, one of the characters DNPC's could be the target of King Size's desire which again is a scenario which must be treated with discretion.

(COMING SOON: More of the Krewe of Night. A look into the New Orleans Police Department (a fictitious representation); An overview of VooDoo in New Orleans and Marie Laveau; and a look into Cajun culture and the swamplands that surround New Orleans and finally a glossary which will help the GM's out there get a better feel of the environment)

(SPECIAL WARNING: This material is not for kids and has some material which might cause problems with some players. Please read it carefully and take into consideration the feelings and views of your players BEFORE you use it. A role-playing game is just a game. I have made an effort to put forth a sourcebook with people who could stir the type of hatred necessary for a vigilante to act in a Dark Champions game. As such, some of the adventure information below may offend and even encite harsh feelings among players and GM alike. Again, its meant to stir the characters into action, not stir the players into having a horrible evening. REMEMBER YOUR AUDIENCE! If it won't be exhilarating for them to kick the crap out of these bad guys and just stir up bad feelings, don't use it or modify it to suit your needs. Thanks!)

Deadpan 

Race: Caucasian
Sex: Male
Age: 34
Hieght: 5'9"
Weight: 173 lbs.
Hair: black with peppered grey
Eyes: brown
Skin Color: pale white

Value   Char    Cost    Points  
15      STR     x1       5
26      DEX     X3      48
20      CON     x2      20
13      BDY     x2       6
24      INT     x1      14
19      EGO     x2      18
17      PRE     x1       7
14      COM     x1/2     2
 6      PD      x1       3
 6      ED      x1       1
 5      SPD     x10     14
 8      REC     x2       0
46      END     x1/2     0
36      STN     x1       5
---------------------------
                       143

Powers:

Kevlar clothes
Armor (5 PD/5ED) (IIF(-1/4);Act. 14-(-1/2))     9

Psychotic Mind
+20 Ego (for Defense only(-1/2))               26

Scalpel/Hypo
1/2d6 HKA (1 1/2d6 w/ STR) (AP(+1/2);           8
        1/2 End(+1/4); OAF(-1))

Sleep Drug
Drain 6d6, rec 5/turn                          30
        (Only if hypo attack does one BDY (-1))

Teleport: Multi-power-60 points                60

15" Teleport (1/2 END(+1/4);Indirect(+1/4))     5
        Special T-port to change vector 
30" Teleport                                    6
12" Teleport (Usable vs.Others(+1);             6
        ranged(+1);ECV vs. DCV(+1/2)
        Teleport others
10" Teleport x8 Mass, x8 NCM (x3 END(-1))       3
        T-port he and 7 others up to 
        2 1/2 miles (80")
10" Teleport x258 NCM (x3 END (-1))             3
        T-port 82 1/2 (2580")(to horizon)

Skills:

Breakfall:16-                                   3 
Conversation:16-                                3
Criminology:17-                                 3
Disguise:14-                                    3
Forensic Medicine:17-                           3
Interrogation:17-                               3
KS: 17- Anatomy, Pain, organ preservation,     30
        New Orleans High Society, Wines,
        Fine Food, Archeology, New Orleans area
        Pharmacology, Toxicology
Lang:   English 
        French, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin     12 
Paramedic:17-                                   3 
Skill Levels:+3 to all skills                  30
Shadowing:14-                                   3

Stealth:16-                                     3 
Streetwise:16-                                  3
WF:Scalpel (knife), fencing weapons             5

+2 DC with Fencing/Knife Fighting               8
+8 OCV w/ Fencing/Knife Fighting               12
        (only to counter To-Hit Penalties(-1))

Fencing/Knife Fighting
Ballestra (+2/+2; 4 1/2KA;3" move req.)         5
Basic Strike (+1/0;7d6/1 1/2d6KA)               3
Def. Strike (+1/+3;5d6/1 1/2d6KA)               5
Killing Strike (-2/0;2d6K)                      4
Martial Dodge (-/+5; Abort)                     4
Martial Escape (0/0; 40 STR for escapes)        4
Martial Grab (-1/-1;35 STR;2 limbs)             3

Perk:Wealthy                                   10
---------------------------------------------------
                                              317
_______________________________
Chars                   143
Pwrs & Sklls            317
----------------------------
                        460
_______________________________

Disadvantages:

Berserk:accused of homosexuality, 11-, 14-     10
Dependence:Torture male, 3d6 day               10
Dist Features:handsome but expressionless       5
Psy Lim:Driven to torture male victims         20
                common, total                  
Psy Lim:Devout follower of High Step           20
                common, total                  
Psy Lim:Driven to Kill when aroused or angered 20
                Very common, ego roll           
Psy Lim:Driven to target homosexuals and clergy -
                Common, Ego Roll              
Rep:Psycho killer, among Street people         10
Secret ID                                      10
Susc.:Being rebuked with scripture, 1d6/phase  15
Vulnerability:Pre attacks from religious,      10
        x2 STUN
-------------------------------------------------
                                             -130
Background

Deadpan was a name given to Micheal DuChamps by Snow because of his expressionless face and haughty demeanor. Micheal Watts came from one of the richest families in New Orleans and, sadly, one of the most abusive. Micheals father beat him quite a bit and beat him even harder if he cried about it. One of the reasons that Micheal was beaten is that he was especially gentle and a bit effeminate. His mother neglected him and his father tortured him for his leanings. His father also turned him over to a preist for guidance.
Sadly, this was turning him into the hands of a sadistic pedophile who molested Micheal even more and beat him. Michael was smart and found that if lay there emotionless, they would eventually lose interest. Micheal started wishing he could go away, and when he reached puberty, he began being able to. He started being able to teleport away.
He kept this gift a secret because his father and the Catholic priest would certainly see it as different or the work of Satan and he would be beaten even more horribly for it.
Pity the child, but not what it has become. Deadpan is a killer and a sadist. Unfortunately, the adverse life drove Micheal into insanity. When he became older, he started reading more and more about medicine. His father became delighted that Micheal seemed to have such passion for such a normal vocation and it seemed Micheal had learn to suppress his effiminate habits completely, he no longer smiled and had not much inflection in his voice, but at least for his father, this was better than the alternative. He also dove into the art of fencing at his private school.
The priest had lost interest in him due to his older appearance and told Micheal that Micheal no longer needed his "guidance". Micheal practiced secretly his teleporting ability and found the special wine cellar beneath his house that was originally constructed during Prohibition to store bathtub gin. It had been sealed up by his father when they moved in the house. Micheal cleaned it up and it became his private study unbeknownst to all.
Micheal's mother died. He didn't cry at the funeral as he felt nothing. College was fast approaching and his father began pressuring him into Medical school, browbeating him time after time while also constantly berating him. His father made the comment that he'd lose a patient that hadn't anything wrong with him.
Micheal decided to prove his father wrong. He drugged his father that night and teleported him to his study. He had managed to create a laboratory downstairs in the sealed cellar. He tied his father to a table and to prove how long he could keep a patient alive, he bagan to remove parts of his father one by one while keeping his father alive through the entire process. Just a toe a day at first and then his fingers, then calves at the knees and then forearms. Upper legs and upper arms were next to follow and then the removal of organ after organ which Micheal carefully preserved.
After six months, when his father died due to shock from pain that Micheal purposefully administered, Micheal smiled.
Micheal enjoyed this and having inherited his fathers fortune, being then of age, he began to expand his lab below. Secretly, he purchased the equipment necessary to run something akin to a clinic all underground in a meticulously clean atnosphere.
The priest was next. 14 years ago, that preist, Reverend father Peter Watts, was kidnapped and whittled down bit by bit over a 6 month period kept alive by IV and forcefeeding until he was a torso and head. His senses were kept intact and have been kept intact... to this day where he hangs alive on a wall deep below in the lab. His vocal chords cut and sanity and coherence long having left his tortured frame.
Deadpan began taking victims. His suppressed feelings of homosexuality left him with mixed feelings of arousal and release. He began occasionally frequenting gay bars in disguise. He would strike up conversation and either hire a male prostitute or manage to clumsily seduce a gay drunk.
When he got them alone, he would drug them and teleport them back. Over there screams were the only joy he could take, having supressed the homosexual desires and displacing them to his murderous and sadistic affinities. Deadpan only smiles when he is torturing someone and he actually does have an orgasm once he finishes with a victim and they are dead, having reached an orgasmic crescendo of pain before their death.
Deadpan was discovered by High Step and approached with a proposition. High Step periodically provides him with subjects to torture and dissect for either information or for the organ trade he now runs and in turn High Step disposes of the remaining body parts for Deadpan. High Step's henchmen frequently use the threat of "being sent down to" Deadpan to reinforce their power over the fearful.
Characters investigating goings on in New Orleans will find a list of missing people. Two reoccuring themes seem ever-present in many of them. They are either gay men or clergy, particularly Catholic clergy, who seem to dissappear about once every six months if not more frequently for at least the last 14 years starting with Reverend Peter Watts. The only other disappearrance exactly 6 months before that time was the disappearance of a wealthy New Orleans socialite, Malcolm DuChamps.

Quote:

"I know you feel distressed but I assure you I am quite knowledgeable in what I am doing. For instance. I am sure that you did not know there was a major nerve ganglion that, if severed, can cause excruciating pain for several hours. It's right..... HERE."

Personality:

Needless to say, Deadpan is a sick individual. He is cool under almost any situation but seems not to enjoy anything either, unless he is killing or torturing someone. He despises hearing scripture especially if it is rebuking him as it causes him to have flashbacks. He also gets no pleasure from killing female victims but sees it as a chore he must do occasionally to stay in good graces with High Step.
Deadpan will fly into a fury occasionally if accused of being a homosexual. All those years of denial and torture have pent themselves up tightly in his warped brain. Deadpan sees all Catholic clergy as Reverend Watts and kills them for pleasure so that he may draw out Reverend Watts demise as long as possible. If someone kills Reverend Watts out of pity, Deadpan will cry about the death of his "mentor".

Powers/Tactics:

GM WARNING: Starting characters going against this guy are asking for it. PLEASE put across the fact this guy is a killer and DAMN good at what he does BEFORE the player-characters decide to engage him. LET THEM KNOW WHAT THEY ARE IN FOR.
Deadpan will NEVER attack a group. He will try and teleport behind someone and use the hypo to get them asleep. He will then teleport them away to his lair. He will target the most attractive male possible or the more effeminate male. DEADPAN WILL NEVER LET ANYONE SEE HIM TELEPORT AND FEW EXCEPT FOR SOME OF HIGH STEP'S HENCHMEN KNOW HE CAN. HE WILL ONLY DO IT IN FRONT OF SOMEONE IF HE IS CERTAIN THAT HE CAN KILL THEM.
GM WARNING: Again, as with King Size's personality file I must warn, molestation, torture and child abuse can often be touchy subjects in certain groups. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE! Refrain from using this information or modify it accordingly if there is any threat of seriously disturbing your players.

Appearance:

Deadpan is a gentleman who is apparently prematurely grey yet young and handsome in appearance. He never seems to smile at all. He is always impeccably dressed and stylishly manicured. His voice is particularly monotone and drab.

Lair:

Deadpan's lab was carefully engineered so that even though it is below ground, it is water-tight. Any damage to the walls that gets through the 7 Def walls will mean water will slowly start to seep in the lab and it will be filled in a days time. Deadpan did have to make accomodations for himself like a venhilation system but it is too small to get through for a normal human. There is a secret exit which Deadpan put in in case for some reason he couldn't teleport out and it goes to his bedroom in his French styled manor above.

Adventure Seeds:

Gay characters or Catholic clergy characters might be a target of Deadpan.
The characters could have had a gay friend, relative, or peer kidnapped and have to investigate to find what happened to them.
Newsreporter characters might here the legend of the Crescent City Killer who kills someone twice a year once right before Mardi Gras and the other seemingly in Mid-July.
At a gay club, one of the characters or their DNPC's could be the target of Deadpan's desire which again is a scenario which must be treated with discretion.

(COMING SOON: More of the Krewe of Night. A look into the New Orleans Police Department (a fictitious representation); An overview of VooDoo in New Orleans and Marie Laveau; and a look into Cajun culture and the swamplands that surround New Orleans and finally a glossary which will help the GM's out there get a better feel of the environment) 

Some things you might wish to change to bring Krewe of Night more into
alignment with your thinking.

> is. There is no reason for a normal human to have the strength
> that Kingsize has and the speed Deadpan has.

True, but these aren't normal humans and I thought that was apparent. 

King Size has bought and paid for the best bio-chemical milkshakes that
money can buy. He probably has more steroids in his bloodstream than blood.
*smile* He's trained his life to be the best in the ring and while he
probably couldn't beat your average Champions brick, he's bound to be hell
on your average Joe Dark Champs superhero. 

Deadpan as is mentioned in his background is some one who spontaneously
developed his powers. He might be a mutant (if that suits the purposes of the
campaing you're running) in which case he would have the appropriate
disadvantage added to the list. His speed actually comes from a concept of
one of my players and discussions between us. Deadpan's reflexes are speeded
up due to the fact that he actally teleports the electricity from his brain
needed to perfom an action directly to the nerve clusters and muscles that
need to contract. There is no middle man. This is more of an autonomic
function than something purposefully done. He has trained hard to be an
efficient killer and the speed to do it is a by-product of his powers and
drive.

Another factor I hadn't considered: 

>	This stuff is great!  Sick, mind you, but great ;--}
>
>	I can definately use these in my campaign....
>
>	My only question involves mechanics:
>
>>Scalpel/Hypo
>>1/2d6 HKA (1 1/2d6 w/ STR) (AP(+1/2);           8
>>        1/2 End(+1/4); OAF(-1))
>>+8 OCV w/ Fencing/Knife Fighting               12
>>        (only to counter To-Hit Penalties(-1))
>>
>>Fencing/Knife Fighting
>>Ballestra (+2/+2; 4 1/2KA;3" move req.)         5
>>Basic Strike (+1/0;7d6/1 1/2d6KA)               3
>>Def. Strike (+1/+3;5d6/1 1/2d6KA)               5
>>Killing Strike (-2/0;2d6K)                      4
>>Martial Dodge (-/+5; Abort)                     4
>>Martial Escape (0/0; 40 STR for escapes)        4
>>Martial Grab (-1/-1;35 STR;2 limbs)             3
>>
>
>
>1) The max that scalpal/hypo will do is 1d6 K,AP
>2) Levels with limits have to be 5 pt levels
>
>If you are running with different rules, that's cool, but you might want
>to mention
>that in your writeups, as some people are number-crazy....(NOT me, I just
>spot the odd numbers, I don't worry about them as GM-not for NPCs at
>least)
>
>
>David W Toomey
>dwtoomey@juno.com
>
>
Thanks, David. Here we go for a correction:

>>Scalpel/Hypo
>>1d6 HKA (2d6 w/ STR) (AP(+1/2);                13
>>        1/2 End(+1/4); OAF(-1))
>>+8 OCV w/ Fencing/Knife Fighting               12
>>        (only to counter To-Hit Penalties(-1))
>>
>>Fencing/Knife Fighting
>>Ballestra (+2/+2; 2KA;3" move req.)             5
>>Basic Strike (+1/0;7d6/2d6KA)                   3
>>Def. Strike (+1/+3;5d6/2d6KA)                   5
>>Killing Strike (-2/0;2d6K)                      4
>>Martial Dodge (-/+5; Abort)                     4
>>Martial Escape (0/0; 40 STR for escapes)        4
>>Martial Grab (-1/-1;35 STR;2 limbs)             3
>>
>
Hows that?

I also feel the need to comment on another factor in Deadpan's background.
The fact of his repressed homosexuality. Deadpan is, as a character, in no
means meant to suggest that homosexuals are mentally ill or pedophiles. The
debate as to whether homosexuality is a choice, destiny, or genetic is moot
and I will not discuss it. I, in my life, have known several well-adjusted,
happy, proud, fun, loving and positive people who just happened to be
homosexuals. Deadpan's problems stem more from child abuse, molestation, and
his father's hatred and his concurrent REPRESSION of his desires moreso than
the fact that he has these urges. Repression of identity and desire is often
the leading case of mental illness. Denial is a bitch and to add that to
Deadpan's misery along with his father's abuse and the preists molestation,
it is plain to see how warped his life became.

I plan in the future, with a section called the Jackson Square Irregulars,
to provide more positive and accurate models of gay life in New Orleans.
These NPC's will most likely and unfortunately be targets for Deadpan but as
a GM, they will be an invaluable tool to teach less educated players of the
grace, humanity and bravery of some people they may not understand. As a GM,
get the players interested and even caring for these people they may not
understand and then put them in jeopardy to make the characters work hard to
find and save them. Overcoming fear, ignorance, and prejudice to save
another? I can think of only a few things more heroic.


R. Kemp