Repping for that Low Life

Lifestyle: Low

The Vegas Heights district are typical of thousands of other run down neighborhoods in the PCC, with buildings in need of repair, roads full of potholes, and very little foot trafific from citizens of Las Vegas who don't live in the neighborhood. Originally designed to be affordable housing for blue collar workers in the 1950's, this neighborhood was never a desirable community to live in, and has only declined over the decades. While passing through hands of various factions, from mafia hnds, to Comanche Tribals, through PCC government care (The 2030's Vegas Heights Urban Re-Vitalization Plan), before finally being all but forgotten and left to pass through the hands of countless minor gangs.

 The current gang, named "The Sandstormers" are a group of young 20-somethings and burgeoning youths who have managed to snag themselves a handful of guns, mostly throwbacks, and travel in packs, using their numbers to overwhelm opposition. While not exessively violent,they are quick to identify outsiders and take what they can by force. Their leader, a young troll who goes by Graysen Blockpounder is a dim thug, with just enough muscle to keep the gang in line with fear but not enough brains to expand his gangs territory beyond its current borders.
Honeybadger has an uneasy truce with the Sandstormers. Although his apartment complex, The Beautiful Views, falls within their territory, he and Curbstomp are more than a match for the unruly bangers. The Sandstormers give The Beautiful Views complex a wide berth, making sure not to harass anyone in the building, or in the immediate view of Honeybadger's 5th floor window.

Honeybadger's small slice of the neighborhood is a 5 story tenement. Far from luxurious, it is still better than most of what Vegas Heights lives in. Honeybadger and Curbstomp are strong enough to claim the building as "their turf", and keep other gangs out, buying them a measure of protection. The other citizens are too scared of the gruff Orks, but still enjoy the protection offered by their proximity, and occasionally offer "tribute" in the form of fresh baked soycookies, the ocasional beer left on their doorsteps, and single cigarettes on demand for either Ork. In return, anyone harassing residences of Beautiful View on or near the apartments gets a swift beatdown.

The rest of the neighborhood contains much of what one would expect for low lifestyle neighborhoods; 2 Stuffer Shacks, a Comfy Cubicle Hotel catering to the handful of prostitutes who scrounge out a living in a neighborhood no one wants to visit, a Loco Foods store ran by an almost comically stereotype Mexo-Native American who goes by "Martinezelo",  a seller of black market goods smuggled by a shady cartel. A single, "family-owned" bodega,  ran by tempermental Swedish gnomes, that stocks a handful of nearly-fresh soyfoods not found at Stuffer's Shacks. The most reputable of the many pawn shops is Honest Bill's Pawnemporium, which  specializes in selling licensed, non-restricted firearms. Strangley, the business is bereft of anyone named Bill or even William, but the mysterious proprietor has been known to leave Sticky Note memos to his employees directing them to carry out his wishes.  At the opposite end of the used goods spectrum is the plainly named  "Pawn Store", with it's brown painted cinderblock walls peeling with age, it's faded red tiled roof and its glowing neon sign proudly displaying it's "OPEN 24/7" status. The store is ran by two surly dwarf brothers, Englin and Elgin, who keep the shop dimly lit. The two brothers only bother to hide their sleaziness from the occasional law enforcment agent that comes in to check their store, but otherwise are unrepentant in their illicit dealings. The brothers sell whatever their slimey contacts pass their way, from black market weapons,  drugs, the ocasional banned critter, and all manner of BTL chips and fenced goods, and charge a hefty premium for anyone disturbing them past the 10 o'clock hour.

The only non-chain resturaunt called "Mina's" is a 1950's style diner, owned by the daughter of the late elven beauty Mina, Polly, an elf whose naturally good looks are marred by heavy body modifications of low-grade cyberware. "Mina's" is treated as neutral ground and safe haven, a rule strictly enforced by those within Vegas Heights. Since it was declared a safe place, no violators of the truce have made it out of Vegas Heights with anything less than a near-death beating.

Despite his aloof and somewhat reclusive nature, twice a year, the Urban Brawl Amateur circuit makes its way to Las Vegas and Honeybadger gets a chance to shine. With Vegas Heights being a perfectly square-shaped disrict with Lubertha Johnson Park serving as its direct center, it provides an excellent staging ground for the event. Various members of the community, including members of The Sandstormers, Honeybadger, and Curbstomp along with other rough'n'tumble sorts come together to form a team. Honeybadger was widely regarded as one of the best amateur guards in the Southwest, before he had biowear installed, and has only improved.  The Vegas Heights team is far from flawless, but they consistently rank in the top 20 teams, giving anyone who treads on their turf a serious run for their money.

Karl "Honeybadger" Dempsy

Honeybadger
Metatype:Ork
Ethnicity: Black
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Height: 195 cm / 6'4
Weight: 147 kg / 325 lbs


Attributes
Body-8
Agility-6
Reaction-2
Strength-7
Willpower-4
Logic-3
Intuition-4
Charisma-1
Edge-2
Essence-6.00

Initiative-6+1D6
Composure-5
Judge Intentions-5
Memory-7
Lift/Carry-15
Movement- walk:12 run:24 sprint:+2m/hit
Physical limit-8
Mental limit-5
Social limit-4


Skills
Heavy Weapons-3
Automatics-3
Pistols-6
Longarms-5
Sneaking-4
Clubs-5
Intimidation-5
Unarmed Fighting-6
Urban Brawl (K)-3
City Knowledge-4
Or'Zet (L)-5
Smugglers-2
Armorer-1

-Skill Groups-
Athletics-2
Biotech-1
Outdoors-2

Positive Qualities
High Pain Tolerance(3)-ignore one box of damage per rating point of this quality when
calculating wound modifiers.

Negative Qualities
Criminal SIN

Reputation
Street Cred-7

Karma-0
Total Karma-76

Character Description:
Pushing the upper limits of Ork size, this dark skinned black Ork stands at 195 cm, and has the physique of a prison powerhouse, and the tatoos to match. His head is bald on the sides, with a lowcut frohawk of pure white going down the middle. On his chest, is a massive tatoo of a honeybadger savagely pinning and tearing apart a king cobra, with a waving banner above it, declaring, "HONEYBADGER" and directly beneath the portrait, a similar banner reading "DON'T GIVE A SHIT." His right arm has the picture of a young looking Ork woman, beautiful in her own...orkish way..., and the word "Mom." neatly drawn on in cursive writing. Further down the right arm, is a tatoo occupying the entire inner wrist, of a classic 6 shooter revolver, and a fingers tatoos spelling "OUCH". His left arm upper shoulder has a tatoo of a barcode, with a hole in the center made to look like broken prison bars, and spaced slightly beneath that a small tatoo of the mythical pegasus, his wings clearly disheveled, snapped, and broken, with a look of pure rage across his horsey face. 

Equipment and stuff

Weapons
"Oh, it's your standard issue big gun..."

• Baseball Bat-Pg.423
  Accuracy: 4
  Reach: 1
  Damage: (Str+3)P
  \
• Hardliner Gloves (Knuckles)-Pg.423
  Accuracy: Physical
  Damage: (Str+1)P
  Availability: 2R
  \
• Walther Palm Pistol-Pg.425
  *Hold out-Light Pistol*
  Accuracy: 4
  Damage: 7P
  Mode: SS/BF
  Ammo: 2b
  Availability: 4R
  This weapon is kept in a concealable holster, granting +1 to concealability or +2 if wireless.
  \
• Taurus-Omni 6
  *Light Pistol*
  Accuracy: 5(6)
  Damage: 6P/7P
  Armor Pen:0/-1
  Mode: SA/SS
  Ammo:6cy
  Availability:3R
  This weapon can fire light or heavy ammo and has integral laser sight.
  This weapon is kept in a concealable holster, granting +1 to concealability or +2 if wireless.
  This weapon has a silencer accessory that imposes a -4 to all perception rolls to notice the weapon being used.
  This weapon is licensed.
  \
• Ruger Super Warhawk
  *Heavy Pistol*
  Accuracy: 7
  Damage: 9P
  Armor Pen: -2
  Mode: SS
  Ammo: 6cy
  Availability: 6R
  This weapon has an internal Smartlink system, increasing it's accuracy by 2, (Already included in stats) and granting a wireless bonus of +1 to all attack rolls and increases the availability by 2.
  This weapon is stored in a quick draw holster, reducing the threshhold for quick-drawing the weapon by 1. Pg.165
  This weapon has 2 speedloaders.
  This weapon is licensed.
  
  \
• AK-97
  *Assault Rifle*
  Accuracy: 6
  Damage: 10P
  Armor Pen: -2
  Mode: SA/BF/FA
  Ammo: 38c
  Availability:4R
  This weapon is equipped with a top mounted laser sight, increasing the accuracy by 1 and providing a wireless bonus of +1 to all attack rolls.
  This weapon has a spare clip.
  \
• Einfield AS-7
  *Shotgun*Pg.180
  Accuracy:6
  Damage:13P
  Armor Pen:-1
  Mode:SA/BF
  Ammo: 24(d)
   *Special Ammo-APDS Rounds: Increase Armor Pen by -4*
  This weapon has a built-in, top-mounted laser sight that provides +1 accuracy. This does not stack with it's external, underbarrel smartlink system which grants it a +2 accuracy bonus. (Already included in stats) The smartlink system also provides a +1 to all attacks with the weapon and increases the availability by 2.
  \
• Ruger 100
  *Sniper Rifle*
  Accuracy: 4
  Damage: 11P
  Armor Pen: -3
  Mode: SA
  RC: 1
  Ammo: 8m
  Availability: 4R
• Defiance-T250
  *Shotgun*Pg.180
  Accuracy: 4
  Damage: 10P
  Armor Pen: -1
  Mode: SS/SA
  Ammo: 5m
  Availability: 4R

Ammo
"One thing I learned from my days in the gang; invest in precious metals. Buy lots of lead."-Honeybadger

• Light Pistol Ammo- 20 shots. 
• Heavy Pistol Ammo- 105 shots. 
• Assault Rifle Ammo- 194 shots. 
• Shotgun Ammo- 30 shots. 
• APDS slugs (shotgun only)-21 shots.
• Sniper Rifle Ammo- 30 shots
• Light Pistol Gel Rounds- 20 shots
• Heavy Pistol Gel Rounds- 20 shots

Armor
“ARMOR, n. The kind of clothing worn by a man whose tailor is a blacksmith.”-Ambrose Bierce

• Armor Jacket
  Armor Rating:12
  Availability:2

Other Crap

• Erika-Elite Commlink
  Rating:4
  Availability:8
  \
• Honeybadger Helm-Helmet; Capacity 6.
  Availability:15R
  +2 Armor
  -Image Link(1): See and display A.R. information
  -Flare Compensation(1): Protects from blinding lights and glare.
  -Smartlink (1):Pg.433 for Smartgun Systems
  -Vision Magnification: When using Take Aim, allows wearer to ignore range modifiers.  Pg.178
  -Themographic Vision: See heat signatures.
  -Datasoft (Las Vegas)-+1 on metal limit on tests related to City Knowledge (Las Vegas)
  -Shopsoft (Guns Near Me)-+1 bonus to social limit on tests related to purchasing firearms.
  -Mapsoft (Las Vegas)- +1 limit bonus to navigation tests made in Las Vegas

• Deathblow X-11 Goggles-Capacity 4.
  Availability: 7
  -Image Link(1): See and display A.R. information
  -Flare Compensation(1): Protects from blinding lights and glare.
  -Smartlink (1)
  -Vision Magnification(1)-Use Take Aim to reduce range modifiers
  \
• Fake SIN: Albert Cleanfoot-Dilligent factory janitor.
  Rating:2
• License to own a firearm-Modified Ruger Super Warhawk
  Rating:1
• License to own a firearm-Taurus Omni
  Rating:
• Concealed Carry License

Currency

"Cash rules everything around me. Dolla' Dolla' Bill ya'll."

• NuYen: 37,999

Friends

“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.”-Helen Keller

• Fritz Von Braun-Known to those on the street as "Herr Doktor", this former member of the Allied German States is trained in a variety of medical disciplines, or so he claims. More than a little eccentric, he practices his craft less out of Hippocratic duty, and primarily out of morbid fascination of the metahuman body, but still delivers a high quality service for a very reasonable price. Many rumors surround the good doctor, more of them hint that he is a fugitive from Saeder-Krupp with a hefty price on his head, but no explanation as to how he may have ended up in Las Vegas.
  Street Doc (Human)
  Loyalty:3           Connection:3
• Medod Jebowitz, A.K.A "Curbstomp"-Smitten by Ork Culture, such as it is, this young human is an Ork poseur and is drawn to everything about them, from Ork Thrahser metal, Orkish fashion, and even an avid connoisseur of Playork monthly. Young at 20 years, Curbstomp has yet to find his calling in life or develop any real skills, other than being a mediocre brawler. He focuses most of his efforts on purchasing Orkish body modifications, trying to make himself more like the people he so admires.
  Orc Poseur (Human)Loyalty:4           Connection:1
• Oogey Boogey-A rather creepy troll with purplish skin with blue splotches and massive curling rammed horns, wide yellow eyes, and the large statue typical of trolls, he speaks in low tones, just above a whisper and doesn't much care for repeating himself. Still relatively new to the streets of Las Vegas, he is still formenting many connections with the criminal underworld. He keeps one boot in the legal arms trade, and one in the black markets, often using the former to mask the actions of the latter.
  Arms Dealer (Troll)
  Loyalty:4          Connection:3
• Beatrice-A teenage Ork girl, she works around the Las Vegas Stuffer Shacks. She has a crush on Honeybadger, and eager to tell him whatever she knows. She is a good source of street-level information.
• Vehicles

• Chrysler-Nissan Jackrabbit-Heavily scratched, dented in several spots, and with a paint-job that is chipped all over, this vehicle still runs very well. Gifted to Honeybadger by Mr.Nice

Important Notes and Rules

COMBAT ACTIONS

FREE ACTION
Call a shot
Change linked device mode
Drop object
Drop prone
Eject smartgun clip
Multiple attacks
Run
Speak/text and transmit phrase

SIMPLE ACTIONS
Change device mode
Fire weapon (SA, SS, BF,  FA)
Insert clip
Observe in detail
Pick up/put down object
Quick draw
Ready/draw weapon
Reload weapon
Remove clip
Take aim
Take cover
Throw weapon
Use simple device

COMPLEX ACTIONS
Fire weapon (FA)
Fire long or semi-auto burst
Melee attack
Reload weapon
Use skill

Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas!

How many wageslaves climb the corporate ladder, believing themselves to be a step ahead of the poor sap they just replaced, having passed him by in the lobby carrying a box full of his desk supplies, head sunk low as he feared how he would manage to maintain his lifestyle?

Kenneth and Alera Dempsey were no different than any other of the thousands if not millions of obedient 9-5 monkeys trying to carve themselves a little place in the world. They followed all the rules, chased after all the new shiny toys, and never caused waves at the workplace. Model employees to the last detail.

It was this unquestioning loyalty to company and status quo that made Kenneth Dempsey such a perfect candidate for the position of  South Arizona Assistant to the Regional Manner within the Horizon megacorp. And it came at the perfect time, just as little Karl Dempsey was to be born.



As Alera grew increasingly pregnant, she was forced out by Horizon corporate due to her "inability to perform job essentials due to long-term sickness or injury". Kenneth found himself under increasing pressure to work longer hours over more shifts to make ends meet. He quickly found that the promotion came with responsibilities that were beyond his, or even the most skilled managers, abilities. Increasing deadlines and quotas soon drove the Ork father and husband into the understanding embrace of booze and Las Vegas style gambling. To his credit, Kenneth was able to hold his family together for several years before workplace pressure coupled with sin & vice, caused the once proud father to implode and shut down. His mother had worked hard, taking a job as an assembly line drone at a highly toxic toy factory, but the income was not enough to support her and her son, let alone her husbands gambling addiction.

Kenneth began to embezzle funds from Horizon, but not even a week had passed when the discrepancies were noticed by corporate financial security. Under the laws of extraterritoriality, Kenneth's job was terminated. The same day his financial crimes were discovered was the last day Kenneth Dempsey was ever heard from again.

Alera continued to struggle, raising her growing Ork child, but her health was rapidly deteriorating. Young Karl learned at an early age that often times other people had what he wanted, and more often than not, those people didn't properly insulate themselves from people who could take it from them. What began as schoolyard bullying for lunch money evolved into strong-arm robbery to making sure Karl could feed himself and his mother. As a young teen, Karl found himself recruited by a local gang known as the Dead Wing Pegasi, composed mostly of goblinoids. They found that not only was he exceptionally strong and skilled as fighting, but he was tenacious, and damn near impossible to put-down with anything less than overwhelming odds. He earned the nickname "Honeybadger", and became one of the gangs toughest protectors. For years, they pulled off numerous small-time crimes, robbing stores, freight trucks, and homes. Honeybadger developed a fondness for guns, taking great delight in how intimidating they were, without even having to fire them. And they were loud. So very loud.

Honeybadger would meet his match in the detective team of Sam Burke and Maximilian "Twitch" Williams. The detective duo picked up word that Honeybadger and his small crew would be diverting a freight truck full of cigarettes off the interstate to rob it. Imagine their surprise when they pulled up the door of the truck and found an entire police tactical force aiming at them.

The next 6 years were actually very educational for Honeybadger. His time spent at High Desert Maximum Security Detention Facility may have been new to the Ork, but his gangbanger life lessons served him well. His tenacity and toughness only increased as he spent every day building muscle mass. Words of his mother's death reached him from the outside world, and he grieved deeply, but there was nothing he could do about it, and even a moment of weakness inside the prison walls could be his downfall. He kept a stiff upper lip, thought a few pleasant thoughts of her and soldiered on as he always did. He climbed to the top of the prison hierarchy with the assistance of his prison family, the Ork Brotherhood, a group of racial isolationist within the prison system. Honeybadger never became lax, and on the day of his release, he left as a respected authority figure.

Life hit him hard, back on the street. He had a desire to live a clean life, working a legal job, maybe even settling down, but with a criminal SIN over his head, he learned that would be next to impossible. After a few nights without any money to put food in his stomach, a stroke of genius struck him. He knew most of his old gang had been arrested and shipped off to different prisons, or had been absorbed into other gangs, but perhaps they hadn't packed up everything with them.

Searching his gang's old hangout at an abandoned storage facility, he discovered a small duffel bag with a few guns and a credstick with a chunk of cred still on it. If he couldn't go legit, he would just have to fall back on his old habits and hope that with a bit of luck he would avoid the authorities. Honeybadger spent time drifting from one illegal activity to the other, and even acting as stand-in muscle for a few street-level Shadowruns. He thoroughly enjoyed this work, as any sort of irritation he could cause any corporation filled him with a sense of revenge. Not able to fit in comfortably, his stint on any teams were always brief. During one such run, Honeybadger freed a young, lanky teen from the back of a Lone Star patrol vehicle, with the intention of arming him and using him as a distraction to make his escape.
In a serendipitous turn of events, the young Medod Jebowitz turned out to be a decent shot, putting down three armored Lone Star enforcers with a simle hold-out pistol. Thankful and impressed by his skill, Honeybadger allowed the renegade youth to follow him for awhile. Their friendship has been steadfast since then, with Medod being dubbed "Curbstomp"and becomng quite fascinsted with Ork culture, to the point of taking great lengths to mimic their appearence and mannerisms.
Together, the pair formed a dynamic duo able to assist and protect each other while dealing with fellow criminals. Moving from job to job, they made a name for themselves locally, and earned quite a bit of rep and cred.

Their near total downfall came when a particularly slimey Mr.Johnson hired them to protect an assett from an extraction. For corporate reasons far beyond their comprehension, the Johnson hired another Shadowrun team to perform said extraction, all while having a hired Lone Star Elite Enforcer team on stand-by. The result was a bloody massacre between the three groups leaving the target and both Shadowrunner treams massacred. The failure of the mission, the death of a target who happened to be a well-known, well-loved street doc who catered to Shadowrunners in his off time, as well as the loss of so many Runners dealt a huge blow to Honeybadgers reputation. He suddenly found it impossible to get work in the Shadows. For the last year, he's been making rent from strong arm robberies and amateur Urban Brawl matches. A burning hatred fuels Honeybadger, hatred for the corporations that destroyed his family and street cred, and a burning hatred for The Law that took away so many years of his life. Given a second chance at Shadowrunning, Honeybadger harbors a secret hope that this will present ample oppurtunities to deliver blows to the corporate world.