played by Carl Muckenhoupt
Payne is a Maledictor in the Defender tradition, and a devout lay member of the Church of the Great Sun. He's in his late forties, and has a gaunt visage and severe manner.
Payne grew up in a small farming community. He was raised by his grandmother, who gave him a steady diet of discipline and religious devotion. He's a natural Maledictor, having discovered the knack for it before he even knew the word, and probably would have done himself permanent damage if he had a less controlling guardian. Once he was old enough to understand that Maledictors were usually thought of as bad guys, he strained with all his might to be good, which, to his mind, meant emulating the saints whose hagiographies formed his primary reading material. His path was set when he successfully used his curses to prevent a ruffian from defiling a shrine, making him double over with pain whenever he got with fifty feet of it. He has been a defender of the Church ever since, and the Church generally provides him as much grudging support as his activities require, although he hasn't been given any formal recognition due to his station.
During the Foundling War, although he was not in the army, Payne travelled wherever it looked like a site imporant to the Church might be in danger. He picked up the basics of fighting during this period, although he usually fought barehanded, the better to receive injury that he could use to power his curses. At one point, he voluntarily allowed himself to be captured and briefly tortured by Catelan soldiers in order to put a curse on their commander, an act that he is convinced was instrumental in turning the tide of battle.
At some point, the Convenant of the Hood tried to recruit him, but he had doubts about their godliness and refused.
(Priority: 2)
| Strength | 5 |
| Dexterity | 3 |
| Constitution | 9 |
| Charisma | 5 |
(Priority: 3)
Fistfighting: 9
Specializations: grappling with armed opponents, sucker punch
Swordfighting: 3
Public Speaking: 4
Trumpet: 4
Acting scary: 12
Specializations: Reliability 3, bluffing about his power
Taunting: 8
Specialization: Innocent-sounding phrases that ignite rage in one person without creating sympathy in onlookers
(Priority: 4)
Peasant
(Priority: 1)
Karma: +4
Minor virtues:
Defended a shrine
Long service as deterrent against offenses against the Church
Major virtues:
Willingly allowed himself to be captured and tortured by Catelan
troops during the Foundling War
Minor sins: Got angry at a cleric who spoke against him, and gave him rheumatism
Hostility: 8
Self-Righteousness: 10
Prejudices: Drenge 2, Catela 3, Covenant of the Hood 1
Peeves: Laughter 1, Blasphemy 2
Loves: The Church of the Great Sun 3, Arrona 1, Granny Payne 4
(Granny Payne has been dead for many years, but it's still possible to insult her memory.)
Let's assume that at the start of play, Payne's general resentment is at max and all other resentment pools are empty. As such, I will only list the greatest offense allocated to each enemy. This list is presumably incomplete.
the nation of Catela: 7 (inuries sustained during the war)
a particular Catelan army officer: 12 (torture, during the war)
the Covenant of the Hood: 1 (imaginary offense: plotting to ruin the church's good opinion of him so they can replace him with one of their own)
Some soldiers who attacked us: 2; 2 (fighting back)