Con Artist

By Colin Chapman.


"You can trust me."

Some people are born with the 'gift of the gab'. You were one such individual. Early life was always easy for you, smooth talking your way throught the toughest scrapes, ingratiating yourself with all the right people, and running the odd minor scam. Of course, you realised pretty fast that your talent could be used to turn a tidy profit, and turned to grifting; drifting around and pulling scams, accumulating wealth before moving to greener (and safer) pastures. It's odd how some people take offense, isn't it? Of course, you've never been able to lower yourself to scam the needy. It just doesn't seem right, and as you always remind yourself, they don't have anything worth swindling anyway.

You've pulled some pretty extreme scams, setting yourself up as fake business concerns and investment companies. You know the old adage of 'there's one born every minute' isn't true. There's dozens born every minute in your book. Well you've made enough to live comfortably, and you are always ready to move quickly (occupational hazard), but you need something more in life, and sometimes regret having used so many people. Maybe your melodramatic hook leads you on a more moral path? The Secret War presents a real opportunity to pull some legendary scams, and the chance to use your gift for a better cause.

Juncture:
any
Attributes:
Bod 4, Chi 0 (For=4), Mnd 7 (Cha 8), Ref 4

Divide 5 points among your primary attributes, adding no more than 3 points to any single attribute. Add 2 points to one secondary attribute. Maximum for all attributes is 10.

Skills:
Deceit +8 (=16)
Gambling +6 (10) [Max 13]
Guns +2 (6) [Max 13]
Info/[your choice] +2 (9)
Info/[your choice] +2 (9)
Seduction +2 (10) [Max 13]

Add 8 Skill Bonuses. If you like, replace Guns with Martial Arts.

Unique Schtick: Silver-Tongued Devil.
You can convince any unnamed character to trust and believe you implicitly by spending a Fortune point. The GM will only prevent this when it seriously derails the plot. Note that this schtick will not make someone ignore the most blatant lie or convince them of something they would never believe.

Wealth: rich



Last modified: July 18, 1996; please send comments to durrell@innocence.com.