Today's character is made with Sigil & Shadow, one of the best games I bought in 2021.
In 1982 Frankie Collingwood had a brilliant idea. The slasher movie had proved that it was here to stay. It was easy to replicate the thrill of pretty young people falling prey to ultraviolence, but what if the KILLER was a pretty young person? Thus the idea of Katie Karnage came about. A sexy rock chick with a meat cleaver and endless bloodthirst.
Katie was meant to be a bad girl, apart from the whole spree killer aspect. In interviews, people around Collingwood have variously cited Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Marlene Dietrich, and even Lady McBeth as inspiration for Katie. The actress portraying her, 20 year old Lindsey Bakirtzis, has said that she pretty much channeled Betty Rizzo from Grease, “just more homicidal”.
Frankie ain’t talking, of course.
Funding came via Frankie’s producer acquaintance Glenn Pearson. The story goes that Pearson introduced Frankie to a mystery backer in a grey fur coat. This individual, his identity and existence, is considered a mystery of the horror film world on the level of Robert Wiene’s The King in Yellow, or the lost cannibal movie The Gods Eat Men. He provided the money, and wanted nothing in return, as far as anyone knows.
What is true is that Pearson was heavily into the occult, and privately spoke of the franchise-to-be as a ‘Great Work’. Frankie saw it as a great cash cow, and maybe that was what drew a wedge between them. As they filmed Katie Karnage and Katie Karnage: Thicker Than Water back-to-back, they had several dust-ups and 'creative disagreements' that would often end with members of the production team having to separate the two.
After the first showing of Katie Karnage the two had an altercation in Frankie’s Mulholland home. Frankie ended up stabbed to death, the sigil of Eligos* carved into his back and buttocks. Glenn Pearson was found the next day, sporting self-inflicted wounds and unwilling or unable to speak. He is in a secure facility to this day.
That was the night Katie Karnage was born in the flesh. She killed a cab driver, a diner waitress and two frat boys on their way to kick off at a Verbal Abuse concert. It was what she was made for. She had an audience for the last two murders, and word of mouth spread fast.
The ‘copycat’ killings made the films decent successes and occasioned their own small moral panic. Lindsey Bakirtzis was questioned by the police, but had a stone solid alibi.
Katie lives the life of an itinerant murderer, never staying in one place too long. She can dye her hair and wash off the glam-punk make-up, but it reasserts itself by the next night. She cannot hide who she is. Between killings, Katie is a searching soul. She is dimly aware that she is a two-dimensional character thrust into a world of depth and nuances, but she has yet to find a thing that hits her as profoundly as inventive slaughter. In her darker moments she fears that it’s all she is good for.
Lindsey has seen the man in the fur coat from a distance, watching her. She’d really like to have a few words with him. And maybe then check if his innards are the right color.
KATIE KARNAGE
Casting: Ravenous
Drive: Appetence
Ravenous characters recover a Bone by spending a scene performing an act of consumption. It’s possible to recover an extra Bone by massive consumption, but doing so results in a “feeding frenzy” that requires gross, excessive amounts of whatever it is they consume and usually comes with a consequence. In Katie’s case this comes in the form of murder. To get her Bone she must murder an adult cis male, or an adult cis woman if she is in a romantic relationship with an adult cis man.
Background: Criminal
Oddity: Impossible birth
Katie’s birth should not have been possible. She was conceived through blood sacrifice, celluloid, and lust. There are those in the supernatural community who will view her as the one to fulfil a prophecy or legend. Others will see her as an abomination or harbinger of doom.
The defiance of the impossible doesn’t stop with birth; in game, her player may spend a Bone to ignore the accumulated multi-action penalty for a single action, allowing Katie to perform a very effective act where others would be rendered less effective.
STR 50 DEX 65 LOG 45 WIL 50
Damage Bonus: Melee: 0 /Ranged +2 (with boosted strength melee is +4)
Health Points: 25
INIT: +2
Damage Resistance: 1
Bones: 3
Skills
Arcana
Combat (Trained, 1lvl +10%, 1-handed melee)
Education
Investigation
Larceny (Trained, 1lvl +10%)
Medicine
Mysticism
Social
Survival
Technical
Special Features
Perks:
TOUGH AS NAILS
The character has an amazing natural resilience, giving them a natural Damage Resistance (DR) of 1.
Powers:
INHUMAN STRENGTH
• Any Ability checks made with Inhuman Strength (resistance or otherwise) has Advantage.
• The character may spend a Bone to add +25% per level to Strength This lasts for a number of rounds equal to Inhuman Ability Level.
REGENERATION
The character is capable of regenerating their health at an accelerated rate.
• The character recovers 2 HP every minute, per level of Regeneration, outside of combat or stressful situations.
• Spending a Bone allows the character to immediately recover 1D per level of Regeneration as an action (including in combat)
Bane:
Celluloid and other physical film media burn Katie like acid. If it is one of her films, the damage is doubled. If Katie is in a room where one of her films is playing, she loses her powers and cannot refresh her Bones until it is over (or stopped).
Descriptors
Cinephile
Impatient
Equipment
Meat cleaver (1d6+3)
Walkman
Beauty box
Gym bag
A newly-stolen car
*Eligos is a Great Duke of Hell, ruling 60 legions of demons. He discovers hidden things and knows the future of wars and how soldiers should meet. He also attracts the favor of lords, knights and other important persons.
Comments
Post a Comment