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The first COTW character this week is a despicable official
working in the Belgian Congo on the late 19th century...
Jean-Marie "du Ventre" Deventer; cruel and bloodthirsty
warlord
(c) copyright 2000 Volker Bach
Total Points: 116 Points
Age about 45; 5'11"; 190 pounds; a tall, heavy-framed blond
man with short beard and hair, impeccably dressed.
ST 12 [20] - thrust 1d-1, swing 1d+2
DX 11 [10] - basic speed 5.75, move 5, dodge 6*
parry
(broadsword) 6*
IQ 12 [20]
HT 12 [20]
WL 12 [-] - fright check 14*
*includes bonuses from Combat Reflexes
ADVANTAGES: Administrative Rank 3 (chef du Departement)
[15]; Charisma +1 [5]; Combat Reflexes
[15]; Disease-Resistant [5]; Status 1*
[0]; Wealth (Wealthy) [20].
*free from Wealth
DISADVANTAGES: Bloodlust [-10]; Sadism
[-15]; Duty (to Compagnie d'Afrique, 12-)
[-10]; Workaholic [-5].
QUIRKS: Careful dresser; Beats his servants; Always goes
armed; Excessively relishes fine foods; Never swears or uses
racial slurs. [-5]
SKILLS: Accounting-12 [4]; Administration-12
[2]; Area Knowledge (District)-12 [1];
Boating-10 [1]; Broadsword-11 [2]; First
Aid/TL5-13 [2]; Guns/TL5 (Pistol)-14* [2];
Guns/TL5 (Rifle)-13* [1]; Interrogation-12
[2]; Intimidation-11 [1]; Leadership-14**
[4]; Riding (Horse)-10 [1];
Savoir-Faire-12** [.5]; Spear (Bayonet)-10
[1]; Strategy (Land)-9 [.5]; Tactics-11
[2].
*includes +2 from IQ
**gets +1 from Charisma when used as Reaction Roll
LANGUAGES: Flemish (native)-12 [0]; Baluba-10
[1]; Fang-9 [.5]; English-10 [.5];
French-12 [2].
EQUIPMENT
Jean-Marie Deventer is always well dressed, carrying a
pocketwatch, pocketknife and tobacco pouch wherever he goes.
He prefers white linen suits, pith helmets and riding boots,
though he also wears his uniform if the occasion requires
it. He usually has some weapon about his person, preferring
a Belgian-made copy of the .44 Smith & Wesson (p.HT124).
If going into battle he will also belt a cavalry sword and
take a military rifle (he owns several, including a
Martini-Henry and Springfield .45-60, p,HT125). On overland
journeys he prefers a lighter Winchester. He never leaves
home without a riding crop which he uses liberally whenever
something displeases him.
BIOGRAPHY
Jean-Marie Deventer was born in Antwerp as the son of
upwardly mobile Flemish clerk Karl Deventer and his demure
and domestic Waloon wife Sarah. Raised in modest wealth and
middle-class respectability, young Jean-Marie did well at
school where he was noted for the energy with which he
applied himself to all tasks. A bit dour and serious for his
age, the only thing he appreciated about his mother's Waloon
heritage was the fine French cuisine.
After school, Jean-Marie was set on the path to a
respectable existence by becoming a chartered accountant and
taking a job with a tobacco import firm. Much to the dismay
of his proud father, Jean-Marie Deventer soon got into
trouble for his exceptionally cruel treatment of workers and
the way in which he relished and abused his petty authority.
Initially, his employers were prepared to overlook this in
view of his exceptional diligence, but after it became known
that Jean-Marie had beaten and raped a factory girl in his
office the matter came to a head. Jean-Marie was faced with
the choice of resigning or having criminal charges filed
against him. His career in Antwerp was finished.
At this juncture he took the decision that was to change his
life for good. Jean-Marie Deventer took employment with the
Compagnie d'Afrique and went off to the Congo as a servant
of His Majesty King Leopold on a task to line the royal
pockets with the profits brutally wrung from the native
population. Here his true talents - if this is the word -
came to the fore. An inspiring leader of men, strong-willed,
driven and utterly ruthless, he effectively and unswervingly
carried out whatever order he was given. His talent for
controlling his native auxiliaries by a finely balanced
mixture of fear and loyalty, his utter disregard for the
rights of the natives and his incredible diligence made him
a valued employee, quickly trusted with important tasks.
At the moment, Jean-Marie Deventer is a district chief on
the Upper Congo, far from the frontiers of civilisation. He
commands a handful of white subordinates and a body of
native 'police' troops levied from local tribes. There are
few creature comforts in his post - a cast-iron bedstead, a
primitive thermantidote, two-month-old newspapers and canned
European delicacies to augment local cuisine - but that is
fine by him. He lives for his work, anyway, and he loves his
job. A tireless traveller and ruthlessly efficient enforcer
of the decrees of the distant Brussels headquarters, he
relishes his power and has an unpleasant liking for punitive
expeditions.
ENCOUNTERED
Jean-Marie Deventer likes to cast himself as the warlord and
usually is accompanied by armed men. His troops know he
likes to surround himself with the aura of the 'white rajah'
and affect a particularly savage style, naked except for
loincloths and armed with axes, machetes and stabbing spears
along with their quotidian, outdated rifles. The total
effect is unsettling and quite intimidating.
Deventer himself is an intense, high-strung man very much
taken with himself. He is not given to outbursts of temper,
but he takes badly to being contradicted and argues
tirelessly over the most minor points. A stickler for detail
in all matters, he insists on formal clothing and correct
forms of address (he hates nothing more than the nickname
his colleagues have given him in recognition of his gourmet
proclivities; Du Ventre - 'of the belly'). Even in the worst
prickly heat he will be dressed to the nines and expects the
same of his white subordinates. 'Going native' is anathema
to him. Though no racist in the conventional sense, he is
firmly convinced that no white man should ever stoop to the
same level with 'the African' (he never uses any derogatory
term outright, but fills this word with a world of meaning).
His servants and black subordinates have learned to dread
the riding crop he uses to emphasise his orders or express
his displeasure with unhealthy glee.
In war, Deventer is a surprisingly intense, charismatic
leader. His ruthless tactics, dogged perseverance, tireless
energy and love of violence have filled his troops with an
almost childish awe and confidence in the victory-bringing
powers of their commander. He keeps them in strict
discipline on the march, but permits them near unlimited
liberties in the treatment of 'rebels' and villagers
defaulting on the rubber quota. Jean-Marie Deventer leads
from the front, fighting with savage brutality and
frightening disregard for his own life. He never takes
prisoners, viewing the carnage with sickening delight.
CANONICALITY
Jean-Marie Deventer is entirely canonical. The
Administrative Rank Advantage is used instead of Military
Rank to reflect the kind of dictatorial powers more commonly
associated with military potentates because his purely
corporate position is not recognised socially in any
European country. To those in his immediate surroundings, it
makes no difference whatsoever.
WHAT IF?
Sadly, men like Deventer were a relatively common (if
largely unappreciated) European export article in the later
19th century, petty despots sent to the colonies to give
full scope to their inclinations. Changing little more than
his position and languages, he could be an oppressive
Kommissar in Germany's African colonies, an unsavory British
administrator anywhere from Kenya to Malaya, or a French
would-be Absolutist in Algiers or Indochina. Note, however,
that most governments kept a tighter rein on their officials
and few would be allowed the kind of latitude in indulging
their sadism that officials had in the Belgian Congo.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
Jean-Marie Deventer is an unsavory opponent of the best kind
- one who creeps out the PCs without being visibly crude or
savage. He may well be the most civilised individual they
meet on whatever mission takes them to the wilderness that
is his domain. Still, he is quite clearly a psychopath and
this should be played out as disturbingly as the GM and the
campaign can bear. (The reality of the Congo atrocities
exceeds the 'yuck threshold' of many a campaign.) He can be
used either as background flavor, to ram home just what a
terrible and lawless place this is, or as a main opponent. A
particularly nasty GM could even introduce him as an ally of
convenience. After all, he is the only white man in command
of a military force within several hundred miles, and he
will happily extend help to explorers in difficulties.
Righteous Ire: The PCs are employed by an English Missionary
Society to look into reports of atrocities in the Belgian
Congo. They may come in expecting to find the occasional
flogging, corruption, greed and the usual petty abuse of
power. The horrors they will find exceed their worst
expectations. With enough convincing evidence, Deventer, at
least, could be removed. Of course, once Deventer figures
out what they are doing here, gathering convincing evidence
will be the least of their problems...
- written by Volker Bach (bachv@paganet.de)
- editted and formatted by andi jones
(andi@angelwerks.com)
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