Chen Xinyi Seward will be the musician within the Crescendo of Violence party. We already know that they ran into Selena when the latter was on a case. A divorce case, in which the client was the spouse of the lover Chen had at the time. From the creation of Naida we know that she hacked Chen to help Selena with her case. Chen and Selena later bonded over a shared love of comedy holo movies. I can work with that. I am sure the game will ask us to add complications to that later.
Now, let’s go through the establishing questions to see who they are first. For the list of questions, see the post on Naida. Chen grew up in Neo York, in Avondale Skypark. That area of the city has penthouses and skyscrapers, floating above Old York, the parts of old New York that are still in use. Ass Park, sorry, Avondale is where the super-rich live. The Sewards are a clan deeply embedded in the businesses of the city, mostly trading, but also some investments in construction. Chen is in their late 30s, and they haven’t talked to their family in years. A bit of a black sheep, they ditched the family to become a synth jazz musician. They own part of a small club where they get on stage from time to time. Their penchant for low-class music and lifestyle is a big embarrassment to the family, and their mother Alicia never really forgave them. Chen doesn’t know it, but both their mother and their brother Li sometimes attend the club, safely disguised. Their father Bo Liang hasn’t seen them since they left, but he has made it a point to send electronic messages from time to time to keep a door open. Their parents are both hurt by the rejection, but also unwilling to ignore social protocol and make the first step. There is also the issue that rivals of the family might target Chen at some point. Business life can be rough, and the Seward family has business associates in Italian mob circles.
In addition, Chen has cut a rather large path through the hearts of the jazz community. They are very charismatic, value being interesting over any other qualities, and get bored by conquests easily. As such, there is a string of people who are not that happy with them anymore. As a result, they do have a mixed reputation – good, maybe great musician, but also a magnet for drama. Dependable, until they suddenly are not. Then again Chen is a loyal friend, and times with them are never boring. And Chen recently realized that they hear a lot of interesting … things… where they are, and sometimes thinks about using some of that information for monetary gain.
Physically, Chen reminds many people of a whippet hound. A sleek figure, greyish hair, relaxed demeanor until something happens that needs quick action. Like the solo part right now. And everything is done with determination and elegance. They do like to wear pastel-colored suits, with large shoulder polsters. Their hair is shaved on the sides, and long on top. Their right arm is artificial, and the skin is transparent green, to allow anyone to see the actuators working inside. Some of the electronics in there also blink in various colors.
If they would be asked, Chen would opine that the problem with Neo York is that the powerful have been out of touch with everyone else for longer than they have been alive. Nothing wrong with being rich, but the same is true for being poor. And if rich people would not lock themselves away from life, they might use some of their power to everyone’s benefit. They learned this in boarding school, where they started associating more with the kids of the teachers and the building staff than their classmates. They also watch the criminals that come into the club and thinks they are either people who have no options or – sometimes- people who found ways to power where the more socially accepted venues are locked to them. The upper class keeps everyone out they do not like, and social climbers naturally will find other means of climbing. Less controlled means.
Let’s look at Chen’s stats. Gen-G sounds tempting but would be bad with a cyberarm. But they are a bit rebellious. Ah well, let’s go with Gen-G. Their paths are Cautious 1, Clever 3, Dramatic 4, Empathetic 3, Fast 3, Resolute 2, Sneaky 2, and Violent 3. Her Profession is Musician. The selection for reasons why they are on the outs includes the ‘they are not’ option. Great! This means Chen is somewhat famous, which I think is ok. I will add a point to Fast from the Professions as well, raising it to 4. Their Cred Rating is 3D10. Not sure that is enough for part ownership of a club, but eh’, who cares. Their Special Ability is that they can gain access to any social scene by spending Reserve.
Talent-wise I will choose Fame and Contacts from their Profession list, which seem to fit well. Fame is ranked, and they have the first rank, meaning when rolling to impress someone they add a die. Contacts means they know people in an organization or district – let’s say their contacts are in New Beale, the district filled with clubs, nightspots, hangouts, and the like. They also have a single, somewhat loyal contact. Easy. Geoffrey Barnard, co-owner of the Lingering Dream club. As the third Talent I take Neo-Native, meaning Chen has spent more time than most getting to know Neo York. They know all the cool spots. Mechanically, that means that they get to take more downtime actions – game sessions are split into three acts, plus intro and outro, and downtime actions are specific actions taken during some of these phases. Chen just finds what they need a lot quicker, and gets more done as a result.
For equipment - Chen has some Genemods, a Bioknife, which I interpret as hidden claws, and an eLung, which allows them to hold their breath a lot longer. Cyberwear will be Cyberarms, which adds +1 to Fast, but also subtracts a Reserve, meaning the maximum is now 4. Since being hacked they have kept a Personal Fireaura (think better firewall for their personal connections). Add a ballistic vest, and a shotgun kept somewhere in the club, and that part is done.
For finishing touches, there are some questions to answer – The Suit likes to hear Chen play, and goes out of their way to do so. When new musical ideas arrive, Chen often bounces them off Nadia to see what works. And Selena has a knack for keeping Chen grounded a bit, and keeping them more honest.
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