EDGAR ALLAN POE Master of Mystery and Imagination
F: Average (06)
A: Average (06)
S: Average (06)
E: Average (06)
R: Fantastic (40)
I: Decent (10)
P: Great (30)
Health: 24
Karma: 12
Resources: Terrible (02)
Popularity: 10
Talents / Specialities:
Investigation; Talent: Poet x3 (+3RS); Natural Philosophy; Science (Forensics); Cryptography; Writer x4 (+4RS); Area of Knowledge: Occult; Horse Riding; Fencing (+1RS with a rapier or saber); Politcs; Military Law; Folklore
Powers:
Edgar Allen Poe was a "normal" human, not invested with any definitive supernatural or superhuman abilities. His great intellect was entirely applied artistically. Because of his pioneering life in terms of his literary career in America and his enormous literary influence, he has Power-like abilities best summarized in this section.
The Poe described here is as he was in his final year of life, between the time of his disappearance and when he was found dead, wearing someone else's clothes. This "gap" can be filled with whatever unlikely adventures the gamemaster and players see fit. There must be resolved the question of whether he travels through time and space to the other characters or they travel through time and space to where he might be at the time.
Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States, and of American literature. He was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story, and considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre, as well as a significant contributor to the emerging genre of science fiction. He is the first well-known American writer to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.
The death of Edgar Allan Poe on October 7, 1849, has remained mysterious. The circumstances leading up to the final days of Edgar Allan Poe are uncertain, and the cause of death is disputed. On October 3, the American author was found delirious in Baltimore, Maryland, "in great distress, and ... in need of immediate assistance", according to the man who found him, Joseph W. Walker. He was taken to the Washington College Hospital, where he died at 5 a.m. on Sunday, October 7. He was 40 years old. Poe was never able to explain how he came to be in this condition.
Much of the extant information about the last few days of Poe's life comes from his attending physician, John Joseph Moran, though his credibility is questionable. Poe was buried after a small funeral at the back of Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, but his remains were moved to a new grave with a larger monument in 1875. The newer monument also marks the burial place of Poe's wife, Virginia, and his mother-in-law, Maria. Theories as to what caused Poe's death include suicide, murder, cholera, hypoglycemia, rabies, syphilis, influenza, and that Poe was a victim of cooping. Evidence of the influence of alcohol is strongly disputed. He may have been involved in a political party conspiracy that resulted in his death.
After Poe's death, Rufus Wilmot Griswold wrote his obituary under the pseudonym "Ludwig". Griswold, who became the literary executor of Poe's estate, was actually a rival of Poe and later published his first full biography, depicting him as a depraved, drunk, drug-addled madman. Much of the evidence for this image of Poe is believed to have been forged by Griswold, and though friends of Poe denounced it, this interpretation had lasting impact.
- 9 LIVES: Nine times in the character's life as of start of play, the character can survive certain death in return for expending all current Karma. Whether explained or not, the character simply emerges, completely unharmed, from what would kill anyone else. Trying to explain their survival is the hopefully entertaining job of the playing group, and may even form the basis for an eventual retcon or origin story. This Power does not have a Rank. If it needs a Rank for some game purpose it is to be considered Cosmic.
- LEGENDARY (Decent): The character has a social status and reputation with strangers based entirely of them having heard of them and heard good things about them. This can counteract negative Popularity or bad behaviour or substitute for Popularity or Wealth rolls.
Contacts:
Newspaper editors nationwide (in the 1840s);
West Point classmates (although they graduated and Poe did not);
Limitations:
- Hunted by a mysterious character known only as... The Raven!
- NEBBISH: The character is frequently bullied, ridiculed and mocked for being a lightweight, cowardly and dull person.
- Out Of It: This character is completely physically absent from the normal game world under all normal circumstances and can never adventure alongside the rest of the heroes of the present day unless time travel or powerful magic of some kind is used to summon them forth.
Notes:
Bolt can be short tempered with foolish or thoughtless people but is in general an extremely pleasant, friendly and even trusting person.
Much of the biography of Poe in this writeup has been taken from Wikipedia. So it must be true!