About Derrick JohnsonAPPEARANCE:
SKILLS:
PROFICIENCIES:
RACIAL ABILITIES:
CLERIC ABILITIES:
EQUIPMENT:
SPELLS:
SPELL LIST:
Guidance
On/off
Resistance
Spare the Dying
Comprehend Languages
Remote Access
BACKGROUND:
Soldier (Detroit PD detective) Personality Trait: I'm always polite and respectful Ideal: Our lot is to lay down our lives in defence of others Bond: I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves Flaw: I made a terrible mistake that cost lives, and I would do anything to keep it secret Born and raised in Detroit, Derrick’s path to becoming a police officer started early in life. His parents owned a small apartment in the Milwaukee Junction neighbourhood, an area dominated by Detroit’s auto industry. An only child, his parents struggled to make ends meet. His father worked as a shift foreman in the Cadillac plant, and his mother was a server in the plant’s canteen. The decline of the industry and increased automation led to job losses, including those of both Derrick’s parents. The family found themselves on the breadline, but his parents encouraged Derrick to work hard at school, keep off the streets and help those who needed help. The decline of his neighbourhood showed Derrick some of the worst aspects of humanity, as violent gangs of drug dealers started to take over the streets and the abandoned properties. His parents shielded him from the predations of the gangs and brought him up to be a polite and conscientious young man. He graduated high school as an undistinguished student and his desire to help the less fortunate led him to enrol in the Detroit Police Department’s academy. He scraped through the entrance test and struggled at times with some of the class work, but showed strong interpersonal skills and an aptitude for interviewing witnesses, victims and perpetrators alike. After completing his training Derrick was posted back to his native eastern Detroit, which remained a dangerous and rundown area. He made it a personal mission to fight for people like his parents, people who wanted only to live peaceful lives amid the city which seemed to have forgotten them. Derrick studied evenings and weekends, during quiet periods on his shifts and on his vacation days to prepare for the detective’s exam. Failure on the first attempt led to even more narrow minded focus on study, and he was rewarded with a passing grade at his second attempt. Joining the Eastern Detroit burglary squad, Derrick continued to do his best for the people of Detroit. The opening of the gates and the arrival of the Shadowkind changed everything. In late 2016, Detroit was a city regaining its feet. Four days before Christmas, Derrick was investigating a burglary at a house only a few blocks down from his parents’ place. A family’s home had been invaded during the night while they slept, and the intruders had been driven off by the gun-wielding mother. Derrick had just finished interviewing the two adults and three kids and had stepped out to his car to grab a spare notebook when a roaring cloud of purple lightning ripped the house open. The wooden framed building groaned once and collapsed. Screaming into his radio for assistance Derrick ran back towards the house, looking for the family and his partner in the settling pile of rubble. He managed to extricate his partner, and the two of them frantically began pulling at the timbers to free the trapped civilians. Panic, and his need to help others no matter the cost to himself, took over. He saw the youngest child, a boy of eight, trapped under a fallen beam. As Derrick lifted the beam, he caused the unstable pile of timber it was supporting to collapse. The boy was buried instantly. In the aftermath, there was little investigation. Gates had opened up all over the world. New, mysterious creatures had arrived. The review into the house collapse blamed poor maintenance. Derrick was numbed by the experience. He saw the boy’s face, heard his screams, every time he tried to sleep. The rest of the family had survived, and had thanked Derrick for his role in getting four of them out safely. He couldn’t bring himself to admit that he had caused to boy’s death. He threw himself into his work, taking any opportunity to atone for his mistake. He started working double shifts, neglecting his own needs in favour of those of others. He fell behind on his paperwork, and colleagues started to express concern about his welfare. A medical board diagnosed Derrick with PTSD. Once the arrival of the Shadowkind had started to settle down, almost a year after the little boy had died, he was put on medical leave. Devastated, he spent time wandering the streets, seemingly bereft of purpose. Slowly at first, and then with increasing frequency, Derrick began to notice bizarre things around him. He stopped to help an old man who had fallen over, and noticed the cut on the man's head begin to close as he examined it. He found himself able to communicate with some lost French tourists, despite having never spoken a word of French in his life. Walking the city, his city, rekindled Derrick’s desire to help, to aid, to heal. He returned to his job after nearly two years of medical leave, full of determination. But he found his colleagues avoiding him, whispering behind his back, turning down his offers of a few beers at the bar. Soon, word began to filter down that the powers-that-be in the police department were uncomfortable with Derrick’s diagnosis, and the extended medical leave he had required. He was gradually pushed towards the department’s sidelines until, almost 4 years after the gate nearly opened on top of him, Derrick was released from the Detroit Police Department on the grounds of ill health. Once again left adrift, but with new-found abilities seemingly granted by the city itself, Derrick saw an online ad for jobs with the Lollard Detective Agency. Keen to put his skills to use helping the helpless, Derrick applied.
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