About Zhang Jim
Zhang Jim
Nature: Survivor
Demeanor: Chameleon
Physical
Strength: •••
Dexterity: ••••
Stamina: ••••
Social
Charisma: •••
Manipulation: •••
Appearance: •••
Mental
Perception: ••
Intelligence: •••
Wits: ••
Talents
Alertness: ••
Athletics: •••
Awareness: •
Brawl: •••• (Wing Chun)
Empathy: ••
Expression: •
Intimidation: •
Leadership:
Streetwise: ••
Subterfuge: ••
Skills
Animal Ken: •
Crafts:
Etiquette: •
Firearms: •
Larceny: ••
Melee: ••
Performance:
Repair: •
Ride: •
Stealth: •••
Survival: ••
Knowledges
Academics: ••
Enigmas: •
Finance: ••
Investigation:
Law: •
Medicine:
Occult: •
Politics: •
Science:
Technology: •
Backgrounds
Domain ••
Generation ••
Herd ••
Contacts •
Mentor ••
Resources ••
Status •
Disciplines
Auspex: ••
Dominate: ••
Fortitude: •
Thaumaturgy: ••
Thaumaturgy Rituals
Communicate with Kindred Sire
Defense of the Sacred Haven
Merits
Languages (2): Cantonese (native), Mandarin, English
Virtues
Conscience •••
Self-Control ••••
Courage ••••
Humanity 7
Willpower 7
Free Points
+1 Talent: Brawl (2)
+2 Skill: Survival (4)
+2 Knowledge: Finance (4)
+2 Background: Domain (2)
+2 Background: Herd (2)
+1 Background: Resources (1)
+2 Merit: Language (2)
+1 Virtue: Self-Control (2)
+3 Willpower (3)
Story
Jim is a man of mixed heritage, from the collision of cultures in Hong Kong just after the Opium Wars. Given the poor relations between Britain and China, this makes him something of an outcast, one who has always had to scramble to survive. But being a man of both worlds also means that he has some ability to glide along both boundaries.
For much of his young life, Jim was constantly working to stay alive. The child of a British sailor and a Chinese woman, he surprisingly came from a non-broken home, though disapproval of the liaison meant that he rarely saw his father (who gave him an English name and little else). Instead he split time between a rough-and-ready education and a lot of dockwork to earn a few coins here and there.
As an adult, Jim often served as an interface between worlds: Since he spoke both English and multiple Chinese dialects, he could translate, he knew the ways of the city, and he had a vague inkling of how to navigate the rules of the British consulate as well as the local Chinese culture.
This ability caught the eye of his sire, a Tremere agent who wanted to learn more about the potential of Zhongguo and sought internal operatives. At the young age of 25, Jim was suddenly and abruptly displaced from his life and turned into a vampire, a terrifying experience for someone who had no prior understanding of the Western world's supernatural legends but had certainly heard of China's monsters.
Always a survivor, Jim learned the rudiments of how to exist as one of the Kindred—a terrible spot to be in while in China, because the local vampires of the region had no love for those from Europe. He even tried going to ground in the massive country, looking for a place to hide in the north. This gave him years of traveling experience, a harrowing time when he barely survived going from town to town, always avoiding the shen, looking over his back for pursuit, and dealing with the hazards of trying to exist in a country without a developed transportation network. This tough time saw him narrowly escape destruction on multiple occasions, as he had to take shelter from the sun in unusual places and run from the shen when he crossed paths with them. This left him with metaphorical scars and an unnatural level of surprising resilience.
After a decade of running he was fed up with the meager unlife, constantly on the verge of destruction, and he finally returned to Hong Kong. The developing city proved a luxurious place for someone with the ability to bend minds and speak the local languages, and he made amends by sending a letter to the Tremere in Europe—his Sire had long since died at the hands and claws of the local shen—to let them know that he was still here and in contact. Never ones to pass up an opportunity, the Tremere who finally received his letter three months later jumped at the chance to repatriate an asset in China.
This left him with a good deal of leeway, as formal structures of the Kindred were nearly nonexistent in China, with only a few European vampires coming to Hong Kong on mysterious personal business from time to time.
Thus positioned, he was unhappy when he received instructions from his superiors to make his way to Europe for an important meeting...
