Risus Sample Characters ======================= The "default" cliche (i.e. the one you'd use if you're not sure which cliche to use) is always the one listed first. Galvatron 5000 -------------- Industrial Accident Robot (4): lifting heavy things, rolling around, causing workplace accidents Chronic Pack Rat (3): occasionally having exactly what you need, “lifting” things that might be useful later, incredible cargo space Recycled Security Door (2): vaguely recalling names, faces, fingerprints, floor plans, etc., blending into walls Misanthropic Machine (2): being passive-aggressive toward humans, repeating warnings / errors / bad jokes incessantly, surreptitiously hurting humans Hook: socially awkward when dealing with non-machines (half dice) Asher Kingston -------------- Cynical Gen-X Hipster (2): making 90s pop-culture references, hanging around in beatnik bars, being critical, doing things before they were cool That Kid Who Was Always Getting Into Trouble (“Veteran Troublemaker”) (4): breaking & entering, getting into fights, vandalism, annoying schoolteachers, trying to fast-talk your way out of things Aspiring Novelist (3): traveling places & meeting people to get ideas, reading ridiculous amounts of books, actually writing sometimes Part-Time Barrista (1): brewing the beans, operating the espresso machine, making deathless latte art, service w/o a smile Lavender Lovelymane (Fantasy / MLP:FIM) ------------------- Magical Doe-Eyed Unicorn (4): levitating things / healing ppl / etc. with horn, streaking rainbows as she runs, winning the hearts of girls everywhere, dancing to impress fairy princesses One-Time Steeplechase Winner (3): running, jumping, handling obstacle courses, giving ppl rides Accomplished Pastry Chef (2): cooking scrumptious confections, knowing her way around a kitchen Lost Princess of Equestria (1): winning hearts and minds as she cautiously yet dramatically tell ppl of her ancestral bloodline and royal destiny Baljeet Ramakrishna ------------------- Indian Tech-Support Rep (3): computer wiz, good at flattering / snow-jobbing customers, not fluent in any of a half-dozen languages Former Slumdog (4): thieving / pick-pocketing, sneaking, scrounging, street-fighting Overachieving Student (3): background in one or more of: engineering, medicine, IT Bollywood’s Biggest Fan (1): head full of movie trivia, met some actors / directors once Hook: Colossal disappointment to his parents, but constantly seeks their approval anyway Huong Nguyen ------------ Vietnamese Dry Cleaner (1): running a shop, working the register, cleaning clothes, tracking tickets, trademark customer service Plucky Amateur Crimefighter (3): scaling buildings, snooping around, detective work, police / undeground contacts Crazy Woman Cab Driver (3): hairpin turns, crashing thru garbage cans, finding inclined planes, keeping the meter running Improvised Weapon Master Urban Martial Artist (4): using trashcan lids and firehoses as deadly weapons, doing leap kicks off fire escapes Hook: She's looking for a husband. Lucilinda Belinda Cordova Maria Rodriguez ----------------------------------------- Loudmouth Chicana (3): wagging her finger when she talks, spicy cooking, huge family, sassy-broad-don't-take-no-guff-from-nobody-un'erstand? Small-time Gangsta (4): thieving, street-fighting, graffiti, arson, loitering Cheap Escort (2): smooth-talk, negotiation, caking on the makeup, getting regular penicillin shots Aspiring Hip-Hop Artist (2): clubbin', singin', rappin', booty shakin' Hook: Just *loves* professional athletes Larry "Swank-a-Lot" Horrowitz (1970s) ----------------------------- Swanky Lounge Singer (4): crooning, playing the crowd, making the ladies swoon Hobbyist Gadgeteer (2): pockets full of devices, prepared for anything, relentless tinkering Vigilante Crimefighter (3): brawling with baddies, donning a mask, keeping the streets safe Kvetching East-coast Jew (2): cheap, full of guilt, complainer... but still one of the chosen Hook: Won't accept sticker price, just *has* to haggle. Nathan "Cochese" Wind (1970s) --------------------- 70s Police Cop (4): yelling "Freeze!", cuffing, processing, and wearing the 'stache Wannabe Disco King (2): dancing, strutting, lookin' good for the ladies Former High-School Quarterback (3): running, throwing, jumping, dodging the sack Perennial Frat Boy (1): drinking, carousing, pulling pranks, partying Ripley "Blade" 17 (Futuristic, Sci-Fi) ----------------- Space Marine (4): surviving rough terrain, piloting a ship, hoofin' it up the hill, firing all rounds Pardoned Ex-Con (3): breaking & entering, hotwiring, smuggling, fast-talk Chronic Gambler (2): bluffing, betting, "feelin' lucky" Itinerant Barfly (1): drinking, carousing, pick-up lines Megan Jones (~2000) ----------- Airhead Cheerleader (4): jumping, kicking, looking confused when convenient Aspiring Prom Queen (2): makeup, fashion, dancing, flirting Indestructible Teenager (3): staying up all hours, metabolizing everything, texting 50 wpm, has her learner's permit (heaven help us all) Reluctant Ice Skater (2): waking up early, surviving the cold, attending practice & recitals, wearing glittery outfits Hook: "Computers _hate_ me!" (half-dice when working with computers -- not cell phones) Little Bobby Playmore (age 4) --------------------- Tantrum-Throwing Toddler (4): fussing, screaming, kicking, biting, getting his way Angelic Little Child (3): photogenic, darling voice, cute outfits, irresistible charm Playground Commando (3): climbing, sliding, swinging, jumping Preschool Artist (1): fingerpaints, crayons, watercolors, sidewalk chalk -- any surface is his canvas Hook: Can't get enough candy Sludgie Amoebacite (Sci-Fi, Futuristic) ----------------- Blobby Alien (4): enveloping / pummeling ppl, squeezing into / thru things Starship Pilot (3): flying the ship, knowing star charts / star ports / star systems Disgusting Glutton (3): gorging himself, belching loudly, dulled sense of smell / taste, always has room for dessert... Struggling Artist (1): painting, critiquing, not getting the recognition he deserves, struggling to pay rent Hook: Would do just about anything for food Texas Pete (Wild West, late 1800s) ---------- Squinty-Eyed Gunslinger (4) squintin' in the high noon sun, talkin' about his itchy trigger finger, tellin' people "you sure do talk a lot" Ol' Ranch Hand (3) ridin', ropin', brandin', russlin', spittin' Cowboy Poet (2) reciting ballads by the campfire with a harmonica Two-bit Gambler (2) knowin' when to hold 'em, and when to fold 'em, when to walk away, and when to run Hook: _Hates_ bein' called "yella'" Antonio Rafael-Hernan Gutierrez, "El Fuerte", de la villa bonita por la costa (1700s) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hot Latin Lover (2) seducing the senoritas, writing passionate love poems, running from husbands Dashing Swashbuckler (3) swinging on ropes, sliding down banisters, triumphantly exclaiming "Ha-ha!" Fencer Famoso (4) saying "en garde", swishing his saber, leaving distinctive scars Cabaret Performer (2) singing, dancing, bad acting, unintentional comedy Hook: Cannot refuse a pretty girl (requests, cries for help, invitations...) Yellga Krankenflegerin Von Shrillstein (Fantasy setting) -------------------------------------- Fat Opera Singer (1) wearing a little Viking hat, hitting the high notes, getting roses thrown at her feet Past-her-prime Adventurer (4) delving through the dungeon, slaying the monsters, looting their corpses Annoying-if-Magical Bard (4) using the power of song to charm, heal, inspire, and frighten Shameless Flirt (2) batting her eyes and speaking not-so-enticing innuendoes, given that she is a woman "of a certain age" Hook: Can't resist an opportunity to perform! (*sigh* My public...) Bastian Thrupplecrumb IV (Victorian) ------------------------ Utter Dandy (4) always ready with a witty retort, connoisseur of fine plays & wines, idly flipping a womanly handkerchief Snobbish Fencer (3) saying "en garde" (with the accent), whipping around his nancy blade, criticizing your stance Foppish Singer (2) a man really shouldn't be able to hit high notes like that Fashionable Fox Hunter (2) riding the horse, blowing the bugle, yelling "charge", and (most important) looking the part Hook: Can't _bear_ to see a lady mistreated Erasmus Lodestone (Medieval / Fantasy) ----------------- Silver-Tongued Devil (3) speaking oily words into the king's ear, twisting negotiations in his favor, saying "Gentlemen, gentlemen... Let's talk this over..." Cataclysmic Firemage (4) throwing explosive fireballs, erecting huge walls of fire, magically lighting a torch and burning most of the curtains Part-time Street Performer (2) performing card tricks, juggling, and legerdemain for gawking audiences (one does what one must to make ends meet...) Vainglorious Loremaster (2) endlessly boasting of all the historical, zoological, arcane, geographical, and trivial knowledge he's collected Hook: Always curious to learn secrets that Man Ought Not Know!!! LeGrand C. Hickenlooper ----------------------- Dirty Old Man (4): pinches girl's butts, suggests sex acts he is physically incapable of performing, gets away with it because he's old Veteran of Every War (3): always goes on about "the kaiser" and "the service", knows that the best de-fense is a good o-fense Marvel of Modern Medicine (2): has every condition, has had every surgery, has a million bottles of pills Wal-Mart Greeter (2): has his own special brand of "customer service", sees everyone as a potential shoplifter Hook: Will tell his stories to anyone who will listen... and to a lot of ppl who won't. Anthony "Antony" Leguizamo -------------------------- Walking Italian Stereotype (3): says "What's a-matter you?", has the moustache / body hair, loves to argue, makes a wicked pasta, has extended family that could fill a stadium, and loves his Ma-ma! Aging New York Gang-banger (3): used to jump over fences, wield the switchblade, and scrawl the graffiti... back in the day. Handyman Extraordinaire (4): plumbing, electronics, drywall, flooring, he can do it all. Closet Musical Lover (1): Knows the songs to Newsies, Pirates of Penzance, and of course, West Side Story. Hook: Loves-a the tasty-a piz-za! And-a the sausage! And-a the past-a! It's all-a good-a!