Shamrock

[L.Craig]

Iam rewriting Shamrock from Classic enemies, what would his Contact I.R.A. be worth. Also do you guys think a character who is with the IRA, he would have casual killer as a disadvantage?

[JmOz]

I think the casual killer would be a character by character thing, some should have it, others would not, your call on SHamrock

[Lord Liaden]

Well, the IRA is a lot more respectable these days, at least publicly. They've renounced the armed struggle, and their political wing is an active player in the political structure.

I don't think past IRA members were necessarily casual killers - many were very strongly cause-motivated, but not notably murderous outside of what they considered a war situation. As a Contact the IRA would now have "access to major institutions," as well as of course being an Organization Contact. OTOH with their history they would undoubtedly still have "very useful Skills and resources" to a supervillain.

[nexus]

I'd suggest Devoted to the Cause at Strong or Total and no CAK. Casual Killer always seems more applicable to character that will kill almost anyone, at anytime practically as their first thought unless something else prevents them (even if just fear of repriasal). A teorrorist that considered themselves of "soldier" might have a slightly different mindset justifiying it as nessecary evil, causalities of war, etc but wouldn't snap someone's neck because they wanted their soccer tickets or something like that.

[Dr. MID-Nite]

I'll echo the sentiments already and say no Casual Killer disad for Shamrock. He seems a reasonably well adjusted person from his writeup. Casual Killers kill on a whim....you cut them off in traffic...you beat them to the last candy bar at the 7-11....you accidently bumped into them on the street. Shamrock may kill(though he still doesn't appear to be someone who'd do that often) in pursuit of the goals of the IRA, but kill just because he can? I doubt it.

Rob

[assault]

Iam rewriting Shamrock from Classic enemies, what would his Contact I.R.A. be worth. Also do you guys think a character who is with the IRA, he would have casual killer as a disadvantage?

The IRA as such has pretty much disbanded. Of course its members and supporters are still "out there". They could still have lots of interesting and useful connections, so it's a pretty handy Contact to have. It's handy on an international scale, too, both through the Irish diaspora and past contacts with other movements.

There is no reason why he would have casual killer. In fact, since the armed struggle is in the past, he might even have a Code Against Killing these days!

An interesting question would be whether or not he is still wanted for his activities. He might have been able to scam an amnesty, possibly after a token prison sentence.

It's quite possible that he could be a quite prominent (if controversial)superhero these days!

I've always liked Shamrock. He was always on my list of "supervillains I would rather fight alongside than against".

[JmOz]

The IRA as such has pretty much disbanded. Of course its members and supporters are still "out there". They could still have lots of interesting and useful connections, so it's a pretty handy Contact to have. It's handy on an international scale, too, both through the Irish diaspora and past contacts with other movements.

There is no reason why he would have casual killer. In fact, since the armed struggle is in the past, he might even have a Code Against Killing these days!

An interesting question would be whether or not he is still wanted for his activities. He might have been able to scam an amnesty, possibly after a token prison sentence.

It's quite possible that he could be a quite prominent (if controversial)superhero these days!

I've always liked Shamrock. He was always on my list of "supervillains I would rather fight alongside than against".


That is an interesting idea

[Jared Rann]

From the write up in the original Enemies, he really doesn't seem like the killer type. As I looked at him and fought against him more than once, he was more of a brawler. You could use a pysch limitation such as "likes to fight". This could get him into trouble, especially if he is teamed up with anyone and they have left since the fight has long since been over. Another possible trouble point could be that he goes to far and really seriously hurts someone, this could be based on how disdainful he is.

[death tribble]

It would also depend on which wing of the IRA he was.
There was the IRA
The Provisional IRA who split from the IRA and were involved in what are known as The Troubles
and lastly the Real IRA who rejected the peace talks.

[OddHat]

I understand that he emigrated to America, and is currently in the employ of the IRS.

[Lord Liaden]

I understand that he emigrated to America, and is currently in the employ of the IRS.

Once a terrorist, always a terrorist. ;)

[CrosshairCollie]

I understand that he emigrated to America, and is currently in the employ of the IRS.

I think he should work for H&R (Martial) Block instead. :)

"Hey, here's a lucky deduction!"

[lemming]

I like the idea of him moving on from his IRA days. It really depends on the activities that he conducted in the past.

Of course, with his luck, nothing really bad would stick other than fighting and robbery, I'm sure.

Off Topic: Second thread that reminds me to organize my books.

[assault]

It would also depend on which wing of the IRA he was.
There was the IRA

Long defunct.


The Provisional IRA who split from the IRA and were involved in what are known as The Troubles

This is the group I assume he was a member of. Now essentially disbanded.


and lastly the Real IRA who rejected the peace talks.

They seem to have hung up their guns too. They don't seem to have actually done very much, except turn their most well-known operation into a disaster for their cause. I can't see that there is much mileage in associating Shamrock with them, unless you really, really want to re-enact old wars. Frankly, in that case, I would just set the campaign in the past...

[wcw43921]

This could be an interesting possibility--have Shamrock retired for a while, then Al-Queda or something like them executes a London-subway-style attack in Belfast or somewhere else on Irish soil. Shamrock recruits some of his old IRA cohorts to, in his words, "Take the fight to the enemy." While some may see this as a good thing, there is also the fact that he and his new army are comitting robberies and other crimes to fund his new group, likely to be called the Irish Pro-Active Defense Army (IPADA) or something like that. So on the one hand, he's still a supervillain, on the other he and the player-heroes are likely to have a common enemy--which means there's as good a chance of the PCs fighting alongside Shamrock as against him.

Hope that helps.

[Metaphysician]

Why would he need to do robberies for funding? I'm sure the Irish government would be willing to fund it out of pocket ( at least secretly ).

[wcw43921]

Why would he need to do robberies for funding? I'm sure the Irish government would be willing to fund it out of pocket ( at least secretly ).

That would depend, I think, on how much the government would want to be associated with a well-known terrorist like Shamrock. Publicly, they want to be able to say they prefer to deal with terrorists and their associates like civilized members of the international community.

Privately, it depends on who Shamrock's Contacts in the government (who they are, what position they hold, etc.), and how well he made his Contact roll with them. (A perfect Three can--or should--get you anything the character has to offer.)

He could, of course, do robberies for other reasons--like the institutions he targets could be links in the terrorists' funding chain. Or he could attack a military arms depot as a pre-emptive measure; he'd heard the terrorists were going to raid it for weapons, and he wanted to keep them out of their hands by taking them for his own use.

[Tech]

In my campaign, I had Shamrock not have any ties with IRA. He's basically a fun-loving brick who likes to fight.

[MilkmanDan]

That would depend, I think, on how much the government would want to be associated with a well-known terrorist like Shamrock. Publicly, they want to be able to say they prefer to deal with terrorists and their associates like civilized members of the international community.

Privately, it depends on who Shamrock's Contacts in the government (who they are, what position they hold, etc.), and how well he made his Contact roll with them. (A perfect Three can--or should--get you anything the character has to offer.)

He could, of course, do robberies for other reasons--like the institutions he targets could be links in the terrorists' funding chain. Or he could attack a military arms depot as a pre-emptive measure; he'd heard the terrorists were going to raid it for weapons, and he wanted to keep them out of their hands by taking them for his own use.

I really like this idea. I could see Shamrock as a semi-lovable drunk who's watched too many Schwarzenagger movies where "tough guy takes on the bad guys and ignores the stupid bureaucrat's rules". Sure, he makes mistakes and does illegal things, but someone's got to fight it, "the system" be damned.

[Sketchpad]

I used to use Shamrock as a "Juggernaut-ish" character, hiring out to the highest bidder. These days he usually works for the Irish Mob, occasionally hiring out to a few larger crime rings.

[ParagonAlpha]

How about making him still involved with "fighting against oppresives States" and have him working for a group that uses his abilities (being strong and lucky are always handy) to overthrow other tyranical governments. This group could be funded by a private individual or a corporation. Altruistic in intent their methods are far from peaceful.

Sort of an Angry version of Amnesty International.