MAJORIE FRIDAY BALDWIN
Background/History:Code:Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 23 STR 13 14- Lift 600 kg; 4 1/2d6 HTH Damage 18 DEX 24 13- OCV: 6 / DCV: 6 20 CON 20 13- 13 BODY 6 12- 14 INT 4 12- PER Roll 15- 18 EGO 16 13- ECV: 6 15 PRE 5 12- PRE Attack: 3d6 18 COM 4 13- 7 PD 2 Total: 7 PD 6 ED 2 Total: 6 ED 4 SPD 12 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 9 REC 0 40 END 0 35 STUN 0 Total Characteristics Cost: 108 Movement: Running: 10" / 20" Swimming: 4" / 8" Cost Powers & Skills Martial Arts: Hand-to-Hand Combat Training Maneuver OCV DCV Damage 4 Block +2 +2 Block, Abort 4 Disarm -1 +1 33 STR Disarm 5 Joint Break -1 -2 Grab One Limb, 1/2d6 HKA, Disable 3 Joint Lock -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, 33 STR Hold 5 Kick -2 +1 8 1/2d6 Strike 4 Knifehand Strike -2 +0 1/2d6 HKA, 1d6+1 w/STR 4 Nerve Strike -1 +1 2d6 NND (1) 4 Punch +0 +2 6 1/2d6 Strike 5 Takeaway +0 +0 Grab Weapon, 33 STR to take weapon away 22 Overdrive: +5 DEX, +1 SPD 10 Hold Breath: Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing); 1 Recoverable Charge of 10 Minutes (-0) 10 Advanced Immune System: Life Support (Immunity To (most) Diseases) 13 Fast On Her Feet: Running: +4" (10" Total), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) on 10" of Running 2 Excellent Swimmer: Swimming +2" (4" Total), END 1 9 Enhanced Senses: Enhanced Perception: +3 with PER Rolls 5 Enhanced Senses: UV Perception (Sight Group) 4 Artifical Body Cavity: Concealment 18-, Nothing larger than a marble (-2), Only on her person (-1/2) Perks: 7 Contact: "Boss" a.k.a. Dr. Hartley Baldwin (very useful) 14- 6 Deep Cover(s) [see text] 1 Fringe Benefit: Passport Talents: 30 Enhanced Senses: Danger Sense, Sense, Out of Combat, Immediate Vicinity 15- 5 Eidetic Memory 3 Lightning Calculator 3 Mind Control Training: Resistance: 3+ to EGO Roll Skills: 20 Overdrive: Combat Skill Levels: +4 with Hand-to-Hand 6 Skill Levels: +2 with Courier Skills: Bribery, Concealment, Disguise 2 AK: Christchurch 11- 1 AK: New Zealand 8- 2 AK: Seattle 11- 1 Acting 8- 3 Bribery 12- 3 Climbing 14- 3 Concealment 12- 3 Conversation 12- 0 Deduction 8- 3 Disguise 12- 1 Interrogation 8- 0 Paramedic 8- 5 PS: (Combat) Courier 14- 2 PS: "Doxy"/Sexual Companion 11- 7 Shadowing 14- 3 SS: Data Analysis 12- 3 SS: Research 12- 3 Stealth 14- 5 Tactics 13- 0 TF: APV 4 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms 3 Linguist 3 Language: Cantonese (fluent) 0 Language: English (native) 3 Language: French (fluent) 3 Language: German (fluent) 3 Language: Japanese (fluent) 3 Language: Spanglish (fluent) 3 Scholar 2 KS: Geo-Politcal World 12- 2 KS: Interstellar Political World 12- 2 KS: Military Operations 12- 2 KS: Multi-National World 12- 2 KS: North American Political World 12- 1 KS: Sexual Techniques 11- 2 KS: Travel Routes and Schedules 12- 281 Total Powers & Skills Cost 389 Total Character Cost 150+ Disadvantages 15 Distinctive Features: Noticeably Attractive (Conc., Maj.) 15 Hunted: The Boss (MoPow, NCI, Watching) 14- 5 Physical Limitation: Unused To Certain Social Customs (Inf., Slight) 5 Psychological Limitation: Ashamed Of Her Origins/Insecure (UC, M) 5 Psychological Limitation: Fear And Mistrust Of Most Humans (UC, M) 20 Psychological Limitation: Loyal To "The Boss" (VC, S) 15 Psychological Limitation: Overly Open-Minded And Out-Spoken (C, S) 5 Psychological Limitation: Protective Of Loved Ones/ Violent If Loved Ones Threatened (UC, M) 20 Social Limiation: Artifical Human (i.e. property) (VF, M) 15 Social Limiation: Secret ID: Artificial Person/Living Artifact 119 Artificial Person Bonus 390 Total Disadvantage Points
Majorie Friday Baldwin is the heroine of Robert Heinlein's semi-cyberpunkish novel "Friday." She is an Artificial Person (a.k.a. "living artifact") working as a professional combat courier in a messy near-future world that sees the world heavily balkanized (400 nations in the UN), with nine colonized planets outside of our solar system.
Friday was designed at the Tri-University Life Engineering Laboratory in Detroit. She was incepted at Mendelian Associated in Zurich. Her genetic material was collected from a wide range of people, and she was designed to the best. Originally she was intended to be reared as a normal child, with no clue as to her heritage, but events caused her to be reared in a standard AP crèche. Eventually, she left the crèche and was employed by Dr. Hartley Baldwin (who had originally had her made). After some troubles with him (and humans in general), she settled in as one of his corporate couriers, carrying data all across the earth and into orbit.
For the exact details of her origins (some of which is only hinted at in passing), read the book, specifically pages 31, 44 and 242-244. This character sheet combines material from the entire book, but represents her character *before* the death of "The Boss."
Personality/Motivation:
To say Friday is a complex character is a bit of an understatement. For starters, she is a bit ashamed of her artificial origins. She feels that she 'not human,' a second class citizen (which she would be if not for her falsified ID), and is somewhat insecure about her place in life. Her early treatment at the hands of regular humans, once she left her crèche, has also colored her opinions, making her distrust just about any human she doesn't know well.
Conversely, Friday is almost fanatically loyal to her employer, who she only really knows as "the Boss." She will do almost anything he asks of her, even if she is rather flippant around him. This loyalty extends to his other employees as well, Friday has expressed a strong desire to hunt down those who have harmed, or attempted to harm "the Boss" and his employes.
Finally, Friday suffers from the problem of being too tolerant. She is no racist (how can she? her genetic heritage is a tangled mess) and can be vocal about her dislike of racism and discrimination, especially of Artificial People and Living Artifacts. This can get her into trouble with those that aren't quite as open-minded as she is. Her outspokenness also has a tendency to manifest as overly open displays of her physical capabilities. This can get her into trouble right quick, especially those that recognize her capabilities as being those of an AP and not a 'normal' human.
Quote: "My mother was a test tube, my father a knife."
Powers/Tactics:
Friday's biggest asset in her line of work is the fact she is an Artificial Person. Genetically designed to be faster and stronger than a normal human, Friday is more than capable of handling herself in a fight, even ones where she is outnumbered four or five to one. In combat, she does not mess around, and will seek to disable a foe as quickly as possible. She will not hesitate to kill, although she doesn't like to. When fighting, she goes into what she calls 'overdrive,' which basically means she uses her full DEX, SPD and combat skill levels.
Her modified body makes her far stronger than she looks (that 23 STR is only a guess - it could go as high as 28), faster than a normal human, with enhanced senses, immunity to disease, an expanded lung capacity, excellent night vision, and an almost unnatural ability to recognize a dangerous situation before it unfolds. She also has (to quote the book): "...unusual memory, unusual innate grasp of number and space and relationship, unusual skill at languages."
Her training as a combat courier has covered a wide range of subjects, including hand-to-hand combat, weapons use, who and how to bribe, how to hide objects, and how to avoid being found. She also has undergone "mind control" training, which allows her to do things via sheer willpower (like not vomit at the site of a messy corpse, ignore injuries, or work under pressure). This has been defined as the Talent "Resistance," which in her case should be used for things other than resisting interrogation. Her training in her crèche included skills for use as a "doxy," or, to be blunt, a sexual companion. As she is currently sterile and immune to disease (well, most diseases anyway, certain viruses can still affect her it seems), Friday can put this training to good use if needed.
As a final note, Friday has multiple IDs, none of which reveal her true origins. Among her names are: Emma Baldwin, Friday Baldwin, Friday Jones, Majorie Friday Baldwin, and Marjorie Baldwin. Her papers usually show her as a native of Seattle (a destroyed city).
Appearance:
As the novel is told in a first-person perspective, Friday never really describes herself. We know from comments made by her and other characters that she seems to be of average height (5'6" - 5'8") and weighs 132 pounds. Despite her claims to the contrary, she is very attractive, with a well-endowed, athletic figure, and light brown skin. Her hair and eyes are unknown, although I presume dark for both.
Friday will dress in whatever is required, from a formal suit to nothing at all. She prefers to blend in when on a mission, and will adapt some sort of disguise if needed to throw an potential pursuit off of her trail.
Designer's Notes:
Published in 1982, "Friday" seems to present the typical Heinlein heroine at that point in his career. Strong, capable, uber-competent, and sexually unrestrained (Friday is quite bi-sexual). Of course, her growing up in an environment that trained her to accept sex with no questions or second thoughts does explain a lot about her mindset. Still, her complex mental state helps balance her extensive physical capabilities. I did have a problem with her ability to get along in normal society, yet express amazement and non-understanding with certain aspects of human culture. For someone who seemed to be such a quick study, Friday seems unusually ignorant of stuff you'd expect her to understand by now. Granted, this too may be explained by her upbrining, which certianly did want its products asking questions.
The book itself makes for good source material for anyone running a cyberpunk game. I realize now that my own "Kazei 5" worldbook owes a bit to the novel (and K5 2nd Edition might borrow a bit more). The hacked up United States allows for a lot of intrigue (ala "Shadowrun"), while the interstellar setting could be adapted for Traveler 2300. It's not a bad read either (it's far better than "The Number of the Beast").
(Friday Baldwin created by Robert Heinlein, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)
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