Professor Zaccardi

F       A       S       E       R       I       P       Res     Pop
Gd 10   Gd 10   Ty 6    Ex 20   Ex 20   Ex 20   Gd 10   Ex 20   Fe -2

*off    *dex    *mgt    *res    *log    *alt    *will   *mat    *pub
Ty 6    Ty 6    Pr 4    Rm 30   Gd 10   Ex 20   Ex 20   Rm 30   Fe -2

*def    *bal    *vgr    *sta    *mem    *awr    *pre    *$      *sec
Ex 20   Ex 20   Gd 10   Gd 10   Rm 30   Ex 20   Ty 6    Gd 10   Fe -2

Health: 46      NH:     42
Karma:  50      MH:     22

Origin:

Professor Karla Zaccardi is a normal human, at least in a physical sense. However, she benefits from the possession of a deific artifact she recovered from an ostensibly lost civilization early in her career, which gives her a leg up on her expeditions into the inexplicable!

Known Powers:

(none)

Limitations / Enhancements:

Blessed: as the adopted bearer of the Persistence, Professor Zaccardi benefits from this weak character enhancement. She may invoke this blessing once per game session, at which point she will benefit in the best possible fashion in the face of her current circumstance.

Equipment:

Blade: since she invariably needs to cut someone or something, the Professor always has a blade on her person. Made from MS 30 materials, she can use this tool to cut through items of up to like MS, or she can wield it against others to inflict Edged Attack damage on them.

The Persistence: a divine artifact built by an ancient deionicist in a failed bid to live forever, the Persistence was crafted to keep its wearer alive without their conscious effort or intent. And, like its creator, Professor Zaccardi tends to push her luck regularly.

Made from painstakingly collected iridium, the Persistence consists of a small amulet and chain crafted from this rare metal. It was empowered such that it possesses a material strength of Class 1000, making it nigh-indestructible. It grants its bearer these additional powers:

* Agelessness: the Persistence does not grant its holder immortality, but it does nudge them in that direction. Thanks to this divine perk, whoever bears this artifact no longer ages, preserving them at their current age by shielding them from the passage of time.

* Luck: whoever wears the Persistence benefits from uncanny fortune! At will, they may choose the order of their percentile dice to produce the most fortuitous result, depending on the situation. However, rolls that include a zero will eventually cause their luck to reverse.

* Psychic Bond: while it isn't sentient per se, the Persistence seems to latch onto whoever it apparently perceives to be its owner. It primarily only works for them, though if another borrows it for a time, they can at least make use of its incredible luck power.

* Zest: the bearer of the Persistence clings tenaciously to life. This Excellent (20) ranked power grants a +1 CS to any ACTION they attempt to avoid or shrug off harm, including Kill results. Further, if dying, they may attempt an Endurance ACTION to stop dying every other turn.

Sidearm: while the Persistence aids her survivability, it has no offensive capabilities. As such, the Professor carries a semi-automatic pistol that can discharge one round to inflict Typical (6) Shooting damage, or a three-round burst to inflict Good (10) Shooting damage.

Smartphone: like most folks do these days, Professor Zaccardi carries a handheld, portable supercomputer wherever she goes. This incredibly advanced device can send and receive radio signals with Poor (4) ability, offering it an optimum transception range of five miles.

Survival Gear: though she excels at keeping herself going even without the Persistence, Professor Zaccardi always carries various tools and supplies. These include assorted energy bars, a dedicated flashlight, a shovel, a water canteen with treatment capsules, and more.
Quirks:

Addiction / Alcohol: a tendency she picked up after her rejection by the scientific community, Professor Zaccardi is an unrepentant drinker. Though she knows she's an alcoholic, she doesn't care, and must pass a Psyche (will) ACTION at -2 CS to actively resist drinking.

Talents:

Archaeology 2: having studied human history and its culture for a very long time, Professor Zaccardi is an expert archaeologist. In matters involving such subjects, whether known and proven or theoretical and possibly apocryphal, her Reason should be considered +2 CS in rank.

Climbing: even before she began traipsing around ancient ruins and uneven landscapes, Professor Zaccardi excelled in climbing. Whether ascending or descending vertical surfaces, she may resolve climbing ACTIONs called for during play with a +2 CS bonus.

Education: Professor Zaccardi positively loathes teaching. Nonetheless, her early career demanded that she educate the next generation of prospective archaeologists, so she reluctantly did her part. If prompted to roll ACTIONs of this flavor, Karla does so with a +1 CS bonus. 

Gastronomy: during the years she wasn't working as an archaeologist, the Professor turned her love for cooking into an occupational skill. Spending over a decade as a line chef, she taught herself how to prepare almost anything consumable, and may do so with a +1 CS bonus.

Survival: having found herself alone for long stretches of time in the field without support, Professor Zaccardi has learned through trial, error, and study how to get by outside of civilization. She can usually find enough food, water, and shelter to persist almost anywhere.

Contacts:

Professor Zaccardi has been with the Galileian Dispatch for a very long time, ever since the mainstream scientific community rejected her and her work. She can consider it and its various members reliable contacts, for she's performed countless expeditions for the organization.

Costume:

When she's working, Professor Zaccardi generally wears the same outfit. It consists of a black T-shirt, khakis shorts, brown leather boots, a brown leather belt, a brown leather backpack to carry tools and supplies, a brown leather holster for her sidearm, and brown leather gloves.

Personality:

The best way to describe Professor Karla Zaccardi is 'indefatigable'. Sure, 'incredibly stubborn' is another, and 'hopeless alcoholic' applies as well, not to mention 'vengeful' against mainstream archaeologists. Of course, these traits make her considerably difficult to work with.

Sure, others may not like joining her in her endeavors, but no matter what she's doing the Professor doesn't stop. Even when considerable setbacks stymie her, Karla Zaccardi forces her way through life with a drive that others in her assorted fields can't help but envy.

Real Name: Professor Karla Zaccardi
Occupation: archaeologist
Legal Status: citizen of the United Kingdom with a criminal record in several nations
Marital Status: divorced
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: the Galileian Dispatch

Height: 5' 6"
Hair: platinum blonde
Eyes: green
Weight: 135 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Karla wears her hair in a tight pony tail most of the time, especially while working. Also, she wears round-rimmed glasses with conspicuously bright red plastic frames, and often smells of alcohol at all hours of the day.

Story:

Having always been fascinated with ancient history, Karla Zaccardi went to university to study it as soon as she could. In time, she earned her degree in archaeology from a prestigious London school, and quickly put down the books to study the origins of her species around the world.

Working for the university that taught her, she intermittently educated young archaeologists when she wasn't actively engaged in any number of expeditions. Despite hating the process of teaching, she ultimately earned the title and position of professor at her school.

Despite growing in prestige, Professor Zaccardi ultimately lost her position after a fateful excursion in Lithuania. While separated from her fellows, she bumbled into what seemed like a lost city under other ruins, something completely alien to current human knowledge.

It was here that she discovered the Persistence, something she initially thought was a mere bauble but turned out to be a life-changing, divine artifact! Immediately after, the earth above the lost city began to tremble, so Karla fled to safety - and to enlighten her compatriots.

Returning with them, she was flummoxed to discover the entire ruin had vanished without a trace. The only evidence it had existed was the amulet she now wore around her neck, and having quickly determined it was special, she wasn't about to give that to anyone else for study.

Laughed out of her field shortly thereafter, Professor Zaccardi got by the best she could. For a time, she sulked in her flat alone, her occasional drinking habit growing into an overwhelming addiction, but eventually she pulled herself together and got back on her proverbial feet.

Enjoying the process of cooking, she studied the art while seeking new employment, eventually gaining a job as a line chef. Her culinary skills grew by leaps and bounds until fate called again, this time when a representative of the Galileian Dispatch approached her one night.

Though she'd heard of and dismissed the Dispatch in the past, the Professor couldn't argue that they were suffering the same fate that she had: dismissal by mainstream scientists. And while the pay they offered wasn't all that grand, the job would let her get out on fresh digs again.

Karla's been with the Dispatch ever since, working for decades to expand humanity's knowledge of its origins. Sure, few believe the incredible tales the Dispatch shares about the discoveries she and her fellows are making, but they can back most of their finds up with hard evidence.

Thus, while notorious in archaeological circles, many of her ostensible peers secretly envy Professor Zaccardi and her work. Mind you, despite being the source of endless gossip in academia, they sometimes wonder if she's even still alive, considering she's pushing eighty.

Not that she looks a day over thirty.

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