Wheezer - musicain/storyteller(?)
Description/Background: (Marshal's Note - Wheezer is a difficult NPC to play and he needs quite a bit of preparation to do right. He's well worth it though, and is a favorite piece of atmosphere for my players. I'm only posting the bare essentials on him now (no stats, etc.), as they don't know everything about him yet. When performing his sets I recommened actually singing a bit to your posse. If you can't sing or you're a bit too self concious about it, try preparing a cassette of the songs in the set for the posse to listen to.)
Wheezer got his name from the deep, rasping breaths he takes as he wanders about (his coughs almost sound consumptive). No one is certain who he really is or where he came from - he appeared in Dango a few months after the ville was founded. He is a small (only about 5', 4'') rail-thin black man of indeterminate age; he looks to be in his early fifties, but most folks feel he is a lot older. Wheezer is blind - his white, staring eyes concealed behind a battered pair round lensed wire-framed shades. His attire usually consists of patched and faded jeans, old concert t-shirts and worn work boots, covered by a long tan duster lined with dozens of concealed pouches and pockets containing ammunition of various calibers and other small trade goods. He also usually wears a beat-up black top hat with a long peacock feather tucked into the hatband (he uses it to collect tips in when he's playing). On his back he carries an old Seagull acoustic guitar with polished bone pegs in a custom made leather case. While no one is certain, it is believed that Wheezer doesn't carry any weapons. The only other object he carries is an old ebony walking cane topped witha silver lion's head finnial. The only time Wheezer doesn't "wheeze" is when he sings - Wheezer never speaks. He communicates only through the lyrics of the songs he sings and possess a beautiful voice with an amazing vocal range. The songs he sings are always pre-war and encompass a broad range of styles (rock, country, pop, jazz, swing, blues, gospel, rap, folk, metal...even opera) and he plays his guitar like a man possessed.
Despite his handicap, Wheezer seems to have no difficulty getting around from place to place and always seems to be able to "sense" who is around him. He will often assign a song to people he deals with regularly as a means of identifying them (since he won't speak their names) and play a lick from it when he wants to get their attention (for example, most of the folk in town know that "Strange Brew " by Creem refers to Beano - for a few more examples related to specific character types, check out the powers page). Around Dango, Wheezer is best known for his ecclectic sets that he performs at Beano's several nights during the week. He seems to possess a precognative sense, and can predict events that will occur in members of his audience's lives with startling accuracy. These predictions however, are always disguised within the lyrics of the songs he chooses to sing (making for some bizarre musical segues). Each set usually refers to a single person, but Wheezer has been known to play sets aimed at an entire group of specific people (say, a posse for example).
While listening to one of these sets, a member of the audience may attempt an onerous (TN 7) cog roll to try and determine who Wheezer is singing about in the room. Once the target has been determined, the listener can try to identify the songs and attempt to interpret the possible meaning of the lyrics. This requires a hard (TN 9) mein roll (this TN is reduced a step for every two points of performin' music or singing a listener has, rounded up). On a successful roll, the listener can recognize all the songs in a set and their lyrics. For each raise, the listener gains one vague "fact" from the Marshal regarding the interpretation of the lyric in regard to who its being sung about (this provides for some great foreshadowing for an upcoming adventure).
If an individual tips Wheezer extravagantly (and/or Wheezer decides he likes them) he may reward the person with one of his many guitar picks. Regardless of what and who he sings about, Wheezer never attempts to explain himself - if queried, he'll only smile. He is well-loved and looked after by the people of Dango and has his own small house in the ville (anyone threatening him will be dealt with severely). The Old Man tries to never miss Wheezer's performances. It is well known that Wheezer is a lover of musical recordings (tapes, CDs, records - even 8 Track and reel-to-reel) and that he will always trade for them (he has the means to play them all in his home). While trading in the Marketplace, Wheezer usually has the assistance of a small orphan known only as "Bird" (a former "Little Kidder" that now lives with him). Bird will occasionally join Wheezer in his performances on percussion or harmonica.