Gail Price
Name: Gail Price
Player: Louise
Dennis
Game: Chill
What does the Character do for a Living?
Trained as a lawyer, currently an unemployed Private Detective.Who or What does the Character care about?
Her family (especially her brother) and her friends, particulatly Karen Humphry, a childhood friend and trainee vicar. While not religious herself she admires Karen's determination, ideals and the fact that she really does appear to be able to get "good" done.She is also something of a "things" person. She is proud of her nice clothes, books, records, her nice flat and her nice car (all outward trappings of success).
What will make the Character show emotion in the game?
Almost anything she feels she can object to.People in trouble (even if she doesn't like them very much, or thinks them weak and silly) will tend to make her very protective.
What events made the Character the way they are today?
A lot of her bad temper comes from disillusioned idealism. She was a lawyer, did a lot of legal aid work etc. and came to the conclusion that the job involved getting crooks off on technicalties while the innocent went down because they relied on their innocence to protect them. In the end she quit the job.Her parents were both "uneducated" but her dad was something of a self-made man who built up and ran a very successful company making scientific instruments (e.g. microscopes etc.). There was a lot of emphasis in her upbringing on visible success, on becoming a member of one of the high-flying professions e.g. stock-broker, doctor, lawyer. Her decisions to quit being a lawyer upset and angered her parents and left her with a very defensive and righteous attitude to protect her from the sneaking suspicion that she was a failure.
During the course of the game it turned out that Gail's brother, Robert, had made a success of his life and was a high flying (stock-broker - I think Neil decided) however he had managed to earn the parental ire by being gay. Strangely his partner, who was an equally successful architect, got on much better with his parents than either Gail or Robert. It transpired that the parents had both been involved with the unknown and had deliberately attempted to drive both children away in order to protect them.
What makes the character happy/unhappy/angry?
"Injustice", hypocrisy and small-mindedness make her angry. Also, since anger is something of a defense mechanism for her she also becomes angry if made to confront any of her shortcomings or if confronted by people who she doesn't much like who nevertheless appear to have companionship/stability - the new girlfriends of ex-boyfriends get particular strife, in fact she probably dislikes them as a matter of course, whatever their real character. After all there must be something wrong with them if they're prepared to hook up with someone she's rejected. Ex-boyfriends too since they clearly fooled her into believing that they were decent people.She becomes unhappy when she is forced to realise that she is alone and that this is not entirely other people's fault.
How do People view the Character initially, after Long Acquaintance?
Initially people find her prickly, abrasive and generally aggressive. She appears to make snap judgements about character and these tend to be unfavourable. She doesn't have the sense not to say things about people. She appears to enjoy provoking and upseting those she doesn't take to.After long acquaintance those who can be bothered to take the trouble continue to find her bloody-minded and stubborn. She also tends to be reckless. However she invariably means well. She can be generous, polite and civil. The worst thing you can do is tell her not to do something or to leave well alone. She is generally convinced she is right.
What Qualities does the Character admire (in other people)?
Integrity, generosity, stubborness.She tends to dislike sweet nature as a sign of weakness.
What does the Character look like and Where do they live ?
Average height to tall. Short, styled brown hair (so not at all like the picture, but I like the picture so there). Generally smartly dressed. Nice flatInspiration
Very, very influenced by V.I.Warshawski, a Chicago detective in a series of novels by Sara Paretsky.Note on Stats etc.
Gail had high Perception (detective) and Willpower (bloody-mindedness). Her Stamina and Agility were also good (as someone who tries to be pretty fit).Her personality was low - in fact the GM went so far as suggesting it should get lower as there was a point in the game when she could almost instantly alienate any NPC on first acquaintance.
Skillswise she had good (teacher) Investigation, Law and Martial Arts.
Her flaws were Curiosity and Impulsiveness, her merits were Courage and contacts within the Police and Journalism.
In Game History
Gail became involved with the Unknown when she was hired to find a missing brother and sister, Timothy and Marianne Wilde. It turned out that they had been abducted by a Carpathian Vampire and locked up in his lunatic asylum. From that point on Gail and Timothy (who was a museum worker and specialist on ancient texts - and, it transpired, bizarrely handy with a garotte) with Marianne tagging along got involved in a series of strange cases.It finally transpired that they were both "re-incarnations" of some former inhabitants of this plane (angel-like beings who had been banished to another dimension) and they were destined to get married have children and bring about the final war with the devils and re-entry of both sides to this plane. Neither Gail nor Timothy were all that keen on marriage, children or even sex with each other (Gail was quite vocal on this point) nor were they particularly interested in bringing about the end of the world (though Marianne thought it would be a good thing because the world was such a horrible place).
It turned out that there was a vital lynch-pin in the whole plan which revolved around an ancient angel-like being in the Lake District. Gail confronted him, (by this time having grown wings) and fought a duel with him. They killed each other, Gail dying in Timothy's arms before an ambulance could arrive.