Name : Jack Proctor. Not "Jackie". Never "Jackie".
Born : 1898, London, England
Occupation : Novellist and occasional journalist
Characteristics (After HowlsInTheNight)
Str |
12 |
Jack works out, largely as displacement activity when he should be writing. Nevertheless, he's in pretty good shape as a side effect. |
Dex |
5 |
In one respect, at least, he conforms to the stereotype of a gangly, clumsy writer. |
Int |
17 |
His greatest gift is his native cunning and guile. |
Con |
9 |
His time in institutions has taken it's toll on his health. |
App |
13 |
He's not bad looking, in a scruffy sort of a way. |
Pow |
14 |
While not iron-willed, Jack managed to pull himself together after his breakdown, and has mostly dealt with what he saw in the war. |
Siz |
16 |
He's fairly tall (6'6") and broad-shouldered, and not in bad shape (although he's more fragile than he looks - see CON) |
Edu |
16 |
While he has not had the benefit of a University education, his time in the military and voracious private study have gone some way to make up with it. |
Languages: English 90%, Ancient Greek 78%, German 56%, Latin 40%, French 2%
Other Skills: Craft (Writing) 75%, Credit Rating 19%, Cthulhu Mythos 15%, Dodge 10%, Fast Talk 12%, First Aid 30%, Handgun 45%, History 30%, Library Use 70%, Mathematics 50%, Mechanical Repair 33%, Occult 15%, Persuade 54%, Psychology 24%, Ride Motorcycle 30%, Sneak 20%, Spot Hidden 74%
Sanity: 70
Background (Public):
Jack Proctor is a young British novelist who has moved to America to escape from the constant reminders of the Great War. He has reasonable Latin and Ancient Greek (was bound for Cambridge before the war).
During the war, he was ostensibly a motorcycle messenger, meaning that he saw a lot of front-line action, but wasn't involved in any directly. In other words, he watched all his friends go over the top and die. This has left him with masses of guilt, which is of course great for a tortured author.
After being demobbed in late 1918, he travelled to New York to get away from England, in the hope he could forget about the war. It didn't work; in June 1919 he had a complete breakdown, but fortunately had enough money to check in to the RosebyClinic, where he was treated by the newly-qualified DrJackson. During the six months he was at the clinic, he finished his first novel, TheLastWinter, a bleak tale of murder and incest set in the dark days of the French Revolution. The book was very well received by the critics, and although not a bestseller, it made him enough money to pay off his bills at the clinic and set up in a small town to rest and work on his next book. After a few weeks of reading the paper and having tea with his landlady, Jack started casting around for some more intellectually stimulating company, and stumbled across TheUnitySociety - he joined in March 1920, and now spends a large amount of his time there. In the fall, Jack jokingly mentioned in a letter to his former therapist that a position had opened up at UnityAsylum, and a week latter DrJackson arrived in town looking for a challenge.
Jack is married to New York socialite MarthaLandsmann, who he met when he first arrived in the States. For a while, people weren't sure (they were sort of like James Stewart and Grace Kelly in Rear Window, but with more shell shock). She stayed with him through his breakdown and recovery, even lending him some of the money for his fees at the RosebyClinic (he has now paid her back), so it's difficult to imagine anything that could have put her off. They were eventually married in 1929. Her parents didn't approve, but have some to accept the idea. Jack and Martha have a son, JackJunior, born on the 29th of January 1925.
They live in an old townhouse in OldUnity, at the corner of 5th Avenue and 2nd Street (across the road from JenkinUniversity). He inherited it (much to his surprise) from his late landlady, MrsKline, who died in August '23. He owns a serviceable, if not pretty, Enfield motorcycle, and is not averse to taking it as far as New York. Martha generally prefers to use her car.
Jack's second novel, NoiseInTheNight, was published in early 1928. It was critically well received, but sales were lacklustre, and publishers haven't taken up any of his subsequent works. He's recently moved into writing film scripts, and in 1930 sold Universal Studios a five-year option on his screenplay TheManWolf. He supplements his income by writing for the TheUnityTimesChronicle, usually in the form of scathing literature reviews. His current exploits are recorded in JacksJournal.
Jack often carries his old service revolver with him. The observant may have noticed that it's normally loaded with a single bullet.
Background (Private)
Not everyone would know about his breakdown; it's not a secret, but nor does he bandy it about in casual conversation. Out of the PCs, LisaDaVinci would definitely know (via Martha), HayesWebster would have a fair idea, and EricColigny would probably have figured out that something had happened.
The other issue is Jack's activities during the war; he wasn't simply a messenger. In actual fact, he was involved with British Intelligence, although he obviously never mentions this, and no-one in the group (including Martha) know. If you think that this would impinge on anything you have planned for a scenario, mail me and we can sort something out.
Other Characters
Jack is on at least nodding terms with all of the other PCs. As TheUnitySociety is his major social outlet, he probably spends more than a little time in the bar, and hence would know HayesWebster farily well. He may well have shared very general reminiscences about the war with EricColigny, but it's not a subject he feels comfortable talking about. He met LisaDaVinci at one of those interminable Manhattan gatherings that Martha insists on dragging him. Initially, his reaction was by turns amused, condescending and irritated, but now that they're better aquainted, they get on reasonably well. He still occasionally gets annoyed at her, but Jack is a moody swine and gets annoyed with everyone at times.
(Jack is RobHague's PC)