So I don't think this one made it out of the old White Wolf forums okay, and since I've been digging around a bit to get back into the groove of things I figure I'll re-post this and collect everyone's thoughts. If this is somehow already on here...well, hopefully one of the mods has a handy delete feature.
Firefighter
“I’ve seen druggies shootin’ up as their homes burned down around’em. You think you’ll frighten me? I have to go into hell every Goddamn day.”
Firefighters aren’t crime fighters (unless they work in the arson division). For the most part, they don’t have the authority to go out and arrest a man, or to carry a firearm on the job. What they do is protect property and save lives. It’s what they’re trained to do. And they’re good at it. It is essential that the same “fight or flight” response a normal person has to danger is rewired in a firefighter’s mind into “fight or fight more”.
Despite the image of a burly man rushing into a burning building to rescue a life, firefighters are highly educated, learning the physics behind flammable liquids and the myriad types of fires they face. They are required to keep in a semblance of physical shape, and often work out for hours on end to keep up with their demanding jobs.
Of course, there are many specializations within a fire department depending on the locality. Some departments have companies specializing in water rescue or working aboard fire boats, while others train their crews in high-altitude rescue or wild land firefighting. The skill sets must morph to fit the environment, and for the Vigil that often means a firefighter is able to know exactly how to use a location to their advantage, or ferret out the best way to handle a problem and cover up the evidence (Or at least bribe the arson guys with some scotch and season opener tickets).
Often, firefighters join the Vigil when they come upon what monsters leave behind. The unquenchable green flames of a magical spell, the victim of a savage werewolf attack, or the still smoking remains of one more extinguished vampire. Rarely do firefighters retire from the Vigil, there's always another in need of saving. Unfortunately for cells, the ten-hour days and nights of many professional fire departments means that on a night where a cell is ready to strike, one of their members might be in the bunk room waiting for a call.
If there’s one benefit a firefighter can bring to bear, it’s their immense sense of camaraderie. A firefighter never leaves a brother firefighter behind, and the same goes when they hunt. Even if a fellow hunter is bitten by a vampire, a firefighter will not leave them behind, and may even do the job of finishing them himself to spare the other hunters the pain.
In terms of skill sets, firefighters are often by necessity athletic, since a hundred pounds of hoses and water don’t guide themselves. They are also skilled in first aid, able to save a person long enough to get them to the ER. A firefighter must also have a firm grasp of physics, or he could find himself fighting what he thought was an electrical fire, only to be crispered by a leaking gas line, though a skilled driver is invaluable to a company constantly on-call. Finally, a firefighter’s axe and halogen bar make a mean pair of weapons, and a high pressure hose can make quick work of a monster that fears water.
To many firefighters that join the Vigil, the most obvious organization to join is the Union, since the same neighborhood ethic held by the Union is also shared by many firehouses. However, many firefighters also find a place in the Malleus Maleficarum, since there are still large numbers of Catholic firefighters in the United States. In more rural areas, firefighters may lean towards the Bear Lodge, having grown up hunting alongside running into a flaming structure.
Concepts: High-rise hellraiser, lieutenant-for-life, Chick-magnet hose jockey, skittish probie, boisterous old timer, detached HAZMAT specialist, expert engine driver, fire-obsessed volunteer, fatherly battalion commander, worn-out career man
Asset Skills: Athletics and Medicine
Ranks
1 dot: Probie / Volunteer
2 dots: Firefighter
3 dots: Engineer / Lieutenant
4 dots: Captain
5 dots: Battalion Chief / Fire Marshal
Firefighter
“I’ve seen druggies shootin’ up as their homes burned down around’em. You think you’ll frighten me? I have to go into hell every Goddamn day.”
Firefighters aren’t crime fighters (unless they work in the arson division). For the most part, they don’t have the authority to go out and arrest a man, or to carry a firearm on the job. What they do is protect property and save lives. It’s what they’re trained to do. And they’re good at it. It is essential that the same “fight or flight” response a normal person has to danger is rewired in a firefighter’s mind into “fight or fight more”.
Despite the image of a burly man rushing into a burning building to rescue a life, firefighters are highly educated, learning the physics behind flammable liquids and the myriad types of fires they face. They are required to keep in a semblance of physical shape, and often work out for hours on end to keep up with their demanding jobs.
Of course, there are many specializations within a fire department depending on the locality. Some departments have companies specializing in water rescue or working aboard fire boats, while others train their crews in high-altitude rescue or wild land firefighting. The skill sets must morph to fit the environment, and for the Vigil that often means a firefighter is able to know exactly how to use a location to their advantage, or ferret out the best way to handle a problem and cover up the evidence (Or at least bribe the arson guys with some scotch and season opener tickets).
Often, firefighters join the Vigil when they come upon what monsters leave behind. The unquenchable green flames of a magical spell, the victim of a savage werewolf attack, or the still smoking remains of one more extinguished vampire. Rarely do firefighters retire from the Vigil, there's always another in need of saving. Unfortunately for cells, the ten-hour days and nights of many professional fire departments means that on a night where a cell is ready to strike, one of their members might be in the bunk room waiting for a call.
If there’s one benefit a firefighter can bring to bear, it’s their immense sense of camaraderie. A firefighter never leaves a brother firefighter behind, and the same goes when they hunt. Even if a fellow hunter is bitten by a vampire, a firefighter will not leave them behind, and may even do the job of finishing them himself to spare the other hunters the pain.
In terms of skill sets, firefighters are often by necessity athletic, since a hundred pounds of hoses and water don’t guide themselves. They are also skilled in first aid, able to save a person long enough to get them to the ER. A firefighter must also have a firm grasp of physics, or he could find himself fighting what he thought was an electrical fire, only to be crispered by a leaking gas line, though a skilled driver is invaluable to a company constantly on-call. Finally, a firefighter’s axe and halogen bar make a mean pair of weapons, and a high pressure hose can make quick work of a monster that fears water.
To many firefighters that join the Vigil, the most obvious organization to join is the Union, since the same neighborhood ethic held by the Union is also shared by many firehouses. However, many firefighters also find a place in the Malleus Maleficarum, since there are still large numbers of Catholic firefighters in the United States. In more rural areas, firefighters may lean towards the Bear Lodge, having grown up hunting alongside running into a flaming structure.
Concepts: High-rise hellraiser, lieutenant-for-life, Chick-magnet hose jockey, skittish probie, boisterous old timer, detached HAZMAT specialist, expert engine driver, fire-obsessed volunteer, fatherly battalion commander, worn-out career man
Asset Skills: Athletics and Medicine
Ranks
1 dot: Probie / Volunteer
2 dots: Firefighter
3 dots: Engineer / Lieutenant
4 dots: Captain
5 dots: Battalion Chief / Fire Marshal
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