Stokes
Stokes is a Fire-Touched alpha of the Last Mile Pack.
Overview
Private James Stokes was serving his first tour of duty in Vietnam when his helicopter went down in the jungle. The Cong picked him out of the wreckage, the only survivor, and talked as they marched him back to their camp about what they were going to do to him. He didn't speak much Vietnamese, but he understood enough to know that he was not long for this world. As they neared the camp, he heard a voice behind him say, "You're going to die now. You aren't going to spread your shit on your land any more." He heard the click as a pistol cocked... and that's really all he remembers.
When he came to, he was crashing through the jungle, covered in the remains of several Viet Cong soldiers and bleeding from multiple bullet wounds. He found his way back to the crash site and awaited rescue, but it was weeks in coming (and even then, only because a patrol had moved far enough into the jungle to find it by chance). During that time, he grew comfortable with his werewolf nature, and he was summarily discharged from duty after he led the troops to the nearby Cong camp.
Back in the States, he hid his Uratha status for almost three years before meeting other werewolves. During that time, he was plagued with constant nightmares of the jungle, of that long march toward certain death and then deliverance. When he finally met other werewolves, they tried to talk to him about Luna, but he remembers the sun shining down through the trees. He was growing frustrated with these werewolves and their strange myths when a Pure pack arrived and attacked them. Impressed with these newcomers (and admittedly biased by the fact that one of them sported a USMC tattoo), he joined them in battle and was subsequently inducted into the tribe.
He ran with the pack for almost two decades until he met Celeste and Bear and formed the Last Mile. Stokes tries to be a good alpha, but he knows that the constant wandering is wearing on his packmates. He feels that something is wearing on his packmates. He feels that wandering is wearing on his packmates. He feels that something is just over the proverbial horizon, and if he can just find it, then the pack can rest. It might be an enemy to kill, or a new packmate or even the death that he was promised so long ago in the jungle. Whatever it is, it lurks just out of reach, and Stokes has been fixated on it for years.
Almost 60, Stokes' Uratha heritage keeps him from showing his age too much. He keeps his dark hair buzzed and normally dresses in blue jeans and a Corps T-shirt, but keeps a suit in the back of his car for meetings with other Uratha. He finds that dressing and acting somewhat formal throws Forsaken werewolves off balance, since they expect the Pure to be crazed and feral. He prefers to fight with his claws, but usually packs a pistol just in case.
Stats
Tribe: Fire-Touched
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 3, Resolve 4
Physical Attributes: Strength 3 (4/6/5/4), Dexterity 2 (2/3/4/4), Stamina 3 (4/5/5/4)
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 4, Composure 2
Mental Skills: Academics 1, Crafts (Woodworking) 3, Investigation 3, Medicine (Field Dressing) 2, Occult 1
Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl (Throating) 3, Drive 1, Firearms 2, Stealth (Hunting) 4, Survival 3, Weaponry 1
Social Skills: Animal Ken 1, Empathy 2, Intimidation 2, Subterfuge 1
Merits: Direction Sense, Fighting Style: Boxing 3, Iron Stamina 2
Primal Urge: 4
Willpower: 6
Harmony: 4 (fixation)
Max Essence/Per Turn: 13/2
Virtue: Faith
Vice: Wrath
Health: 8 (10/11/12/8)
Initiative: 4 (4/5/6/6)
Defense: 2 (2/3/3/3)
Speed: 10 (11/14/17/15)
Renown: Honor 3, Purity 4, Wisdom 2
Gifts: Crushing Blow, Eyes of Gurim, The Right Words, Camaraderie, Gurim's Comfort, Scent of Taint, Echo Dream, Trust in Gurim, Spirit Skin
Rituals: 3; Rites: Cleansed Blood, Rite of Heling, Rite of Initiation, Trust in Gurim, Rite of Purgation