True Name: Matthew Joshua Gideon Consprite
Physicals: Age 30. Athletically fit at 5’10", 157 lbs, Matthew carries himself with a quiet confidence, and is always quick with a smile and greeting. He has numerous piercings, including two in each ear and one through his lower lip.
Coloring: Sparkling green eyes, mousy brown hair that is usually mussed (but it combs down quite nicely for more civilized events). His skin is fairly white, but that is hardly noticable through his numerous tattoos. Well over half his body has been tattooed, mostly with tribal-esque patterns. There does not appear to be any rhyme or reason to their placement, except for an Egyptian-styled left eye in a prominently clear area on the inside of his right arm. Matthew received these tattoos in the aftermath of a rough night in South America, and does not remember where or how he got them.
Clothing: Matthew’s standard outfit is “casual clerical” – black slacks, collarino shirt, and clerical collar. His street clothes, when needed consists of a T-shirt (with a logo or witty catchphrase) and worn jeans, and sometimes includes his custom Dallas Mavericks jersey (Number 23 and the word “PSALM” where the name goes). While he owns a set of formal vestments (white robe, various color stoles, etc), he rarely wears them. He always carries at least one spare set of clothing (normal or clerical) in an army surplus rucksack when he’s away from his downtown office, and also always packs his cassock. He also always carries a short length of rebar (~ 2ft) in his pack for protection.

Backstory

• So Much I Don’t Know

Season 1

• 5: Be Still And Know…
• 6: Getting some Exorcise
• 7: My boss is…Wait, What?
• 8: New Year’s Peace
• 9: Sparring
• 11: Unexpected Company
• 12: Synergy
• 12(Bonus): Pride in Faith
• 13: Opening My Eye
• 14: Man In Black
• 15: Children and Confederates
• 17: The Thin Grey Line
• 18: Big Fish, Little Fish, I
• 19: Big Fish, Little Fish, II
• 20: Clueless
• 21: On Matthew and Barbara
• 22: Ghosts of Christmas Past

Season 2

• 2.2 Retribution
• 2.3 Warding
• 2.4 Code Switching

Phase One: Background

Matthew was found on the street in the aftermath of a major conflict in Oak Cliff. Rescued by a local clergyman, baby Matthew found his way into the foster system, but bounced through a number of abusive homes before finally ending up at the Nelson Center in Denton.

There, he was able to overcome the tribulations of his early childhood, steeped in the Lutheran faith of the staff, clergy, and volunteers that came to the center, and his own faith grew and blossomed. Unbeknownst to him, one of those frequent visitors represented the local supernatural community, and identified something special about Matthew. He excelled in high school and utilized a foster scholarship to attend Dallas Theological Seminary.

Former Aspect: The Church is Mother, The Church is Father.

Phase Two: Rising Conflict

(Matthew has told this story in-game to Elena, here)

While at DTS, Matthew was pointed to an … alternative… course of study – one that focused more on the supernatural aspects of the world. Fortunately, the conversations that Matthew had with his frequent visitor at the Nelson center prepared him for this aspect of his education. One of the instructors at the school, Arthur Smyth, is a member of the Venatori Umbrorum, and gave Matthew a very harsh introduction to the underside of the normal world. Matthew took the instruction in stride, and his faith continued to solidify into something functional against the supernatural. His instructor was sure there was more to his abilities, and during his sixth year of study, he sent Matthew on a mission trip to South America.

One night during that trip, he was chased by a Red Court hunting party, and only survived when he crossed a ley line, awakening his latent spellcasting talent. After that particular night, Matthew was so completely freaked out that he went into town, got blasted drunk, and woke up the next morning with more piercings and tattoos than he thought could be done in one evening (including a peculiar Egyptian eye on the inside of his right arm). He now views the experience as a rite of passage, and the change in his outward appearance is a reminder that he has fully embraced – much to the chagrin of the seminary.

Upon his return, he was connected to both the Purple House and Atwaters, as his newfound spellcasting powers made him a full-fledged member of the supernatural community. Barbara took him under her wing and taught him some control over his casting.

Former Aspect: Of the Light, not just In the Light
Potential Future Aspect: Yet Not As I Will, But As You Will

Phase Three: The Story

Case File: “Valley of the Shadow of Oak Cliff”

When there is a spike in the number of kids entering shelters from Oak Cliff, Matthew visits to find out why. But will he succeed when pitted against the local supernatural community, the OCT, and the Orcs of the Winter Court?

Shortly after being assigned to LINC’s downtown Dallas office, Matthew started hearing that the local shelters were taking in a lot of families out of Oak Cliff. While aware of the state of things in “The OC,” these didn’t appear to be gang-related, so Matthew’s boss sent him to investigate.

Knowing the territory he was heading into, Matthew had a custom Mavericks jersey made, with the number 23 and the name “PSALMS.” This was intended to serve three purposes:

1. It’s a tweak on the habit of MS-13 latino gangbangers of wearing sports jerseys with “13” (La Emme) on them
2. It gave him something to wear while playing street ball (a solid way to connect with the area toughs – competition with less violence)
3. It was purposefully meaningful to what he was doing.

It also had the unintended consequence of gaining him the reputation of a good-intentioned nutball – what other kind gets ‘PSALMS 23’ on the back of his Mav’s shirt?

After a tense introduction to a couple of members of the Freakshow Confederacy, Matthew allied with them to convince the OCT to curb their underworld bretheren before bringing down the local authorities with the apparent kidnappings. While he was not able to find out why the Orcs were raiding, he did put a stop to their plans by convincing the OCT that it was in their best interest to stop the blatant activities of the Orcs when they could.

ASPECT: White Bread, Street Cred

Phase Four: Guest Starring

Guest Star (Jamie)

A terrified little girl runs into Matthew while he is visiting the Mid-Cities, and he staves off an unusual daylight attack by a spellcaster trying to capture her. A young boy offers the pair sanctuary in his home, which turns out to be the abode of none other than “The Wardsman.” Can the unlikely pair succeed in finding out the source of the attacks and stop a cult from using the children to bring a demon into the Metroplex?

ASPECT: Sucker for a Pretty (Pathetic) Face

Phase Five: Guest Starring Redux

Guest Star (Conor)

Matthew’s relaxing evening of music is disrupted when the Invictae start abducting patrons outside of Molly MacGuires. Teaming up with an Irish musician with loose ties to the Summer Court, can the pair rescue the hapless mortals and find out why such a blatant raid occurred in the first place?

Read More About It Here

ASPECT: Student of the Supernatural

Phase Six: Guest Starring Redux Redux

Guest Star (Elena)

Matthew arrives on the scene in Pleasant Grove seconds too late to prevent a young Mexican girl from being caught in the crossfire between the Crips and Bloods, but sets out to try and save her life. His odds worsen when a gun-toting vigilante woman arrives on the scene and ramps up the violence. Can Matthew convince her to hold off her vengeance long enough to save a life?

Potential future aspect: Somewhat Fuzzier on the Subject of Kneecaps

Season Break

• Used banked minors to adjust skill table via swaps:
  • Contacts and Presence
  • Endurance and Alertness
  • Scholarship and Fists
  • Removed Craftsmanship to add Driving
• MAJOR retool of Aspects:
  • High Concept and Trouble now reflect “Eye of Thoth” using the Thutmosid Blessing. (Changed from “Light Shines in the Darkness” and “Unemployed Venatori”)
  • “Not Quite Old Testament Enough” changed to “Working on that Old Testament Thing”
  • With “Eye of Thoth” as Trouble now, added “The Things I Do for Love”

Major Milestones

• 6/28/12 – Stuck in the Middle With You, Pt. 2
  • Refresh: Banked, used during Easy Money (used banked refresh to purchase Soulfire in-game)
  • Skill: Raised Contacts to Good (+3)
  • Minor: Banked (used at season break)

Significant Milestones

• 10/25/12 – Easy Money, Pt. 2
  • Skill: Raised Intimidation to Average
  • Minor: Banked
• 4/18/13 – Hot Water, Pt. 3
  • Skill: Banked
  • Minor: Banked

Minor Milestones

• 5/17/12 – Belle of the Ball – Banked (used at season break)
• 6/14/12 – Stuck in the Middle With You, Pt. 1 – Banked (used at season break)
• 10/11/12 – Easy Money, Pt. 1 – Used Banked Refresh to purchase Item of Power, Aspect change to reflect it.
• 4/11/13 – Hot Water, Pt. 2 – Banked.
  

Thoughts on Other Characters:

Conor: Quite the ladies’ man, and a good hand in a fight, too. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, too – despite being brought up Catholic. Just gotta be careful around him with my rebar.

Elena: To say we have divergent views on the world would be an understatement. That being said, there’s more to her than meets the eye – her heart’s in the right place, it’s just been twisted about by circumstance. Surely the good Lord would not have placed her in my path without reason.

Jaime: The Wardsman is a study in contrasts – a capable and disciplined wizard, as good a parent as most to his son; yet a slave to the white powder. I hope perhaps I could help get past this addiction – how much more powerful and effective could he be without that monkey on his back…

Ren: Chaos seems to be the watchword of this Eastern water sprite, but she’s proven to be a solid ally, if unpredictable.

Erica: I’m not sure if I’m blessed or cursed to be surrounded by powerful, beautiful women. I’ve tried to be chivalrous in my dealings with her, but I think I’m off her radar – especially with Conor around…

Barbara: I’ve seen her in harm’s way too many times over the last year. Is this the right time for a relationship? We’re dating!!! My teacher and mentor in the arcane arts – and my first friend and contact in the Freakshow. Her advice and knowledge have continued to be a great resource for me – I just need to remember that there’s more to her than meets the eye.