Eloise Danford

Eloise Danford

Attributes

Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 2; Strength 1, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3; Presence 3, Manipulation 2, Composure 3

Skills

• Mental: Academics 3 (Research), Investigation 1, Medicine 1, Occult 3, Politics 2 • Physical: Drive 1, Stealth 2 • Social: Empathy 2 (Motives), Expression 1, Persuasion 2, Socialize 3 (Cocktail Party), Subterfuge 2

Merits

Resources 3, Library (Occult) 1, Professional Training (Socialite - Politics, Socialize) 2, Status (Society) 1; Contacts (Society, Industry) 2

Advantages

Health: 8, Willpower: 5, Size: 5, Speed: 8, Defense: 2 (Armor: None), Initiative: 5

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Current Conditions

• Eloise is an active alcoholic. She is frequently Intoxicated. Addicted (Persistent) Addicted to a substance. Must indulge regularly, accepting the Intoxicated Condition or become Deprived. Possible Sources: alcoholism, substance abuse. Resolution: Regain a dot of Integrity, lose another dot of Integrity, or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking point. Beat: Your character chooses to get a fix rather than fulfill an obligation, or accepts the Intoxicated Condition before attempting them. Intoxicated Drugged, drunk or otherwise dulled to the world. Not hallucinating, but inhibitions and reactions are both lower. -2 to all Dexterity and Wits rolls. Reduce Social maneuvering doors by 2 against you. Possible Sources: Heavy drinking or drug use. Resolution: Sleeping it off, or facing a breaking point. • Eloise is Connected to East Coast Society. Connected (Persistent) You have an in with a certain group. +2 to pertinent rolls, or discard condition for exceptional success Possible Sources: Exceptional Success: Politics, Socialize (only requires 3 successes with Allies or Contacts). Resolution: The character loses her membership or otherwise loses her standing with the group. Beat: The character is asked to perform a favor for the group that inconveniences her.

Dwelling: The Danford House
Journal: The Journal of Eloise Danford

Background

Age: 52

• Born to a well-to-do Medshire society family out of New Hampshire.
• Attended various boarding and prep schools.
• When she was sixteen, she ran away to New York City with several of the other girls, including Candice and Allison.
  • They were joined by a small group of boys (among them Malcolm, Candice's brother) who were also escaping from their school, and the whole crew spent a whole weekend in the big city.
  • They were discovered on Sunday in the early evening.
  • It created in her a love of the nightlife in New York, even though she was too young to experience it for a while.
• She attended university in Boston, at Harvard (acquired by family connections rather than any real academic talent), where she met Luther.
  • He already had a business degree, with a successful industry business, and was sharpening up his skills in a good social environment.
  • Though she was informally engaged to Malcom, her friend's brother, she fell for Luther and he for her, and the two ended up marrying before her 19th birthday. She completed her sophomore year and left to be with him, always intending on returning to finish, but never quite did.
• She became quite the society woman in Detroit, somewhat ruling the roost and bringing a sense of East Coast class to Detroit's society.

Rumors

Some people say...

• ...the only reason Eloise ended up marrying Luther was because she became pregnant from a fling with a man she had no business dallying with.
• ...Luther maintained several mistresses, who Eloise turned a blind eye to.
• ...Eloise secretly spent some time in a mental institution for the year following her daughter's birth. She's never quite been the same since.
• ...Eloise seduced the head of the local union when Danford Industries was having worker problems, and blackmailed him with the information to make those problems go away.
• ...Eloise worked with so many charities because she felt guilty for giving up a child into the foster system before she married Luther.

Personality

• Virtue: Nurturing
• Vice: Busybody

Aspirations

List three short-to-medium term goals for your character. These may be in any arena of his life she considers important.

• Uncover Luther's legacy as a hunter.
• Return to a place of importance in society.
• Investigate and avenge Luther's death.

Fulfilled Aspirations:

• Discover the true cause of Luther's death (Ep1, 07/04/2014). The night of Eloise's BBQ, a conversation led to a revelation by Robert that Luther had not been killed in an industrial accident as she's been told, but had apparently died "hunting."

Psyche

• Integrity: 7

Breaking Points:

• Striking a loved one: "I'm not one for guilt and recriminations, but I think the worst thing I've ever done was to strike my dear Becca. I was very angry with her, and she was in the midst of a full-blown teenage rebellion, and I suddenly struck her. I was immediately overcome - she simply stood there in shock, staring at me open-mouthed, while I was the one who fled the room. Simply terrible."
• Not meeting responsibilities to those I'm responsible for: "Though there have been times when I'm tempted, I simply never could imagine simply fleeing my responsibilities. I think that's why I can't bear to judge poor Oz's mother for her own flight - who hasn't dreamt of such an escape? But no - there are too many who are counting on me, and I can't bear the thought of failing them all."
• Seeing someone inflict deliberate physical injury: Though I know it is all around me, and I'm terribly sheltered for it, I cannot bear to thought of being in the same vicinity as someone striving to do someone else physical harm. God knows I've seen the after effects of such endeavors (and cleaned my Luther up more than once after his own such encounters), but to be near it? I simply shudder with revulsion."
• Having my home invaded by the unknown: "Sometimes...sometimes when I walk by a window in the house, I experience a tiny terror. I know it's my imagination running wild with me, but it never fails to elicit the same reaction in me: I imagine what it would be like if something were to come crashing through the window. I can hear the shattering of frame and glass, and feel the tiny shards of glass against my face. In particular, I can't bear to look at the window in the dining room...the fancy that strikes me of this vision in there is more like a terrible memory than a wild imagining. It's why I keep it shrouded in drapes year round."
• Being covered in blood: "My dear Luther came home one night, very late. He was breathing hard in the kitchen, and when I turned on the light, I saw he was covered in blood. He stopped me from phoning an ambulance, however. He made me help him extract a bullet from his hip, and then made me clean the wound and sew it up! It was horrible. I was covered in blood and shaking like a leaf by the time all was said and done."

Conditions

Eloise around the house

Eloise when going out

Eloise at a funeral

• Alcoholic (Persistent): Facing her many worries, Eloise has turned to drink. It started as a way of remembering Luther, who loved his red wine and the occasional whiskey. She took the pain away from her mourning with her little "nights in with her grief" as she called it, just her and a bottle of something. Now, though, it's what lets her sleep at night, and that thing that others have always called "hangovers" she simply refers to as "morning". She is deeply ashamed of her vice, however, and does her best to hide it from everyone.
  • Mechanics: Being unable to get a drink can result in the Deprived Condition.
  • Beat: When Eloise chooses to get drunk instead of fulfilling her obligations, she gains a beat.
  • Resolution: Regain a dot of Integrity, lose a dot of Integrity or achieve an exceptional success on a breaking point.
• Connected (Persistent): East Coast High Society. Though she has become something of a recluse, Eloise still has her connections. Her girlhood friends, the many friends she made while Luther was alive, captains of industry who regarded her husband fondly and loved the parties she threw. Though it has its benefits, she is still bound up in many of the expectations of those society, and she lives in mortal terror of them finding out the truth about her.
  • Mechanics: +2 dice bonus to all rolls relating to East Coast High Society. Alternately, she can shed this Condition to gain a one-time automatic exceptional success on the next roll to influence or otherwise take advantage of them.
  • Beat: The character is asked to perform a favor for someone in East Coast High Society.
  • Resolution: The character loses her membership or otherwise loses her standing with the group.

Equipment

• Possessions: Eloise keeps a small clutch purse with her most of the time, in which she stores her cigarettes, keys, medications and the myriad things that she needs on a day-to-day basis. She has quite an extensive wardrobe, though it is all nearly a full decade old (fortunately, she's always had something of a timeless sense of fashion, so it just looks classy rather than dated). She has managed to sell of the vast majority of her jewelry and immense collection of haut couture shoe collection over the years, however, leaving herself with her wedding ring and a few little pieces of silver jewelry, a single pair of heels, another set of wedges and several pairs of cheap but tasteful flats.
• Weapons: Ha! Don't be absurd.
• Other Notes: Eloise drives an economical sedan that Luther originally bought to give the staff something to run errands in.
• Vehicle: Mid-Sized Car (Sedan): Durability 3, Size 12, Structure 15, Acceleration 14, Safe Speed 110 (75 mph), Maximum Speed 183 (125 mph), Handling 3

Merit Details

• Resources 3: Though she considers herself somewhat destitute, the truth is that for most of the people around her, Eloise is still quite well off. Even with the sparse maintenance she manages to see done around Danford House, she still lives comfortably.
• Library 1: Occult. Among the books in the main-floor library is Luther's old "spooks and myths readers" as he called them, a collection that Eloise has taken to reading over the years. As a result, she is quite the occultist herself, although she considers it all basically hogwash...mostly.
• Professional Training 2: Socialite (Politics, Socialize). Though she's never held a job for a single day in her life, Eloise is as highly trained in her arena of expertise as any college grad. Quite simply, Eloise understands the nature of favor trading, politics and managing public perception and expectations. Though she used to be much more adept, her ten years of mourning and seclusion have taken their toll to some extent.
  • Contacts 2: As a result of her skill as a socialite, Eloise maintains contacts with High Society and the world of Industry.
• Status 1: High Society. Another element eroded by neglect, Eloise used to be considered an integral part of East Coast High Society. Though those days are gone, she is still remembered when the time comes for Christmas cards, local luncheon invitations (even if everyone expects that she'll decline graciously) and charity benefits, as well as Fourth of July parties in the Hamptons.

Friends and Family

Family

Allison Prescott

Candice Engalls

Murphy

Tina & Miguel Alvarado

Clifford & April Fowler

Adrianna Bullock

Jaye Hardwick

• Luther: Husband (Deceased) details
• Rebecca: Daughter (Deceased) deceased. Good friends with Becca (Oz's younger sister) and Jo.
• Robert: Son-in-Law Though she had tremendous reservations about Robert (he was Irish for Gods' sake!), those are long since gone. He has been strong not only through the death of Rebecca, but also through Luther's death, sticking around to support her. He is very much her rock, and she secretly fears the day when he finds someone else in his life and leaves to go and make a new life somewhere away from her.

Friends

• Allison Prescott: Society Friend (Estranged) Allison and Eloise were once quite close. They were part of the same bridge club, and frequently luncheoned and flew out to New York to see the season's Broadway shows together. Eloise wasn't precisely shocked when Allison disappeared nearly twenty years ago, but she was appalled. Eloise made a point of keeping in close contact with Allison's children, even though they were being raised by their grandmother Helena. When Luther died, Allison found out somehow, and called her immediately. Though she hasn't mentioned it to Oz or his sisters, they've maintained something of a long-distance relationship with infrequent phone calls and letters.
• Candice Engalls: Girlhood & Society Friend Candice and Eloise attended boarding school together as girls and were inseparable. Indeed, Eloise very nearly married Malcolm, the brother of Candice's own husband Paul Engalls, but she met Luther and he swept her off her feet. Her relationship with Candice is long-distance, and deliberately so on both their parts, allowing them to both maintain the fiction that Eloise isn't practically destitute by society standards.
• Murphy: Stylist & Confidant Androgynous and a former model, Eloise was a client of Murphy's for years. He helped her plan her look for the season, tended to her hair and cosmetics and in general was the person she turned to when she needed both a manicure and someone to talk to. Though he lives in New York these days, the two still occasionally chat. Eloise knows his life is altogether too busy for her, these days, so she doesn't often bother him.

Boarders

• Tina & Miguel Alvarado: Tina is a single mother in her late twenties, and Miguel is her nine-year-old son. Tina herself works very hard as a receptionist at an office building in downtown, but they don't really pay her well enough to live closer into town. As a result, Miguel is often technically alone, but frequently spends his time playing out on the lawn, exploring the grounds (or parts of the house he's not supposed to be in) or sitting with the Fowlers who regard him as something of a surrogate grandchild.
• Clifford & April Fowler: A retired couple, Clifford used to work for Luther at the steel mill, and continued to do so even when they had to cut his wages significantly. When he had a stroke five years ago that left him in a wheelchair, the Fowlers lost their home and were in dire straits. When she heard about it, Eloise insisted that they take the small second-floor flat, paying whatever they could afford. In return, April (who has been a housewife all her life) takes care of what cleaning and cooking she is able to tend to when her arthritis isn't acting up.
• Adrianna Bullock: An architecture student at University of Detroit Mercy, Adrianna lives a ways out of her way for one reason: the opportunity to live in Danford House. She is fascinated by the home's construction, and spends lots of her time at home sketching one portion of the house or another.
• Jaye Hardwick: Tall and scare-crow thin, Jaye is something of a recluse. He is a freelance programmer, writing code from his rooms for clients who hire him over the internet. It is at his insistence that the house has internet access at all, and he himself maintains and pays for it. It is not uncommon to go for days without seeing Jaye, who frequently sleeps through the day, and wanders down to scavenge food well after everyone else has gone to bed.

Other Connections

• Daniel Frost: Daniel's father was a foreman at the Danford factory, until he was injured. When shady dealings on the part of business partners caused his father to lose his pension in the wake of the factory's closing and bankruptcy, Eloise was aghast. She has secretly assisted his family over the years in the little ways she can: anonymous "church donations" of school clothes and supplies at the beginning of the school year, invitations to Thanksgiving dinners for former employees and their families, Easter gatherings on the Danford House lawns for former employees and their children, and the like. Though the Frosts know that she is responsible, and she knows that they know, no one really talks about it, out of a desire for dignity and discretion.
• James Jacobson: In its heyday, Danford Industries provided extensive scholarships to young local talent, and James was one of the recipients of that university aid. The investment proved quite sound. James and Eloise haven't interacted a whole lot, though she has done occasional dinners where those who've gotten the scholarships can meet one another and possibly help keep their talent in Detroit. They can basically recognize one another on sight, and she usually remembers his name.
• Oz Carmichael: The son of Allison Prescott. Eloise made a point of keeping in contact with him, and his sister was a friend of Rebecca's. Eloise sort of became a "fairy godmother" for them, often swooping in to make a big deal on Christmases and birthdays when funds were tight growing up. Oz now owns an antique shop that Eloise has sold many of her house's furnishings to in order to make ends meet over the years. When he came out to her, she made a point of introducing him to her fabulous gay friend Murphy, and has supported him in his coming out process, including intervening with his very religious grandmother Helena on his behalf.
• Joe Masters: Young Josephine practically grew up at Danford House, running amuck with Eloise's daughter Rebecca, and Oz's younger sister, Becca (or "The Two Rebeccas" as they were sometimes jokingly called). Eloise regards Josephine very fondly - in some ways, she's the last vestige of her daughter that she has, and has in some ways transferred a good deal of her affection to the strong young woman. She tries to assist Josephine in whatever ways she can, as she would her own daughter, but the Masters girl is very intent on making her own way in the world, which Eloise respects a great deal.

Lifestyle

A description of your characters day to day life.

• Money: Keeps about a hundred in cash on her, though tucked away among her things and most never touched. She runs very close to the line in her finances.
• Clothing & Jewelry: Though she retains a fair wardrobe, it's all fairly old. Fortunately, she has a timeless sense of style. She's sold off the majority of her shoe collection. She has a few small pieces of jewelry, mostly a cross necklace, a few pairs of simple earrings and her wedding band.
• Communication: She has a home phone. There is wifi in her. House, but she doesn't actually know that.
• Food: When April or Tina cook, she eats their cooking (although Tina's cooking is sometimes too spicy). For the most part, though she eats food out of cans. Cheap cans.
• Housing: Though she used to own more, Eloise's waning fortune has left her with the first house she and Luther bought together: the decaying but sizeable stand-alone house on the other side of Danford Park (named for her husband, who donated a sizable swathe of their land to the city for use as a park). Everyone's always called it the Danford House, and though it used to have a fair-sized staff, now it's Eloise, Robert and a handful of boarders, who practically haunt the place like ghosts sometimes.
• Days: Though she once woke early, she often wakes mid-morning. She often doesn't get out of bed until noon or so. Eloise spends much of her days in a bit of a shiftless wander. Very few weeks, she goes into the factory, but recognizes she's in everyone's way more than anything else.
• Evenings: Eloise spends most of her evenings at home, visiting with boarders. She tend to remain up quite late.

Experience

• The Journal of Eloise Danford

Experiences

• Current Beats: 2 • Unspent Experiences: 1 • Spent Experiences: 0

Practical Experiences

• Current Practical Beats: 2 • Unspent Practical Experiences: 0 • Spent Practical Experiences: 0

Experiences Earned

• July 3rd: 2 beats (+1 journal) • July 16: 3 beats (+1 journal), 2 practical beats

Purchases

None