Abner Wick Jr.
Antiques Dealer and Co-Owner of Unconsidered Trifles {431}
Abner Wick, Jr. is the portly and indulgent owner, who wears an overabundance of cologne to mask the sickness and odor he exudes.
He is a major NPC in the Crimson Letters scenario.
Description: large and fleshy; gives off the impression of once having had a powerful physique, now undone by years of indulgence and excess. Light-brown hair, fading to white at his temples and sideburns, with no facial hair. He dresses in a dark, pinstriped suit, with a colorful ascot scarf around his neck. He has foul body odor, which he hides with strong-smelling cologne.
Traits: disarmingly calm, assured, and cultured; his gentility disguises his merciless and ghoulish tendencies.
Wick is a large, fleshy and somewhat effete man, somewhere in his late-forties, who gives the impression of once having had a powerful physique now undone by years of indulgent living and excess. He has a slight sour odor, masked for the main part by his heavy use of cologne, and an underlying sickliness to his pallor that suggests some morbidity of the flesh, illness, or addiction afflicting the man. Wick, despite any unseemly physical affects, is a disarmingly calm, assured and cultured figure who displays effortless manners to all and a gentility of a kind rarely found in the rush of the 1920’s modern age. He will describe himself modestly as a "gentlemen of some small private means who dabbles in antiques and beautiful old books,” and keeps a small antiques shop, called Unconsidered Trifles, in a side-street in the better quarter of Arkham’s commercial district. Like Wick himself, the shop has a reasonable reputation in the trade and any investigators with antiquarian interests who hail from Arkham may well have visited it before, although are unlikely to have met Wick himself as he leaves the day-to-day business of the shop to the hired help. So, at least, goes his public façade.
Wick Jr. felt betrayed by Leiter, assuming he had come to an arrangement with a buyer other than himself.
Abner Wick Jr. conducted business with Charles Leiter on several occasions, both as a dealer and private collector of rare books and manuscripts.
He was part of a bidding war for the Witch Trial Papers, which had already reached several thousand dollars and threatened to go much higher.
He is still interested in "acquiring" the papers and will offer a price of several thousand dollars for the acquisition of the originals, "No questions asked.”
Wick Jr. desired the papers for himself, however they had soon gone beyond his own price range, although he kept on as an agent for “several other interested parties, with deeper pockets,” whose identities he will not disclose and if pressed will simply brand as “foreign.”
Wick Jr. will acknowledge that there are “dangerous forces in the world and beyond it, not given men to know,” and fears, from what he has heard since Charles Leiter’s death, that such forces gather around the papers. If asked to elaborate he will merely point to the history of tragedy that surrounds the Hobbhouse family and recent events, adding that any danger is likely to emanate “from the things old Hobbhouse seized at the trial,” rather than anything else.
He wants the papers; can the investigators help?
Wick Jr. likes to be in charge. He will try to use the investigators as his pawns.
He is keen to know all about Leiter’s death and the whereabouts of the body (perhaps for a tasty treat).
He is a major NPC in the Crimson Letters scenario.
Description: large and fleshy; gives off the impression of once having had a powerful physique, now undone by years of indulgence and excess. Light-brown hair, fading to white at his temples and sideburns, with no facial hair. He dresses in a dark, pinstriped suit, with a colorful ascot scarf around his neck. He has foul body odor, which he hides with strong-smelling cologne.
Traits: disarmingly calm, assured, and cultured; his gentility disguises his merciless and ghoulish tendencies.
Wick is a large, fleshy and somewhat effete man, somewhere in his late-forties, who gives the impression of once having had a powerful physique now undone by years of indulgent living and excess. He has a slight sour odor, masked for the main part by his heavy use of cologne, and an underlying sickliness to his pallor that suggests some morbidity of the flesh, illness, or addiction afflicting the man. Wick, despite any unseemly physical affects, is a disarmingly calm, assured and cultured figure who displays effortless manners to all and a gentility of a kind rarely found in the rush of the 1920’s modern age. He will describe himself modestly as a "gentlemen of some small private means who dabbles in antiques and beautiful old books,” and keeps a small antiques shop, called Unconsidered Trifles, in a side-street in the better quarter of Arkham’s commercial district. Like Wick himself, the shop has a reasonable reputation in the trade and any investigators with antiquarian interests who hail from Arkham may well have visited it before, although are unlikely to have met Wick himself as he leaves the day-to-day business of the shop to the hired help. So, at least, goes his public façade.
Facts and Clues
Roleplaying hooks
Keeper’s Notes:
Abner Wick is a man of many secrets, masks and lies, and depending on the chosen role the Keeper has determined for him, some or all of these may be revealed to the investigators over the course of the game. Wick possesses knowledge of the Mythos and so could provide singular insight into the death of Charles Leiter and its true causes—although he will much prefer to talk of such matters as, "dark possibilities" rather than in factual terms.
Beyond this Scenario:
Depending on the investigators’ personal dealings with Wick, he can make for a very useful contact in the future and a potential source of both information and employment, albeit a hugely dangerous and corrupting one.
STR 80, CON 85, DEX 70, SIZ 65, APP 25, INT 85, EDU 90, POW 90, SAN 00
HP 30, Luck 45
DB 1D4, Build 1, Move 9, MP 18
Parents
Butcher's knife: 80% (40/16), DMG 1D6+1 DB
Dodge: 35% (17/7)
Armor: 1-point semi-rubbery hide.
HP 30, Luck 45
DB 1D4, Build 1, Move 9, MP 18
Current Location
Age
46
Children
Skills
Appraise 60%, Archaeology 40%, Charm 60%, Climb 35%, Credit Rating 65%, Cthulhu Mythos 40%, Disguise 55%, History 65%, Intimidate 90%, Library Use 60%, Listen 45%, Navigate (Subterranean) 50%, Occult 70%, Persuade 70%, Psychology 40%, Sleight of Hand 30%, Spot Hidden 45%, Track 45%.Languages
Arabic 30%, English 90%, French 40%, Ghoul Tongue 80%, Greek 40%, Latin 60%.Combat
Brawl: 80% (40/16), DMG 1D3+1 + DBButcher's knife: 80% (40/16), DMG 1D6+1 DB
Dodge: 35% (17/7)
Armor: 1-point semi-rubbery hide.
Spells
Cloud Memory, Contact Ghoul, Dominate, Evil Eye, Flesh Ward, Mental Suggestion, Shrivelling, Wrack.Sanity Loss
None.Pulp Talents
Rapid Attack: spend 10 Luck points to gain one extra attack in a single combat round.Tough Guy: spend 10 Luck points to shrug off 5 damage in one round.
