Dante Price

Dante Price is a pickpocket, debt collector, and member of the adventuring player party. He currently occupies a neglected and abandoned waterfront home in Blackwater, Washington, where the original homeowner has recently passed away. Dante is investigating the Blue Light Incident in pursuit of an unknown individual, based on a request from the Devil. If Dante leaves Blackwater or is unable to complete the investigation and "deal with" the unknown individual, Dante forfeits his soul as part of his agreement with the Devil. Dante is played by Grey.

### **Stats**

Charm 0, Cool 2, Sharp 1, Tough 2, Weird 1.

## **Description**

### **Appearance**

Dante is a caucasian male with a black undercut Mohawk and blue eyes that smile. He stands at a height of 6 feet 2 inches tall, and he weighs approximately 185 lbs.

Dante wears a black leather jacket overtop a white tank top, or red hoodie, grungy jeans, fingerless biker gloves, and a pair of thrift shop combat boots. Several patches mark the right sleeve of Dante’s jacket, and a large manticore is emblazoned on the back.

A horizontal leather sheath is fastened to Dante’s belt for stowing the black blade. A vertical shoulder holster, designed for the purpose of a concealed carry, keeps Dante’s revolver, Deep6, handy and inconspicuous beneath the veil of his jacket.

### **Personality**

Behind his bombastic and sometimes flirtatious or flippant bravado, Dante has a soft spot for kids and a bit of a chivalrous streak about him.

### **Background**

Dante grew up as an orphan in Queens (New York City), New York. Being quite the exceptional trouble maker and delinquent, Dante was shuffled around foster homes for years until he was finally adopted by Alex and Bella Price, and their son, Virgil Price.

#### **Arsonist's Lullabye**

Fast-forward a handful of years. Dante and Virgil grow from strangers to enemies, to rivals, and eventually into an inseparable duo. The two start up a “punk life” band of misfits and delinquents called the Lost Boys, and they ride out the days like the Kings of Bedlam.

Enter the Infernals, a local gang led by Agnello Brunelleschi. Agnello and his goons aim to take up power in New York City’s criminal underworld, and the Lost Boys get caught up in their campaign. Dante and Virgil are snatched up by Infernal soldiers and forced to fight for their lives. When the two make a break for it, Virgil sacrifices himself to ensure Dante’s escape. Dante comes back for Virgil just in time to see Agnello himself beat Virgil into the pavement with a Louisville Slugger baseball bat. Agnello makes off before Dante is able to catch him, leaving Dante to hold Virgil in his arms during his final moments. Later, Dante disbands the Lost Boys and informs his foster parents of Virgil’s bravery and untimely death. Dante is questioned by police detect, Randall Ortega. He leaves home that same night. Dante has not returned to see his foster parents since.

Dante arms himself with an arsenal of Molotov cocktails, fireworks, knives, and Virgil’s own Louisville Slugger baseball bat, the Nail Biter. He searches every street corner, every sewer grate, and every alleyway for Agnello until he traces him back to an Infernal hideout tucked away in an abandoned factory. Dante goes to town. He sets fire to the hideout and hunts Agnello through the hell he let loose. When he finally corners Agnello, he beats him with the bat, but Agnello gets the upper hand and turns the tables on Dante. By this point, the place is falling apart. As the factory is coming down, it takes Agnello with it.

#### **Rabbit Hole**

After squaring things off with Agnello, Dante flees to the woodlands of Pennsylvania hoping to escape the law and do some introspection. He hunts and fishes for food, and he occasionally visits a town about half a day’s hike for books and supplies. Whatever money he lacks, he makes up for either by bartering or putting his pickpocketing skills to the test.

Time edges forward. It’s summer and Dante is in town on one of his regular supply runs when he happens upon a couple of locals picking on a tourist, a slightly younger girl by the name of Velvet. Dante intervenes in the way that he does, with flippant remarks followed by a couple of swings with the Nail Biter when the locals start taking things too far. When all is said and done, Velvet hires Dante as her personal tour guide. The two embark on Velvet’s quest to explore some of the local legends, including hauntings and supposed sightings of the Jersey Devil.

When Dante and Velvet stumble on a dead body tied to a local mystery, their sightseeing turns into a full-on investigation of the weird and possible occult. One thing leads to another, and the two are split up just as they are closing in on some answers by none other than police detective Randall Ortega. While Velvet presses on ahead, Dante is tossed into a local jail cell, but not before he pickpockets Ortega’s Zippo lighter, the Ace of Spades. That’s when the Devil shows up, later that night.

The Devil probes Dante with the clear aim of striking a deal with him. With Velvet being caught up in something bigger than her, a hefty sentence on the horizon, and no way out of jail, Dante takes up the Devil’s offer when he is presented the black blade. The Devil gets an errand boy, and Dante is a free man (see Deal with the Devil).

Dante finds Velvet at a location they’d planned to investigate together that evening. The whole world has gone crazy. Locals are either fleeing for their lives or trying to burrow deeper into the chaos, and Velvet is at the heart of the storm. She is utterly helpless before the psychic forces unleashed from within her. Dante cuts in on whatever the locals are doing, fights his way to Velvet, bails her out, and takes her to a local hospital. He makes sure to stick by her the whole way through morning.

Detective Ortega confronts Dante at the hospital, but Ortega doesn’t arrest him. Ortega gets a statement from both Dante and Velvet (who vouches repeatedly for Dante), tells Dante he’s off the hook this time and to keep the Ace of Spades (while suggesting Dante has earned its keep, for now), and he leaves, just like that. Dante and Velvet later learn individuals of the town were exposed to be part of a conspiracy that was compromised by a strange event and the eventual intervention of the law.

Following Velvet’s recovering, Dante is once more approached by the Devil in a moment when he is alone. This time, the Devil leaves Dante with a request: “Go to Ohio to retrieve something for me, a pocket watch in the keep of a Francesco de' Cavalcanti.”

Meanwhile, Velvet makes the necessary preparations to move on to her next destination for her manga project research, and she extends an invitation to Dante. To her disappointment, he declines. Velvet gives Dante her Sony TPS-L2 Walkman as a token of their friendship, and the two part ways.

#### **Thorn**

Dante isn’t in Ohio long before he learns that Francesco de' Cavalcanti is the leader of a gang, called the Void. To get closer to Cavalcanti and the pocket watch, Dante chases after a rumor about a reputable “thorn for hire,” the Black Rose (real name, Vicki Rose), who’s known for their signature revolver. Dante unknowingly has several casual run-ins with her before the two introduce themselves at one of Cavalcanti’s clubs, the Viper’s Den. Their confrontation turns from casual introductions to a date that spirals into a one-night stand at a cheap hotel. That’s when Dante eyes Vicki’s revolver, Deep6, and realizes she’s the Black Rose. He sneaks off with it, while Vicki sleeps.

With Vicki’s revolver, it’s easy to get an audience with Cavalcanti at his wealthy estate, but things are quick to go south when the real Black Rose herself intervenes. Dante locates his target, the pocket watch, snatches it up, and uses the black blade to make his escape.

After a while, the Devil approaches Dante once more, this time to congratulate him on “a job well done.” Dante tries to give her the pocket watch, but she refuses to touch. She tells him to hang on to it, that he’s earned its keep, and that she will come to collect it later. Dante wants out of the deal, but the Devil makes it clear what’s at stake. If Dante backs out now, he forfeits his soul. The Devil leaves Dante with a new rendezvous point and a fresh pack of Malediction cigarettes.

#### **Blackwater**

By the time Dante makes it to Blackwater, Washington, he’s already completed a few requests on the Devil’s behalf. Blackwater is his latest rendezvous point (previous points have included Wisconsin and Vermont). The Devil is generous enough to tip Dante off on a house he can squat in. The owner is the loner type, deceased, and supposedly without family so people generally don’t swing by. All Dante has to do is dispose of the body, if he chooses to stay there. By the time the Blue Light Incident happens in Ghostwood, it’s been about two months since Dante moved into the old house, as he waits for the Devil to appear with her next request. To quiet his impatience, Dante has taken to camping out in the woods every now and again.

#### **Episode 0: Prologue**

On the morning prior to Episode 1, Dante is just coming out of a local liquor store when a couple’s dispute draws his attention. The man strikes his girlfriend, sending her crashing down into the rocky lot. Just as he goes to hit her again, Dante catches the guy from behind with a bottle of cheap liquor. Dante then runs up on the guy and drags him to the door of the guy’s open pickup truck, shoves his head into the open door frame, and knocks him out cold with a couple of slams of the door. After checking the girl to make sure she’s okay, Dante lifts a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey from the truck and walks off.

## **Relationships**

Alex and Bella Price (foster parents), Virgil Price (foster brother, deceased), Beatrice Portinari, the Three (player party with Damien, Violet C. Hennessy, and Leeroy), CIA agents Dominique Dickson and Tim Gutterson.

### **The Devil**

The definition of a true femme fatale, the Devil is a woman of power that pops up from time to time to pose new requests or rendezvous points to Dante, as part of the arrangement they’d previously agreed upon (see Deal with the Devil). She usually appears before Dante without warning, in the most inconspicuous of places, and at the most inconvenient or overly convenient of times (depending on how you choose to look at it). Whether she’s collecting something from Dante or passing something on to him, the Devil is discreet in the way she carefully avoids coming into physical contact with him. The Devil has never revealed to Dante her name, and she artfully dodges any inquiry on the topic thereof.

### **The Lost Boys**

The Lost Boys were a group of delinquents based in New York City, led by Dante and his foster brother, Virgil. The Lost Boys hung out late at night in abandoned warehouses doing whatever they pleased. The group was disbanded after several Lost Boys were brutally beaten, hospitalized, or killed by the Infernals, a local gang led by Agnello Brunelleschi looking to prove they could run with the worst of New York’s underworld. Virgil died, sacrificing himself so Dante could escape capture.

### **Randall Ortega**

A classic bourbon and blues police detective, Randall Ortega was involved in the investigation of the Infernals gang, following the assault and murder of several Lost Boys. Dante is the primary suspect for arson and the murder of Agnello Brunelleschi, the Internals’ former leader (see The Lost Boys). Ortega made it a personal goal to take Dante into custody (based on evidence and previous police records), but he has since shown leniency towards Dante in his pursuit. Ortega currently shadows Dante, working well outside of the boundaries of what was originally thought to be the boundaries of his jurisdiction, while employing a wide range of unexpected connections in his agenda. How Ortega continues to track Dante, even after he obtained the black blade, remains unclear.

### **Velvet**

A young shrine maiden doubling as a successful mangaka on her spare time. She is traveling abroad to visit locations of myth and urban legend as part of her research for her latest project. Velvet hired Dante as a tour guide in Pennsylvania. The two ended up collaborating in the investigation of a local mystery they happen to stumble upon, during which Dante was formally exposed to the real underworld by not only Velvet but the Devil‘s introduction into his life as well (see Deal with the Devil). Dante saved Velvet from losing control over her psychic powers, and the two became fast-friends.

### **Vicki "Black Rose" Rose**

A punk rock woman with an attitude and temper to match her reputation as a criminal hitman and enforcer (also called a “thorn”) for hire. Dante met Vicki at the Viper’s Den, a punk club based in Ohio. Following a one-night stand, Dante made off with Vicki’s signature gun, Deep6. Vicki relies on her connections with the criminal underworld and her keen intuition as she hunts Dante down with the intent to utterly destroy him in as gruesome of a way as she possibly can (and get back her gun).

## **Character Information**

### **Playbook Features**

* ***Pickpocket (background).*** Roll +Charm when trying to steal something small.

### **Playbook Moves**

* ***Artifact.** Starting Move (Crooked playbook).*
	+ Dante received the black blade as part of his Deal with the Devil, in lieu of an artifact (skeleton key) or starting gear (big knife). See black blade for details.

* ***Deal with the Agency.** Narrative Move (Professional playbook).* Roll +Sharp when requesting help or gear, or making excuses for a failure.
	+ Dante's agency contacts are CIA agents Dominique Dickson and CIA agent Tim Gutterson. To contact an agent, Dante can call either agent’s pager. The agents’ pager numbers are written on slips of paper.
	+ As part of Dante's deal with the agency, an agent may try to contact Dante through the unmarked pager.

* ***Deal with the Devil.** Starting Move (Crooked playbook).*
	+ Dante received youth and skill as part of his deal with the Devil. Dante also received the black blade. See black blade for details.
	+ The Devil will approach Dante from time to time with a request. If Dante fulfills the Devil’s request, the due date of Dante's payment (his soul) is postponed, and the duration of his benefits (youth, skill, the black blade)  are extended. If Dante refuses or is unable to fulfill the Devil’s request, Dante's soul and any benefits of his deal with the Devil are forfeited.

* ***Driver.** Improvement Move (Crooked playbook).* Able to hotwire anything. Gain +1 ongoing while driving.
	+ Dante immediately followed up on the Devil's tip on a vacant house he can squat in after arriving in Blackwater, but he made the mistake of exploring the wrong house first, the home of a Beatrice Portinari (also called Bea or Miss Portinari), an old widow living alone and going through the stages of dementia. Portinari believes Dante to be her son, a World War II soldier pronounced as having been killed in the line of duty. Portinari has since handed Dante the keys to her son's 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA "Liberator" motorcycle (vintage) and her 1970 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray LT1 Convertible. Dante visits Portinari once a week to offer locally baked sweets and his company.

* ***Resilience*.** *Improvement Move (Chosen playbook).* Healing removed 1 additional harm. Wounds received from by the Keeper's harm moves are reduced by 1.
* ***Use Magic.** Weird Move (playbook default).*

* ***Why So Serious.*** *Improvement Move (Summoned playbook).* Grants the team +1 forward whenever capping off a move with a one-liner.

### **Notable Items & Gear**

* ***Ace of Spades.** Miscellaneous Item: Fire*.
	+ A heavily tarnished World War II lighter made to resemble an Ace of Spades playing card featuring a “memento mori” motif; including a skull, roses, and thorns.
	+ Dante pickpocketed the lighter from Randall Ortega when Ortega arrested Dante in Pennsylvania. In a later run-in, Ortega tells Dante he’s earned the lighter’s keep for now, but he’ll be back to collect it later (see Broken Pocket Watch).

* ***Black Blade.** Artifact Weapon (big knife): 2-harm (hand), ignore armor, innocuous, quick, useful.*
	+ A black knife capable of opening any lock. The wielder can also use the blade to access the Waiting Room, an extradimensional space of doors that lead anywhere and everywhere in the universe.
	+ To access the Waiting Room, the wielder must use the black blade on an unlocked door. The door must be solid, windowless, and shut.
	+ The black blade may possess additional features (GM’s choice) not yet known.
	+ Dante received the black blade as part of his Deal with the Devil.

* ***Broken Pocket Watch.** Miscellaneous Item.*
	+ An antiquated gold pocket watch featuring a sun and moon dial. The lid is engraved with a detailed illustration of the world tree. The branches and roots of the tree spiral around the edges of the watch, reaching onto its back to encircle an engraving of the Eye of Providence. The latin phrase “ora pro nobis peccatorum” (meaning “pray for us sinners”) is written on the back of the watch.
	+ Dante stole the pocket watch from Ohio gang leader Francesco de' Cavalcanti, at the request of the Devil. Upon delivery of the pocket watch, the Devil refused to touch it and told Dante he’s earned its keep for now, but they’ll be back to collect it later (see Ace of Spades).

* ***Deep6.** Weapon (.38 revolver): 2-harm (close), reload (6), loud.*
	+ A unique revolver (based on the Smith & Wesson model 686) featuring an “angel of death” motif. A ghastly skeleton wearing a tattered cloak is carved out of the handle, hammer, and body of the gun so that it faces its wielder when held. The grip is made from Rowan wood (also called quickbane, sorb apple, wild ash, witchbane, and witchwood), carved as the skeleton’s angelic wings. Mandala patterns are etched in finely detailed gold dots and lines along the gun’s barrel, like a halo of holy light radiating from behind the skeleton.
	+ Following a one-night stand, Dante stole the revolver from Vicki Rose, as she slept in their hotel room, to pose as her in his pursuit of the broken pocket watch. The revolver holds no known special properties.
* ***Flair Gun.** Weapon (handgun): 1-harm (far), reload (1), fire, ignore armor, loud, small, useful.*
	+ You can use this handgun to fire a signal rocket to create heat, illumination, or a distress signal without producing an explosion. A flare can also cause a fire. You can modify this gun to take real ammunition, with the proper knowledge and resources.

* ***Maledictions.** Miscellaneous Item.*
	+ Cigarettes the color of tar. You haven’t smoked until you’ve taken your first puff of a Malediction. They kick like the first hit of cocaine on an all-night bender, taste like a good lay with a sugar-coated tire fire, and smell like a vanilla chai latte with a hint of licorice.
	+ The Devil gave Dante a pack of Maledictions when they first met. Dante continues to receive a fresh pack of Maledictions every time he’s completed a request from the Devil.

* ***Nail Biter.** Weapon (baseball bat): 1-harm (hand).*
	+ A Louisville Slugger baseball bat so battered the label has worn completely off. Scuffs, holes, and dents line the barrel of the bat, from its tip all the way down the grain to the gaffer tape grip lining its handle. A streak of red paint cuts across the barrel to mark the sweet spot for the perfect swing.
	+ The Nail Biter is Dante’s keepsake from the Lost Boys. Holding the bat reminds Dante of long nights with friends, pizza, arcade games, punk garage bands, bottles of alcohol, Dungeons & Dragons, and of his foster brother, Virgil (see The Lost Boys). These memories are of a time when Dante was the closest he’d ever been to having a normal life before it all went to shit.

* ***Red Rose.*** *Miscellaneous Item.*
	+ A red rose plucked from a rose bush found at the site of the Blue Light Incident. The rose does not possess any obvious special or unique properties.
	+ Dante discovers the rose to have wilted approximately three days after obtaining it from the Blue Light Incident site. He hands it over to Violet's uncle, Vincent P. Forsythe, hoping Forsythe can shed more light on the incident.
* ***Short Pump-Action Shotgun.** Weapon (shotgun): 2-harm (close), reload (4), loud, messy.*
	+ You can modify this gun to hold 6 rounds instead of 4, with the proper knowledge and resources. Gun's not just about shoot'n, it's about reload'n.

* ***Silver Serpent Cross.*** *Miscellaneous Item.*
	+ A silver cross with a serpent wrapped around it. The cross appears pristine, whereas the serpent appears tarnished to near-black. Cleaning or soiling the pendant fails to yield any changes in the pendant’s appearance.
	+ Losing or misplacing the pendant results in its unexplainable reappearance. You can’t tell if the pendant’s reappearance is coincidental or if there are other forces at play.
	+ Dante has had the pendant for as long as he can remember. He assumes it is a keepsake from a mother or father he never knew.

* ***Sony TPS-L2.** Miscellaneous Item.*
	+ A UK model portable stereo (Sony Walkman) featuring stereo playback, two mini headphone jacks, and a small built-in microphone. Pressing the “Hot Line” button activates the microphone, which partially overrides the sound from the cassette allowing two users to talk over the music.
	+ Velvet gave the Walkman to Dante as a token of friendship for being her tour guide, for saving her during a potential crisis, and for accepting her as she is. Dante thinks of her fondly.

* ***Unmarked Pager.** Miscellaneous Item.*
	+ A CIA-issue pager set up for undercover field agents. Instructions are rubber-banded to the pager.
	+ Dante received the pager as part of a deal with struck with CIA agent Dominique Dickson and her partner, CIA agent Tim Gutterson (see Deal with the Agency).

## **Quotations**

* "Have none of you ever broken into a house before?"

## **Trivia**

* Dante's favorite color is red.
* Dante's favorite foods include curly fries, figs, pepperoni pizza, and strawberry milkshakes.
	+ Dante’s breakfast of choice is an Irish coffee, occasionally with a side of pancakes and bacon.
* Dante's favorite number is 0.
* Dante's favorite season is spring.
* Dante's favorite time of day is twilight.
* Dante's hobbies include drawing contemporary and sometimes abstract pen illustrations and designs.
	+ Dante designed the manticore patch on the back of his jacket.
	+ Dante enjoys fantasy novels. Stephen King’s *The Gunslinger* and Homer’s *The Odyssey* are particular favorites of Dante.
* Dante isn't necessarily fearful of cats, but remains wary of their presence, due to numerous strange confrontations with cats during his childhood.
* Dante's vices include cigarettes.
	+ Dante smokes when stressed out either by worry, guilt, or expression of self-restraint (e.g. swallowing his pride). Preferred brand is Lucky Strike but will settle for Natural American Spirit cigarettes instead