Character Notes for Duncan Rowntree

Hooks

Law and Order - In trouble with the law? Then you're in trouble with Duncan. Need to get someone else in trouble with the law? Duncan can make that trouble. When it comes to crime and punishment, the buck pretty much stops right here.

Dornie needs YOU! - The militia are always looking for capable members, either for its lawkeeping forces within Dornie's walls, raider and ranging parties outside them, or guards upon them. Loyalty and discipline are favored over wits, but Duncan would much prefer to have any truly capable man or woman on his payroll, rather than risk errant allegiance.

Working Man's Blues - Duncan does rounds at the Rowntree munitions factory, and handles some of the 'disagreements' that arise around issues like working conditions, hours, pay… and all those other things proles spend so much time complaining about. If you have business in the factory, you may have business with Duncan.

Skills, Talents and Capacities

Rowntree Reputation - His family's is a name that commands respect, and Duncan is never unconscious of this fact. He's made a point of making himself known, building a reputation that draws upon the authority that has accreted around his clan. While his brother may be older, and his father is - of course - the head of the family, as the enforcer of much of Dornie's law Duncan fosters the primacy of his own authority. Edmund is wealthy, Marcus is master, but Duncan is the strong arm and the keen eye, and it is Duncan that the lawless deal with first and foremost.

Second Son - Despite the martial nature of his position, Duncan has grown up surrounded by the intrigue that marks family matters amongst the great. He's no web-spinner or silver-tongued spymaster, but he possesses a fairly robust knowledge of the structure of Dornie's politics (insofar as anyone can be said to really know such things) and takes such matters into consideration when dispensing settlement justice.

Raider and Ranger - Duncan has been riding and hunting since his limbs had strength to keep him on a horse and steady a rifle. He has a knowledge of the surrounding terrain and makes a habit of updating this knowledge personally when his obligations permit. This also means he has knowledge of the supernatural beings that dwell beyond the presence of man, and a sense of how to deal with them, albeit on a very mundane level. As a general rule, if bullets work, he knows what part to aim for, and if they don't, how best to avoid confrontation.

Militia Man - As managing the militia has taken more and more of his time and attention, Duncan has developed more a sense of the settlement in which he lives as a potential battlefield. He aims to understand spaces, so they can be exploited tactically, and the settlement of Dornie itself has become one of his most thoroughly charted spaces - threats from within and without must be taken into account. Chokepoints, bottlenecks, ambush spots and avenues of retreat and advance are all of interest to him, and during his patrols he often discreetly takes stock, especially of new structures and developments.

The Strong Arm - Not many members of the militia can much surpass their commander's prowess. Duncan has been training his entire life, groomed for the purpose of defending the wealth his older brother and father have acquired, and maintaining the authority their clan possesses. It would be very hard to find a single weapon in the munition's factory that Duncan hasn't at least a cordial relationship with, and his presence in the field of engagement is generally a demonstration of just how seriously that engagement is being taken.

Leadership and Tactics - Those who fight like savages live and die like savages. Duncan chooses his militia for their ability to follow orders and adhere to the tactics and methods he has devised. City militiamen tend to be of conspicuous presence and level temper, better suited to maintaining order, and trained to subdue and suppress before resorting to fatalities - they are also trained to intimidate. Raiders, on the other hand, are schooled in small unit tactics and camouflage - Duncan likes to take full advantage of ambush and force multiplication whenever possible. All his efforts are greatly aided by the radio equipment provided in a suspiciously generous gesture from none other than Adler Ross. Duncan harbors distrust of the gift's motives, but insubstantial doubt proves too little deterrent, and the radios are well employed.