Ira Nevanlinna

Useful Notes

Concept Keywords

• Assassin lady
• Zainichi Korean (double-classing as Token Anime Finn)
• Uses fire
• Also uses cats
• Eyepatch (magical eye?)
• Fire priestess (kind of)

Appearance

• Tall, muscled, has long-ish flame-red hair. Wears an eyepatch and a tracksuit or a cheap-ish suit most of the time. Has a variety of masks for when relying on Entropy 3 vs security cameras is a questionable prospect. Tanned?

Bullet points

• Is part of a „buy orphans, train them to be assassins, hire them out to highest bidder” anime assassin training program by Golden Dragon Consulting Group, a mainland organisation HQ’d in Hong Kong that is as large and wealthy as it is shady.
• Awakened during training and was picked up by one of the instructors, a Finnish Euthanatos legendary soldier, who found his path to truth in the flames on (and later also off) the battlefield.
• Spent bunch of time in Finland and the Baltics. Fought a Nephandi! What a mess.
• Due to this and also that, was sent to Japan while the master’s busy.
• Currently lives in some shady and thankfully fire-proofed basement off in some area left largely empty after the Lost Decade under a cat café, taking care of the homeless and not-so-homeless cats there. Many cats.
• Associates with Chongryon and occasionally does hits for them; pretends she doesn’t care much about Korean ancestry, but totally does.
• Golden Dragon pockets most of the contract money, so she’s surprisingly poor for a professional hitman.
• Is really enthusiastic about her job, feeling that even someone like her can do her part to save the world. (by killing people) It can be kind of creepy, but Ira doesn’t take pleasure in the act of killing itself, but rather what it represents. (and is apparently willingly oblivious that the people she’s grateful to and works for are actually highly morally dubious)
• Has a certain code of honour; doesn’t go after innocents and refuses to “remove” innocent witnesses. (as she is, of course, a Good Guy)
• Her left eye was replaced with one that permits her to see spirits and the flows of quintessence. Perhaps more, but she’s still growing used to it.
• Typically uses FIREarms, but bladed weapons are also popular.
• Goes by on the Internet as “Neko_Mastaa_>^-^<”. Has Pusheen with an eyepatch as avatar.
• The elite of her cat army form the “Kasha Squad”, helping her out on missions. After all, who would suspect a stray cat? (Kasha are not Korean, but since the cats in question are Japanese she figured the name has to be local)
• Still haunted by the memory of the first person she killed, a drunken hobo over a petty dispute while she was a homeless kid growing up on Tokyo streets.

Location

• "Works" in a Scandinavian-themed cat café named Nekoheim, putting her Finnish accent to good (?) use
• Place is technically owned by the Golden Dragon and is used as cover, so the staff isn't exactly normal people. On the plus side, no questions about all the guns in the basement.
• Further details pending!

Paradigm & Associates

• The path to ascension lies in flames. The fire burns away impurities and represents life and death both, not unlike the mainstream Euthanatos view of the wheel of reincarnation.
• Fire can burn away flaws and deformation of forms. Master can even heal people by setting them on fire, but Ira’s terrible at that so far.
• Received a symbolic spark from Master to help ignite her own flame, as is the custom of pyromancers and the bond between the student and the teacher. It’s growing over time as she develops as a mage.
• Primary focus is fire and things associated with fire, either current or past; weapon-buffing Forces effect taking form by stoking the cinders within a forged blade to ignite it, for instance. (likely involving some kind of liquid fuel)
• A lot of magic involves things being set on fire; as beloved of flames, Ira is immune to their touch, but a crazed hitwoman charging through a building while on fire wielding a blazing sword is pretty vulgar.
• Also often uses incense and such. Even a cigarette can provide focus for certain insights.
• If you start talking about Dark Souls she might literally bite you!

Backgrounds Explained

Golden Dragon Consulting Group (one of the Contacts and Patron both relevant here; Contact personal info TBD)

• The militant part of a massive business conglomerate that partnered up with Euthanatos fate mages; on their part, in pursuit of profits and not getting rolled up by the Syndicate, on Euthanatos part, to acquire funds to fight the Ascension War; even ultra-elites like Golden Chalice normally operate on shoestring budget.
• Really big case of “hey at least they’re not the Technocracy???”
• Run a suspicious anime assassin training program; those that wash out end up padding out their security forces
• Said to actually have a dragon as one of its chief officers, with the hoard being its starting capital. All kinds of spurious and horrible rumours abound about her, but surely they can’t be true???
• Officially HQ’d in Hong Kong, have overt and shady ties all over the place, Japan’s now included. Ira’s helping to carve out new paths! (through business opponents)
• Someone higher up apparently likes Ira a lot and tends to help grease the wheels when it comes to requests and such. Who might it be???

Nevanlinna (Mentor)

• Legendary Finnish soldier and mercenary, “Man On Fire” whose home is on the battlefield, said to have found a path to ascension in the flames of war.
• Convinced by Euthanatos associates to help out with the anime assassin training program.
• Picked up Ira for special training after he realised she awakened; gave her her current name once she became his apprentice. Fellow trainees stopped being jealous after the first time Ira was set on fire as part of it.
• Served as closest thing to parent Ira ever had. Had no clue how, tried far too hard.
• Has dad-tier jokes.
• Took Ira along on missions in Europe; she ended up kind of idolising Golden Chalice for a while after seeing them at work.
• Currently taking care of a new “apprentice” acquired during a Nephandi hunt in Estonia together with a bunch of Legitimate Prussian Nationalists, and is thus in bad position to offer Ira much guidance while she’s shooting gangsters on the other side of the world.
• Plays an accordion. (very, very badly)

Kasha Squad (Ally)

• Elite of the swarm of housecats that Ira takes care of. (or so she introduces them, after claiming the title of Cat Master)
• Often used by Ira to help out on missions, acting as scouts or carrying and leaving small objects in strategic places. (like, say, a knife, or a grenade, or even a pistol…) After all, who would suspect a cat?
• Might actually be cat youkai helping out their pet crazy cat lady.

Chongryon (Contact; contact personal info TBD)

• One of two largest Korean organisations in Japan; the more militant one with ties to North Korea.
• Ira pretends she doesn’t care much about being ethnically Korean and the discrimination that Zainichi Koreans suffer, but in fact she absolutely does care. (rumours going that being forced into dangerous work with questionable access to medical services is what got her parents killed way back in the day)
• Sometimes a source of jobs for her; while IRL Chongryon is not exactly suspected of involvement in assassinations, this is World of Darkness.

[ENEMY]

• Watch this space!
• Being a hitman tends to accumulate grudges, after all.
• Could probably start at higher than 2, really.

Unrelated to Backgrounds

• Ira knows an Euthanatos lady who works as a therapist, finding a different way to help others get back on the straight path than by delivering the Good Death. (being an assassin in WoD Japan is probably easier than being a mental health specialist, though)
• The two exasperate each other a lot, but have developed an odd sense of companionship and tend to go out drinking together every once in a while.

Past Hits, Failed And Successful

Will keep being updated!

Large Robot-Fu Daughters Status: FAILED

• Ira was recruited as part of a hit on a Technocrat lady in Tokyo who apparently made a few too many enemies despite the relatively relaxed status of the “war” part of the Ascension War in Japan.
• Acted as sniper support while the others went into the building where the scientist was supposed to be with her twin daughters.
• Everything was going smoothly even with somewhat trigger-happy vanguard, until it turned out that the daughters were in fact a pair of next-model HITmarks, or so cyborgised there was no difference.
• Everyone sent in died as Ira could only listen in on the radio, and she herself barely escaped due to the distances involved.
• Last rumour she heard, the scientist was still looking for “the one that got away”, wanting revenge for her staff that got shot up during the hit…

Operation Questionable Reference Status: SUCCESS (?)

• Ira and her master were a part of an attack on a hidden base of an Etherite Nephandi in Estonia once it turned out this was Serious Business.
• It absolutely was Serious Business.
• Nephandi in question was trying to bring an eldritch entity of vast power from the Outside into this world, using hundreds of clones to act as medium, utilising the principle that the more empty/hollow a person is, the better they can act as a medium/living shrine/container for a god, spread out over enough bodies to prevent them from breaking.
• The attack force encountered both failed experiments and the Nephandi’s staff. Vast amounts of body horror followed.
• In the end, the descent of whatever the Nephandi was trying to summon was prevented by Etherites in Space Battleship Bismarck flattening the entire place after the attack force was overrun.
• Survivors were few, Nephandi’s body was never found.
• One of the clones (?) survived, apparently awakened, and apparently contaminated by the bits of the entity that got snipped off inside her when the connection got cut. Was unexpectedly friendly. (???)
• Ira’s master, citing “being incredibly tired of shooting little girls” as the reason, picked her up and has been trying to help her since then after confirming that her avatar was not actually inverted, together with some of Bismarck’s crew of Legitimate Prussian Nationalists.
• It’s not going so hot, since even without being inherently evil, the girl lacks common sense entirely. She means well, though! (maybe) Sends Ira presents, sometimes! (the formal suit she made still haunts the ventilation ducts of the building Ira lives in)
• It does mean that Master’s not going to be in position to help Ira out while she’s over in Japan anytime soon, though.

Vital Statistics

Name: Ira Nevanlinna
Fake Names: Will be keeping a list here!
Tradition: Euthanatos
Concept: Pyromaniac Assassin Cat Lady
Nature: Survivor
Demeanor: Fanatic
Essence: Dynamic
Arete: 3
Quint: 4
Tass: 0
Dox: 4
Damage: [ ] -0 [ ] -1 [ ] -1 [ ] -2 [ ]-2 [ ] -4 [ ] Incap
Willpower: 5/7

Attributes

Physical

Strength 4 (Unstoppable Force) (24)
Dexterity 4 (Precise) (24)
Stamina 4 (Human Tank) (24)

Mental

Perception 4 (Combat Awareness) (24)
Intelligence 3 (12)
Wits 3 (12)

Social

Charisma 2 (4)
Manipulation 3 (12)
Appearance 3 (12)

Abilities

Talents

Alertness 3 (9)
Athletics 3 (9)
Awareness 2 (5)
Brawl 3 (9)
Streetwise 2 (5)
Subterfuge 1 (3)

Skills

Drive 3 (9)
Firearms 4 (15)
Melee 3 (9)
Computer 1 (3)
Technology 2 (5)
Security 2 (5)
Esoterica (Beloved of Flame) 3 (9)

Knowledges

Lore (Traditions) 1 (3)
Lore (Technocracy) 1 (3)
Lore (Nephandi) 1 (3)
Linguistics 3 (7) (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Finnish)
Occult 2 (4)

Spheres

Entropy 3 (31)
Forces 3 (34)
Prime 2 (18)

Traits

Backgrounds

Avatar 4 (9)
Resources 2 (6)
Mentor 1 (3)
Allies 1 (3)
Contacts 2 (6)
Patron 1 (3)
Blessing 4 (15) (+1 – Spirit 1 Vision, +4 – Permanent Life 2 Self-Heal, -1 – Echoes 1 Flaw)

Merits

Prestigious Mentor 1 (3)
Immunity (Fire) 6 (18)
Crack Driver 1 (3)

Flaws

Rose-Colored Glasses 2 (6)
Uncanny 1 (3)
Cultural Other? 1 (3)
Enem(ies) 2 (6)

== Progress:

• Session 1: 5 XP
• Session 2: 4 XP

Buy: Awareness 1 (3 XP)

• Session 3: 5 XP
• Session 4: 3 XP

Buy: Awareness 2 (2 XP)

Buy: Occult 2 (4 XP)

• Session 5: 3 XP

Acquisition: +4 soak bulletproof suit. Wearable! Silk blouse! Special cleaning requirements, though

• Bunch of Sessions: 14 XP (exact count lost due to Windows bluescreen, 1 XP tripped and fell into a hole)

Post-revival:

• Session 1: 7 XP (31 XP total?)

Buy: Firearms 4 (6 XP)

Buy: Brawl 3 (4 XP)

Buy: Prime 2 (18 XP)

28 spent total, 3 XP remaining

• Session 2: 8 XP (11 XP remaining)
• Session 3: 6 XP (17 XP remaining)
• Session 4: 4 XP (21 XP remaining)

Buy: Esoterica 3 (4 XP)

• Session 5: 6 XP (23 XP remaining)

Total: 23 XP remaining