James Stockton

JAMES

Portrayed by Russell Crowe
Statistics
Fullname	James Stockton
Birthday	April 7, 1613
Species	Vampire
Age	392 (appears 30)
Height	About 6'
Weight	About 180 lbs
Eyes	Blue
Hair	Black
Occupation	Wanderer, freelance, craftsman

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Table of Contents

Claim to Fame

Bit of a wanderer. Likes big dogs. Has a south London accent.

Biography

Born in 1613
Fought in the English Civil War.
Turned in 1643 by Marius Schlachter
Hung out with Marius for a couple of centuries.
Wandered off to settle down.
Got bored. Decided to travel the Mediterranean and Middle East.
Fought in Cypress for the Brits in WW2.
Moved to Canada for a change of pace in late '40's.
Fought in the Viet Nam war for the US.
Wandered Central and S. America for kicks in the 80's and 90's.
Hunted through Mexico about the time of the Great Revelation.
Wandered into Dallas early in July '05. Decided to stick around for a bit.

Character Details

James was raised in a time very different than now. By nature, he's calm and even-tempered, occasionally even amusing. Not a lot phases him. He's been there. Done that. Seen most of it. Worn out more t-shirts than he cares to count. He is prone to restlessness, however, and is known to alternate between periods of wanderlust out of a desire for the 'old days' and periods of settling down and pretending he's at peace. Nonetheless, he is something of a quiet calming influence on those around him, including his best friend and Maker, Marius. He's also loyal, raised in a time when betraying an oath could mean one's life. When he gives his word, it is unbroken.

Experienced Combatant
James was trained to fight as a boy. He's fought his way though most of the major conflicts from the mid-1600's to present-day in one form or another. He understands military tactics. He knows how to use just about every personal weapon out there from sword and pike to advanced firearms. He's not quite so handy with weapons from periods earlier than that of his birth (i.e. he's better with guns than bows), but it doesn't mean he doesn't know how to use them. He loves a good dust-up.
Master Craftsman
James is a master craftsman. During those periods when he settled down, he needed something to occupy his hands. As a result, he is a master carver and woodworker and a highly skilled leatherman. He can work with metals and stone, if he chooses, though he's best with wood. He finds hand-work relaxing, and so indulges in it often.
Languages
Thanks to his long years wandering across Europe, James has facility with several languages in addition to English — French, German, Italian, Greek, some Spanish, Turkish, Hindi, and Arabic. His accents in the Western European languages are fairly good, though his eastern language accents tend to make native speakers wince. He never entirely shakes the South London accent of his birth.
Shadow Master
James has an uncanny ability to manipulate light and shadow. (Particulalry shadow.) He can lengthen and exaggerate them, gather them to him, use them to confuse his enemies and hide himself. As a result, he can seem to appear out of or vanish into thin air without a trace. It also lends him a very slight immunity to the effects of partial sunlight. As long as there's some sort of shade to protect him, he can move with his usual speed and will take twice as long as regular vampires to burn. (This doesn't mean he can face direct sunlight and expect to live.)
Light Sleeper
James can, on occasion, force himself awake past dawn or before sunset. This is not something he can do regularly, but when desperate occasions call for desperate measures, he can do it. It takes its toll, however, since he will sleep all the longer — perhaps even 24 hours straight or longer — when he does finally rest. Nevertheless, this lends him remarkable endurance and less inclination to disorientation upon waking.
Master of Hounds
James has an unusual affinity for canines of all sorts. Instead of getting their hackles up around him, they actually take to him reasonably well. Some take to him very well, in fact — well enough to be considered 'familiars'. This sort of raport takes time to develop, but once it has, he can assert a certain 'claim' on the animal, effectively turning it into a hellhound and lending it a certain measure of his own abilities (increased speed, strength, and endurance). He can also receive limited 'impressions' from the animal, thus extending his own senses through theirs. Typically, he uses these animals to guard his sleep. Note: This ability is only partially effective with Two-Natured. Werewolves and canine shifters may find him slightly less 'prickly' than other vampires. He won't raise their hackles so fast. However, their human-level intelligence prevents him from manipulating them to the same degree he does natural-born canines. While they would be more susceptible to his charm when in animal form than they would be in human, they can more readily choose to reject his 'calming effect' in either form and he cannot assert any claim over them beyond what he could with a normal human. Further, his aversion to the 'swampy' taste of their blood is the same as any vampire's and his blood will make the Two-Natured ill, just like any other. (Not to mention the fact that he's allergic to Two-Natured bites.) So, he won't be blood-bonding with any of them any time soon.

Vampire
The usual vampire foibles apply, mitigated in some cases by his +skills.
Loyalty
James' word is his bond. Once given, it is never broken. Never. At least, certainly not willingly. In fact, he will carry tasks down through centuries, if needs be, in order to fulfill a promise made. Should he ever fail to keep his word, he will always, ultimately, seek out some sort of penance to perform from the person he failed in redemption. As a result, he is very careful about when and how he gives his word — and just what the wording of his oath is. Further, he is slow to make close friends. Once he has, however, the Devil himself could not make him sever that bond.
Gold
James is technically Marius' Child. Thus, he has inherited his Maker's allergy to gold. It leaves painful welts on his skin, worse than silver. So he avoids it.
Once More Into The Breach
James' restless nature makes it impossible for him to stay sidelined for long. No matter how often he settles down and indulges his creative side, he inevitably returns to his bloody roots. If there's a fight to be had, he'll find it. Hell, every so often, he'll probably start it, just because he's bored.
Enemies - Guilt by Association
James has had a long, bloody history at war. He's not nearly so bloody, mind, as his best friend Marius, but they've hunted together often enough that people assume James is as brutal and unforgiving as the Hessian. Thus, he's a target for those he's pissed off all by himself, and those Marius has pissed off as well. And, occasionally, he's targetted by those that want to strike back at Marius. Fortunately, thus far, they've been spectacularly unsuccesful.
Two-Natured Bites
It's probably a good thing many Two-Natured find James a little more charming than the usual vampire, since their bites affect him more than what might be expected. He has a peculiar allergy to them. In the first place, his vampiric quick healing is negated. He heals as slowly from a Two-Natured bite as a human does from a dog bite. More than that, depending on the severity, they can make him feverish — a fever that can last nearly as long as it takes for the bite to heal. The greater the bite's severity, the greater the likelihood and severity of fever. Thus, a small nip may be an itchy irritation over a number of days, while a bloody chomp can lay him low for weeks.

Relationships

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Name	Race	Relation	Notes
Titus & Brutus	Wolfhounds	Faithful Companions	James is often seen with two very large, grey wolfhounds at his side. They are utterly his creatures and are notable for their remarkable speed, strength, and stamina — which, really, is seen only when he commands them to action.
Marius Schlachter	Vampire	Maker / Brother-in-Arms	The pair have been swordbrothers since the mid-17th century. James understands him and can calm him when just about no one else can.
Chloe Cornett	Psychic	The King's Own	Met her when he went to present himself to the Sheriff of Area 9. Insolent and surly. Apparently the King likes them spirited. Good to know.
Michael Isonzo	Vampire	Met In Passing	Met him once at Bloody Mary's. He's old.
Desiree de Villiers	Breather	Acquaintance	Met her several times. Bit of a rabbit. Glamoured by someone that wants her to believe Marius attacked her. I feel I ought to discover why — no matter if Marius approves or not.
Bethany Brooks	Breather	Marius' Lamb	Appears almost as devoid of emotion as the long dead. Intriguing. But she belongs to Marius.