TRAITS

   Allergy – Cats (Major Complication) – Jack's allergic to cats. Fatally allergic.  Can't touch them, can't smell them, can't go near them.  Has to carry a damn needle around with him. Positively hilarious.  This one time we saw one of them crazy old women with a load of cats, he went all funny and we had to inject him, with not a cat in sight.
   Credo – Taoist (Minor Complication) – Now, I don't know much about faith in general or his in particular, but I hear that involves livin' in balance with all things. Now, there must be more to that, with all the killin' he does, but it does pop up from time to time. Told me straight when I hired him that he wouldn't shoot someone who wasn't lookin' to get shot, by which he means aren't strappin' iron or meanin' harm.  Otherwise, he's plenty fine to shoot 'em 'till they don't look so pretty.
   Dead Broke (Minor Complication) – The man doesn't spend much, but he still manages to lose money with the best of them.  Taoist monasteries when he can.  Just gives them the money. Damned yee yan, literally. When he can't find a monastery, he settles for a charity. Just gives it away.  Still, he manages to live on what he has as if it's plenty.  Hardly buys a thing, that shiny gun of his was probably the most money he'd ever spent, though it no doubt cost some.
   Easy Mark (Major Complication) – Man's intelligent, no doubt about it, hold a conversation with anyone else.  But thing is, he's a problem with lies. I'm sure as anythin' that he's given about half as much to swindlers with charity stories than he has charities. They see him coming to, with that damned innocent face of his. He'd believe any damned thing a man could say, and not suspect for a moment that it ain't so. No matter the amount of lies and liars, he just goes along throwing his money on anyone with a half-decent lie.
   Fightin' Type (Major Asset) – Any time you wanna die, strap on some iron and try an' draw on him.   It's all that unnatural trainin' he's doin'.  It's not healthy. Between all the shootin', sword swingin' and Tai Chi-in' he does, I don't have a damned idea how the guy finds time for sleepin'. Man's like a gorram viper.  Can draw and aim 'fore you know there's a thing wrong.  Comes in damn handy in a confrontation of any sort, with all the sword swingin' and brawlin'. Man earns his pay.
   Memorable (Minor Complication) – This one can get to be a problem.  Walks around looking happy, all innocent and gullible like. Face no one forgets. Helluva inconvenience from time to time, 'specially as there are some places you'd like to be forgot.  Then there's the fact he's a monk, the best damned gunfighter under the sky and that he sings to himself. Yeah.  I've been meaning to have a word about the singing.
   Talented – Pistols (Major Asset) – Jack's fair devoted to the whole gunfighter thing, he says it's his uncle taught it him when he was young, had him practice hours daily. As I understand it, he's looking to get lost in the practice, as so's he can find the Way. Or somethin'. He practices odd hours, all silent like – going through his Tai Chi stuff, gun in hand, in the cargo bay.  When we're on land, and there's a time and place he shoots patterns into whatever he finds.  Quite pretty really. Fella has his practical purposes though, gorram sure didn't hire him to dance around makin' pretty patterns.  We got no short of people as take offense to what we do, and that gun of his ain't there for lookin' pretty.
   Things Go Smooth (Major Asset) – Took to noticin' how bad things happen less often to the man. It's mighty curious how everythin' goes his way. Hear him say it, he tells you that he doesn't resist a thing's nature. Not able to figure what that's got to do with all those bullets missin' him, but when I tried pressin' him on it, he started tellin' me a story, can't remember a damned word of it, but jien ta duh guay am I askin' again.

ROLEPLAYING NOTES

   “A weird one, no doubt about it. Goes around like he hasn't a care in the world, always happen and without a doubt everything's gonna turn out just fine.  So optimistic it's practically suicidal.  He holds the position that even a bad thing can be a good thing, and recounted another story to me about it.  Those gorram stories. Got one for every occasion, nothin' preachy like, but every damn one of them has a moral to it. Range from 'why this is really a good thing' to 'go after two things you get neither.'
   “Damn strange thing though, things do turn out right for him, mostly.  Even when they seem to not. He tells me everything doesn't go his way, he goes it's way instead – it's easier that way. Damned if I have the glimmerin' of idea what he's talkin' about. All the same, every time I thought he was finally gonna get hit, he didn't, or it turned out to be less severe than it coulda been.
   “Regardless, he wears that body armour of his, it bein' that he's not so convinced of his invincibility as I am. It bein' a rare and noticeable occasion when someone gets a turn of shootin' at him. Even in ambushes, the man seems to have his gun out and aimed 'fore the damned bushwhackers turn the corner. And the actual shootin', that's somethin' to see. That shiny pistol of his is modified, his own design, Jack actually has a bit of a talent at makin' the things too.  Steady aim, as if the gun don't kick, and the shots are like whispers. Like I said, shiny.  He makes pictures with bullet holes too, real fast like.  Takes a sheet of metal, bam bam bam. Shoots, reloads, shoots and everythin's in a nifty little pattern. Nice, but weird.
   “Goes through his fancy Tai Chi motions with his gun drawn half the time.  If you ask him, he says that this way he aims the gun like it's his arm. I guess it works.  Does Tai Chi as a martial art too, though he don't spar with Xun – possible for fear of his welfare.  Man can scarce be blamed.  He swings a sword too, nothin' too fancy and not so well as Xun but he can handle himself.
   “As somethin' of a side hobby to the cheerful killin' of everyone who happens to pull a gun, the man cooks.  Pretty well too.  He's the closest we have to a cook. Don't get me wrong, he's no fancy chef, but spend a certain amount of time in the Black with a small crew and you get to treasure a good meal.
“Along with the whole cookin', he seems to be able to handle himself fair well too.  Good at survivin'. Leave him in a forest for a while he's damn near be livin' like a king before headin' back to civilization like he already knew where it was.
   “Talkative sort, terminally cheerful and sings by himself. Quite possible overdue the bughouse but I doubt I could find myself a better gunslinger for all the money in the Verse.”