L Is for Lawless
lawless: (adj.) not governed by or obedient to laws; characterized by a lack of civic order
Nota Bene: My original plan was to present an NPC for TSR’s 2nd edition Boot Hill from 1979. Unfortunately, the game’s box is nearly empty, and the rulebook seems to have ridden off into the sunset. (The rulebook is somewhere in the house, but I can’t find it.) I have a PDF of the 1st edition rules, but I never played them, and I’m trying to stick to writing stuff for games I’ve played. So, here we go with TSR’s 3rd edition Boot Hill from 1990.
Luc Sansloy’s grandfather, Jean-Pierre Sanloy, fled the Terror in early 1794 with his wife, Marie Anne, and newborn son, Jean-Luc, leaving behind his ancestral home in Bretagne, first traveling to England and then later to Quebec, Canada. He parleyed his title and remaining wealth into a lucrative partnership with a Québécois mercantile business. Within the first years of the 19th century, the Sanloy family lived in the lap of luxury, and Jean-Pierre was widely respected in public circles.
But within the walls of his new mansion, Jean-Pierre was feared and hated. He ruled his wife and son with an iron fist, punishing even minor errors with the back of his hand. “For every slip, there is a slap,” Jean-Pierre often reminded. When Jean-Pierre died of a stroke in 1814, few sincere tears of sorrow were shed. Unfortunately by this time, Jean-Luc, then a young man, had learned his father’s lessons well. What’s more, he had the wealth and position to indulge in base cruelties without much fear of legal reprisals.
Jean-Luc took a young wife soon after his mother died of tuberculosis in 1817. This young lady died in a riding accident after only a few months of marriage. Persistent rumors claimed that not all of the cuts and bruises on her broken body were suffered in the fatal fall. Jean-Luc traveled for several years thereafter, visiting Europe, Africa, and South America. He returned to Quebec from these trips in 1825 with a new wife, Temitope, a Yoruba woman whose stunning beauty masked terrible cruelty.
Luc Sansloy was born in 1827 in Jean-Luc’s inherited mansion. From his earliest days, Luc received a vigorous education in vice and spite. Jean-Luc and Temitope used their son as a pawn in their twisted games of mutual abuse, and Luc quickly grew to hate both his parents. As he grew into adolescence, Luc spread his wings and inserted himself into his parents’ abusive contests. He succeeded in convincing Temitope that Jean-Luc was plotting to send her back Africa’s West Coast so that he can could wed one of his mistresses.
This led to an escalation resulting in Temitope poisoning Jean-Luc, who shot his wife in the head and chest before he died. After the official inquiry into the deaths was completed, Luc sold much of his family’s assets and then set fire to his grandfather’s house. He left Quebec for the U.S.’s frontier in 1842.
Since then, Luc has left a swath of blood and remorse in his wake. He prides himself on his lawlessness. He has worked as both a conductor on the Underground Railroad as well as a slave hunter in free territories. During the U.S. Civil War, he fought for the Confederacy at first, but then deserted and fought for the Union. After the South fell, he deserted again, and headed west, ending up in Utah territory.
Luc Sansloy is almost completely amoral. There is no crime he will not at least seriously consider, and he’s guilty of breaking most laws, both those of man and of God. Despite his brutish appearance, Luc possesses a keen mind backed by a classical education. He is not be underestimated, and no one should trust him far at all. Luc’s only laws are his whims.
Luc Sansloy
Strength: 12
Coordination: 10
Observation: 14
Stature: 13
Luck: 6
Skills: Brawling 4, Fast Draw 12, Knife/Sword 4, Linguistics 8, Literacy 11, Pistol 5, Riding 10, Rifle 5
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