'Here's Johnny'
John Daniel
Edward Torrance
F: Gd
(10)/Ex (20)
A: Typ (06)
S: Typ
(06)/Gd (10)
E: Gd
(10)/Ex (20)
R: Gd (10)
I: Ex
(20)/Gd (10)
P: Typ (06)
Health: 42/50
Karma: 36*
Resources: Typ
(06)
Popularity:
0
Talents:
Jack
Torrance has the following talents:
Teacher
Profession:
Writer
Repair/Tinkering
Business/Finance
Powers:
Jack
Torrance is a mostly normal person with a troubled background and a history of
both drinking and violence. Although Jack has sobered up at the beginning of
the novel, the ghosts of the Overlook and the pressures of both his past and
solitude drive him slowly insane and make him susceptible to spiritual
possession. Prior to becoming ‘The other’ or ‘the beast’ as outlined in the
novel, Jack’s FASERIP are represented in the first column, while the time when
Jack is ‘possessed’ is represented in the second column. Jack has some
potential for the Shining, as stated in both in The Shining and Dr. Sleep, hence the higher intuition, which is further
supported by the miniseries of the same name. Despite this, when fully
possessed by the Overlook, Jack undergoes a subtle but important
transformation:
Possessed:
Jack’s
possession is not as obvious or as direct as one would assume. From the moment
of Jack’s arrival in the Overlook Jack is slowly brought into the hotel’s sway,
working to unravel his psyche and allow full possession of his facilities. When
Jack is fully subsumed by the ghosts and hotel, Jack’s FASERIP change to
reflect a manic desire to murder his family, especially his son Danny. In the
novel, Jack is no longer referred as Jack, but rather as the monster. AS such,
Jack is completely at the whim of the ghosts and has the following abilities:
- Increased
FASE: Jack’s Fighting, Strength, and Endurance go up while possessed, and while
not superhuman, are greater than his normal abilities. Jack is able to take
several mallet blows to the head and still function, as well as recovering from
being knocked unconscious more quickly. Jack’s strength increases mainly due to
his near manic insanity, and while fully in the thrall of the ghosts, Jack
doesn’t require an Endurance FEAT when suffering great damage (Like trying to
dump the boiler during the mini-series which burns him). Jack’s Intuition
actually goes down representing the possession, and while Jack gains health
from his increased attributes, he can no longer gain karma unless completing
his goals set by the ghosts.
- Psychic
Potential: Although not directly stated, it’s implied both in the novel and the
1997 miniseries that Jack may have some small ability at the Shining, and due
to his drinking and other problems he may have repressed it. In the cases where
Jack is being ‘reached’ with psychic power, Jack gains a +2cs to overcome the
possession he is under. In addition, Jack is able to exist at some level past
death, appearing in the 1997 miniseries as a spirit to his grown son and in Dr. Sleep to help Danny against Rose the
Hat. It is heavily implied also by Stephen King that Jack was more than
represented in the 1980 movie version. Jack can perceive the ghosts of the
Overlook without them necessarily manifesting, however this isn’t something
that is as common as their purpose is to drive him further towards their goals.
- Overlook
Protection: The Overlook will occasionally aid or protect Jack in unusual ways.
First, as seen in all versions of The Shining, The ghosts in the hotel will manifest to provide
assistance in limited ways – such as freeing Jack from the freezer. Second,
should an attempt to dissuade or ‘reach’ Jack be attempted, first Jack will
make an appropriate Intuition/Psyche FEAT, and if he fails, the Overlook will
then make a FEAT for Jack. Please see my write-up from several years ago on The Overlook for details
Contacts:
Due to
Jack’s previous history and drinking he has few remaining contacts. Along with
the scandal that Jack had while teaching in college, Jack’s professional career
is mostly destroyed.
Limitations:
Jack’s
Limitations range from his personal limitations to the limitations as being the
earthly force for the ghosts of the Overlook:
- Alcoholic:
Jack is a recovering alcoholic; whose past is violent and well-known to the
authorities. Due to his drinking Jack accidentally broke his son’s arm as well as
engaged in an affair with a student which ended his academic career. As such,
Jack’s recovery is tenuous at best, and one of the things used by the ghosts of
the overlook to drive him further towards destruction.
- Karma
Use: Jack cannot gain Karma through any normal activity while at the Overlook,
and can only gain Karma while under the sway of the ghosts and completing their
goals. Jack can spend from the Overlook’s karma pool while ‘The Monster’, as
effectively Jack is just a part of the hotel at that point. Jack cannot spend
Karma for kill results.
- Insanity: Jack is considered ‘insane’ while possessed and has little memory of
his activities early on when issues happen.
- Dark
Secrets: Jack is rife with dark secrets, ranging from accidentally hurting Danny
to having an illicit affair with a student.
Notes:
This is a combination
of all the current representations of Jack Torrance in The Shining. I drew a lot more from the novel than the Kubrick
movie as for characterization, and added the 1997 miniseries aspects that were green-lit by King. I wanted to reflect the Jack Torrance who was the more
complete version as presented by all three initial appearances.
One thing I
wanted to make sure to capture was that Jack Torrance was in fact something
else when he was possessed. I think that as King stressed this in the novel and
in the 1997 miniseries, I felt that it was important to differentiate the
FASERIP qualities. I also think that adding the karma and resistance from the
Overlook was important.
