NPC: Frederike Bannink
Overview
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Role | Proprietor, Retired Marine, Information Broker |
| Alignment | Lawful Neutral |
| Affiliation | Independent (formerly Unified Planets Navy) |
Portrait
Profile
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Sgt. Frederike “Rook” Bannink (Ret.) |
| Species | Human (Cyborg) |
| Age | 48 |
| Physical Description | Tall and broad-shouldered with graying hair tied back in a severe bun. Her right arm is entirely mechanical from the shoulder down—an exposed, industrial-grade prosthetic that hums when she moves. She wears practical work clothes and a grease-stained apron. She is almost always shadowed by three small, pearly-white, round droids clustered around her boots. |
| Personality Traits | Stoic, observant, ruthlessly pragmatic. She speaks rarely, but when she does, people listen. She has a dry, dark sense of humor. She shows a rare softness only toward her droids. |
| Known Weaknesses | Phantom Pain: In high-stress situations or during solar flares, her cybernetic integration points flare up, causing hesitation. |
Background
Frederike served 20 years in the Unified Planets Navy (UPN) infantry, seeing combat in the outer rim resource wars. She lost her arm to a breaching charge during a boarding action—an event she refuses to discuss.
After an “honorable but administratively complex” discharge, she took her pension—spending a large chunk of it on three high-end domestic assistant droids—and drifted until she landed on Beaven Point. She bought the hollowed-out shell of a storage bay and opened The Pulsing Phaser. She maintains a strict neutrality; Guild agents, claim jumpers, and smugglers are all welcome, provided they holster their weapons at the door.
Skills and Abilities
- Combat Veteran: Highly proficient with shotguns and CQC (Close Quarters Combat).
- Droid Wrangler: She commands her three small droids with rapid, subvocal commands, using them efficiently for bar work or tactical distractions.
- Information Network: Because everyone drinks at her bar, she knows the location of every rich vein and every smuggler’s hideout before the Guild does.
Equipment and Resources
Notable Equipment:
- “The Gavel”: A sawed-off Mag-Shotgun kept magnetically clamped under the bar.
- Cybernetic Arm: Model IV-Heavy. Enhanced strength (Str 14), capable of crushing a human hand or denting plasteel.
Resources:
- The “Pebbles” (Alpha, Beta, Gamma): Three shin-sized, round utility droids with pearly white chassis and emotive LCD faces. They act as waiters, cleaners, and an ankle-level early warning system.
- The Safe: A hidden floor safe containing a significant stash of raw gems (emergency fund) and blackmail material on local officials.
- Slag: Her loyal, chemically-enhanced bouncer.
Goals and Motivations
- Primary: Maintain order in her establishment. The Pulsing Phaser is her sovereign territory.
- Secondary: Accumulate enough wealth to buy a plot of land on a planet with real air and blue skies where she and her droids can retire.
- Hidden: She is protecting Isabel Workhel, the young mechanic.
Key Relationships
Allies
| Name | Reason |
|---|---|
| ”Slag” | Her bouncer. She saved him from being spaced by the Guild years ago; he is fanatically loyal. |
| Zara Jackson | Mutual professional respect. Zara knows not to push Guild authority inside the bar. |
| Isabel Workhel | Isabel maintains the Droids, which are always happy to see her. |
Enemies
| Name | Reason |
|---|---|
| Artem Rieman | She suspects he is a spy and dislikes his “slippery” demeanor. She watches him like a hawk. |
| Local Gangs | Various claim-jumping gangs hold grudges because she has physically thrown their leaders out of the airlock (literally). |
Typical Activities
- Polishing the Bar: A nervous tic; she is constantly wiping down the counter while scanning the room.
- Droid Maintenance: Tinkering with her droids’ servos during slow hours, showing rare patience.
- The Nightly Count: Auditing the credits and gems after closing hours with a loaded weapon on the table.
Story Hooks
- The Debt: Frederike’s prosthetic is malfunctioning. She needs a rare servo-actuator that is strictly military-grade. She offers the players a cut of the bar’s profits or a piece of juicy intel if they can smuggle one in past Guild customs.
- Droid-napped: One of her “Pebbles” (Gamma) has gone missing. It witnessed a crime and was snatched by a local gang. Frederike is ready to go to war to get it back and will hire the PCs as backup.