Damien Naumann
Damien Naumann, born as Daniel Nelson, is a character in the Cyberpunk universe.
Biography
Early life - 2040s
Born as Daniel Nelson, he spent the early part of his adult life trying and failing to become an actor. Nelson was convinced he would be the next action hero star, doing his own stunts and gaining fame for megaviolence on the screen. However, Daniel kept at failing auditions between bouncing gigs at various bars, slowly spiraling into frustration. Around this time, he met Jennifer Hauser, with both falling in love and with her remaking him to her own ideals, transforming Daniel Nelson into Damien Naumann. Soon enough he joined the Red Chrome Legion as Populi, serving Jennifer (aka Vox) as her partner. A surprisingly charismatic couple, Vox and Populi worked their way up to recruiters for the Legion, with Damien working to give legitimacy to those gang members that didn't like taking orders from a woman.[2]
2045
In 2045, after a series of failures against the Iron Sights and other parties which culminated in the Legion's embarrassment defeat near the smoldering Forlorn Hope, both Vox and Populi killed the Red Chromers' leadership in a bloody coup. Afterwards, pieces of the former boss, Maniple, were found scattered around Little China, with Populi and Vox stepping up to fill the vacuum. Not much later, the new leadership swept through multiple homeless encampments around Night City, offering food and shelter for those who needed it in exchange for an oath signed in blood. This dramatically increased the number of Red Chromers, recruiting and radicalizing the new members into true believers.
Over the following months, Vox and Populi used the newfound strength to successfully lead the Legion against the Iron Sights, and after a series of victories, the Red Chromers went silent, fortifying their territory instead of expanding it. With their turf secured, Vox and Populi decided it was time to gain their reputation back by striking at the new Forlorn Hope, a place they had been monitoring ever since it started reconstruction. For that task, they killed Woodland Park residents Arthur and Annie Cartwright, two siblings living in the Shark apartment complex, and took their identities by bodysculpting their faces to resemble them. They also kept full physical scans of their bodies to be resculpted back when their mission was over. While Populi was watching over the Hope from the outside as Arthur, Vox infiltrated the establishment as Annie, a server for the soon-to-reopen Hope. This plan was to be executed at the bar's opening night, when the more people would be present.
During the inauguration day, Populi hired a crew of mercenaries to collect a number of ingredients from Stems & Seeds at the University District and to toss them out. These were supposed to be collected by a different crew contracted by Hope's owner Marianne Freeman, with both groups eventually facing off. If Marianne's crew obtained the ingredients, the Forlorn Hope was able to produce their signature drink. Either way, the plan was for the Legionnaires to assault the Hope, with Populi leading them from rooftop. If the Hope's merc crew was able to find out about the attack, they informed Marianne. Even with the bar ready, the Legion's attack was chaotic and brutal. Populi and his team used a zipline from the neighboring Shark to led the assault from the Hope's rooftop downwards, planting fire bombs on the top floor, though the the Hope fighters resisted them. Once Populi had planted a large fire bomb on the Freemans apartment, if he was able to, he tried to flee. Otherwise he made his last stand there. By the end of the night, however, the invading Red Chrome Legion force had been decimated.[1]
Appearance
Prior to his bodysculpt to resemble Arthur Cartwright, Damien was described as striking white man with short-crop military-style blond hair and brown eyes.[1]
Stats & Equipment
| Stats | Source(s): Tales of the RED: Hope Reborn (p.142), Hope Reborn+ (p.12) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INT | 5 | REF | 8 | DEX | 8 | TECH | 5 | COOL | 4 | ||
| WILL | 4 | LUCK | — | MOVE | 6 | BODY | 12 | EMP | 2 | ||
| Skills | Combat Awareness 6, Acting 10, Athletics 12, Brawling 10, Concentration 6, Conversation 6, Drive Land Vehicle 10, Endurance 11, Education 7, Electronics/Security Tech 10, Evasion 14, First Aid 7, Handgun 10, Heavy Weapons 12, Human Perception 6, Language (English) 9, Language (German) 9, Language (Streetslang) 6, Local Expert (RCL Territory) 10, Melee Weapons 14, Perception 10, Persuasion 12, Resist Torture/Drugs 13, Shoulder Arms 12, Stealth 10, Streetwise 9, Tactics 11 | ||||||||||
| Cyberware | Bodysculpt, Grafted Muscle & Bone Lace, Implanted Linear Frame Sigma, Neural Link (w/ Chip Socket, Kerenzikov, Pain Editor), Subdermal Armor | ||||||||||
| Armor | Subdermal Armor (Body & Head) | ||||||||||
| Weapons | Excellent Quality Officer's Sword, Excellent Quality Assault Rifle (w/ Smartgun Link, Armor-Piercing Rifle Ammo x50) | ||||||||||
| Gear | Anti-Smog Breathing Mask, Disposable Cell Phone (w/ Scrambler/Descrambler), Duct Tape, Techtool, Cash: 500eb | ||||||||||
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 SPIVEY C. et al., Tales of the RED: Hope Reborn. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2024. (pp.43,95,115–116,120–121,125,130–135,137,142)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hope Reborn+. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2023. (pp.12,17)