Chance

NAME ▲ [ Chance Rikhter, M.D. ] AGE ▲ [ 30 ] HEIGHT ▲ [ 5'10" ] SPECIES ▲ [ Human Daywalker ] NATIONALITY ▲ [ Russian-born American ] LANGUAGES ▲ [ English, Russian ] WEAKNESSES ▲ [ Voracious appetite ] FAVORITE FOOD ▲ [ Painfully undecided ] HOBBIES ▲ [ Origami, running, model airplanes ] AFFLICTIONS ▲ [ None he'll cop to Borderline alcoholic]

OCCUPATION ▲ [ Surgical Fellow ] SPECIALIZATION ▲ [ Pediatrics ] HANDEDNESS ▲ [ Ambidextrious ] NOTABLE FEATURES ▲ [ Fangs ] ORIENTATION ▲ [ No clear preference ] RELATIONSHIP STATUS ▲ [ Single as a Pringle ] TATTOOS ▲ [ None, thanks ] SCARS ▲ [ Disconcertingly flawless ] FEARS ▲ [ Losing use of his hands ] FAMILY ▲ [ The twins, younger half brother & sister ]

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"Successful people are not gifted. They just work hard, and succeed on purpose."

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"I'm a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more I have of it."

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In order to understand Chance, it's important to have a cursory understanding of late Soviet and early post Soviet Russia. This is a tall order when one asks an American to name three Russian cities, and the answer, more often than not, is: "Moscow, St Petersburg, uh..."

In the USSR, every worker was equal, but some were more equal than others. Scientists came first in erecting the perfect society because they were supposed to usher communism into a new era. In a state without religion, they had the status of gods. The party erected beautiful cities for them across Siberia. There were no shortages, or ration lines. A person could just walk into a grocery and there would be food on the shelf. They had huge apartments, and beautiful parks, and Olympic sized swimming pools for no real reason. Everyone wanted to live in a Naukograd.

Novosibirsk, where Chance was born, was the biggest Naukograd. Though, the most famous was in in the Ukraine -- Chernobyl. The Berlin wall came down when Chance was four. Russian scientists left for Germany and the US to work for Boeing and IBM. Eventually, after the collapse, the ones who couldn't get out, like Chance's mother, were paid less than bus drivers. Life wasn't easy. But, Novobirisk being a shrine to the abandoned idea of a utopian nerdocracy, still had some of the most rigorous math and science programs in the country. When Chance immigrated to the United States to live with relatives after her death, he was at the very least well prepared to make a life for himself.

Chance is a board certified general surgeon. He is currently completing his fellowship in pediatrics, and wishes to find a post at a teaching hospital. Publish or perish haunts Chance. His area of research interest is the treatment of congenital defects in children with one human parent and one supernatural parent. He is such a person, though he doesn't talk about it much.

POSITIVE ▲ driven ▲ sweet, charismatic candor ▲ highly achievement & goal-oriented ▲ loyal ▲ studious, responsible ▲ not a mean bone in his body ▲ stiff upper lip ▲ unusually intelligent

NEGATIVE ▲ stubborn, uncompromising ▲ empathy burnout ▲ fussy & fragile like most surgeons ▲ abandonment complex ▲ literally no life; unhealthy work ethic ▲ huge, fragile ego ▲ high-functioning alcoholic ▲ craven, useless in fights

Dhampirs are typically trained as hunters due to their speed and strength, and sometimes their intelligence or latent magical abilities. In light of this, to protect their interests and their lives vampires will often attempt to kill or sire the humanity out of any dhampirs they may come across. Few Dhampirs survive to adulthood.

➣H Y P N O S I S ▪ Chance can control another person's mind by making eye contact. Since he's not interested in mind-raping anyone, he rarely does this on purpose. Because of his hybrid nature, he is partially or totally impervious to vampiric hypnosis.

➣ A C U T E S E N S E S ▪ Dhampir tracking abilities with scent have been described as on par with a dog or wolf. He can also sense auras. This skill is largely untested in Chance. That being said, he is extremely skilled at detecting lies.

➣S U P E R H U M A N S T R E N G T H ▪ Dhampir have above average strength, speed, stamina, and reflexes. These increase with training. But, they haven't in Chance because he spends most of his time studying. The only ability he has really trained is his speed, through his love of running. He is more of a distance runner than a speed runner, capable of covering punishing distances.

➣ E I D E T I C M E M O R Y ▪ Dhampirs have perfect memory recall, are unable to forget, and develop mentally at a rate far faster than their chronological and biological age. Their minds are often called "vaults" in which they store all their information permanently, regardless of how far such memories recede into the past. This might contribute to his preternatural intelligence.

▲ Chance will do anything for a crisp square of origami paper, and makes animals regularly to reward himself for daily accomplishments.
▲ Most Dhampir are born with raven black hair. Chance, however, is a natural platinum blonde.
▲ High on Chance's bucket list is running in the Badlands 135 or Yukon Arctic Ultra.
▲ Model airplanes and flight museums are an undying object of Chance's childlike fascination.
▲ Chance emigrated to the United States from Russia when he was 14.
▲ By heritage, Chance is Jewish but non-observant.
▲ Chance likes either sarcastic bad-boys who run circles around him or shy boys he can tease. There is no in between.
▲ Chance is allergic to cats, but can't resist them. He's in the bad habit of self-prescribing to combat the symptoms.
▲ Gin and vodka are Chance's spirits of choice. It will be a cold day in hell when he admits he has a problem.
▲ In general, Chance has only one reaction to patients hitting on him. He's a professional.