Saul Rubenstien
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Whaddaya, kidding me? We're sittin' on a gold mine here, kiddo! | |
| Saul Rubenstien | |
| Player: @Ascendant | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Scrapper |
| Security Level: | 2 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Saul Rubenstien |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 75 |
| Height: | 5'7" |
| Weight: | 138lbs |
| Eye Color: | Gray |
| Hair Color: | Gray |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Naturalized American |
| Occupation: | Agent of the Stars |
| Place of Birth: | Kecskemét, Hungary |
| Base of Operations: | Galaxy City, Paragon City |
| Marital Status: | Widowed, Rachel Louise Rubenstien (1938-2002) |
| Known Relatives: | Eric West (Nephew; see Ascendant), Max Rubenstien (Brother; whereabouts unknown), Edith West (Sister; deceased) |
| Known Powers | |
| None | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Gift of Gab | |
| Equipment | |
| Confidential | |
| No additional information available. | |
Contents |
Affiliations
- Saul Rubenstien is Ascendant's uncle and manager.
Personality
Over the years, Saul has morphed from the kindly uncle into the quintessential 'grumpy old man', especially after his wife's death. More and more often, Saul has unguarded moments around those close to him where he's surprisingly bitter and remorseful ofter the way his life has gone.
When money is at stake, though, Saul becomes outgoing and friendly, especially to strangers (whom he secretly regards as potential clients or contacts), and his charm can be quite disarming. Saul often focuses so much on 'closing the deal' that he forgets to question if the deal was even a good idea in the first place.
Abilities
Gift of Gab
Decades of negotiating deals from back alleys to board rooms has honed Saul's people skills to a razor keen edge. He's particularly good at reading people and adjusting his approach to optimize their trust in him. Given enough time, Saul can generally talk his way out of--or into-- any situation.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Age
Now in his 70's, Saul is well past his prime. His mind is not as sharp as it once was, and he's become more and more prone to mistakes over the years.
Terrible Luck
For Saul's entire life, he's been just within reach of "the Big Score" but never able to actually close in on it. Whenever he does, some terrible turn of events is almost guaranteed to transpire, and Saul will somehow manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Rogues Gallery
The United States Government
Over the years, Saul's questionable judgment has put him at odds with all three branches of the government, and it is often only by Ascendant's intervention that he avoids jail time. Saul has engaged in particularly protracted battles with the Internal Revenue Service over his "creative" bookkeeping. He also gained the rare distinction of attracting the full focus of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms when he recently attempted to sell "Holiday Fun Packs" consisting of Ascendant-branded gin, cigarettes, and shotguns.
Character History
Saul Rubenstien was the eldest of three siblings born to a poor Hungarian family. Unable to find work in Hungary, his parents wandered throughout Europe, eventually settling in Germany when he was three.
Unfortunately, Hitler's rise to power turned out to be disastrous for the Jewish family, and they were one of the first families to be forced into the concentration camps. After several brutal weeks, Saul's father had managed to work out an escape plan which took advantage of a small gap in the camp's outer fence. The gap wasn't large enough to accommodate his parents, but Saul, his brother Max, and his infant sister Edith would just be able to squeeze through. After days of argument, Saul reluctantly agreed to escape with his brother and sister.
The escape was successful, and although the three children were ill-prepared to deal with the threats that faced them, they made their way across the German countryside with surprising resourcefulness. They eventually made it to a port and a young Doctor Crom deliberately distracted a guard on their behalf, giving them the chance to stow away on a freighter.
Within six months, the trio was in Paragon City, penniless and near starvation. Saul, who had mastered English with astonishing ease, found work for himself and his brother, making sure that at least one of them was available to keep an eye on young Edith at all times. Max became a master of the con game, and often relied on his brother's smooth talk to soothe angers of those he crossed. Over time, Saul and Max cultivated contacts throughout the city, and by the time Saul was twelve, they had brokered enough deals to keep the family off the streets and into schools as legal citizens of the United States.
When he turned 20, Saul left his siblings to pursue a career in Hollywood as an agent. It was there, among the throngs of starlets and would-be actresses, that he met his wife, Rachel, who aspired to be nothing more glamorous than a nurse. Saul's success in Hollywood was varied at best, although he did serve on the retainer of several C and D List celebrities, and enjoyed a life of moderate comfort.
In 1967, he found out that Edith was getting married to a construction worker in Paragon City, although the joyous news was almost immediately overshadowed by the discovery that Max had pulled one last con job, and had vanished with all of the couple's money. Saul donated nearly half of his savings to get the couple back on their feet.
Eventually, though, he and Rachel both retired. They moved back to Paragon City to be near his sister and her family, which now featured a young boy named Eric. Retirement agreed with both of them, although Rachel continued to volunteer at the local Free Clinic to keep busy.
In May of 2002, the Rikti attacked Earth, and Rachel, knowing her skills would be vital at the local hospital, left Saul to help others. She never made it to the hospital. Saul survived the invasion unscathed, but fell into a deep depression in the months that followed his wife's death.
Around this time, Saul's nephew Eric revealed to him that he was the costumed superhero, Ascendant, and after considerable prodding from Edith, Eric reluctantly asked Saul to be his agent and manager. While the partnership can be, at best, described as 'disastrous' for Ascendant, he realizes that the job gives Saul a reason to get out of bed every morning. For all the good that Saul has done for his family over the years, Eric is more than happy to keep him around.
