James Steeler

Major James Steeler was the former director of V.W.A.T. and a veteran of the Vietnam War. Tempered by his experiences int he war, Steeler took control of the organization several years ago, but was recently relieved of duty for the riots on Halloween.

Appearance
As grizzled and toughened as a man can be, Steeler’s last name is not for show. A large built man even in his old age, he easily dwarfs most adult men at a height of 6 feet, 9 inches. A full gray beard and mustache match his well-trimmed hair. Dark blue eyes, unblinking, always give a threatening glare at those who would try to disobey him. A hard face and average sized nose compliment his serious demeanor. His body is littered with scars from his escapades in Vietnam.

While on the job, Steeler prefers to wear a loose fitting, three button, black business suit, complete with dark red dress shirt and black tie. Black dress shoes, shined to perfection, are worn on his feet over black, monogrammed socks. In his pocket is a dark gray handkerchief, also monogrammed. To support his pants is a black leather belt with a silver buckle. On his wrist is a silver Rolex watch with a black face.

Off duty will usually see him in anything that is comfortable and breathable. This will often lead to a T-shirt of varying color and blue jeans with brown loafers, along with whatever else he may feel like wearing.

He rarely wears any form of military fatigue anymore. Though, when the need calls for it, he will dress in whatever kind of equipment is around at the time.

Personality
Hardened by war, Steeler is an angry, reclusive, and bitter man. He does not lose his cool easily, however. He has a particular distaste for those who would laugh at the idea of war, saying they couldn’t understand unless they actually went through the same experience as he did. His respect for military combatants is boundless, despite having a distaste for what the American government has forced them to do in recent years.

Towards the soldiers, he remains a cold, emotionless, and fearsome authority figure. He is similar when dealing with the criminals, though wants them to believe he is willing to kill them should they step out of line. In reality, though, he'd likely avoid it if he could. The only person whom he shows affection towards now is his daughter, though the two have not been on regular speaking terms since his divorce several years ago.

He despises those that would betray their code of honor, as well as people who abuse positions of power, including soldiers who feel they can manipulate or abuse the criminal population. During his fighting years, he was known for his ruthless yet extremely calculated tactics in the jungle and adaptability. He has been known to enjoy a good book from time to time and is an avid fan of cinema.

History
Born a young man in Pennsylvania on January 5th, 1953, Steeler grew up in a typical American home. Once the war with Vietnam started, his father, a World War II veteran himself, enlisted, dying in battle two years later. Inspired by his father’s sacrifice, Steeler began to train his body to prepare for enlistment himself. He picked up his fighting skills at this time, joining the army reserve after graduating high school at 18 years of age.

He was found to be very proficient during boot camp, learning to shoot fast and discovering a talent as a leader. Soon after, he was deployed, being a model soldier and slowly working his way up the ladder to become a major. He returned home periodically to visit his aging mother. Leading groups of soldiers, he was found to be an excellent strategist, leading his men to victory time and time again. His only blunder was quite a costly one, though by no fault of his own; bad information led his group into an ambush, and the few that weren’t killed initially were taken prisoner, himself included.

For the next few years until the end of the war, he was tortured day and night for any information he might have. Several times he almost slipped, but literally bit his tongue to keep himself quiet. During the final days of the war, he was slated to be executed, only to be released upon news of the withdrawal. Feeling ashamed to be part of America’s first real loss in a war (that anyone remembered), he returned home a bitter and angry shell of his former self. He discovered his mother had died of natural causes a year before his return. Having no immediate family to speak of and no job, he simply tried to find work around town that could supply him with enough money to live on. He managed to scrape together enough to eat and stayed in his family home.

Three years passed, and he decided to try that strange “Starbucks” restaurant he’d heard about. Lucky for him, he went on the same day as a rather attractive young woman. The coffee was overpriced and subpar, but the two enjoyed each other’s company and decided to date. A few years later, the two married and had a daughter. Things were terrific for several years, with Steeler managing to get a steady job and began taking classes at the local college to earn a degree, even beginning training to work as a correctional officer in the local jail (a job he felt he could put his military discipline to use with). He completed training, got a degree in psychology, and began work. His wife, however, was disapproving, questioning his reasoning behind returning to such a violent environment after barely escaping the horrors of war.

The day did come when he was forced to kill again, shooting four inmates during a riot after one attempted to attack him. Returning home, this was the breaking point of their rapidly deteriorating marriage. The constant stress of the job had caused James to become colder as a person, his wife feeling neglected after he constantly insisted on working overtime. After seeing how nonchalantly he reacted to the life threatening situation he encountered that day, she concluded he had no concern for his own wellbeing or the feelings of his family. Divorcing him soon after, she took his daughter, leaving him alone once again.

Becoming even more strict, he cultivated a reputation as the most dangerous guard in the prison, working off the ever growing rumors of his exploits during the riot. It wasn’t long before the state government noticed his exploits and cruelty towards the inmates. Removing him from his position, he was secretly employed to run a Special Operations military group called V.W.A.T., a supernatural containment and extermination organization, taking the position of Director. He was selected not only for his ability to instill order in his previous job but also his impressive military record. He would quickly prove himself worthy of the position.

CIA Arrival
CIA operatives on base one afternoon, informing Steeler they had heard rumors of members of Harold Burman's, a former V.W.A.T. director, soldiers were still part of the staff. A traitor turned vampire, Burman's men were likely planning to dismantle the new organization. While ordered not to tell anyone, Steeler was suspicious and called Eleanor Harkness, Brandon Cole, Reese Fletcher, Roy Dimarcurio, and Gary Stu to his office to pass the news to them. Forming a secret group among them, he ordered them to report any suspicious activity to him directly and assume everyone else on the base could potentially be a traitor.

Shortly after, members of Night Nine arrived to flex their muscles for him. However, Aiden Holmes went into a frenzy and needed to be subdued, after which they left his office.

Riot
As is tradition, Steeler returned home early on Halloween to fend off pranksters from egging his house and to watch horror movies. While things would normally go smoothly, the power within the base shorted out, letting loose the criminal population and starting a riot. While it was eventually quelled, numerous casualties and a number of other disasters left the government no choice but to relieve him of command, coincidentally on his birthday.

Powers and Abilities
Leadership: Steeler is an expert leader and tactician. Having honed his skills in the war, he continued to make use of them during his time as director of V.W.A.T.

Hand to Hand Combat: Steeler was an expert in boxing, wrestling, and had a decent knowledge of judo. Despite this, his age and his injuries over the year have decreased his physical abilities somewhat.

Marksmanship: An excellent shot with most weaponry, Steeler can even use his oversized handgun with a respectable amount of accuracy.

Negotiation: Steeler has negotiated in hostage situations previously and is fairly good and handling high-intensity situations.

Interrogation: If the need arises, he has been trained in CIA torture techniques and interrogation.

Equipment
Cigars: Steeler enjoys smoking cigars. He kept a box of them in his desk at the compound, and continues to store them at his home.

Inmate Controller: During his time as director, Steeler carried a remote control for inmate collars. Capable of controlling up to five people at a time, he could change the intensity of the shock for each individually by moving a digital scroll up and down from 1 to 10.

Magnum Research .45-70 Government Hand Cannon: A six-shot revolver firing firing .45-70 caliber rifle cartridges, the gun was used mainly for show strapped to his leg. Despite being discharged, he keeps it at home in a case for display purposes.

Cellphone: Steeler possesses a black, outdated flip phone. It uses pre-paid cards for minutes, as he rarely needs to call anyone.

Trivia

 * His approved character sheet can be found here.
 * Steeler is based on actor Ron Perlman physically and in personality for many of his roles. The player also desires him to play Steeler in a fictional animated adaption of the story.