NAME: Thomas O'Banon

NICKNAME/ALIAS:  Black Tom

AGE:   382 years (Looks to be in his 30's)

SPECIES:  Master Vampire

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:  Tom stands about 5'8 and weighs about 154 pounds and has a lean, muscular build. His hair is often shaggy though he cuts or grows it as needed and likes to keep a styled beard. His hair is a red/blond and his eyes a light green. His body still carries the scars of his time on the battlefield as a mortal as well as his time as a slave as a mortal including the brand of the Englishman who owned him.

OCCUPATION: Contractor (read mercenary) for Spartan Military Solutions

PERSONALITY: Tom has lived his life believing that there's never a bad time for a good joke. He loves to laugh and have fun and the only thing he regrets about becoming a vampire is having to say goodbye to the drink. He still finds himself occasionally indulging in small amounts of beer, whiskey and rum when the merry mood strikes him. He's a great friend for those who have won him over and a terrifying enemy. 

BACKGROUND: Born in Killarney in 1629, Thomas O'Banon was the son of a blacksmith and eventually left home and joined the Catholic forces in the Confederates War at the young age of 14. Tom was a grunt, fighting the Scottish and Parliamentary forces for the next five years. By the end of those five years a stalemate had formed between the Confederate and Parliamentary forces which allowed the Confederacy to form full time organized armies. Passionate, he stuck with it, and within a year he saw the beginning of what would be called the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.

1649 was full of politics and deal making and plotting, the kinds of things Tom had no taste or talent for. That same year the battle of Rathmines proved a serious blow to morale and would be the first time that Tom was captured. He later escaped and rejoined the Confederacy's army taking on a new role as a scout and a bit of a spy. He tracked enemy troop movements and used guerrilla tactics to disrupt enemy supply lines. After the battle of Macroom as the Irish and Royalist forces retreated behind the Shannon river into Connaught Tom was captured again and would be held prisoner until 1653 when he was deported to Barbados as a slave, sold to a tobacco plantation. 

Tom didn't take to life as a slave very well and was constantly punished for disruptive or disrespectful behavior. The English land owner who had purchased him tried and tried to break Tom with no success. It was all of a year before Tom became so fed up with his situation that he smuggled a knife into the slave quarters. That night he killed three men during his escape and went into hiding before joining a pirate crew.

He was popular with the crew and took to his new life of raiding English ships rather nicely. He earned the nickname "Black Tom" thanks to his love of killing the English. Few people knew the nickname until he was elected as captain of the Marie-Anne and he made it a point to let as few English survive his raids as possible. It was during this time that he drew the attention of a vampire named Constantine.

While drinking in a little pub outside of Port Royal Constantine came to him, explaining that he was visiting Jamaica and had heard of his exploits. The big vampire offered to train him further, to teach him how to be a survivor and to make him immortal. Tom spent several weeks with Constantine before finally agreeing to his offer.

Since then he has rarely strayed far from Constantine, fighting beside him at times, going off on his own other times. Tom did make it a point to return to Ireland not long after becoming a vampire and would return in the future when possible. It was just before Constantine moved to America in the early 1800's that Tom really started hanging around more at the request of his maker.

It the 1860's Constantine hired a house keeper for his home in Manhattan and Tom took an instant liking to her. She was of Celtic decent and reminded him of a time when he was more than just a soldier and a vampire. Initially he admired the girl named Skye from a distance, but after coming to her rescue one night romance blossomed. After the American Civil war had ended, Tom approached Skye with the idea of becoming his human servant. Four marks and over 150 years later and they're still very much in love.

Tom assisted Constantine in his selection of, and training of two other vampires he made in the 1800's, one a Prussian, the other a Mohawk Indian. After the American Civil war, Tom also assisted in Gime's training after he was made a vampire by Constantine. Tom also helped Constantine in the early days of setting up his PMC before Zach Pletho would eventually take over. Now his official role is heading up the team on any contracts that Constantine approves of.

STRENGTHS: Like his maker, Tom has the ability to feed off violence however his strength isn't as impressive as Constantine's. He has the usual super human strength and speed of a master vampire as well as the ability to roll people. He can also draw the energy out of other vampires, weakening them. Is the joker in the pack and his jovial nature is usually the reason people like him.

WEAKNESSES: Doesn't always know when to shut up. Also, there are those who don't appreciate his sense of humor. Probably his greatest weakness of all is his loyalty to Constantine. It wouldn't matter whether Constantine ordered him to do something or just asked, Tom would do it in a heart beat.

ITEMS ALWAYS FOUND ON THIS CHARACTER: One gold guinea which he took off of one of the guards when he escaped from slavery, it's been his good luck charm ever since.

SPECIALIZED COMBAT/DEFENSE SKILLS, if any: In his mortal life he was never formally trained but had a knack for fighting and for guerrilla warfare. Since becoming a vampire, Constantine has trained him in Pankration as well as a variety of types of armed combat. Unlike Constantine, Tom has worked with guns since he was a mortal and with over 300 years of experience with guns he's a deadly shot. However, his use of guns is usually reserved for fun on the range. He much prefers to use his bare hands or fangs when killing.

OTHER SPECIAL POSSESSIONS: Still has the first knife that Constantine gave him and the Jolly Rodger from his ship the Maleficent.

QUIRKS, INTERESTS, HOBBIES: Loves to sing and dance and while the ballads and jigs that most people think of when they think of the Irish didn't come about until long after Tom became a vampire, he still loves them. He can play the tin flute as well as the banjo.