[hider=John Henry submission]
[table][row][cell][quote=Traditional][color=8882be]John Henry told his captain
"A man ain't nothing but a man
But before I let your steam drill beat me down
I'd die with a hammer in my hand, Lord, Lord
I'd die with a hammer in my hand"[/color][/quote]Name: John William Henry
Aliases: None
Allegiance: None
Occupation: Engineer
Sex/Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: African American
Age: 40-ish
Build: Barrel, muscular[/cell]
[cell][img]https://i.ibb.co/QHHdv6g/John-Henry-resize.jpg[/img][/cell]
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[b][u]Physical Attributes[/u][/b]:
John Henry gives the impression of being a much larger man crammed into the frame of a smaller man. He's just a hair over five feet tall, but his shoulders are wide enough to compensate. His natural hair and beard are shot through with white, and his face is lined with care. He dresses for wear and not for comfort; his pants are tent-quality denim and his shirt looks like sailcloth. A nine-pound hammer hands from a twist in his old rope belt.

[b][u]Mental Attributes:[/u][/b]
[b]Positive Traits[/b]:
[list]
[*] Proficient engineer
[*] Can repair nearly anything mechanical
[*] Unshakable
[/list]
[b]Negative Trait[/b]:
[list]
[*] Taciturn and solitary
[*] Slow to trust
[*] Stubborn to the point of insanity
[/list]
[b]Education[/b]:  No formal education.  Worked as an involuntary assistant to a confederate mad scientist.
Likes: 
Dislikes:

[b][u]Notes:[/u][/b]
[b]Important Life Moments[/b]: John Henry was a teamster when the world went sideways, although it took several years for this to touch him. Before then he was arrested for creating a disturbance during an argument with a store owner over payment, and Henry got to experience the trumped-up charges and lengthy sentences that characterized the South's early experiments with mass incarceration.

For a year, Henry worked hard labor on Virginian railroads, laying track and drilling rock.  At some point he was picked out of chain gang by the Confederate scientist known as Doctor Moon.  Moon needed an assistant short enough to climb into some of his contraptions, and Henry was selected with no chance of refusal.  This began a long period during which Henry worked with the mad Doctor, assisting but also learning.

The details of Henry's leaving Moon's service are murky, but it might have something to do with the bloodstain seen on Henry's hammer as he hurriedly left Virginia.  He has been traveling west for some time, trying to leave the Confederacy as far behind as possible.

[b]Special/Supernatural Abilities (if any):[/b] None.

[b]Supporting Characters (if any):[/b] Polly, a mongrel who he adopted - or the other way around - a few years ago. He's trained her to fetch tools for him.

[b]Signature Weapons/Items:[/b] John Henry's hammer took on some strange qualities after striking down Doctor Moon.  Most notably, its starts to smoke in the presence of abominations.  If you listen closely at night, the hammer almost sounds like it's breathing.
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