## Quick ID
- **Name:** Benjamin Mulkerberg  
- **Aliases / Nicknames:** “Lil Stinky”, “Ben”  
- **Vibe:** rich kid cosplaying as hard-block dealer; aggressive code-switcher; performs toughness; terrified of being exposed.
- **Class/Level (current):** PC, **Level 6** (campaign state), **Elf Druid** (weed + nature aesthetic, but he plays “street”)
- **Core Theme:** *Identity performance vs identity theft* (perfect mirror to Coherence/Instrumentality arc)

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## Baseline Backstory (Player-established)
- **Family is extremely wealthy**; he pretends he lives in a dangerous “W Block” type area, but he actually lives in a **huge, expensive house in the mountains** (Madera canyon analogue).
- **Secret (biggest):** He’s not from the block he claims. He’s a poser.
- **Public Persona:** wannabe gangbanger / “dealer” / hustle culture, tries to intimidate and posture.
- **Reality:** He sells **small amounts of weed** (never serious weight—more like $25 baggies / networking for “customers”).
- **Night-before-school scene:** packing extra weed to “network” the new school; listening to “magical DaBaby”; playing 2K on a magical PS5.  

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## Family / Home
- **Dad:** Silicon Valley tech-guy retiring in the mountains. Player described dad as *Mark Zuckerberg-adjacent*.
  - Has the resources/impulse to build a **bunker / safe-room** concept at home.
- **Mom:** wealthy, proper; drives fantasy equivalent of a **BMW SUV**; gives Ben rides but he makes her **drop him off a few blocks away** so classmates think he walked.
- **House:** spotless, expensive, canyon views, “Beverly Hills” energy. This house is a **major pressure point** because it disproves his whole persona.

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## Major Ongoing Hooks
### 1) Pip Conflict (Gang Arc)
- **Pip Tumblefoot** (halfling teen) is the recurring street-level antagonist tied to “The Circle” (gas station hangout).
- Ben got tangled with Pip early and it escalated hard.
- **Pip has threatened Ben directly**, including **sending a photo of Ben’s house** (establishes: Pip knows where he lives and can strike the family/home).
- Ben’s likely obsession: **control the narrative + avoid exposure** (“don’t let anyone see where I live / who my parents are”).

### 2) “W Block” Lie Exposure
- Ben’s biggest social fear isn’t death — it’s being **outed as rich** and fake.
- Your table has multiple pressure vectors to reveal it:
  - Joe and Soren physically at his house.
  - Pip’s coded threats that reference the “block vs hills” contrast.
  - Any NPC he invites to his place sees it instantly.

### 3) School vs Street Split
- Ben is in the middle of two campaigns at once:
  - The **leyline/Root/Coherence** mystery (school-level arc)
  - The **Circle gang retaliation** (street-level arc)
- You can run the gang arc as “seasonal detour” sessions that are still thematically tied to identity/instrumentality.

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## Signature Behaviors (How to Play Him as NPC-like)
- **Code-switches instantly** when speaking to parents vs peers.
- **Threatens, postures, brags** when he thinks someone is a mark.
- **Runs or bargains** when he knows he’s outmatched.
- Motivated by:
  1) status/control,
  2) not being humiliated,
  3) protecting his lie,
  4) protecting his family *only as long as it doesn’t expose him* (this is where drama lives).

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## Key Relationships (as of now)
### Party
- **Joe Football:** ally + chaos partner. Joe is a “simple guy” but dangerously competent when he commits to a plan. Joe went along with major escalation at the Circle.
- **Soren:** ally; morally volatile. Ben has already relied on Soren for backup after big consequences.

### School NPC orbit (people Ben can invite / leverage)
- **Elias Vae’lor:** high-elf artificer-ish; “AV club” peer vibe; helps guide investigations; Ben suspects him at times (player paranoia already exists in campaign).
- **Chaz Ironwick:** jock archetype; useful as party muscle / social heat.
- **Millie Fairweather:** nerd archetype; potential friction with Soren; can become a “rival-friend” to the party later.
- **Fouadriel Al-Mir:** comedic relief now, long-term doom harbinger later (campaign-wide twist).
- **Seb Castillo:** conspiracy kid; can be used as rumor engine + evidence collector.
- **Jax Hollow:** “vapes and drives a Subaru” energy; utility NPC (ride/block driveway, etc.).
- **Sumri Tord:** rumor magnet; “magical disability” concept; social wildcard.

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## Major Events Ben Was Involved In (Chronological, high-signal)
### Early: The Circle setup
- Ben goes to **The Circle** (gas station hangout) and gets baited by a small swarmy halfling figure → ambush vibes → “run” moment.
- Establishes: Ben is already being profiled/targeted as someone to extort or set up.

### The Circle Explosion (huge pivot)
- Ben and Joe returned to The Circle together.
- Ben **accepted a deal** (with Pip / or Pip’s crew — the “deal” ties Ben deeper into the gang mess).
- Joe planted a trap + oil/accelerant and escalated into “cook them out.”
- Outcome:
  - Explosion killed **3 total**: one teen (charred remains stuck in trap), and **two unrelated adults inside the gas station** who got liquified in the blast.
  - Pip survived (severely injured) and later issued threats.
- Aftermath:
  - Ben received a direct message: **“you’re fucking dead”** (from Pip).
  - Ben called Soren for help; she arrived at Ben’s house.
  - Ben now has an urgent objective: **protect parents / protect house / avoid exposure**.

### Retaliation Plan (current direction)
- Ben’s current plan (player-driven): **throw a party** at his house to recruit NPCs and force any retaliation attempt to happen on his terms.
- He wants to turn the “home reveal” into an advantage: more bodies, more chaos, more allies.

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## Items / Gear / Props (Ben-specific)
- **Weed stash** (core prop; constant)
- General “rich kid tools” available at home (security, money, bunker concept), but:
  - Ben may refuse to use them openly because they reveal who he is.

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## School Integration (how Ben touches the main arc)
- Ben is an ideal “Instrumentality/Coherence” target because:
  - He is already living as a **constructed identity**.
  - He is constantly splitting into personas (parents vs peers).
  - The Coherence’s “no more pain if no more separation” pitch tempts him: *no more pretending, no more fear of being found out.*

Potential “Coherence offers” tailored to Ben:
- “I can make everyone see the version of you you want.”
- “I can dissolve the shame.”
- “No one will ever catch you in a lie again… because there will be no lies.”

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## DM Levers (what reliably moves Ben)
Use these to motivate scenes without railroading:
1) **Threats to the house / parents** (Pip retaliation)
2) **Social exposure risk** (NPCs at his home, rumors, getting dropped off by mom)
3) **Status humiliation** (called fake, poser, rich kid)
4) **Control fantasy** (Ben thinks he can outsmart / outplay systems and people)
5) **Bargains** (Ben will take deals he shouldn’t if it stabilizes his image short-term)

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## Notes / Tone Calibration
- Ben’s arc works best when consequences are:
  - **socially humiliating**, **legally threatening**, or **family-risk adjacent**
  - rather than immediate “you die.”
- The gas station deaths established that the world *can* have collateral consequences.
  - For Ben, the interesting consequence is: *“this can reach your parents and expose you.”*

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## Current Status (start-of-next-session snapshot)
- Ben’s home has become the party’s staging ground.
- Pip is injured but mobilizing.
- Ben is likely trying to:
  - keep parents safe **without** admitting why,
  - keep Joe/Soren aligned,
  - weaponize a party as both bait and shield.

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