Name: Karen Goldstein
Aliases: Ragdoll
Age: 20

Physical Description: Standing a hair under six feet tallm slim and long-limbed, Ragdoll looks like she lives up to her name.  She dresses in rags, and uses elaborate makeup on her face and body, giving her a stitched-together look akin to an older doll or a rather macabre victim of the last few years.  Her long red hair drifts down to her waist, and is usually allowed to fly free.  Anyone getting especially close to Ragdoll may notice that her makeup and stitching patterns cover old scars inflicted on the day the world ended.  She has incorporated them into her look, making for a haunting, haunted image to appear from the shadows.  Occasionally, she is seen holding a dagger whose blade is absolutely covered in assorted ruins, and occasionally seems to glow.

Biography:  The creepy doll-bitch of the Gotham slums...Ragdoll has developed (and if pressed, will admit to cultivating) a reputation as a rather terrifying force.  She seems to appear from nowhere, seemingly wandering aimlessly throughout the ruins of Gotham.  But inevitably, when she appears, someone always dies.  She has made an appearance or two nearly everywhere.  Just about the only thing anyone knowledgeable can seem to agree on is that whoever ends up fallen in her wake always deserved it.  Some more than others, but she's managed to avoid ever striking down someone who anyone would call truly innocent.

Purely through word of mouth, Ragdoll has let it be known that when what she calls truly bad people are around, anyone who can get word to her, should.  While no one has ever figured out her exact definition, people who commit violent crimes or prey on the defenseless are much more likely to receive a final visit from her.  While she will probably never be truly loved or accepted by the world around her at large, she has come to a shaky agreement with it.

History:  Karen was a perfectly happy, normal girl.  She grew up in an affluent Gotham suburb, and generally speaking, was a happy, friendly, joyful girl.  She loved music, travel, and was fascinated by Gotham's rich history.  She was the sort to spend all her time with her nose buried in a book, and for a time, practically half of the Gotham Public library and Museum of Natural History knew her by name, on sight.

When the world ended, Karen was in fact at the museum, as usual.  She was studying a new piece that had been recently added as a part of an exhibit about ancient Gotham's mythology.  The display was a piece of a suit made for the vigilante known as "Ragman", said to be a hero for the common people, who occasionally fought alongside luminaries such as Batman himself.  When the explosions began, and Gotham was rocked to its core, the museum caved in.  Countless lives were lost, and when she awoke, she had plenty of cuts, and was half-buried under the Ragman display she'd been studying.

It was to her utter shock that the bundle of rags she was touching began to speak to her.  Of course, the voices were all encouraging her to do some rather...alarming things at the moment, but she had the force of will to ignore their screams for chaos and suffering, and did her best to help everyone around her who could still be saved.  A few days later, she made her first new kill, stopping a wannabe ganger who was assaulting a woman in the streets.  Since then, she's been the haunting visage in the shadows, protecting the city as best she can.


Other Information: Karen's powers come from the object of power known as the Soul Siphon.  A remnant of an ancient artifact used centuries ago by a former hero of Gotham, it collects souls and uses them to provide power to its user for their benefit, and the benefit of others.  It possesses a number of useful abilities, including:

Enhanced abilities by drawing on the power of the souls trapped within the Siphon, Karen can increase her physical attributes, making her stronger, faster, tougher, and more perceptive for a time.

Unearthly senses: Thanks to the Siphon, Karen can sense magic, as well as the presence of corrupted, evil souls.  Her abilities only tell her of their presence, but do not provide exact locations.

Harness Knowledge: Karen can draw on the memories of the souls trapped in the Siphon.  While she's lost in those memories, she is unable to focus on the world around her, though she retains the knowledge in her own memory when she's done.

Siphon Summon: The Soul Siphon is bonded to Karen.  She can summon it from anywhere and it will appear in her hand within three heartbeats.

Absorb souls: The Siphon's most dangerous and important power is its ability to absorb the souls of the wicked, using them to increase its power, and the power of its wielder.

Change Shape: While the Siphon is most commonly a dress made of assorted tattered patches, it can change its shape, and often acts as a knife for Karen to aid her in combat.

Flaws/Weaknesses: With powers that come from damned souls howling in her ears day and night, Karen is more than a lot paranoid; knowing exactly how bad things have become, and the depths people will sink to, she's very untrusting; never truly lone, but afraid of who she can trust, Karen is also almost intensely lonely

In addition, intense fire and especially strong magic can both interfere with or outright disrupt her powers when drawing on souls.  She must also have physical contact with the soul siphon; while she can summon it from anywhere, any time it doesn't actually touch her skin, she's as vulnerable as any girl.

Finally, the souls within the Siphon can speak to Karen, whether she wants to hear them or not, and in theory, if they ever overpower her will, could possess her for their use.

Picture (Optional):

Resources:

Abundant

Food (Kill enough people and you learn where all sorts of caches of food are)
Water (Same)
Raw Materials (memories of avaricious dead people are useful!)

Sufficient

Weapons (the Soul Siphon)
Shelter (her own actions tell her where she can hole up unless squatters have discovered assorted hideouts)
Air Filters (her hideaways are all still in fairly decent shape)

Deficient

Power
Workforce
Manufacturing
Transportation