Parsifal USP 5F6DE7 approx. mid-60's human male
Dealer in Bespoke Weapons Crafting
"Parsifal" is a human weapons dealer and gunsmith whose one-man shop is located on the independent world, Gehenna. He has been in business for around 30 years, though no one knows where he came from, though most speculate from Earth given he has a faint Germanic accent. Of course this could also peg him as being native to Somerheim or Blauvelt, but the more exotic rumors seem to attach themselves to Parsifal more easily than to most.
Parsifal is about 1.6m tall and with a light, trim build. His hair is closely cut in a conservative, older style and is white. He has grey eyes behind old-fashioned steel rimmed eyeglasses (which actually serve as both on-command digital magnifiers and screens for his information systems and machine tools), that are described as "kind". He rarely raises his voice except to be heard from some back room to the front of his store and moves with an easy grace and small, efficient motions. If you were to meet him on the street or in a cafe you would assume he is a tailor or accountant, or perhaps even a servant of some type, not that he works with metals and explosives.
Regardless of contemporary trends over the decades, Parsifal has always used a multi-shaded gray skin tint. Combined with his usual black business or workbench jumpsuit, Parsifal's skin tinting gives him the overall appearance of an ancient black and white photograph. More than once he has startled a customer who came in his shop and dismissed a quietly attentive Parsifal as a mannequin or life-sized poster.
Parsifal's shop is located deep behind the shadow of an enormous industrial/residential arcology: to one side the shop is bordered by the 10 meter drop to a security moat/storm wash on one side and its opposite wall is within 1cm of the arcology's walls. There is no sign outside and the nondescript, gray concrete building has only a collapsed steel door and small light above that to show it is actually a building and not some wall to close off what is otherwise an alley.
To find, or rather, to enter Parsifal's shop one needs to be invited or recommended to it. He deals only in single orders of custom firearms (no energy weapons, only chemical or magnetically propelled slugthrowers) and specialized ammunition. The customer arriving earlier than expected will find the door doesn't open until the precise moment of the appointment, and not at all if the customer is late. Since this shop is known to be located in what can be charitably called a "rough neighborhood" it is always a good idea to be precisely on time. The advantage of being in the high crime area, though, is that it has often provided his customers the opportunity to "proof" their new weapons on site so Parsifal can make any last-minute fine tuning adjustments if needed. The local police know of his shop and will provide expedited service to anyone calling from there at no extra charge, since Parsifal often provides the agency with bulk ammunition orders at cost.
Inside the shop, a prospective customer is presented with a narrow room that leads across 20 meters of carefully organized weapon displays and stacks and stacks of ammunition and parts. The opposite end has a wide service window and space for purchases to be laid out. There is a small side door of blue steel next to the service window that leads to the rear rooms containing the tool shop and warehouse. The warehouse space is small and only serves as temporary space for storing weapons and ammunition since Parsifal tries to not have too much in inventory at any given time, preferring to keep the bulk of his goods at the starport warehousing under guard. His tools shop is packed with metal bar and sheet stock, casting equipment and gunsmithing equipment. Anyone seeing his shop would be shocked that it has only one small advanced cutting tool for use with advanced materials; the rest are old-fashioned tools anyone would expect on a TL-6 world, not here on a TL-15 advanced world serving as the main trading hub of an entire subsector.
Parsifal himself would be the first to tell you he makes his custom weapons, "bespoke" as he calls them, entirely by hand and by "letting the materials speak to me as a work the desires of the specific client into them." He says gunsmithing is an art that has been in his family "since the days when a king would be proud to carry a weapon by a Parsifal, indeed - would be grateful!" As point of fact, the current Emperor carries a 12.7mm revolver made to order by Parsifal when His Majesty is wearing his Marine uniform at ceremonial functions.
A client ordering a weapon by Parsifal can specify any exotic materials to be incorporated into the design provided Parsifal approves of their quality and if they will stand up to the use of the weapon. If too gaudy or vulgar in design or material, such specifics will be left out of the final product. Customers are given 100% satisfaction but Parsifal retains the final say in the weapon construction so as to protect his reputation. Parsifal will fit the weapon to the client's build and stance, matching the weapon to that person for balance, handling qualities, and to achieve an effortless ease of targeting and firing. The weapon will generally take 30 days or so to complete and Parsifal will give the customer the pickup time and date when the order is placed.
Pricing is dependent on the materials desired and the weapon type. Parsifal will provide the final price upon delivery, with no exceptions or discounts made. This is why he also doesn't require a deposit on ordering: if the customer doesn't want the weapon for any reason, or doesn't show up, there is no charge and the weapon ends up on sale in the main shop. Custom ammunition orders for this weapon or any other are treated the same way though they usually only take 7-10 days for delivery. Parsifal can arrange to ship products elsewhere but requires the ordering be made in person. He will not deal with anyone he cannot see face to face and then shake hands with over the deal. Parsifal does not require signatures or contracts for his work - no one who can afford his services will try to cheat him, and even if they did...well, he does carry a custom gauss pistol under his suit.
In game terms any weapon Parsifal builds will at the very least give the operator a +1 bonus towards penetrating armor if using ammunition he provided for that weapon. Ammunition ordered from him to be used in any other weapons will not provide the bonuses since it isn't matched to the generic weapons on the markets.
For purposes of any handling rolls (drawing, surprise, snap shots) the shooter gets a +1 DM to the Dexterity bonus the weapon would normally provide. For any other routine shots the user gets a +2 to their Dexterity bonus. If, however, the shooter doesn't normally qualify for that bonus then they will qualify for it while using that weapon.
Any other bonuses, penalties, or attributes of a particular weapon are the purview of the referee, worked out through play between the PC and Parsifal. One should allow for abuse of the system this way, but remember that Parsifal's weapons are one-of-a-kind and made for a specific fit. They are not going to give any other person said bonuses, but rather, those will be liabilities.
