Augustus Karl-Heinz Reichman (born 20 April 2035, died 25 February 2113) was the founder and de facto head of state for the MPD.

Early life and family

See also: History of the MPD

Augustus Reichman was born to wealthy parents and grew up in the affluent Paladin Heights neighborhood in Rivertown North. He had an unhappy childhood as he did not get along with either of his two sisters and felt stifled by an overbearing mother and a father, a workaholic surgeon he seldom saw yet never seemed to be able to please. Disgusted with his sisters' laziness, young Augustus threw himself into his work after graduating from college as a mediocre student. Using his parents' funds he started and failed with two small businesses, a pizza shop and high-end camera store, before teaming up with a college acquaintance Matthew "Shorty" Rockton and opened R&R Security.

The business grew swiftly as the demands for home and commercial security blossomed throughout the 2060s, aided greatly by establishing a strong relationship with the defense contracting company Allied/Bradwell (A/B). It was through this association that he met his wife, Frederika. He relocated from his home in Paladin Heights to Lakeview in 2073 in order to be closer to work.

A meticulous planner and blessed with the ability to see over the horizon, Reichman predicted a social collapse and kept a small squad of watchmen and police on personal retainer. Though no one saw the superflu coming that would be the match to the tinderbox of social unrest, Reichman was one of the few equipped to handle the violence and anarchy that erupted. Sensing imminent danger in Lakeview, he moved his family, which now included four children (Katrina, Abby, Rudy, and Delia) to the fortress-like A/B headquarters (now called the Rock), a prescient move as their neighborhood burned to the ground weeks later.

At the A/B headquarters he assembled his cadre of guards into a fighting force he called the Public Defense Squad, or PDS, which then evolved into the MPD, an organization he ran until his death in 2113. With his closest ally Marshall Johnson he planned and executed both Project Reclamation and Project Unification and oversaw the establishment of the settlement of Summerland and Mansion Inn, as well as the MPD headquarters at Ol' Federal and the Tombstone.

Disposition and traits

Reichman was a man of action, able to deliberate carefully but then act quickly and decisively. He had a reputation for being extremely stubborn and unwilling to change opinions once his mind was made up. He was a hard-driving, uncompromising father and boss, a fact that earned him both friends and enemies. His forceful, aggressive disposition contributed to his business failures but was well-suited to the security and defense industry. This single-mindedness ruthlessness also gave him an advantage in the aftermath of society's collapse.

Goals and motivations

Reichman was driven by competition. It didn't matter if it was tiddly-winks, pizza making, or gun sales, he wanted to crush the opposition. He saw the apocalyse as an opportunity to seek vengence on the filthy, drug-addled "laze abouts" that contributed to the spread of the superflu. He had no compassion for scavengers in the city and would not rest until the MPD had subjugated the entire city.

The biggest question that plagued him before his death was the spectre of the federal government. Reichman suspected that within a few years they would be on Rivertown's doorstep to begin their meddling, and he was unsure of how he could manipulate their inevitable intrusion to his advantage as much as possible.

Primary residence

Reichman lived in both the Rock and Summerland but spent his last years at Mansion Inn, where is he now buried.

Death and legacy

Reichman died in his sleep of suspected cardiac arrest on February 25, 2113. His death came as a shock to those who knew him as he had seemed to be in good health and showed no signs of illness.

The other members of the Four Families accept that Reichman played the leading role in engineering the formation and growth of their powerful organization. Despite their differences and resentment at his tendency for unilateral decrees, few would argue that the MPD would have reached the same level of influence without Reichman at the helm. He reigned over a "Golden Age" of the MPD, a fact he was not shy about sharing. His death unofficially marked the end of this period of relative prosperity, and he died just as the MPD needed his vision and leadership the most.